Amy Butte took up standup comedy as a hobby during COVID times, taking classes at Santa Monica’s Westside Comedy Theater, and got really into it. She went to dozens of open mics and comedy shows, and the same subject matter would come up over and over again. She dreaded hearing generalizations about gender and ethnicity or humiliating material that provoked nervous laughter.
Butte wanted to write, perform, and see comedy that dove deep into subjects that people cared about, bringing a sense of safety and real belly laughs. After meeting Nicole Blaine, the owner of Santa Monica’s The Crow, she pitched a topical comedy show called F’ED Talks that fit right in with the “elevated comedy club” Blaine opened in June 2022. A parody on TED and pronounced “effed,” F’ED Talks line up comedians who have material on important topics.
This Friday, September 30 is the second F’ED event, F’ED: Racism. “If we don’t make an effort to talk about racism, by default, we’re taking sides as oppressors. Coming to this show is an anti-racist action that’s safe and compassionate. We’ll be funnier than any humor that employs stereotypes,” said Butte.
The lineup of comedians is:
Mateen Stewart from HBO and HGTV
Amber Kain, LA improv group “I Woke Up Like This”, playwright, actor, and comedian from NYC
Dylan Brody, award-winning author, playwright and film-maker, internationally acclaimed humorist and story-teller
Angela Batuure, actress and comedian, improv and sketch teams in LA and NYC Signature Theatre, SNL/NBC Scholar
HAWK, LA/Westside native, improv, sketch and standup comedian
Danna Kiel, Comedy Cube, Best of Burbank Comedy Festival 2021 and 2022, Black Women in Comedy Festival 2022 selection
Host Amy Butte, comedy writer, standup at The Crow
The first F’ED event took on aging with F’ED: Growing Out. Comedians found all the humor about different life stages without ageist tropes.
The show is at 8 pm on Friday September 30, tickets $20 at crowcomedy.com. More info @f_edtalks on Instagram.
SMDP Staff
