Hear You Loud & Queer
Never Not Humble
by: Jane Dillinger
Hear You Loud & Queer (HYLQ) is a monthly comedian showcase and a monthly open mic produced by Ally J Ward with her comedy partner and bestie, Mack Lee. Together, they have made HYLQ into a reliable home for queer comedians in Portland.
It may go unnoticed by people who aren’t queer, but choosing to highlight these voices creates a space for queer comedians to succeed and fail on their own merits, where bigotry towards our gender identity and sexuality isn’t an obstacle to whether or not the jokes land.
“The biggest reward has been hearing from audiences and even comedians that they appreciate going to a show and not being the butt of the joke.”
This November, during Transgender Awareness Month, Ally produced three sold-out comedy shows with all-transgender lineups. The shows also raised thousands of dollars for the surgery fund for Mx. Dahlia Belle, a local legend in the queer comedy scene. It is clear that Hear You Loud & Queer has grown into the heart of queer comedy in Portland.
The Voices of Hear You Loud & Queer
Ally and Mack are co-producers and a comedy duo who “bring out in each other a ‘shithead’ energy that we both really love to dive into,” Ally said. On stage, they will banter with each other and barb about production issues or cue each other up for a silly bit, their admiration shining through.
Ally brings dreaminess and sentimentality to the show, she said, “But then there’s also that kind of punk edge that Mack helps keep it on with which I really like having on the show. We have a relationship with a little bit of edge but still big-hearted.”
Ally chose to work with Mack because, “they’re a great comic and they’re a really great person,” Ally said. “They have really strong values. They’re also really organized and a great producer themselves.“
“The promotion got a lot better, the vision, the set of rules and standards that we hold at our mic and showcases. Working with Mack on that, it was probably the best decision I made.”
It was Mack’s idea to do biographies of the showcase comedians each day leading up to the show. This was used to great effect for the Halloween show where the posts included the comedian’s fears, which then became a bit at the show where the comedians had to face an incarnation of that fear.
The posts highlight the comedians’ favorite queer artists and adds songs to the growing Hear You Loud & Queer playlist. Ally said, “Mack’s really interested in learning what people are excited about in queer culture.”
Ally has a thriving friendship with Mack outside of producing the show, saying, “Mack is truly my best friend and I love them so much. I feel fortunate that I get to do this with them.”
The Big Trans Comedy Show
With the Big Trans Comedy Show, Ally brought over a dozen transgender comedians to the main stage at Curious Comedy Theater.
Curious is one of my favorite venues in the scene. It’s classy, charming, and accommodating. The staff are lovely from the door to the technicians to the bar and kitchen and theater management. The main stage is spacious and comfortable, with excellent lighting and sound. The chandelier light is romantic and the smell of their popcorn is always enticing.
It’s the kind of space that I loved being in with other trans people. Being in that audience felt like Ally and Mack didn’t just bring the show to the venue, but the trans community with them. I got to sit with a room full of other trans people and allies and revel in the delight of great performances. The experience left me feeling connected and more comfortable in the community.
The lineup represented a variety of comedic styles and voices, a fantastic arrangement. The material ranged widely from absurd and whimsical to pointed and poignant, and there were huge laughs for each act. I highly recommend catching an upcoming show with any of these featured comedians (links at the end of the article). They are each excellent representations of the best of what Portland has to offer to fans of stand-up.
Because there was a variety of timing and concepts and styles, there needed to be a flow of energy that worked to the strengths of the comedians. They were placed in an order that came off as thoughtful of both the comedian's styles and the audience’s energy levels during a long show.
Some comics were more dry or soft-spoken and, like Zora, Ally, and Lucky the Clown. Whereas Mack, Moisés da Silva, Mx. Dahlia Belle, and Carlos Kareem Windham were gleeful orators of heavier points of politics, culture, and experience. Imani, Roland & Muriel, Riley McCarthy, and Giggle Bottom boasted big and more silly performances that brought the room’s energy to its heights.
When designing the lineup, Ally said one of her goals was to highlight people of color in the scene and so specifically sought Zora, Moisés, Carlos, Mx. Dahlia Belle, and Imani.
Mx. Dahlia Belle, Moisés da Silva, Carlos Kareem Windham, Zora, and Imani. Photo: Hannah Hope.
Ally also wanted to bring the feeling of a variety show not exclusive to traditional stand up and added Roland & Muriel, Lucky the Clown, and improv by Giggle Bottom. An excellent variety-style moment was the beginning of Roland & Muriel where Roland came up crooning through the crowd, mingling with the audience. It was the perfect stage for an amazing act.
