What’s that you say? You’d like to learn more about this event before you come?

Second Helping @ Utica UU, you’ll find us at 10 Higby Rd, Utica on Sat September 26th at 7 PM.

ABOUT SECOND HELPING

Kelli Dunham grew up the youngest child in a large Midwestern US farm family that taught self-reliance as a religion.. When Kelli lost not one but two partners in a row to cancer, and then was the victim of an unfortunate exploding knee replacement incident, she was forced to start making different choices. And also there was a whole weird nun thing in the middle. 

SECOND HELPING is part stand-up comedy, part sit-down tragedy with love and body fluids in the cracks in between. 

And as this moment in NYS history, Second Helping is helping faith communities, and those who spend their Sundays looking for meaning (I’m talking about you, beloved Unitarians), have important conversations about medical aid in dying.

As seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Hiram College, featured in Kristin Duffy’s Second Chapter podcast and Chris Vepoli’s Worst Time For Anything. BBC Scotland, BBC-4, and in a beautiful piece by Matilda Davis for the Sun Times. Kelli performed an excerpt from Second Helping as part of an event with Glasgow’s Friends At The End and MSP Rona McKay. Because…well, that’s the kind of thing Kelli does.

Oh wait? You’d like to watch a few excerpts? Sure, okay but don’t tell anyone….

When Heather was dying, she fancied herself a comedian…

Cheryl and Kelli played a game called NYC when

What kind of first confession does a future nun have?

What’s that you say? You’d like to learn more about this event before you come?

Second Helping @ Utica UU , you’ll find us at 10 Higby Rd, Utica on Sat September 26th at 7 PM.

ABOUT SECOND HELPING

Kelli Dunham grew up the youngest child in a large Midwestern US farm family that taught self-reliance as a religion.. When Kelli lost not one but two partners in a row to cancer, and then was the victim of an unfortunate exploding knee replacement incident, she was forced to start making different choices. And also there was a whole weird nun thing in the middle. 

SECOND HELPING is part stand-up comedy, part sit-down tragedy with love and body fluids in the cracks in between. 

And as this moment in NYS history, Second Helping is helping faith communities, and those who spend their Sundays looking for meaning (I’m talking about you, beloved Unitarians), have important conversations about medical aid in dying.

As seen at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Hiram College, featured in Kristin Duffy’s Second Chapter podcast and Chris Vepoli’s Worst Time For Anything. BBC Scotland, BBC-4, and in a beautiful piece by Matilda Davis for the Sun Times. Kelli performed an excerpt from Second Helping as part of an event with Glasgow’s Friends At The End and MSP Rona McKay. Because…well, that’s the kind of thing Kelli does.

Oh wait? You’d like to watch a few excerpts? Sure, okay but don’t tell anyone….

When Heather was dying, she fancied herself a comedian…

Cheryl and Kelli played a game called NYC when

What kind of first confession does a future nun have?

Did you know that Queer Memoir was the first monthly all-queer, first-person narrative storytelling event in NYC? We started in 2011 and in 2015 we were nominated for the White House Champion of Change award (VERY different White House, obviously). Founded by Kelli Dunham (this is Kelli’s website) and playwright Genne Murphy.

Anyway, if you’ve never been to Queer Memoir before, here’s the deal:

Queer Memoir is a community-based LGBTQ storytelling series that brings together experienced performers and people who have never been onstage before to tell true stories from queer lives. The goal is both simple and kind of enormous: to share our stories, preserve our complicated queer history and experience the particular magic that happens when a bunch of queers sit around listening to each other.

But this Fire Island edition is a little different.

This isn’t one of our usual booked shows. It’s a Queer Memoir Rough Draft — more like an open mic. If you’ve got a story (the theme is OOPS, but we’re not really religious about the theme) you’ll have five minutes to tell it in the spirit of Queer Memoir. It doesn’t have to be polished. In fact, “rough draft” is right there in the name.

And a few Queer Memoir traditions apply: true stories rather than stand-up, no judging or competition, and you’re telling a story in which YOU are the central figure. No requirement that you memorize anything. Notes are fine. Reading is fine. Being nervous is extremely traditional. Our unofficial motto is “real stories told live with whatever you need to get your story told.”

Queer Memoir has been happening in various forms and various places for more than 15 years — theaters, community spaces, apartments, even a the A train — and this week we’re popping up on Fire Island.

You don’t have to tell a story to come. You can just listen. But if you’ve been thinking, “I have a story, but it’s not really ready yet,” well, excellent.

That’s what rough drafts are for. Text Kelli for the address if you don’t have it. Kelli is at 215.964.1963.

WAIT WAIT WAIT I WANT TO KNOW THE HECK THIS KELLI DUNHAM PERSON IS?

Kelli is everyone’s favorite nonbinary ex-nun, current nurse, comedian and storyteller. Kelli is what you call one of those trauma-informed comedians and can be found speaking at nursing conferences, domestic violence continuing education weekends, victim advocates’ annual meeting, and many other places a person would not think a comedian would go over very well.

