Comedy can be a risky business.
- God, I shudder to think. [laughs]
- Originally from Texas, Dina Nina Martinez,
along with her dog Gertie, arrived in Madison
via Los Angeles.
- Trailblazer, one might say.
Wisconsin being more rural,
as a whole, it's different.
[affectionately] I love your nugget face!
- And Wisconsin has given Dina lots of fodder to be funny.
- Please make some noise for my friend Dina Nina Martinez!
[audience cheers]
- I'm plus-size.
I guess I'm normal-sized in Wisconsin, but..." [laughter]
People are like, "I just hate it when you talk so badly
about yourself."
For me, it's taught me more about myself
and taught me how to love myself more.
And what I've found when I moved to Madison Wisconsin,
was so much love, so much acceptance.
And then it's taught me the power of humor,
and lots of food.
I tell people if you're moving to Wisconsin,
forget the freshman 15, it's the Wisconsin 45.
It's just a story.
- Angela: Getting up on stage gave Dina confidence
to lay her life story bare.
To be judged, to be laughed at, and laughed with.
- I grew up in a small town in Texas
and was always arty, never fit in.
Storytelling for me is a space
where you're able to be a lot more vulnerable and real.
And still be funny, and I talk about my dad,
his passing, and our relationship.
We go through a heartache and tragedy,
and then there's gotta be some levity at some point
that changes it and gives you a different momentum.
My cousins were all, "Dina you're purdy an' all,
but even after the surgery,
you're not gonna be a real woman."
- Audience: Aww.
- Dina: I know.
- Angela: Comedy became therapy for what Dina
has been through in life.
- When I first started it was scary.
I almost didn't talk about the trans experience,
because I had so many people be like, "What?
I'm confused."
As a trans person, it's important for me
to be visible and open.
I wasn't born in the wrong body, I was just born
to become something greater, or something different
or someone new. [audience laughs]
I date a lot of millennials is what I'm saying.
[audience laughs]
Which makes me a cougar. [rawr, rawr, rawr!]
You know, like, yeah!
Nobody has anything to put on me,
I've already put it out there, so it's power.
- Angela: That power propelled Dina
to take her career and her life
in a new direction.
- There was a point where I just realized
that I wasn't a showgirl,
and realized that I essentially, I want to be a soccer mom.
And so, when I moved to the Midwest,
I didn't know what to expect.
And I live in Madison, so I'm composting.
Being in Wisconsin is just so fun and weird,
and I've experienced a warmth from the people
that I didn't expect, and acceptance
from the people that I didn't expect.
And I found this camaraderie with women in the Midwest
that I'd never experienced before.
- I know, you looked at me and you were like,
"She looks like she...
"...watches a lot of makeup tutorials,
[audience laughs]
and eats a lot of pizza."
[audience laughs]
- Angela: Humor is what gets Dina noticed.
Her message is what resonates with women.
- My issues with my body are just like any other woman,
like, we tend to not like our inner thighs.
I feel like my inner thighs
are like two kids on a long road trip, you know?
[laughter]
"Mom, she's touching me", [laughter]
"Stay on your side!"
"She's touching me!" [laughter]
- Angela: Sometimes her humor is about motivating others.
- I am an entrepreneur.
I am the founder of Lady Laughs Comedy
and Artemis Bow Productions.
Be powerful funny women in the world
because it needs you to be that person.
You're doing the right thing!
- Angela: Dina takes her voice seriously.
To her, it's no joke.
- The times that we live in are so sensitive,
and it's so important
for me to be kind, loving, and accepting.
There's a responsibility in what I do.
There's that voice inside of you
that's like, "You don't belong here.
You don't know what you're doing."
I want to be appropriate,
and I want to be empowering of all women.
Who hears that every day? Right?
- Angela: Her underlying message:
Never give up!
- Do you know how many people have told me,
"I'm never gonna make it in the industry?
"I'm too old, I'm too fat, I'm too trans,
I'm not trans enough."
- Angela: By not giving up, she's been named
one of the hottest queer women in comedy,
and Dina, the actress, has been cast
in her first major motion picture.
- Oh, God,
so I'm gonna be in a movie called "Two Men and a Pig."
Gonna have Dermot Mulroney from "My Best Friend's Wedding."
[in a sly voice] I get to make out with him!
It's so exciting! ["Heh, ha"]
That's all.
- Angela: In the spotlight, Dina has found her voice,
in what she describes as an amazing journey.
- Just being a person is hard,
being a queer person is even harder.
Especially if anyone's
struggling with gender identity,
like, I want you to know that it's possible
to have a complete and amazing full life.
I like myself, I think, for the first time in...
...my life.
Live your truth as best as you can,
and as hard as you can,
and as soon as you can.
Thank you, guys, I'm Dina Nina Martinez.
[audience cheers]