Comedy Creativity and Vaginas

It all started when my co-writer, Orla Doherty, kicked her gynaecologist in the face.

I suppose I should point out that it was entirely accidental and no harm was caused to anything other than Orla’s dignity. In fact, she wrote about the experience here; Orla that is, not the gynaecologist, who doubtless had more pressing things to attend to; vaginas, fallopian tubes and the like.

I’m going to be honest, I’m glad she kicked her in the face. Orla’s kung-fu stirrup shenanigans inspired our co-written screenplay, Men Oh! Pause, which was recently longlisted for Female Pilot Club. This inspired us to scale up our story into a full sitcom pilot episode.

Orla and I met in our online writing group, Writers Ink, a group moderated by Irish crime writer Sam Blake and journalist and coach, Maria McHale. We bonded over a piece of fiction I wrote about a sunburnt bottom. I’d love to attribute the crispy buttocks anecdote to someone other than myself but alas, the story is grounded in reality. A reality where I incinerated my derriere snorkelling in Mexico many, many moons ago and learned a valuable life lesson about the merits of a thorough application of factor fifty.

But what life experience do we bring to our screenplay? Well, Orla is a twice-divorced, perimenopausal lesbian. I like to describe myself as a comedy-writing accountant. I’m also a strung-out mother of three teenagers. I turn fifty this year and the mysteries of peri-menopause haven’t hit me…yet. I have big plans to barrel on through to the other side without a hot flush, a night sweat or a packet of HRT stickers although Mother Nature might have other ideas for me. Bring it on, I say. I need new content.

On the subject of creativity and vaginas, Lady Gaga is quoted as saying that she had a weird feeling that if she slept with someone, they might steal her creativity through her vagina. How might one test that theory? Perhaps a quick before-and-after comparison might work. One might need a control group to empirically test the hypothesis: I’m not about to volunteer. But the point remains that Orla and I now have something in common with the greatness that is Gaga – a link between vaginas and creativity. Which makes sense. We are, after all, Funny Women.