Funny lady Fortune Feimster

Comedian Fortune Feimster will perform at Blue Whale Comedy Festival on Sept. 10

A bona fide southern lady hailing from North Carolina, Fortune Feimster is a confident, charismatic comedian and actress who first found success on NBC’s reality competition “Last Comic Standing.” Her career blossomed from there—she went on to perform and write for “Chelsea Lately,” and can now be seen on Hulu’s “The Mindy Project” as Nurse Collette. On Saturday, September 10, Tulsans can see her perform at Cain’s Ballroom as one of the headliners at the Blue Whale Comedy Festival.

Feimster credits her deep-South roots for her storytelling acumen. 

“Being Southern, I grew up around a lot of storytellers, just interesting people who were full of life … they molded my ability to take a story and liven it up,” Feimster said. 

“Growing up I was definitely a lot shyer. I do remember, I had watched a Molly Shannon sketch on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ I came to school and did an impression of Mary Katherine Gallagher to my friends, and they seemed genuinely shocked that I had a sense of humor.”

Feimster blames her shyness on the fact that she hadn’t come into her own—or come out—yet. As a younger person, she hadn’t been able to acknowledge, or even understand, that she was a lesbian. “It wasn’t like I was in the closet, I just genuinely didn’t realize that’s what I was.”

After moving to Los Angeles in 2003, Feimster became a member of the Groundlings, the famed improv group that helped launch the careers of Phil Hartman, Lisa Kudrow, and Melissa McCarthy, among others. Once she got on stage, she was hooked on performing.

In 2005, at age 25, Feimster came out of the closet. In her stand up, Feimster frequently makes comedic hay out of her belated coming out. 

“Once I did, it was like this huge weight was lifted off my shoulders, and I think from then on I was able to really be myself a lot more,” she said. “So much of comedy is about being who you are, unapologetically. I was like ‘all right, this is who I am, love it or not!’ You can’t hide anything as a comedian. You have to be willing to go any and everywhere.”

In 2015, ABC bought the pilot to the sitcom “Family Fortune,” written by Feimster and Tina Fey, though the show didn’t receive a series order.

“The first episode was me coming out to my family, and I still think that show would have been a really important show. Even now you don’t see nearly enough representation of lesbians. You see stereotypical bitchy, gay guys or the sassy gay friend, but you don’t see a lot of just normal, regular lesbians.”

However, Feimster thinks it’s a great time for women in comedy, pointing to the increase in female-driven studio tentpoles like “Bridesmaids,” “Trainwreck,” and this summer’s “Ghostbusters” reboot.

“You’re seeing some pretty brilliant women get success. They worked hard and have earned it, and you’re finally starting to see female-centered movies doing well and women getting cast in bigger franchises. 

“I’m so sick of all these superhero movies. Batmans and Supermans. I’ve already seen it 20 times. I want to see real people, real characters. I just feel like women have a knack for tapping into something more relatable…women are usually the ones telling the more grounded stories. The ones you can relate to.”

Feimster recalled her childhood again—specifically growing up watching reruns of “The Carol Burnett Show” with her grandmother, which offered her a glimpse into the life she now leads. “She was just so awesome to watch. You just wanted to be her friend … And that was something I aspired to … A lot of the feedback I get from people who come to my show is ‘I want to be your friend.’”

Though her “Mindy Project” filming schedule proves prohibitive for taking her stand-up act on tour, Feimster delights in any opportunity to perform for a live audience, and her upcoming visit to Tulsa is no exception.

“I’m super pumped because it’s a rare treat to be on the road. So I encourage people to come to the show. It’ll be real good!” 

For more from Claire, read her profile of DeVon Douglass, organizer of the “Tulsa Talks” forums on police violence.