Female comedy group the Kates got their name from the unconventional venue in which they debuted, Kate the Great’s Book Emporium in Edgewater. At the time, it was just stand-up comedian Kelsie Huff running the operation: she recruited her female friends to perform comedy (mostly stand-up, but occasionally improv and sketch) and tell stories at indie bookstores across the city. Now, nine years later, they put on regular events at the Book Cellar, have hit more conventional stages like the Laugh Factory, and have built up a roster of more than 500 women who are involved both in front of and behind the scenes, including a core unit of nine female producers.
And as the group expands, they’re also looking beyond Chicago: they hope to send their act to bookstores, warehouses, and other unconventional venues in towns that don’t have positive and supportive performance environments for women.
Includes a whiskey tasting Fri 9/16, 7 PM Koval Distillery 5121 N. Ravenswood thekates.org 21+
$22