You can hear their award-winning PRX/Good Get podcast Cared For here. Short on time? Start with the season finale: Heather’s last day, medical aid in dying, chosen family, pudding, inappropriate laughter and a converted Hare Krishna temple.

Hate podcasts? Or at least prefer reading? Check out Kelli’s Substack, Hoping Intentionally, which she did not name ironically. At least not intentionally ironically.

Hey hey hey hey.

We’re doing a pop-up show of Second Helping in Northampton.

Saturday May 30th, doors at 6.30, show at 7 pm.

It’s a house concert, so please email bookingkellidunham@gmail.com to secure your place and get the address.

No tickets needed, we’ll pass the hat.

SECOND HELPING: TWO DEAD LOVERS, DEAD FUNNY

It’s ostensibly about losing two partners in a row to cancer but it’s really about learning how to ask for and accept help. And mutual aid. And some weird nun stuff. 

Accidental enemy of Mother Teresa. Two-time widow before age 40. Victim of an exploding knee replacement. Nonbinary comedian Kelli Dunham (the former Sister Mercy) is learning the limits of DIY-A (Do It Yourself Alone) approach to life just how you’d expect from an ex-nun: the hard way. Part stand-up comedy, part sit-down tragedy with love and body fluids in the cracks in between.

Produced by Beth Lapides

Go Magazine called it “drop dead funny”

Bechdel Theater called it “a love letter to queer community” 

A little taste: 

The Lucky Thing About Losing Two Partners In A Row

If You’re From A Stoic Germanic Family…

How Does A Future Nun’s First Confession Go

Places to Find Workplace Humor That Won’t Land You In Trouble with HR

15 Fun Commute Listens For Nurses, Victim Advocates and Other Folks With Traumatizing Jobs

OH, AND MY FAVORITE PODCAST CARED FOR

Recent episodes include You Still Need To Get That Check Up (medical self advocacy tips), When Flowers Aren’t Enough (supporting someone in grief), Quick: It’s An Emergency (How to navigate ER trips) , Knock Knock It’s Your Doctor (tips for using humor in hard times: like when you’re dealing with health struggles) and There’s No Perfect Caregiver. Those are linked from the Cared For podcast page on Apple, but CARED FOR is available everywhere podcasts are delivered for free; comprehensive links here

READ

I’ve got a funny, hopefully practical substack called Hoping Intentionally. Recent posts have included Better Self Talk for Apocalypse, Helping After Death: Be Specific or Be Quiet (it’s not as rude as it sounds), Medical Aid in Dying Seen from The Inside Of The Room and The Kids Who Sank ColumbusI have a Substack, the Second Helping Gazette and publish a few times a month with resources on helping helping professionals, well, help. This is a great way to stay in touch!

KEEP IN TOUCH?

You can email kelli@kellidunham.com or text 215.964.1963

Want to book me for other trauma-informed, kind comic reasons? You can look around the rest of my site for other presentations, workshops, and leadership humor coaching, and also find me on LinkedIn.

You can also follow me on instagram, YouTube, or yes, even Tiktok

Glad you landed on this here landing page!

Explore the website as you’d like, of course, but just in case you’re looking for something quick:

Do you want to learn more about Cared For, the amazing new runaway hit podcast Kelli is hosting, produced by Good Get and PRX? It’s practical, helpful, hopeful!

Do you want to READ Kelli’s hilarious, practical substack, Hoping Intentionally? (eg a recent post called Better Self Talk For the Apocalypse)

You can also read/watch Kelli being helpful and hilarious on facebook, youtube & Instagram & tiktok

GUESS WHAT!

We’re doing a hilarious, all-cat-themed comedy show, and YOU’RE invited.

Thursday March 19th at 7 pm ET.

Please get your ticket now. We’re going to be keep in smallish to keep in manageable. It will sell out. If you really want to come and don’t have the $$, reach out to kelli@kellidunham.com. We’ll make it happen for you.

Paws 4 Laughs is a live, online comedy show for people who love cats an entirely normal amount — meaning deeply, sincerely, and with absolutely no chill.

This is not a show about how cats are jerks. This is a show about how cats are wonderful — and how delightfully unhinged we become when we love something completely.

Because it’s online, the show includes optional interactive moments and the reassuring knowledge that you can attend from your couch, your bed, or the exact square foot your cat has assigned you.

Expect:
– Stand-up comedy and storytelling about cats and the people who revolve around them
– Gentle, optional audience interaction
– Laughs that come from feeling seen
– A shared understanding that your cat is absolutely nearby and possibly judging this purchase.

You do not need a cat to attend. But if you have one, they will assume this show is about them.

Join us for an evening of comedy by, for, and with cat people of all genders.

Friends of cat people and the cat-curious are welcome, too.

