The momedy circuit: Meet the local ladies making light of motherhood

When Lori Nemec started doing comedy, she decided to mine humor from her own adolescent experience of moving from Woodland Hills to clean-cut Mt Lebanon.

“I talk about the indoctrination process, and having to go through customs outside of the Fort Pitt Tunnel, and how you have to be deprogrammed,” says Nemec. “And how I’m so guilty of screwing up my own child, but that comes from my own mom screwing us up by doing that to us. It’s that trickle-down effect. It’s relatable because anybody who knows Pittsburgh knows how true that is because you can’t go from Woodland Hills to Mt Lebanon without being completely screwed up.”

To drive the point home, she playfully jokes how she was forced to pledge allegiance to Martha Stewart, adding, “Except now, you’re pledging your allegiance to Rachael Ray because Martha Stewart spent time in the pokey and you can’t tarnish the reputation of Mt Lebanon.”

As the Pittsburgh comedy scene grows, with venues such as the Arcade Comedy Theater located Downtown, The Oaks Theater in Oakmont and more hosting local comedians, moms such as Nemec are bringing their own brand of comedy to the stage by riffing on the trials and travails of raising a family.

Nemec, a 43-year-old marketing and communications professional who now lives in Scott Township, had always wanted to try comedy, but only recently decided to pursue it when a lay-off and two brain surgeries left her needing some time to herself.

“This has been something that I’ve wanted to do since I was 20 years old, and I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin for so many years,” says Nemec.

Two years ago, she started taking stand-up, improv and sketch writing workshops at the Arcade Comedy Theater, where she found a “super supportive” group who gave her the confidence to get on stage. Over the past few months, she’s performed sets at the Arcade Comedy Theater, and at the Lawrenceville clubs Cattivo, Brillobox and Belvederes Ultra-Dive.

She views comedy as a catharsis that allows her to be brutally honesty about raising her 8-year-old son with her ex-husband, from whom she’s amicably divorced. While she admits some people may find her material shocking, she finds that it resonates with parents who’ve had similar thoughts, but never wanted to admit it.

“It’s completely inappropriate but people get that,” says Nemec. “It’s ridiculous, but it’s relatable to a lot of really screwed-up parents.”

Though she regrets waiting so long to do comedy, Nemec says she’s grateful to hone her a craft in a time when women are carving out their own niche in a typically male-dominated scene.

“It’s really nice that we’re in a time right now where women have totally kicked the doors down,” says Nemec. “It’s not like 10 years ago.”

Take my kids, please!

“It’s amazing how a body that can hold another human being inside of it can’t contain its own pee,” Stephanie Jankowski muses in her humor blog When Crazy Meets Exhaustion while candidly relating her post-baby incontinence issues.

The certified English teacher and mother of three children – now ages 7, 5 and 2 – started the blog in 2011 after having her second child.

“We were drowning in parenthood over here,” says Jankowski. “My kids are only 22 months apart, and I was slowly losing my mind. And I thought, I need to get back into the writing thing, which I’ve always loved.”

Like Nemec, Jankowski also views laughter as a therapy for dealing with parenthood, though she takes a less edgy approach. Her posts put a humorous spin on everything from the struggles of potty training to the pressures of creating a Pinterest-perfect life. Jankowski, who lives in Allegheny Township, Westmoreland County, also offers tips, giveaways and sponsored deals to fellow parents.

Not long after entering the blogosphere, Jankowski became the co-director of Listen to Your Mother (LTYM). Created by Wisconsin-based humorist and author Ann Imig, the nationally produced show features a cavalcade of funny women who poke fun at what Jakowski calls “the good, bad, ugly and everything in between” of motherhood.

Jankowski, along with fellow writers Amanda Mushro and Jennifer Hicks, decided to organize their own LTYM show.

“This was our chance to be real about motherhood in a very large capacity on stage,” says Jankowski.

The Pittsburgh leg of LTYM made its debut at the Hillman Center for Performing Arts in Fox Chapel. Last Mother’s Day, they performed their sophomore show at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh Lecture Hall. Both shows are available to view on the LTYM Youtube channel. Jankowski says they plan on hosting open-call auditions for the next LTYM show.

One of the things Jankowski values most about doing comedy is the opportunity to connect with other women who understand her experiences as mom. “I get it. I’ve been there. And we can laugh about it together. That sense of community I think is better than any paycheck.”

Are there any moms in the audience tonight?

Three years ago, local improv performer Tessa Karel founded Penny Arcade with grants from PNC and Open Up PGH. The program, which has been under the direction of Arcade Creative Director Abby Fudor since January 2016, provides an environment where people of all ages, kids and grown-ups, can participate in improv activities.

The class may be designed for kids, but Karel says parents, especially moms, can’t help but take part in the fun.

“I have witnessed mothers bond with their children as they encourage them to come up with creative input, often prompting kids to think of some ideas for character names from stories they likely share together,” says Karel. “We have even had two mothers show interest in joining the cast without any real improv experience, and they were very impressive performers.”

Some local performers have even found a way to make stand-up comedy — an art form usually associated with smoky nightclubs and profanity-strewn open mic nights — family-friendly.

Pittsburgh comedy vet Gab Bonesso started doing adult-oriented stand-up in 2004 and embarked on a career that included a radio show, touring with American Eagle Outfitters and weekend gigs in New York City. In 2012, she partnered with musician Josh Verbanets to create the Josh and Gab Show, an anti-bullying comedy program based on her own experiences being bullied as a child. The two took their act to various Pittsburgh schools, where Bonesso started gathering material during audience improv sessions.

“When I started doing the Josh and Gab show, most of my jokes and storytelling were all about being bullied,” says Bonesso. “But then I did all this improv with the kids and I would find myself riffing on different subjects.”

Since then, Bonesso has performed kid-friendly solo shows at the Bricolage Theater, Arcade Comedy Theater and during the annual New Year’s Eve celebration First Night. She’s also in talks to do 20-minute sets on the weekends at the Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

But while her material contains plenty of kid-approved subject matter, from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to animal impersonations, she makes sure moms in the crowd can enjoy themselves as well.

“I do it more as family-friendly because I always try to keep jokes in for the grown-ups who are bringing the kids to the show,” says Bonesso. “Whenever I do stand-up for families, I call myself child lady, just because I feel like that’s truly what I am. I’m not a mom; I have no intention of becoming a mom. I like being the kid.”