Comedian and drag queen activist Karla Marx joins us on Close-Up Culture to discuss her role in the new show, Comedy Invasion.
Comedy Invasion is the first TV series of its kind featuring comics who are either from the disabled, BIPOC, LGBTQIA+ and/or female community. It is set to make its premiere on Amazon Prime on November 29th.
Hi Karla, welcome to Close-Up Culture. Can you tell us about your background and how you got into performing?
I started hosting burlesque shows 6 years ago, as my partner Bitch Sassidy is an amazing burlesque performer. Eventually she said I was so sassy that I should just become a drag queen and so I did. Soon I learned that my favourite thing about performing was making people laugh. I host a lot of drag and cabaret shows and made a lot of little bits to add comedy to my shows. Eventually my friend Victoria Banner, who is also in Comedy Invasion, urged me to pull those bits together into a 10 minute stand up set and I jumped into stand up comedy.
You are one of the comics featured on the new show, Comedy Invasion. What can audiences expect from your appearance in the show?
Queer audiences will love it, and straight audiences will find it very educational. I talk about my experiences as a transgender lesbian woman, which sometimes is the first time mainstream audiences have heard from a queer person like myself. I really try to show that trans people have lived experiences like everyone else and find the humour in those daily moments.
What was your experience like working on the show?
It was so wonderful. Quentin and the whole crew were so lovely! It was great to go to Vancouver to film the show.
What does comedy bring to your life? And who are some of your biggest inspirations?
Comedy is an amazing way to connect with people. I find that people laugh at jokes when there is a sense of shared experience and reaction. Comedy is a way that I can take cis straight people into my world for a moment and connect with them on a very human level. I’ve always been inspired by Alaska, Bianca del Rio, and Rosa Luxemburg. Solidarity!
What are your plans and ambitions for the future?
I’m looking forward to touring the UK again in Spring 2023. I did a tour of UK and France in April 2022 and I’m looking forward to coming back next year for more gigs.
Follow Karla on Instagram – Karla Marx (@karla.marx1917) • Instagram photos and videos