On Beaver Pond…
Ian Harvie is an American comedian, actor, writer and director.
Harvie didn’t have a language for his identity growing up on Beaver Pond in rural Maine in the 70s & 80s, but he knew he was trans* from an early age. He came out twice to his parents, as he describes in his comedy routine. “The first time I came out to my parents, I was a girl and I simply told them, ‘I like girls’. Later, I came out to my parents a second time, I said ‘Mom, Dad, I still like girls and I want to be a dude.”
Ian began his standup comedy career in 2002 at a comedy club in Portland, Maine and continued performing material throughout the northeast. Four years into his standup career, he moved to Los Angeles and began working with iconic comic, Margaret Cho, as her regular opening act for the next several years.
Ian Harvie was the first FTM transgender comedian in the world, unafraid to joke about subjects no other comedian had ever touched. Ian’s unique act challenged the traditionally macho, sex-obsessed world of stand up in ways you wouldn’t believe, proving that laughter cuts across all gender identities and ultimately unites us all.
He has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious comedy festivals: JUST FOR LAUGHS in Australia and Canada, and the MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL in Australia, and SKETCHFEST in San Francisco and others. Ian travels back to his home state of Maine every summer for over 10 years to produce his own home-grown style comedy writing camp, followed by the MAINE COMEDY FESTIVAL.
Harvie stepped into the acting world, making his acting debut as “Dale” in the critically acclaimed, Golden Globe and Emmy Award winning TV series TRANSPARENT on Amazon. He recently played “Ken” (formerly Kendra) Bruce Springsteen’s manager, in the penultimate episode of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM. You may have also seen Ian guest starring as “Bud” on the return season of NBC’s WILL & GRACE, ”Michael” on the ABC soapy, nighttime drama, MISTRESSES; as “Chris” on FREEFORM’s hilarious, millennial sitcom YOUNG AND HUNGRY; and as himself on COMEDY CENTRAL’s THE NIGHTLY SHOW.
Later, Ian became a theater kid again, off-Broadway, playing the role of “Henry” in Jordan Harrison’s play titled, LOG CABIN, at Playwrights Horizon’s Theater. The play featured an all-star ensemble, with skilled thespian, Jesse Tyler Ferguson at the helm.
Ian has performed in some of the world’s most prestigious comedy festivals: JUST FOR LAUGHS in Australia and Canada, and the MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL COMEDY FESTIVAL in Australia, and SKETCHFEST in San Francisco and numerous others. Ian travels back to his home state of Maine every summer to produce a home-grown style COMEDY CAMP, followed by the MAINE COMEDY FESTIVAL.
Ian Harvie’s one-hour standup special, MAY THE BEST COCK WIN or MAY THE BEST MAN WIN (name changes depending on the platform) can be found streaming on all platforms now.
