Comic Julie Goldman on getting the gay out

Julie Goldman got turned on to standup comedy by one of her teachers at temple. ''Oh my God,'' she recalls thinking, ''I can write my own thing and talk about my own personal feelings, and everyone has to sit there and listen? Oh, what a dream!''

In fact, she suggests that's one reason there are so many Jewish comics. ''All we want to do is talk at you and make you listen to our opinions, because we think we're right.''

In recent years, Goldman has worked with several notable Jewish comics, including Lewis Black and Sarah Silverman. But she spends more of her time with her fellow LGBT laughers -- getting, as she puts its, ''the gay out into the world.'' Next Thursday, Feb. 17, Goldman will perform at the DC JCC, presented by the organization's queer GLOE program.

''I'll be talking about my Jewish family and my mother,'' says Goldman, ''and all the craziness that ensues from being a lesbian, a Jewish lesbian, a butch lesbian.''

Goldman grew up in a conservative Jewish household in Boston, the second of three children. ''I'm the middle child, which means I do lots to please everybody and make everybody happy,'' she says. You might say she was destined to be an entertainer. She actually started doing standup at age 15.

Decades later, Goldman is a regular on lesbian cruises, college campuses and at gay events such as Orlando's Gay Days. She's currently developing screenplays with Brandy Howard. The two have started their own web series, In Your Box Office, which reviews and parodies popular movies. Sometimes her dogs Russell and Nacho appear in her skits. She considers them her children.

''I don't dress them up -- all the time,'' she jokes. ''It's hard being a single mom, okay?'' -- Doug Rule

Goldman performs Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. at D.C.'s Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. NW. Tickets are $15 in advance, $20 at the door. Call 202-518-9400 or visit washingtondcjcc.org.