Standup*

 Interview

 I have long been passionate about changing the paradigm on women of color ...women in comedy... and now, of women and, ageing.

Click above for my AARP profile as an Age Disruptor, and click below for my anti-ageism TEDx Talk.

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Kathy Coley, CFO

&

Mariann Aalda, Founder & CEO

Both are Cancer Survivors. And what did they do to celebrate?  Why, they baked themselves a cake, of course!

Mariann Aalda & Ageing Shamelessly Enterprises

As Creator-Performer & Executive Producer of FUNNY COLORED WOMEN  --  through Aging Shamelessly Enterprises, which I head up with my sister Kathy Coley -- I am working to expand the narrative and broaden the perceptions about women of ALL ages and ALL colors...one laugh and compelling story at a time. The debut production of FUNNY COLORED WOMEN, "Gettin' the Last Laugh," premiered at the 2017 National Black Theatre Festival -- one of the the crown jewels of Winton'Salem, NC.

All four performances SOLD OUT TWICE, after the theater space was reconfigured to accommodate more people! In 2019, my solo show, "Gettin' Old Is a Bitch...But I'm Gonna Wrestle That Bitch to the Ground!" broke a 30-year NBTF box office record for the fastest selling ticket...AGAIN, selling out twice after the convention center theater was reconfigured to accommodate more seating. The show was picked up by NYC's Billie Holiday Theatre where it also sold out. It was their last live production before the pandemic. While the success of these shows has exceeded the expectations of some, it comes as no surprise to me. Black women want to be seen and heard and they want their stories to be told.  Ageing Shamelessly Enterprises is filling that void. 

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Mariann Aalda has played comedy clubs across the country from Caroline's in NYC...to The Laugh Factory in Chicago...to The Improv in Los Angele. She also co-produced and stars in the improv comedy web series, TALK TO ME, GINGER!  based on her performance-art character, "Dr. Ginger" from her solo show, which she has performed in Chicago, New York and New Orleans. She is mostly recognized, however, from her roles in TV and Film: as rapper Kid’s clueless mom in the urban cult comedy Class Act; for her series regular and recurring roles as Redd Foxx's daughter on the CBS sitcom, The Royal Family; O.J. Simpson's wife on the HBO dramedy, First & 10, Meshach Taylor's yuppie-from-hell girlfriend on CBS' Designing Women -- and from memorably hilarious guest-star turns as Sherman Hemsley's stripper girlfriend, Lois Keller, on Family Matters and Mo'Nique's book club nemesis, Hannah Foster, on The Parkers. But it is for her groundbreaking role of DiDi Bannister on ABC's Edge of Night. -- the distaff half of "Calvin & DiDi," one of the first black soap opera super couples -- for which she is most fondly remembered. But even with a prolific career spanning 40 years, she is not content to rest on past successes.  

WEBSITE:  AgeingShamelessly.com

Facebook: Mariann Aalda 

Twitter: @mariannaalda

Instagram: @mariannaalda_ageingshamelessly

Contact:  mariannaalda@aol.com

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KATHY COLEY  -  Co-Producer & CFO, Ageing Shamelessly Enterprises

Along with her sister, Mariann Aalda, Kathy is partnered in Ageing Shamelessly Enterprises. After taking early retirement -- after almost 30 years as an executive in banking, marketing and advertising, -- she decided to use her business acumen in the pursuit and advancement of more creative endeavors. She also serves on the Advisory Board of Creative Cypher, a Chicago incubator for independent film and television projects founded in 2012 by Troy Pryor to bring more diversity and inclusion to the Chicago television & film markets.  

CONTACT: coleysrus1@gmail.com