Episode 21: Belynda Cleare (Comedian, Booker, Writer)

Belynda Cleare’s comedic, writing, and performing abilities are often overshadowed by her striking resemblance to Beyonce. Even as her stand up broaches topics like poverty, aging, and death, Belynda’s bright, warm energy brings life to every room. Since moving to Philadelphia from The Great White North (emphasis on the “White”), Belynda has shared the stage with comics like Garrett Morris, Paula Poundstone, Bob Nelson, and Luenell. In 2015, she was featured on Amazon Prime’s Comics Watching Comics, and her one-woman show, Staying on the Right Side of Sanity, Diary of a Dirt Road Diva was the top grossing show in the Wilmington Fringe Festival for four years in a row. This show, which has captivated audiences from Nashville to Nova Scotia, inspired a forthcoming script that has made Belynda a finalist in the Yes And…Laughter Lab. Fox 29 News did a segment on Belynda’s use of comedy to cope with grief. Belynda is so committed to addressing mental health in comedy that she teaches a course on the topic at The Comics ROCK Convention, wherein she has been a presenter for the last 9 years. Her festival appearances include: Women Work, Black Girls Giggle, and Ladies of Laughter. She is a frequent guest on THE HAWK radio station, has been featured on CBC’s The National and in Nova Scotia’s Guysborough Journal. Belynda can be seen on club stages from NYC to LA and various parts of Canada, as well as walking past Andre 3000 in a party scene in AMC’s Dispatches from Elsewhere.