Julie Goldman Plays Winter Rendezvous Gay Ski Week in Vermont

By Eileen Shapiro

Beyond hysterically funny comedian Julie Goldman will be featured at this year's Winter Rendezvous Gay Ski Week in Stowe, Vermont. Gay Ski Week will take place from January 18 to 22 and promises to be a huge winter blast! Also featured will be voice impersonator Jimmy James and DJ Steve Marsden.

I caught up with Goldman, who has appeared on Logo and Bravo TV, and laughed throughout the entire conversation.

Shapiro: So you are going to be one of the featured entertainers at the Winter Rendezvous this year?

Goldman: I'll be doing the thing.

Shapiro: Tell me a little about yourself. Were you born funny?

Goldman: I started doing stand-up when I was 15. I went to Emerson College and pursued it there. I've been doing this forever, basically. I moved to New York and pursued theater, did improvs, did Logo, and then I moved to LA. I've done a bunch of TV and comedy specials and was on a show for Bravo called "The People's Couch," and now I'm waiting to see if "The People's Couch" will come back. It's been there for three seasons.

Shapiro: When you do stand-up, what if you come out and no one laughs?

Goldman:First of all, that's never happened. I mean, it's bound to happen to anyone. I think every comedian, especially every good comedian, has experienced bombing, not doing good, or just not jiving with the audience, and all you can do is forge through and try not to kill yourself when you get home. It's like having a bad date. Stand-up is just sort of like a date. It's going to go good, or it's going to go bad. Either way it could be you, it could be them, it could be both, but you just have to get through it.

Shapiro: You are a Jewish Lesbian. Do you think that helps you be funny or hurts?

Goldman: OMG, I think it helps. First of all, Jews are funny. Sorry, I don't know if that is stereotyping, but I just think it's a thing with Jews, and I'm a lesbian. I think that when you're a member of a community that is historically oppressed, or on the fringe, or maybe just not the majority, I think that offers you a really good sense of humor. I think that especially with Jews, all you are doing is questioning, complaining, talking and yelling and everything, and getting picked apart, and nothing is good enough, and it's negative, but it's positive. Everything is crazy, and I think that makes for a really good sense of humor. Certainly being a lesbian is part of that too. That's another group. Then being a woman, that's another group. I think Jewish lesbians are really funny, and I think Jewish women are extremely funny. Mel Brooks is my hero of all time, so do with that what you will.

Shapiro: You're based right now in LA?

Goldman: I'm based in LA.

Shapiro: Besides being on television, do you tour?

Goldman: I travel a ton. I go everywhere. I have a writing partner here, and she's the person I do the Bravo show with, so we're trying to do stuff here. We're trying to sell scripts. I really would like to stay here as much as possible. The goal is to get a TV show so you don't ever have to travel again. It's to stop doing stand-up and just bathe in money. I just did a guest star on the program "Curb Your Enthusiasm," and that was mind-blowing. That was like the dream job. You show up, you're vocal, there is no script, you improvise, and that to me was like a dream. It was so fun.

Shapiro: What do you plan to do at Winter Rendevous?

Goldman: I honestly don't know yet. I'm assuming I'm just doing a regular show. So what I plan is just to put on a 45-minute to an hour funny, outrageous show. I'm assuming it's going to be mostly gay guys, which are the most fun. I think with gay male audiences it's about having fun, being confident and not taking any shit, and yelling at them a little bit. I think that they are very appreciative. Yeah, agreed.

Shapiro: Is there anything else that you'd like to promote for yourself?

Goldman: My creative partner Brandy Howard and I are launching a podcast the first week of December, and it's called "Dumb Gay Politics." It should be fun. Our whole thing is that I'm gay, she's not, we're not that informed, but we're super passionate. I feel that there is going to be a lot of material in the upcoming months.