It has been a couple of years since queer feminist comic Jessica Halem left Chicago but she occasionally returns—and will be back March 20 to perform at Congregation Or Chadash's annual gala, which will honor Howard Wax, Rob Pooley and civil-rights attorney Joey Mogul. Halem talked with Windy City Times about New Orleans ( where she now resides ) , going to Sarah Lawrence and what she misses about Chicago.
Windy City Times: I didn't know you grew up in Kent, Ohio.
Jessica Halem: Oh, yeah! My dad [ Henry Halem ] taught glass and glass-blowing at Kent State for 30 years; my mother is also intimately involved with Kent State. They arrived in Kent—they're New York Jews, as you can imagine. They were East Coast Jews, and they arrived in Kent, Ohio; they were on a lot of drugs and I think they were supposed to be at Penn State. [ Interviewer laughs. ] They got there just before the [ 1970 campus ] shootings, and they really helped to keep the school going; they got involved in the aftermath that Kent State went through, and now they're like a bedrock for that community.
WCT: [ Joking ] And when I saw you went to Sarah Lawrence [ College ] , I said, "Say no more."
Jessica Halem: [ Laughs ] You know, that's so funny because in Chicago they either know Sarah Lawrence or they don't. I never understand the anxiety about having to come out to people as queer because all I have to do is mention I went to Sarah Lawrence and people go, "Oh..."
WCT: What do you miss about Chicago?
Jessica Halem: The people, first and foremost; I just had so many friends. And—oh, my God—you know what I really miss? I miss my clout. I miss knowing where to go to get things printed, I miss knowing what restaurant is going to help me do a fundraiser and I miss knowing the bars where I can get free drinks. This no-clout thing in this new city really sucks.
WCT: I can believe it; you have to establish it again.
Jessica Halem: It takes forever! I walk into lesbian events—and no one looks at me. It's terrible.
I showed up at my first lesbian event here in New Orleans and I got completely overdressed. I got all femmed up, I looked super-super-cute—lipstick and all—and I walked in, smiling, saying "I'm here." It was like something out of a bad movie—the lesbians turned around, looked at me and turned back around to their friends. I was like, "But I'm Jessica Halem!" [ Interviewer laughs. ] Right before I left Chicago, I had some friends who suggested I create cards I could give to people that say, "I know I might come across as kind of crazy but really, in time, you'll like me." [ Both laugh. ]
WCT: So what led you from the Pacific Northwest [ where you moved after leaving Chicago ] to New Orleans?
Jessica Halem: Red [ Halem's partner ] was working on a Ph.D. for a long time. When he finally finished the Ph.D.—and Red goes by "he" now because he's so super-cool—he got a job in the Pacific Northwest. But with the academic job market being what it is, you have to go where the jobs are; now we're in New Orleans, where he's teaching at Tulane.
WCT: What is New Orleans like after [ Hurricane ] Katrina? I've heard that some areas are back to normal and others still look like Katrina hit them yesterday.
Jessica Halem: Yeah. Well, the thing you need to know is that it had been a slow Katrina before this storm and the levees broke. New Orleans had been a pretty economically devastated city for a while; the oil-and-gas industry had shifted away from the Gulf Coast. Things had been pretty bad in terms of infrastructure, government accountability, social-service support for a long time. This city has always had a pretty large poor population, although it's pretty resilient.
When Katrina hit and the levees failed—and that is important to know—it just sped up what had been happening all along. The lesson is that when crises hit, you're stuck with what you had before the storm—so if you have a government that's not taking care of its people ( local and national ) and people who are struggling—you're going to be hit with what was hard before. What's happening now is quite exciting. Some parts of the city do look like Katrina's just hit, but in the midst of all that is an amazing, resilient population [ made up of ] residents who lived here before the storm and folks who arrived after the storm. There's a chance to rebuild in a new way.
So when people say, "It's not what it was," I say, "The folks down here are pretty fine with that. They don't want it to be like it was. They want it to be better than what it was." So everything is being re-invented: local economy, food issues, small business.
It's also great to be down here in terms of nightlife. This is a nighttime city; they really like to party, as you know.
WCT: And in the Pacific Northwest?
