A funny thing happened to Susan Rice when she took a theater class at Lower Columbia College.
After winning an audition for a part in LCC’s production of “Man of La Mancha,” Rice was hooked. “Once I stepped on stage, I never looked back,” she said.
Something even funnier happened years later when Rice transitioned from theater to stand-up comedy.
Rice, who attended Lower Columbia College in the early 1970s, is a stand up comic who, at age 31, joined a handful of women who wisecracked their way into comedy clubs as they became popular in the 1980s. Now 72, Rice is still making people laugh while discovering ways to connect to new audiences by using social media such as YouTube, including an appearance on “Don’t Tell Comedy,” along with in person performances.
Rice’s compact stature, curly mop of graying hair, brightly framed eyeglasses and wide smile are an effective contrast to her hilarious take on aging.
“I’m that relative the family whispers about in the kitchen at family dinners,’ she joked.
Doing stand-up comedy was not what she envisioned after graduating from R.A. Long High School in 1970, where music was her passion. After high school, Rice enrolled at Lower Columbia College in search of a career path and was immediately drawn to the theater program.
“I took a theater class from an amazing educator, Michael Hanford,” she said. “He developed a safe creative program.”
“I kind of found a home at LCC,” she said. “I just kind of lived at the theater. I took everything I could.” Rice said her enthusiasm for theater didn’t carry over to other classes, resulting in poor grades. “I knew I probably couldn’t graduate but it was a jumping off space. It turned out to be the best experience I had in education. I think about it fondly.”
Though she didn’t complete her degree at LCC, Rice won a performing arts scholarship to a private college, United States International University in San Diego, and decided to transfer. But it didn’t go as planned. The school was having financial problems and, after one semester, canceled her scholarship. She returned to the Northwest, settling in Portland in 1974.
Rice got a job in a bank but kept her passion for the stage alive by connecting with theater groups in Portland. By the early ‘83 Rice was tired of not getting the roles she wanted so she began writing a one-woman show. She needed a place to develop the material and discovered an ad in the Portland Downtowner looking for comedians for an open mic at the Leaky Roof Tavern. She decided to try it.
“That was the beginning,” she said of her March 1983 comedy debut. “I was kind of the captain of my own ship and I liked that. And, truthfully, I came from a really funny family.
Her early success in Portland comedy clubs led her to a much bigger stage and ample opportunities when she moved to Los Angeles. Recalling the rapid rise of comedy clubs, Rice said “there were comedy clubs on every corner. Too many clubs and not enough comics.” Rice was among the very few women competing for comedy club laughs and the opportunity to bring her comedic skills to television. After an appearance on a talk show hosted by Pat Sajak, who gained fame as host of the game show “Wheel of Fortune,” Rice discovered that she wasn’t quite ready for prime time – or late-night TV – when the studio audience gave her a cold reception.
“I almost quit comedy,” she said. “I was so disappointed. But it was a great lesson, because I wasn’t ready. You have to know your timing.”
After 13 years in LA and as the comedy club boom began to fade, Rice came back to Portland. She became a customer service representative for children’s clothing company Hanna Andersson, which allowed her to continue doing stand-up comedy while ensuring a steady income and health insurance until she retired in 2017. Since then, she has enjoyed a resurgent comedy career and is finding new fans young enough to be her grandchildren.
“They’re all waiting with bated breath like I’m going to say something important or something really funny,” she said. Her audience doesn’t have to wait long for her to say something funny but, no joke, she also can offer wisdom about perseverance, especially to younger comics that she mentors.
“I think when anybody tries to improve themselves in any way, you’re putting that energy back out in the world and that can only bring good things,” she said. “It means your heart and soul are in the right place. All we can do is strive forward – but you gotta watch where you’re stepping."