ABOUT KELLI

Kelli Dunham is an ex-nun nonbinary nurse-comic cat person and the host of the Good Get/PRX podcast Cared For, a show about how we care for ourselves and our communities, and how we can, just maybe, create a world where it’s easier to do both. Topics include the big stuff—like aging and grief—and the stuff that can feel big when we try to tackle it on our own, like finally getting to that doctor’s appointment.

Kelli has appeared on Showtime, the Discovery Channel, PBS/WGBH’s Stories From the Stage, The Moth Mainstage, and nationwide at colleges, prides, fundraisers, fringe festivals, and the occasional livestock auction (where, frankly, the cats were underrepresented). They are the author of seven hilarious nonfiction books about very not-hilarious subjects, the co-founder of NYC’s longest-running super-earnest LGBTQ storytelling show Queer Memoir, and a 2015 White House Champion of Change nominee.

Kelli’s latest storytelling album, Not the Gym Teacher (directed by Gastor Almonte), was named one of the BRYGHTLY Top Ten Comedy Downloads of 2020 and contains a statistically significant percentage of cat material. Their viral HuffPost piece “Finding Connection in the Covid ICU” was shared almost a million times, which is impressive, but still fewer views than a moderately cute kitten blinking.

Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness once called Kelli’s hair “everything,” and former NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio once called Kelli “a show off.” To their face.

Kelli currently lives in ongoing negotiations with at least one cat and considers this her most demanding audience.

————-

Paws 4 Laughs was originally co-founded with Mary Phillips-Sandy (writer, producer, & host of the Let’s Talk About Cats podcast) who will be returning to the Paws 4 Laughs stage when life allows it…hopefully soon!

Medical aid in dying is now legally available in New York State within the next six months, and many progressive religious communities are wondering how to have open, compassionate conversations about it. 

If YOUR faith community wants to host this conversation, wouldn’t an ex-nun, healthcare provider, comedian, performer/presenter with FIRSTHAND experience of medical aid in dying be perfect?

Kelli’s show Second Helping is a deeply human and just funny enough look at grief, caregiving, and her partner’s decision to use medical aid in dying as she was dying of ovarian cancer.

Second Helping is available as a 60, 40 or 20 minute presentation and Kelli can host a Q and A, community talk-back, or community art response as part of the event.

If you’re interested in booking Kelli for this, or want to design another type of presentation just for your faith community, please reach out (kelli@kellidunham.com or via text 215.964.1963) and Kelli can share more information, a link to the full-length performance to share with your Board (including a full-length performance in a designated congregational space). Also, you can listen/watch an excerpt featured on The Moth podcast with over a million listens, or read an excerpt on Kelli’s Substack

Kids’ Stand-Up Comedy Workshop(s), One On One Work, and School Break Pop-Ups

Taught by Kelli Dunham – nurse, comedian, writer, and professional funny person who believes kids deserve better jokes and louder laughs.

And also educator. I work in the public school system and in a few different after school programs around town: I’m fingerprinted and background checked. 

What We Do

I teach kids the building blocks of stand-up comedy—storytelling, timing, and the magic of noticing weird little things about life.

Through games, writing prompts, and laughter-filled practice, students develop their own short stand-up sets to perform at the end of the session.

There are also options to focus on comic writing and/or making comic books/zines 

We focus on confidence, creativity, and connection—because the best comedy comes from being brave enough to share what makes you unique.

What Caregivers Love About It

• Builds public speaking skills without the yawn factor
  
• Encourages empathy and emotional intelligence (jokes that punch up, not down)
  
• Strengthens writing and critical thinking
  
• Boosts resilience—learning how to handle a joke that doesn’t land with grace and humor

What Kids Love About It

• They get to be the funny one—on purpose
  
• They write about what they think is hilarious (no adults choosing the topic)
  
• They perform in front of an audience that actually wants to hear them talk
  
• They discover that laughter is power—and that words can make people feel seen and connected
  

End-of-Session Showcase (Optional, But Most Young People End Up Wanting To Do It)

Each season ends with a mini comedy show where students share their original material with family and friends.

It’s half stand-up, half joyful chaos, and 100% pride-inducing.

A Note from Kelli

As a nurse, I’ve seen how humor heals.
As a comedian, I’ve seen how it connects.
And as a educator, I know that giving kids a mic and a safe space to express themselves can change everything—from stage fright to self-doubt.

We’re not teaching kids to be professional comics.

We’re teaching them to tell their truth, find their funny, and use both to make the world a little lighter.

And of course, neurodivergent, gender glorious, and young people who are considered “difficult” are all enthusiastically welcomed!

If you’re interested, please fill out this form (it’s barely a form, it’s two questions) and we can jump on a zoom and see what works for you.

Thanks for your interest and keep laughing.

Or don’t. Times are hard. Crying is okay too.

Sure, of course. But if you want a printable foldable version, that can be found here.