FORT MCMURRAY (660 NEWS) — Carla White calls herself a humourist, helping people heal from life’s trauma’s through her comedy. For the last six years, Carla has partnered with the Wood Buffalo Regional Library to celebrate International Women’s Day, and this year was no different.
“I help people reignite their spark and find the funny factor, so they can heal from the drama and trauma of life,” White says of her work. She has a comedy skit called The Angry Housewife, inspired by her own journey.
“The Angry Housewife actually started when my sister in law called to say she had been cast in a play, and I was her inspiration,” White says. “She played an angry housewife. At the time, the label was something I could relate to and later make light of. The Angry Housewife described the state of being I was in and many women can relate to. Modern day women have numerous roles and endless responsibilities.”
White says that she’s mostly moved on from The Angry Housewife, but the character stills comes out to play every once in a while. Now she works as a motivational speaker and life coach. She says her own interactions with women in her work have highlighted how overwhelmed modern women feel.
AUDIO: 660’S Devon Banfield speaks with Carla White, a humourist from Fort McMurray
THE ANGRY HOUSEWIFE - MY MCMURRAY - BANFIELD
She explains during seminars and retreats when she asks ‘How many of you feel overwhelmed?’ or ‘How many feel overworked?’ all of the hands go up and stay up. However, everyone’s hands come down when she asks ‘How many feel over appreciated?’
At the end of every event she hosts Carla encourages women to appreciate themselves, which she said is one of the focuses of her comedy events. Last night White hosted an online version of the event, with a smaller audience than most years. With 12 women in the audience, Manager of Marketing and Fund Development Dawn Sidoroff calls the event a success.
“It was light and there was a lot of laughter which I feel is very much needed at this time,” Sidoroff told My McMurray. “Carla is always very inspirational, and l loved her encouragement to love ourselves and reach out and connect with women who have blessed our lives.”
Despite the pandemic, Sidoroff and White felt it was important to make sure the annual event went ahead this year. The event was free of charge, but White says that it’s about something more important than generating money.
“Most of us really crave connection, that’s what Dawn and I talked about — this year really being about the connection that most of us are craving and not necessarily getting it. Because the only time we see our friends is when we run into them at the grocery store,” White says. “It’s also important that we pause and appreciate and acknowledge both ourselves, and the other women in our lives.”
For more information on Carla White, visit her website.
