Outlaugh! (2006)

Director:

Gene Merker

Genre:

Comedy

Cast

Starr Ahrens	...	New Sentiments Greetings Reader / Mormon Polygamist Newcaster
Nora Burns	...	Ann Coulter / Terri Schiavo / Junkie Jones / Lesbian Mother / Orgasm 3 / Emcee / Herself
Jerry Calumn	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
John Cantwell	...	Orgasm 1 / Patricia Arquette / Momma / Alan Van Horne / Himself
Roy Cruz	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Mark Davis	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Lea DeLaria	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Jason Dudey	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Erin Foley	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Alex Garner	...	Sissy Straight Guy #2 / Mormon Polygamist Husband #2
Kurt Hall	...	Lisp / Jeb
Stephanie Howard	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Page Hurwitz	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Andre Kelley	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Nancy Kissam	...	Hilga / Glory Hole
Bob Koenig	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic (as Bobaloo)
Lilienne Li	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic (as Ariana)
Sabrina Matthews	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Terrence Michael	...	Orgasm 2 / Elda / Trevor Van Horne / Himself
The Nellie Olesons	...	Themselves
Mike Player	...	Sissy Straight Guy #3 / Mormon Polygamist Husband #1 / Brauny Man
Mark Rakow	...	Husband #2 / Phone Sex Caller / Sissy Straight Guy #3
Karen Ripley	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Jen Slusser	...	Herself - Stand-Up Comic
Bob Smith	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Jason Stuart	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Charlie Vaughn	...	Himself - Stand-Up Comic
Diana Yanez	...	Havana

Directed by
Gene Merker

Produced by
Jerry Calumn	....	producer
Denise Howard	....	producer
Mike Player	....	executive producer
Brad Schwartz	....	producer
Diana Yanez	....	producer

Original Music by
Ron Meza

Film Editing by
Craig A. Colton
Stacy Goldate
Denise Howard
Stan Konowitz
Brad Schwartz

Production Design by
James Yarnell

Art Direction by
Lindsey Moran

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Michelle Robinson	....	associate director

Sound Department
Ron Meza	....	sound editor
Ron Meza	....	sound re-recording mixer

Camera and Electrical Department
Yaniv Fituci	....	assistant camera
Denise Howard	....	director of photography: second unit
Evans Vestal Ward	....	stills photographer

Editorial Department
Denise Howard	....	supervising editor

Other crew
Yaniv Fituci	....	production assistant
Adam Hutson	....	production accountant
Heather M. Wiegand	....	production secretary
Daniel J. Winclechter	....	production assistant
Josh Yampolski	....	production coordinator

Production Companies

• Edit This Productions

Distributors

• Wolfe Video (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Edit This Productions  post-production facilities

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Company:

Edit This Productions

Very Important Documentary - For the Laughs and Commentary

I originally rented OUTLAUGH! through Netflix solely because Lea DeLaria appeared in it – and I needed a good laugh. Admittedly, at the time I had not heard of most of the other comics who were featured in this documentary of the 2005 OUTLAUGH! comedy festival, mainly because I had been sorely out of the loop. I must say, though, that I was VERY pleasantly surprised to discover some of the incredible GLBT talent that is out there through this DVD! What HAD I been missing?!?! I ended up playing the DVD so much (several times daily) that it just made more sense to buy it.

I thoroughly enjoyed this video from Lea's opening (I can relate directly to the whole LA/rain issue; she hit the nail on the head!) to the very end. Not only was the comedy top-notch, but it also offered very interesting and important political commentary throughout, which was very nicely and effectively interspersed with the comedy routines. Very nice segues, too! Until LOGO came onto the scene (and I wasn't even aware of that channel until relatively recently), there weren't to my knowledge many mainstream outlets for GLBT comics, which is no doubt why I was only familiar with the very funny Stephanie Howard (through Comedy Central) at the time I first watched the video. And embarrassingly enough, I was mostly just familiar with Lea DeLaria's work as a jazz singer and actor when I rented the video. (How out-of-the-loop was I?) However, I was very impressed with the talent as well as the flow of the video. It made me want to attend the shows live and I plan to do so, although I live in New York.

OUTLAUGH! is more than just a documentary about a bunch of comedians putting on a show. It is far more important to our community than one would assume off the top. If you haven't rented this video yet, then please do so. Better yet – buy it! It's that important. And please be supportive of its underlying statement with regard to civil rights. And what better way to start the first of hopefully a very long series of OUTLAUGH! videos than with the one and only Lea DeLaria? Kudos to Mike Player and to everyone who had a hand in putting this together. And thanks to LOGO for running a series of segments of OUTLAUGH! 2006. Beyond the laughs, my thanks to them all for helping me get back into the loop! Peace. :o)