Interview: Comedian Mina Hartong Brings MISS PERSONALITY to Pangea for Pride Month

Known for her razor-sharp wit and heartfelt storytelling, award-winning comedian Mina Hartong mines her personal life — her Connecticut upbringing, Dutch roots, life as a lesbian, and years as a public-school teacher — to deliver a show as hilarious as it is healing on June 11 at Pangea to celebrate Pride Month. Mina is a nationally touring comedian and founder of Lez Out Loud, a comedy performance series amplifying LGBTQ+ women performers and giving them stage time they deserve.

Read a conversation about the show, Mina's inspirations, and advice for fellow comedians, and more.

How did your last show at Pangea go? What kind of feedback did you get?

Our last show was wonderful- lots of new fans. My mah jong teacher came with her family. Everyone I meet is saying how much they need comedy right now.

What are you most looking forward to about the rest of your residency there?

I always look forward to a show at the Pangea. I am on tour a lot, so it’s my home venue when I am in New York City, and I am so grateful.  It’s such a haven for performers. Stephen and his team treat us so well. I look forward to more shows this year and to honing new material and welcoming new fans and friends along the way.

Can you tell me a little about what went into forming the material for Miss Personality? What was the process like of writing and structuring the show?

After 20 years in comedy and ten sold-out shows in Palm Springs [and] numerous appearances on four continents, I decided it was time to lay down my “greatest hits” and latest material, which became my debut comedy special, Miss Personality. My wife and I moved to Palm Springs at the height of the pandemic, and I found an immediate community and audience there and formed a standup production company, Lez Out Loud. I headlined and brought in guest comics from LA. It was a huge success and really filled a void in women’s events in the Palm Springs LGBTQ community. So, it was a natural choice for me to film the one-hour special there. It was a grueling two years from writing and compiling material, filming (we filmed the week after the LA fires!), editing to distribution, but I could not be prouder of it and my team led by director Lisa Ginsburg. I did not know anything about the process of making a film when we started.  It was a huge learning curve and really difficult at times.  Many comics and friends and fans helped me along the way. We can do hard things when we lean into our artist community. Now, I tour the show live internationally, we are hosting private screenings around the country, and it will be available on streaming later this year. I also teach standup comedy classes on tour. I love combining my passion for live theater and education. Comedy is community.

Who are some of your comedic inspirations?

Lily Tomlin, Robin Willams, Carol Burnett, Nikki Glazer, Marga Gomez, Karen Williams, Tina Fey, Margaret Cho

Do you have any advice for other comedians working on their hours?

Yes! Get as much stage time as you can with the material for the special. It will feel redundant and monotonous, but it needs to be as tight and polished as you can get it for the filming day. Gather two audiences back-to-back who adore you. Audience participation is truly important; they are a huge part of the show and you need people laughing and being super supportive when they are on camera. And spend the money to hire a great director who understands comedy as an art form. It is not narrative film. Lastly, watch other specials. It will help you with your production decisions. 

Aside from this show and your Pangea run, what have you been filling your time with lately?

I am currently unrepped and without a manager, so I work all the time: I hustle for gigs, perform as much as I can, and doing everything from pitching my show to marketing on social media. When I take a break, I love to play Mah Jong once a week. I forget all about the hustle and play for hours. So relaxing and fun.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

I was a public school Theater teacher for 20 years. Support the arts in schools and live performers whenever you can. The arts are the cornerstone of our ability to understand each other and ourselves. We love seeing butts in seats for shows and follows on Instagram. It truly helps. See you on stage June 11th at Pangea and wherever Miss Personality shows up next.

Follow Mina on all socials @minahartong and visit her online at minahartong.com