Lady Parts is hosting their yearly comedy show, Women in Comedy (WOMCOM), on Nov. 9 at 7 p.m.
The event costs a $5 admission fee, with all proceeds going straight to The Cocoon. Lady Parts Director, Vidya Niroula is spearheading the event.
“On the ninth, we have a charity show called WOMCOM. It stands for women in comedy, and every year we have this show in order to raise funds for The Cocoon,” Niroula explained.
Even though the $5 admission fee is optional, Niroula urges students to donate as it goes straight to the charity.
“Admission is a suggested donation of $5 obviously, if people want to attend and they can’t afford $5 because we’re college students, they’re welcome to come watch the show. It’s just the $5 go straight to The Cocoon,” Niroula said.
The show will be held in the BGSU Student Union Theater (Room 206). Along with the $5 admission, there will be other ways to donate to The Cocoon.
“As of now, we have over $200 worth of gift certificates to raffle off, and the raffle tickets are only one dollar,” Niroula said.
Some of the businesses that donated for the event are Indigo Mystics Spiritual Wellness, Broad Wing Tattoos and Body Piercings, Coyote Beads & Jewelry, Goat Records, Mr. Spots and Qdoba Mexican Eats.
“Companies are still actually reaching out and giving us more donations, which is awesome. We went to around 43 businesses this year, me and my assistant director Lily Sharp, we went to each of the businesses in person asking for donations,” Niroula said.
All proceeds from WOMCOM are going to The Cocoon, “a shelter for domestic violence that women can go to when they’re feeling unsafe,” Niroula explained.
“We’re not even looking to make like the equivalent of what we’ve gotten donated, because anything helps at all, just like the fact that we can do anything to give back to the cocoon is awesome,” Niroula said.
The Cocoon will be at the event and will speak before it starts. Performing at the event will be Lady Parts, other women in campus improv groups, and students who auditioned specifically for the show.
“We had auditions last week, and basically anyone who goes by, she/her pronouns or gender non-conforming pronouns can be part of the show,” Niroula said.
Also joining the show are two women from The Plastic Shatners, another improv group on campus, but not all performances are comedy routines.
“It doesn’t have to be a comedy. It can be any performance. This year we have someone singing and playing their guitar at the show,” Niroula said.
The event will also be streamed on Twitch, where virtual attendees can donate to The Cocoon online.
“We’re live streaming on Twitch. That way parents, friends and family who can’t travel all the way to Bowling Green for this event can watch the show and enjoy it from the comfort of their homes,” Niroula said.
WOMCOM has been going on for many years, it’s actually how Lady Parts formed into a campus improv group.
“Shatner’s and Bad Genetics were the two improv teams that were on campus and all the women on those two teams decided to do a show to raise money for The Cocoon called ‘Women in Comedy,’” Niroula said. “It was supposed to be just like one show, but they enjoyed having the stage so much and working with other women. So after that, Lady Parts was formed, because they really enjoyed working together in that safe environment.”
Lady Parts and all other on-campus improv groups have continued to make this event a tradition in order to help The Cocoon.
“It’s always nice to be able to contribute, to be the reason that they can keep their doors open and continue to do what they do while being a nonprofit,” Niroula said.
Niroula urges students to come to the show not to support Lady Parts, but to support The Cocoon, the reason Women in Comedy started.
“This isn’t a Lady Parts event, this is an event for The Cocoon. We are women in comedy and we need to all work together in order to make this a success,” Niroula said.
