The fifth edition of Persisticon is happening this Sunday — a spectacular mash-up of comedy and feminist-electing/pro-choice activism with this year’s crew including Judy Gold, Murray Hill, Jay Jurden and Remy Kassimir, plus a big ol’ fancy bake sale all benefitting EMILYs List and NY Abortion Access Fund. We thought we’d ask Diana Kane — one of the founders, and regular TueNighter — about Persiticon’s activism, art and wildest moment. 👀
How did Persisticon start?
It sprung from of a conversation I had with Lunachicks singer Theo Kogan one morning as we vented our ongoing frustration and outrage with the state of our political landscape. There’s that Molly Ivins quote: “The thing is this: You got to have fun while you’re fightin’ for freedom, ‘cause you don't always win.” We realized that whatever we did needed to be fun. Living in outrage is no way to live. We invited our friends Lynn Harris (Gold Comedy) and Leslie King, and then filmmaker Ferne Pearlstein came across us conspiring at our very first meeting in Park Slope and instantly wanted in — and the team grew from there. We held our first event at the Bell House in 2018.
What was your goal?
To bring together a few of our favorite things — comedy and art — and put them into the service of getting more pro-choice democratic women into office. In Federal-level offices in the US, barely 20% of higher-office elected officials are women. Even fewer are WOC. Secondly, we have an ongoing frustration with the make up of most comedy/festival/musical show lineups, which often feature one woman, if you’re lucky, or at best continue to give only about 20% of stage time to women.
Wildest/wackiest moment from a past Persisticon?
Bridget Everett’s tits, which intentionally sprang from her silver-sequined dress in a climactic moment, scandalizing and thrilling our audience in equal measure. The entire room became fans for life on the spot. It’s been a thrill to watch her career soar, most recently in Somebody Somewhere on HBO, which also features the Persisticon V emcee and our host extraordinaire, Murray Hill!
Persisticon V: In Us We Trust, Sunday October 3, 7:30pm, The Bell House, Brooklyn. Tickets $34