From hosting a nude stand-up show to constructing a blanket fort in the Astoria every month, Emma Cooper’s resumé reads like the bucket list you never realized you wanted to have. The Peak catches up with the Vancouver comedian to discuss vulnerability, the comedic differences between male and female nudity, and why making people laugh is the sexiest part of being a comedian.
What are some of the ways you’re involved with comedy in Vancouver?
I host a monthly show in a blanket fort on the first Tuesday of every month called BlanketFort Storytime. We build a blanket fort together and then comedians tell stories in it. Along with Mark Hughes and Abby Normal, I also co-created a naked stand-up show called Exposed. I think we’re going to do that seasonally, so the next one will be at the end of August at 303 Columbia.
I think my role in comedy in Vancouver is to be a floater around different scenes and see what’s up/what I like and then pull stuff together. I’ve just been trying to figure out what’s happening so that I can interject comedy into other things.
What can you tell me about Exposed?
Mark Hughes posted in the Vancouver stand-up comedy forum saying, “They’re doing a naked show in New York. Who wants in?” and Abby and I both wanted to do it. The comedy was great because everyone who performed had sincere, honest sets. It was really nice and funny and the audience was on board right from the start. They realized that the performers were already vulnerable from being naked. What are you going to do, heckle a naked person? We forget that comedians are making themselves vulnerable all of the time, but they’ve just got clothes on. I’m glad the Exposed show worked out because I think there’s just so much more space for vulnerability in comedy.
What was it like performing naked on stage?
You just walk up naked and just do it. I didn’t think about it because people were primed for it. People joke that it’s cheap to get naked; it would be cheap if we hadn’t built an intentional space with it. We thought about it and, for me, it was about people trusting us more and that allows us to tell stories. That’s why the naked is happening — and if it’s just a novelty, flash in the pan, then no one will come to the next one and we’ll know everyone just came to see tits, clits, and dicks.
There’s been a rise in using male nudity to a comedic effect, such as in Borat or Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Do you think the same could be argued for female nudity?
Comedically, I think female and male nudity have different trajectories because they’re loaded differently. With male nudity, you’re exploring the idea of vulnerability but also being comedic with it. Female nudity, you’re deconstructing the male gaze. Both are coming at it like, “We don’t let men be vulnerable but we don’t let women be sexual,” so if it’s funny, you’re chipping away at some element of those assumptions.
So that’s why I’m naked on Robson Street for Vulnerability Vigils, I walk through the film Orgies Happening Tonight naked, I’m naked at Rent Cheque, I do naked comedy. I’m naked a bunch and in all of the contexts I’ve been naked in, I’ve always had power, and most people don’t know how to act when there’s a woman in power.
If you’re on the street naked, creeps will come up to you and be like, “Are you naked?” and you say, “Yeah, I’m naked and holding a sign” and they don’t know what to say and they just leave. But if someone was wearing a short skirt, then they would slap your ass or catcall. I’m not saying anyone’s asking for it ever, but there’s a pattern and if you’re breaking pattern, then you’re in control, which is where you need to be to get laughs too.
Because this will be in The Peak’s annual sex issue, could you give us an example of a time you drew on sex as a source for comedy?
I like telling jokes about sex because there’s a lot of humbleness that comes with sex and a lot of learning. I think that by sharing — and oversharing — you give people the opportunity to relate to your experiences and feel human. That’s one of my endgames for comedy. I think some people see it as brave, but it’s actually just my natural disposition.
What’s the sexiest part of being a comedian?
Making people laugh is sexy. Laughter is involuntary. You have to actually earn it, so when you have a genuine laughter response, it’s really great.
Emma Cooper’s next event, the monthly (and free!) BlanketFort Storytime, is happening on July 7 at the Astoria. Construction on the fort begins at 8 p.m. while the show starts at 9 p.m.
