Jessica Halem is the coolest person that I "sorta-kinda" know.
We both attended Kent Roosevelt High School in Kent, Ohio. Jessica was a year older than me. I don't recall us being friends, but we were in drama club together. I always thought that she was the epitome of cool. She marched to her own drummer and didn't seem to be affected by the same kinds of high school bullshit that I was.
Her mom (Sandra Perlman Halem) is a well known playwright and social activist. Her dad (Henry Halem) is a glass artist who, in addition to having pieces in museums all around the world, has a collection on exhibit in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.
They are both notable political activists and are considered radical even in the liberal academic bastion of Kent, Ohio. And, their influence was clearly seen in their daughter, even when she was a teen, as I remember Jessica as particularly outspoken, brave, smart... and, goofy. (She was voted Class Clown her senior year of high school for good reason!)
Halem graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in the mid-90s and went on to be a pivotal social activist working for women's rights, LGBT rights, health care and electoral reform. From there, she went onto develop a thriving career as a standup comic. She has met or worked with everyone from Gloria Steinem to Hilary Clinton to the Indigo Girls. She currently lives in New Orleans with her partner, Red Vaughan Tremmel, (who is a professor of history and gender studies at Tulane University).
I recently had a chance to catch up with Jessica via these here innerwebs and ask her a few questions about her life post Kent, Ohio...
How did growing up in the liberal bastion of the Midwest (Kent, Ohio) with two artists for parents help to shape you as a queer-feminist-activist funny lady?
It’s funny you remember it as a liberal bastion, which of course it is, in some ways, with such an important history. I remember it as hard in many ways. Maybe in the grand scheme of things it was “liberal” but my parents were real radicals compared to our surroundings. Having a feminist and anti-capitalist analysis made me unique. I wasn’t your average small town girl! I was absolutely shaped by my surroundings and thankful that I really got to develop all these parts [of myself].
You boast an impressive resume of people you've worked for and with. Reflecting upon all you've done and the amazing people you've had a chance to interact with, what would you say is your career highlight?
I had the incredible honor of working side by side with Bella Abzug for two years (1994-1996). Bella was the grandmother of the modern feminist movement, labor, civil rights, LGBT rights, environmental movements and a proud Democrat. I learned so much from Bella not only about the history she lived and created but how to organize, how to raise money, how to stay steady on the path of justice, doing the work everyday, while laughing and loving.
Is there any topic that you consider off limits for standup?
My stand up is all about me and my experience in the world so there is nothing off limits. I’m a safe subject. I do this to be the fool. I was gratefully raised with no shame. That helps a lot. I have learned the hard way that you can’t make fun of the folks who are writing the check. I just did an event where part of the night was to give a big huge insurance company an award. This is smack in the middle of the healthcare debate! I wish I was secure enough financially to have really ripped into them.
Is there any piece of advice that you feel is essential to follow that you'd give to young women who wanted to follow in your career footsteps?
Feel no shame. Let it go. It’s a constant daily battle to fight the ways the world would like you to feel shame. But if you can live without shame you will know no bounds. I truly believe it.
If you are in the Chicago area you can catch Jessica doing her standup at the Center on Halstead on 5 November. For a full list of tour dates, check out her website.
You can read more writing and random trips down memory lane by Kate Kotler on her website.