Known in her acting roles as Carlease Burke and in her stand-up roles as Carlease!, Burke is an actress, comedienne and singer originally from Queens, New York. She’s landed roles in several movies, including The Out-of-Towners , Why Do Fools Fall in Love and Get Shorty, as well as many popular television shows like “Judging Amy”, “ER”, “NYPD Blue”, “Party of Five” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”. Burke is set to appear in the upcoming feature film The Terminal (due out June 18) starring Tom Hanks and directed by Steven Spielberg, and in the film In Her Shoes, starring Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine, scheduled for a release date in 2005. Set to perform in a double-bill with Vickie Shaw at The Center’s “Women in Comedy” event this Saturday, Burke has also been a popular performer at GLBT Pride events throughout the country. The Gay & Lesbian Times caught up with Burke by phone last week where she spoke from her home in Los Angeles.

Carlease Burke: If I would go all the way back to childhood, I would have to say singing. Most black actors and actresses – a lot of us, not all – start out in church singing in the choir. Sometimes the church would do skits. There was this one deacon in my church who got me to do a reading or a monologue or something and I took it a whole different place. He just wanted a kid to read something from a piece of paper but I just took it to a whole other level. I memorized it and I created a costume and I had blocking and it was a really big hit. Everybody was saying I should go into acting, “You should be an actress.”

I always had an interest in acting from a little girl. I always would watch TV and pretend that I knew people from the different TV shows. I always thought that one day I would like to do that. I worked in musicals and a cruise ship, which involves both.

I was in a band when I first graduated college. Then I met an actor. He started teaching me what I needed to do in order to pursue work. You needed an 8 X 10 picture and a resume. In order to have a resume you have to have had some work. I joined a local theater company in Queens. Actually, I wanted to take acting lessons but I got cast in a play. Then the play went to off Broadway and then that was it. I did not get into comedy until I had been in the L.A. area five years. I started comedy in 1990 and I moved here in 1995 to pursue more TV and film.

CB: My agent sent me out on it. I actually knew the casting director because she cast me years ago in a movie with John Travolta called Get Shorty. We already had a rapport. She put me on videotape. I actually had a cold that day, I wasn’t feeling very well. They sent the videotape to Mr. Spielberg and he cast me. I read for three different store managers.

Working on The Terminal with Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks was just an incredible experience. It’s the cream of the crop of Hollywood. Just to be there and watch them work and see them so professional … human people, not intimidating. Just regular people doing their job and I just had the best time. That was one of my most favorite experiences.

“Women in Comedy” is this Saturday, June 5, from 8:00-10:00 p.m., at The Center, 3909 Centre St. Tickets are $15 in advance, and $20 at the door. Call (619) 692-2077, ext. 247, or at for more information.