Trans comedy isn’t just about coming to terms with being transgender and resisting bigotry. It often includes a tilted lens on the world that sees parts of society that others don’t. Trans people have each deconstructed gender in one way or another, and I think from that grows a point of view that starts within the self and searches outwards for other discrepancies to understand, and that lends itself really well to telling jokes.
To see a dozen trans points-of-view in one show was a unique and valuable experience to my transgender heart. I was seeing a world beyond transgender as a novelty, and basking in it with a full room of people like me.
Top Row: Riley McCarthy, Ally J Ward, Zora, Mack, Muriel, Roland, Joe John Sanchez III (Giggle Bottom), Mx. Dahlia Belle, Carlos Kareem Windham, Imani. Bottom Row: Lucky the Clown, Moisés Da Silva, Devin Devine (Giggle Bottom). Photo: Hannah Hope.
Never Not Humble
During the success of the three biggest shows in their history, news broke that the venue for HYLQ would be closing by the end of the year. Mack and Ally were challenged with finding a new home for the showcase and open mic.
“Comedy is never not humbling,” she said. One week she opened a show in front of 200 people, and the next week played to a room of four. “We’ve had shows that sold out the main stage of Curious, and we’ve had shows where nobody showed up.
“I feel like that’s what comedy is: you have to roll with the good and bad, and hopefully you don’t let the really bad ones stop you from trying.”
Asking other comedians for advice when she was new to comedy helped prepare her for the inevitable bomb. “Everyone had the same advice: you’re going to bomb,” she said, “Hearing their experiences and expecting that helped me get through it.”
Plan for what you’ll do when you bomb, and when it does, take care of yourself and your emotions. Comedy not only tests your resilience and perseverance, but also trains them. You may experience bombing more than once in succession, but if you change your approach and try again, you are practicing and cultivating growth in yourself as a comedian and artist.
Ally said she is focusing on the successes with more intent, to put as much attention on the good times as she does analysis on the bad times, to prevent spiraling into ruminating isolation. “There’s a big balance of highs and lows in comedy and if you’re only focused on the lows in the last show, it sucks,” she laughed. “I feel like I’m doing better at focusing on the highs.”
These lessons were surely helpful when faced with the challenge of HYLQ’s venue suddenly closing. Another local venue shut down at the end of 2024, and so at least four shows lost their primary stage. Ally felt compelled to keep HYLQ going as the scene adjusts to the slightly smaller landscape.
“I believe in Hear You Loud & Queer enough that it will find a home. It may not be immediate. Clearly, HYLQ has had enough success to make me understand it's not worth just giving up. It just has a situation right now where it needs to find a new place to do it. There's people on board who want to bring in queer comedy, queer community, and I'm sure we'll find it.”
Advice for Others
I asked Ally if she had any parting words or advice to give to anyone who's thinking about producing their own show. She said it was important to find the producers of the shows you admire and respectfully ask as many questions as you can about how they do it.
Producers have to commit the time and energy not only to the logistics, but also to the comics. “Definitely understand if you have capacity for it. You have to show up for the people you’re booking. You have to do the work of promoting it. It’s not up to the people you book to promote the show.”
Ally also suggests understanding your motivations. “If you’re in it to make a profit and make money for yourself, then I don’t think it’s worth pursuing,” she said, “But if it’s about building community and doing a cool concept, and that kind of stuff, then do it for that.”
Ally’s big heart, love of comedy and goal of elevating queer voices in the comedy scene is what keeps her coming back to produce, and where she finds her motivation in the low times. “There aren’t a lot of traditional stand up shows that are just queer in Portland, and I’m proud that Hear You Loud & Queer is one of those.”
“I want to create spaces that people want to be in and feel good there. It’s about creating queer community and creating opportunities for people to see queer comedy. That’s the most important thing to me.”
Fortunately, in the time since our interview HYLQ has found a new home for 2025! Visit the show’s Instagram for details: (@hearyouloudandqueer)
Check Out Ally’s Other Shows!
Giggle Bottom | Punchlines & Piledrivers
Check out the Comedians Mentioned in this Article!
Ally J Ward | Carlos Kareem Windham | Devin Devine | Mx. Dahlia Belle
Imani | Joe John Sanchez III | Lucky the Clown | Mack Lee
Moisés Da Silva | Riley McCarthy | Roland & Muriel | Zora
Photography by
About the Author
Jane Dillinger is a queer comedian and writer in Portland, Oregon. See her at venues around the city and follow her on Instagram here: (@janethedillinger)