Jessica Halem: I remember sitting in a bar in Portland—and it's one of my favorite bars—and I remember the line at the bar was out the door because the bartenders would take their own sweet time making drinks. No one runs a bar like Chicago, I have to say. Bartenders know how to serve good drinks quickly, and know how to serve everybody. You go to a bar in Portland and you could stand there and the bartender is taking great care to pour the beer. I'm like, "Just pour the beer!" [ Interviewer laughs. ] I do miss the Chicago bars immensely.
WCT: For some reason, I have trouble imagine living anywhere other than Chicago.
Jessica Halem: For sure, Chicago is a hard place to leave. As somebody who loves getting to know people and learning from them, I see myself as a citizen of the whole country. I travel as much as I can, doing shows and just being in other cities. Getting out of Chicago helped me; I see many cities as my home but Chicago is very special. It was so good to me for 12 years; I will always consider it my adopted home.
WCT: And speaking of Chicago, what can people expect at your March 20 show?
Jessica Halem: I think people can expect a lot of conversation about how religion and spirituality and how institutions like Or Chadash are really getting us through these times as well as what role being Jewish has played in my life. I'm not a very religious Jew, but the good part about being Jewish is that you don't have to be religious to be Jewish. And I'm exciting to help a very grassroots effort amongst queer Jews in Chicago to keep the synagogue going.
My number-one goal is to bring levity and light to the folks who are going to be there—this is a stressful time for people. I'm really honored that I get to have a night where I can remember and honor that part of me about being Jewish. And my queerness and Jewishness are extremely intertwined, as it is for people who will be there.
The other thing I want to do is honor the folks who are being honored. They're honoring some longtime members of the synagogue and they're honoring Joey Mogul who, as you know, is one of our city's fiercest advocates. Joey has been doing work that, as Joey's friend, I've been lucky to learn about and help out in any way that I can. What Joey does is pretty awesome. To be able to honor the work of Joey and make her laugh is good.
WCT: Let me ask you something about comedy: Is there any topic that's off limits?
Jessica Halem: I think it's such an interesting thing, considering I embody some categories—being queer, Jewish, feminist—that could easily be the props of other people's jokes. For me, nothing is off limits if it's coming from my own experience. I comment on things from my own personal experience. So if I'm talking about government or being Jewish or straight men, I'm talking from my experience—and I think that makes it much more understandable and approachable.
There's a reason people who are marginalized are not running to comedy shows. They think they're going to be the butt of somebody's jokes. More often than not, some straight guy is going to make some stupid homophobic joke. I've sat through comedy shows where I'm on the bill with some straight guy, and all my gay boys have come to see me—and [ the comedian ] will say some stupid, off-handed remark, whether it's racist, homophobic or classist. That's part of the reason I don't do regular comedy clubs. But I'm more than happy to do nonprofit fundraisers, political events, college shows and special shows where I know what's going to come on stage is going to be a positive experience for [ the audience ] .
WCT: I know you think very quickly on your feet and throw a couple topics at you. [ Halem laughs. ] First one: Tiger Woods.
Jessica Halem: I am so impressed that he was able to balance multiple girlfriends and be a superstar golfer at the same time. I think we all have a lot of multitasking lessons to learn from Tiger Woods. [ Interviewer laughs. ]
WCT: OK. What about the Winter Olympics?
Jessica Halem: I thought I was watching the Gay Games. I loved it. I didn't miss figure skating or ice dancing; I'm a huge Johnny Weir fan. I just truly enjoy the gender nonconformativity that was played out on the ice—and how snowboarding embraced the stoners. I felt so bad for [ swimmer ] Michael Phelps, who got busted for being a stoner. The Winter Olympics is all about pot smokers.
WCT: What are your thoughts on open relationships?
Jessica Halem: I think they're great. Just drink a lot of protein because it takes a lot of stamina. God bless those who can find multiple people who can stand us. [ Both laugh. ] Mo'Nique was talking about that, right? [ WCT: Yes. ] She's an amazing actress and comedian, but I was thinking, "Maybe you could get some more on the side if you shaved your legs." [ Interviewer laughs. ]
WCT: OK—Rod Blagojevich.
Jessica Halem: Oh, God. Here in New Orleans, all I have to do is say that I'm from Chicago and people say that I worked in Chicago for 12 years, and people go "Oh...." I have no problem with corruption in government as long as it's working for the people. I don't care how you got the job as long as you get the job done.
For more information about the March 20 Congregation Or Chadash gala—which will be held at the Spertus Museum, 618 S. Michigan—see www.events.org/cpage.aspx?e=24827.
