Cara Connors: Straight For Pay

“Honestly, I’ve only gotten more unhinged with each show,”

Wanna see someone have a nervous breakdown on stage this week? Cara Connors has you covered.
Currently in the midst of their first national stand-up tour, Straight for Pay, Connors is an absolute
comedy mercenary. They have been leveling audiences in towns all over the country with their unique,
experimental, alternative and, well, very gay performance, then heading out for their next assignment.
This Tuesday (June 7), Connors will be at Comedy Corner Underground for a special one-night only
engagement.

From Catholicism to their dating life, Connors says they developed a show that is autobiographical and
has grown and developed over the past two years.

“I did an early version of this hour at the New York Comedy Festival right before COVID,” they said.
“Then I brought it back maybe six months ago. I started hosting this weird, outdoor collective and just
asking queer comedians I knew to come on board. I was developing a new 15 minutes of material every
month and dug into the writing. After four or five shows, I decided I wanted to combine that with the
hour I did in New York and take it out under the Straight for Pay name.”

Though they are eager to get the show on the road and bring it to as many places as possible, Connors
says they didn’t worry about playing to a certain audience or trying to appeal to everyone.

“There have been shows where it’s 90 percent straight people, which is totally cool because I feel like
I’m an ally to straight people and can relate to their experience,” they say. “Then there have been shows
where it’s 90 percent queer people and it’s like an unofficial Pride event.”

Regardless of the venue, Connors says they want to remain authentic and let the audience come to
them.

“I want my comedy to be universal and I feel like it does have that very universal appeal, but for me this
show is so personal and I figure that people who are interested in me and the kind of experimental
comedy world are going to find me, so I’m not going to worry about appealing to everyone.”

Beyond this week, Connors plans on bringing Straight for Pay everywhere from Atlanta to Dublin this
summer, before finally putting the show to bed.

“This is the sharper, sassier version of the show,” they say. “I’ve been doing like 50 minutes of the
polished up version in every city, and then doing like 10 or 15 new minutes just to build out my new
hour. After this leg of the tour I’ll sit down and decide if I want to put it out as an album or special, or
shop it around to streamers. But for my own sanity, I’m going to call it the end of the official tour.”
For now, however, Connors has full accepted their role in creating a physical, responsive, one-of-a-kind
comedy experience every night of the tour, and the show Tuesday will be no different.

“Honestly, I’ve only gotten more unhinged with each show,” they laugh, half-joking. “As people start to
appreciate me having a slow-boil nervous breakdown on stage for an hour, it has only emboldened me
to lean into that more. The mask won’t come off at this point.”

IF YOU GO:
Cara Connors: Straight for Pay

Tuesday, June 7
Comedy Corner Underground
8 PM, $15-$20. TICKETS + INFO >>