D’yan Forest is doing it her way at 86

Comic Andrea Alton interviews fellow comic and author D’yan Forest.

I first crossed paths with D’yan Forest at a comedy show in 2006 at the now defunct Mo Pitkin’s on the Lower East Side. Backstage, I sat across the room from her, she was an attractive nicely dressed demure older woman who seemed to be a bit out of place amongst the younger and scrappier comics. 

I didn’t pay much attention to her at first, then she went on stage and started her set. Once her set started, one could no longer ignore her. She dominated the show and instantly had the audience eating out of her hand with every joke getting a bigger and louder laugh and round of applause. I remember looking at the other comics backstage, we all had the same look on our face, “Who was this woman?”

I tried to find her after the show, but I couldn’t. Five years later our paths crossed again when she submitted her solo show to a new work series, I was helping curate. This time we met in person and since that time, she’s been one of my dearest friends. She recently published her first book at 86, I Did It My Ways, proving once again that she’s a force to be reckoned with. Here’s our chat:

Andrea: You’ve lived a fascinating life and have had some interesting relationships. What was it like being married to a nun for 25 years?

D’yan: Well… she was an ex-nun so she couldn’t say anything good about her experience in the convent except that she had an affair with one of her fellow nuns which turned out to be a turning point for her. For a Jewish girl like me, it was fascinating hearing about the culture and her experiences. This Jewish girl got a Catholic education without going to Catholic school. She was so different from the other people I knew and dated which was a bit of a turn on for me.

What inspired you to go into comedy in your late 60s?

I’ve lived in Greenwich Village since 1966 and I saw 9/11 happen before my eyes. Afterwards my cabaret bookings dried up because New Yorkers were too depressed to go out for entertainment. Two years later I was so bored and depressed myself, mainly because I wasn’t performing. I wanted to bring more laughter into the world, and I missed the stage, so I thought I’d try stand-up and surprisingly it worked. I’ve been doing it ever since.

You’ve been performing professionally for over fifty years. What is one of your craziest performance memories?

In the 1970s I was singing in the Catskills for an Orthodox Jewish audience. I was hired to be a sophisticated French singer. (Little did they know that I was born and raised in Boston) I did my set and they applauded politely. After I was done, I got off the stage and found out that the next performer was a stripper. They were all waiting for the stripper and they could have cared less about what I was doing. That was the night I realized I should have become a stripper but that wasn’t a career option for someone who grew up in a conservative suburb outside of Boston in the 1940s/1950s.

You’ve said, “You’re usually the oldest performer in the room by fifty years.” How do younger performers react to you at comedy clubs and festivals?

When I walk in, they sort of ignore me and write me off as an older person but once I perform, they take notice. After my set, other comics come up to me and tell me how inspiring I am. I think some of them are really dumbfounded that an older woman can work the audience into such a frenzy and get such a reception.

You recently published your first memoir. What would you like others to get from your lifetime of stories?

I want people to be inspired to do whatever they want in life no matter one’s age. Dare to explore things that are outside your comfort zone. You might be surprised by what you find!  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Andrea Alton is a New York based comic, actor, and playwright. She is also the creator of the popular downtown character Molly “Equality” Dykeman. www.andreaalton.world