Washington Blade - October 1, 2004
Kim Krisberg

"I'm very comfortable doing stand-up, so not getting laughs at every line is a very different rhythm," she says. "But, it's a good experience for me again to play with the art and the craft."

Williams, the emcee of the Mautner Project's 10th Annual Gala Dinner, Dance and Auction on Saturday, Oct. 2, at the Hilton Washington & Towers, is referring to the art of spoken word and its role in her new show, "Essentially." She first performed this poetic comedy at the Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theater Festival in Ohio in September.

Kathleen DeBold, the Mautner Project's executive director, says Williams' philosophy on healing makes her an ideal choice to emcee the national health organization's annual fund-raising gala.

"There are psychological benefits of laughter," DeBold says. "It changes your body, it reduces stress, it releases good hormones. It breaks down barriers with ourselves and with other people."

AFTER A YEAR of touring gay and lesbian film festivals to promote "Laughing Matters," the film that starred Williams and lesbian comics Kate Clinton, Marga Gomez and Suzanne Westenhoefer, she wanted to do something different.

"The film kind of capped a long and beautiful career as a stand-up," Williams says.

While comedy had its heyday in the late '80s and early '90s, spoken word is what's happening now, Williams says, because it really speaks to people on a visceral level and is all about nuance, cadence, rhythm, tone, posture, dance, movement, speech - all of which have a home in comedy as well.

Of course, this isn't to say Williams is abandoning the roots that made her a celebrity on the gay comedy circuit.

"For me, comedy is like the perfect art, so comedy is still the thrust of the show," she says, "but I wanted to share my poetry, too."

Williams discovered that laughter really can be the best medicine. With the backdrop of AIDS weighing heavily on gay people everywhere in the '80s, she founded the International Institute of Humor and Healing Arts - the HaHA Institute - to study the role of humor in the healing process.

While offering her unique brand of "medicine" at a Pride event in Las Vegas, an audience member approached Williams and told her that his partner had died only three days earlier and that he thought he'd never laugh again.

"I was just so taken by that, and I sensed I was onto something," she says.

So Williams went back to school in the mid-1990s and received a master's degree in adult education, as well as a self-styled bachelor's degree in humor and healing. The HaHA Institute, which offers workshops ranging from dealing with stress in the workplace to exploring cultural heritage, also includes aspects of nutrition, exercise, aromatherapy and spiritual practices.

"I have a tremendous amount of fun and joy that I get to experience with people," Williams says, "and I always end up performing."

She has been practicing Buddhism for more than 30 years, and says it taught her to focus on the journey, not the destination.

"I'm being exposed to a different way of thinking and viewing the world, taking full responsibility for my part in it," she says. "We're here to enjoy life. And while suffering does occur, and sometimes it's overwhelming, there's also joy.

"When people are constantly striving for something you can also be in constant joy," she adds, "because the joy is in the struggle."

Though Williams surely will be preaching to the choir at the Mautner Project's gala tomorrow, these days she's looking to reach a wider audience.

"At this stage of my life, I'm a fully integrated human being," she says. "I risked everything to be an out lesbian - my family relations, even parts of my career, because it was very important for me to stand for something. I've done it now; it's done. And I want to do other things."

041001
WB041005

Always watch for outdated information. This article first appeared in 2004. This material is designed to support, not replace, the relationship that exists between you and your doctor.

AEGiS presents published material, reprinted with permission and neither endorses nor opposes any material. All information contained on this website, including information relating to health conditions, products, and treatments, is for informational purposes only. It is often presented in summary or aggregate form. It is not meant to be a substitute for the advice provided by your own physician or other medical professionals. Always discuss treatment options with a doctor who specializes in treating HIV.

Copyright ©1980, 2004. AEGiS. All materials appearing on AEGiS are protected by copyright as a collective work or compilation under U.S. copyright and other laws and are the property of AEGiS, or the party credited as the provider of the content. .