Men We Love: Miguel Lepe

Miguel Lepe is someone who is always uplifting women and people of color in the comedy community. As a Latino Man and Father, today is a great day to talk about a man we love on Father's Day.

Women In Comedy: What made you pursue a career in comedy?

Miguel Lepe: I never knew I wanted a career in comedy growing up. I went to film school and never had an interest to be in front of the camera. Just for something fun to do, I took an improv class at Second City and the moment I was hooked was making the entire class burst into laughter. I realized this is something I'm good at, I feel a sense of purpose, and it's a shit-ton of fun. Am I allowed to swear on this thing?

Women In Comedy: At what point did you decide to venture out on your own and wear more of the producer and director hats?

Miguel Lepe: Being a producer/director has always been a goal of mine. Before comedy, the goal was directing for the screen but now I produce/direct both live shows and videos.

Women In Comedy: Why do you think it's important to include women in your shows?

Miguel Lepe: In this day and age of "equality" it shouldn't even be a question of whether to include women in comedy. What we do is a reflection of day to day life and everyone is part of that. However, if there is a lack of women, then it's important to make sure they are represented.

Women In Comedy: Have you ever been in a situation where you saw a woman being discriminated against in comedy on the basis of her sex? If so, did you speak up for her? How so?

Miguel Lepe: Maybe I've been sheltered or just not around enough, but I honestly do not recall having seen a woman be discriminated against. I am aware of situations because of stories shared in person or online.

Women In Comedy: You are the father of a beautiful young daughter - hypothetically speaking - let's say she wants to follow in daddy's footsteps - what type of ideal comedy world would you like to see her pursue a career in?

Miguel Lepe: I would be so excited if she wanted to be in comedy. She already seems to enjoy the attention and making people laugh or even just laughing at me. An ideal world would have her being accepted based on her talent alone and not by her race, gender or any other stereotype. It'd be cool if she got paid for it too.

Women In Comedy: You created a show called 4 skins of comedy. Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind this show?

Miguel Lepe: The idea grew out of a joke I had with a friend. We thought it'd be cool to get 4 players of different ethnicities and call ourselves The 4 Skins. We just disgusted ourselves and laughed it off. Couple years later, the comedy scene was called out for offering most opportunities to white male comedians. I started noticing that most showcases began featuring only black comedians, only latino comedians, only female comedians, or all white comedians with a token minority. So why not have a showcase that featured the talent of various ethnicities in various mediums? Not just improv, but solo material, spoken word, stand up, etc. There is so much out there to showcase without constricting it to one ethnicity, gender, or style. Once I had the format down there was only 1 title for it stuck in my head.

Women In Comedy: You created a web series called My Lengua. What was important to you about creating this?

Miguel Lepe: My Lengua was a story I wanted to tell for a long time about my experiences/challenges with my native language. I'm a Latino who doesn't speak Spanish fluently. Everyone knows that Latinos are underrepresented in media and often stereotyped but there are so many Latinos who can't speak Spanish and presenting that POV was very important. On stage I have no problem playing into stereotypes, I do it all the time. But when it came to My Lengua, it was important to tell the story of a guy struggling with his culture without stereotypical characters.

Women In Comedy: If you could give one piece of advice to other men in the community on how they can be allies to women in rehearsals, classes, on stage, on set, or otherwise - what would it be?

Miguel Lepe: For starters, put yourself in their shoes, and I don't mean just play a female role. Put yourself and your emotions in a vulnerable position. You will realize how quickly some jokes are not funny. Also, don't just say supportive words because you want to come off as one of the good guys, just be a good guy. In times like these, we need to take the spotlight off ourselves...so... maybe this interview is a bit contradictory? Am I a hypocrite?