Giggle Fest
LOL with Comedian Dina MartinezCAPTURING AN audience’s attention is second nature to Dina Martinez. The once choir boy turned drag queen and now stand-up comedian feels as though she’s been in the spotlight since childhood.
“I always thought I’d be a professional singer growing up and spent a bit of time on acoustic music circuits and loved it before beginning to write screen and teleplays in high school,” Martinez says.
“I still enjoy writing for film and stage, but when I transitioned [to a different gender], I didn’t feel as comfortable singing and that’s when I became a busty, blonde showgirl. I eventually realized my more authentic self was a big-busted, wannabe soccer Mom— and comedian.”
Her current success on the comedic circuit didn’t happen overnight. Martinez had previously studied music and theater in high school and college, and later participated in a Comedy Brewery course taught by VH1 and MTV personality Michelle Buteau.She now credits on-the-job training by watching and interacting with other talented comedians as her best resource.
“Doing stand up, storytelling, writing and acting are simpatico. They all influence each other. Each audience is a little different in how they react to jokes or portions of my stories, which changes the way I deliver things. Heteronormative audiences ‘get’ me a lot better than I expected them to,” Martinez says. “I definitely use the objectification of trans bodies to break the ice and I’m bawdy. I talk a lot about sex because it is something we all understand. And it should be fun and funny, so I make fun of it.”
