The Accessibility Manifesto
Why Was QUICKIE Formed?
A Need For Accessibility
Comedians can often seem like an elitist group. In many ways that is true.
Whilst most famous comedians are (of course) genuinely talented and have put lots of effort in to building their career, there is still a level of privilege often required to allow for the oppotunities.
Consider stand-up comedy; regarded as the first step for comedians to gain noteriety. There is no doubt that the people who can compete and succeed in these "circuits" are motivated, committed, and good at all the aspects of performing. By no means should we say that all comedians are successful due only to nepotism. But what is overlooked is that comedy is not just about gaining fame and money, but is also a hobby and can be done as artistic and activist expression. The visciousness of the stand-up circuits do not allow for this enjoyment or casual approach.
Think about all the costs this involves:
Time
It is recommended to do at least two performances a week to gain a following and experience.
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If you only have two comedy clubs near you, that means you need a new 5 minute set written every week.
Money
It costs money to travel to the clubs, to pay for entry, to have a few drinks before, to have a few drinks after to network with other performers.
Props also cost money, and having to work part-time to give the oppotunity to go to these places means less paid hours.
Energy
Writing and performing multiple routines a week can be draining on your energy, especially if you have mental health difficulties.
Social Life
There is less time to socialise or rest if you spend your free time focused on content. Furthermore, it can strain social lives as clubs can require performers to "bring" a guest (a shady business practise), meaning you have to ensure you have friends who have time and money to allow you to enter the industry.
Also, we must consider social, political, and demographic factors that can affect participation in stand-up comedy circuits:
Anonymity
This includes pseudonyms, no last names, hidden personal details (such as voice and face), and to be marked as "Anon" only.
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Our very important ethics forms and option to withdraw at any time means your information is protected by our team.
Location
Most comedy clubs are in cities, and those that specialise in queer comedy are even more likely to be in just a few select locations.
If you aren't in these areas, and don't have the time or money to travel into such cities, then you are excluded.
Disability
If someone has physical or mental impairments, they may be unable to travel to places, navigate the buildings (many are in basements with no lifts), or perform without speech difficulties and anxiety attacks.
Life
Children, partners, parents, and other family caring responsibilities take priority and can't be frequently dropped.
Also, traumatic circumstances such as bereavement, injury, PTSD, and many other uncontrollable factors means its hard to re-enter circuits after an extended absence
Saftey
Marginalised groups are more at risk of crimes and systematic violence.
This is especially true if you are alone and in an area you are unfamiliar with, often late at night when the comedy clubs close.
So, by all means we should not undermine the talents and sacrifices of stand-up comedians, or ignore that many queer, black, disabled etc. comedians have battled through this system to gain their success. However, we should also not say this is a perfect environment, and not find more inclusive alternatives.
What is the only "inclusive" alternative for sharing comedy?
The internet.
Why is "inclusive" in sarcastic quotation marks?
Because the internet is controlled by the mysterious algorithm, which isn't actually mysterious but is instead a bunch of rich white men in Silicon Valley who decide what content is good for their main goal of increasing the shares of right-wing capitalist corporations, and what content is bad (things critical of the aforementioned money-hungry circle jerk).
Basically, whislt the internet can solve many of the problems mentioned before, it still requires lots of time and energy, often at the expense of personal online saftey and life responsibilities, and due to the algorithm it still requires content at least twice, likely more times, a week.
If you are an amateur who wants to do this for fun when you can, then your only option is to accept minimal engagement regardless of the quality of your project. Your choice is then to pivot to AI slop, or, I guess, find a group that aims to address all these issues.
Oh wait... that's us.
So, why was QUICKIE formed?
To make queer comedy more accessible.
And how will we achieve this?
Well...
The Option for Anonymity
This includes pseudonyms, no last names, hidden persoanl details (such as voice and face), and to be marked as "Anon" only.
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Our very important ethics forms and option to withdraw at any time means your information is protected by our team.
The Cost Is Up To You
We have no deadlines and no pressures to generate more content. You can send us your projects at your own pace with no consequences. The time and energy cost is up to you.
No Travel Necessary
Everything is online and any events we have planned will hopefully have "from home" options as well.
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Therefore, if you can do it safely in your room then you can do it!
Quality over Quantity
Audiences who enjoy your content have direct links to any other projects you want to share from your "business" account (your comedy account, not your personal one).
Therefore, one good project can generate more fans and enjoyment than constant slop.
Better as a Community
No need to worry about making a post a day, as the workload for the algorithm is done as a group.
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The community also means help with comedy ideas, and support against queerphobia experienced online.
Overall, if this sounds like the much needed refuge for both creators and audiences, then please share, follow, but most importantly:
JOIN US FOR A QUICKIE!