Four touring headliners and a roster of Portland favorites will take the stage at Alberta Rose Theatre on Friday, November 13, for the Big Trans Comedy Show, an annual lineup featuring only trans comedians. The night doubles as a fundraiser, with proceeds set to benefit the Sexual and Gender Minority Youth Resource Center, which offers services to 2SLGBTQIA+ youth in Portland.
The show is billed by the venue as Alberta Rose Theatre as a yearly comedy show featuring only trans comedians, pairing touring acts with well-loved local performers. Headlining are four comedians the venue calls among the top trans stand-up acts in the country: Mx. Dahlia Belle, Mx. Nola Bradley, Hayden Johnson, and River Butcher. Rounding out the bill are Portland-based comics Mack Lee, Moisés Araguaney, IMANI, and Ally J Ward, who the venue notes was named Portland's Funniest Person of 2025.
Ward joined KOIN.com's AM Extra Kickstand Picks segment to preview the lineup and talk about using comedy to spotlight trans issues. Per the station, local funny people are using their talent to support the queer community, and Ward is described as organizing action-packed comedy shows that raise awareness for the local trans community. The segment was authored by Aimee Plante and ran in the AM Extra section.
A Portland Comic With Growing Recognition
Ward describes herself on her own site as a stand-up comedian, improviser, and storyteller out of Portland, Oregon, according to allyjward.com. She says she co-produces the Big Trans Comedy Show alongside Mack Lee, Moisés Araguaney, and Jess Kapinaris. Her site also notes that Willamette Week named her Portland's Funniest Person in 2025, while the publication's readers separately voted her Portland's Best Comedian.
Ward has said the event is timed deliberately. According to her site, every November the group hosts the Big Trans Comedy Show in honor of Transgender Awareness Month, and a KOIN report likewise describes November as Trans Awareness Month. This year's edition at Alberta Rose Theatre is scheduled for 8 p.m., according to an event listing on americanarenas.com.
Venue Rules and a Wider Circuit of Shows
Alberta Rose Theatre's listing also spells out an age policy for the evening: attendees between 18 and 20 years old must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. That detail sits alongside the charitable framing of the night, with the venue stating that proceeds will also benefit SMYRC.
Ward's comedy fundraising work extends beyond this single stop. A separate Hear You Loud & Queer Big Trans Comedy show in 2025, listed on dopdx.com, advertised sets from more than a dozen trans and nonbinary comedians, including Mx. Dahlia Belle, Andy Iwancio, and Ren Q. Dawe, with profits split evenly between Black & Beyond the Binary and the Trans Relocation Fund. KOIN also reported that Ward took part in a Big Trans Comedy Show at Show Bar on November 25, 2025, describing it as her third year hosting comedy shows built around trans awareness.
Friday's show at Alberta Rose Theatre brings that same mission back to one of Portland's own stages, pairing nationally known headliners with hometown talent for a cause organizers have returned to year after year.
