Sometimes a girl’s gotta do what a girl’s gotta do. Comedian and actress Kate Quigley unveils the secrets and failings of relationships in her stand up set this weekend at The Rec Room, presented by Comedy Hub Houston. It will be her first time performing in Houston, and we all know the laughs are bigger here. Many comedians have said it– Houston is just a good place to laugh! Kate Quigley found her passion for making people laugh in her early twenties. Often, our life plans stray from the path we originally imagined, many a time into a new road more fulfilling. Quigley blazed that road to stand up on a bus from Chicago to Los Angeles thirteen years ago.

Originally from Canton, Ohio, Quigley moved to Chicago with her now ex-husband. She majored in acting at the Chicago College of Performing Arts, but no degree actually prepares you for the lessons of life. After ten years of marriage, Quigley divorced from her musician husband and decided to turn a new page. Following a conversation with an elderly Chicago man, Quigley realized, “I don’t want to be on a bus in Chicago at 85 wishing I had gone to L.A.” and pursued what I’m most passionate about. To her surprise, it would be stand up comedy.

“My whole life I wanted to be an actor, and I did a lot of musical theater— which is hilarious […] but I didn’t have the passion I saw other people had until I did stand up.”

Moving to L.A. and being single again left Quigley feeling clueless, but fiery. When you’re really passionate about something you can say, “I would lose money doing that,” remarks Quigley. Most comedians would agree with that. Kate made the lessons of her love life, her uncertainty and her cluelessness about dating again into a joke. She found that most people were curious about how their partners think, and why the heck they think that way. Kate’s stand up peaks behind the veil of how men (and women) operate in relationship, and her podcast #DateFails features some epic stories of dates gone awry from celebrities, actors and athletes. 

“Comedy is a place to go to escape the things that stress you out.”

Kate Quigley has worked with Russell Simmons company, Playboy and has produced her own shows. She’s been featured on Fox and NBC, and hosted on MTV and Showtime. When asked what it’s like to be a female comic working in a male-dominated industry, she says it is a question of culture— not politics. Kate says, “sometimes we want to pin guys as being jerks, but really they’re just dumb”, and don’t understand women, or expect women to work within some artificial construct of femininity. She continues to fight these stereotypes with her stage presence and honest comedy.

For her Houston shows this Friday and Saturday, Kate says, “I want everyone to leave feeling like they learn something about the opposite sex, especially men”. The funniest material surfaces from being honest in our human failings, and it takes brave people like Kate Quigley to share those failings in front of a crowd.

Kate Quigley is performing at Rec Room this Friday and Saturday.