Meet Zoe Rogers | Comic and Stand Up Comedy teacher

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zoe Rogers and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zoe, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
My thought behind producing was that I wanted to put together more diverse line ups than I was seeing. Instead of having some big confrontation with producers that only booked straight white men, I lead by example and showed what an actual diverse show looked like. So often I see flyers on line, even now, that are all men and it is so tempting to just comment and say “book more women” but often that’s met with hostility, which isn’t to say I haven’t done that before. Fortunately I’ve also had producers reach out to me and asked for a list of female or diverse comics, so that creates room for a conversation about how there should always be women on their show-like more than one. Try half, it’s not hard, particularly in Colorado with a huge amount of talented people. I’ve co produced with people who pitch their list of comics and I have to say things like “there are no women in this line up” or “These comics are all white” or “where are your gay comics?”

My vision with teaching stand up was not only to teach people how to connect through vulnerable humor, but to create more women in comedy. I’ve had a lot of students and it’s always nice to be able to reach out to local producers and say “this class has a bunch of funny women that you could book for shows.” I called my company Highroad Comedy because even in times where I’ve dealt with difficult people, I remind myself to take the highroad, there’s less traffic.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I love comedy. I say that it cut into my crying on the bathroom floor time. When I started I had two little kids and to be honest, I felt really unheard. Comedy allowed me to voice what was crazy about parenthood and not feel alone. Having women come up and talk to me after shows was hugely validating. At the time it felt like there were only a handful of women and even less moms. If one of you was on a show, the rest weren’t because no one booked more than one woman. I liked creating a womens mic and a womens show, not only to show that it could be done, but that it’s a phenomenal show. I love teaching. I really like helping people find their funny. I love seeing students go on to do shows and really hold their own in the comedy world. I love doing Boulder Comedy Festival, it’s incredible to see the mix of voices and the love of comedy in the community. We have such a rich scene in Colorado.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I would bring them to some of my favorite trails and hikes, like Dakota Ridge. For food Picas and Efrains are delicious and for phenomenal coffee you want to go to Giovanetti on Main Street in Louisville. I love the view from The Acreage in Lafayette.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Yes, absolutely, my husband and kids because it’s a lot of juggling to make everything work. Sometimes my husband and I are ships passing because he works during the day and I work at night. This summer all the kids came out to help set up A Frames and signage for Boulder Comedy Festival at Boulder Creek Fest, and that was so awesome! Having three kids there’s a lot of coordinating pick up, after school activities and homework. I also have to give a huge shout out to awesome comics who will throw other peoples names out for opportunities. I think if you are consistent and reliable that puts you in the fortunate position of having people wanting to work with you again and vouch for you. Both of those things are huge.

Website: BoulderComedyFestival.com, ZoeRogersComedy.com

Instagram: Boulder_Comedy_Festival

Twitter: @BoulderFestival and @ZoeRogersComedy

Facebook: Facebook.com/Bococomedyfestival

Other: Info@BoulderComedyFestival.com

Image Credits
Matt Maenpaa at Foolish Endeavors Chris Bryant