Sitting in front of me is Hannah Gadsby. On my computer. It’s very disconcerting.
For both of us. We are here to talk about “Woof!”— their new comedy show, which lands in L.A.
, for one night only this Sunday at the United Theater on Broadway. Gadsby has had a huge impact on me as an artist: inspiring my stand-up persona, 7G, to be as fearless as them in comedy while working through my greatest hits of trans, intersex and queer trauma history, with an audience. I tell Gadsby I’m wearing blue as I know it’s their favorite color and blue is very calming for their autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
Meanwhile, it’s not calming me. My serenity has slid and I’m sweating and getting more anxious by the second. Thankfully, for both of us, my emotional support beagle, Scotty, runs in from the yard and gayly jumps on the sofa.
I introduce him to Gadsby, and they call their off-camera wife, Jenno (producer Jenney Shamash, to you and I) to admire him too. We all agree he is a very good boy, and start to relax. Back to the tour, our mutually devoted dog love-in is a perfect segue into talking about “Woof!” and how the tour is going.
“It’s been going really well, we’re just about wrapping up, which I’m not terribly sad about. The show is finally in its final form. I’m always fiddling with the show, as I tour it.
” Gadsby’s show “Douglas” was named after their now sadly departed dog. Asked about the origins of “Woof” Gadsby wasn’t giving very much away.
