Winthrop arts award finds its funny bone

Up-and-coming comedian and actress Fortune Feimster, who was a regular on the “Chelsea Lately” TV show, will be honored this week at Winthrop University’s annual event recognizing artists and arts supporters.

She is currently working on a semi-autobiographical TV sitcom with producer Tina Fey.

A North Carolina native, Feimster is one of four special guests this week at Winthrop’s Medal of Honor in the Arts event. The program started in 2001 and has since honored 42 individuals, seven couples and two organizations.

Feimster’s recognition as a stand-up and improv comedian and TV personality is a breakaway from the event’s usual honorees who have come from more traditional arts backgrounds.

At Winthrop, some on campus already know Feimster as the younger sister of university admissions staff member Price Feimster. He works on marketing and special projects to recruit new students.

His sister was already on a Winthrop committee’s list of potential Medal of Honor recipients when Price Feimster was asked what he thought about Fortune being honored, he said. He’s excited, he told The Herald last week, about her visit and the recognition it could bring to Winthrop by hosting a comedian whose career is on the rise.

Before Friday’s Medal of Honor ceremony, Fortune Feimster will visit with students for a 1.5-hour question-and-answer session. Her brother said he hopes Winthrop students will use that time as an opportunity to ask about the TV, comedy and comedic writing business.

Fortune Feimster told The Herald last week that she’s honored to be on Winthrop’s honoree list and she’s looking forward to giving students insight into the entertainment and stand-up comedy business.

Students with aspirations of going into the business, she said, “don’t get access to working actors as much on the East Coast.”

She’s lived in the Los Angeles area for 12 years, first moving there with no income, $25 in her pocket, and sleeping on a friend’s couch. She got a job as a personal assistant and then spent seven years as an entertainment news journalist and blogger.

“It was a little scary ... (But) nothing’s going to happen just sitting around wishing you could be a performer or an actor,” she said.

Feimster later took improv and sketch comedy classes at Groundlings Theatre and was invited to into the theater’s Sunday Company – a group that’s produced well-known alumni such as Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig. She made her national TV debut on NBC’s “Last Comic Standing” and has performed on stage for thousands since.

Recently, she filmed a pilot episode for “Fortune Family,” a sitcom produced by Fey and sold to ABC. If the show is picked up, Feimster will star in the comedy based loosely on her own life. The first episode depicts her own experience of telling her family that she’s a lesbian.

Most of Feimster’s stand-up comedy revolves around jokes about her family and her Southern upbringing.

“So, it made sense that that would be a show I would explore,” she said.

The “Fortune Family” team will find out in a few weeks whether the show will be picked up for television.

Feimster’s career seems to be moving at a fast pace. Her first TV appearance was just four years ago and soon, she could star in her own show on ABC.

At Winthrop, she said, she’ll encourage students to follow their dreams. “But, be realistic ... it takes time to be a working actor ... jobs don’t fall in your lap.”

Part of Feimster’s success could stem from her ability to write, as well as act and do stand-up comedy. That part has been essential, she said, because not every actor fits the mold of what TV writers are looking for.

“No one is writing a script thinking, ‘I need a big, Southern chick to play this part,’” Feimster joked.

Through the years, Feimster has supported various arts organizations, women’s and gay rights groups, and the students at her alma mater, Peace College in Raleigh, her brother said. Last year, she was the host of the GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards in New York.

She’s also performed several times in Charlotte, close to her hometown of Belmont, N.C.

His sister is committed to giving back but doesn’t seek out the attention for her contributions, Price Feimster said.

Though she’s on her way to making it big in Los Angeles, her family says she has remained grounded.

“She hasn’t let this go to her head ... Everybody in our family is pulling for her,” Price Feimster said.

Fortune Feimster will spend two days in Rock Hill before flying back to the West Coast for a performance at The Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas.

Event supports scholarships

Other honorees at Winthrop this year are S.C. Sen. Wes Hayes, R-Rock Hill, an arts supporter; sweet grass basket artist Mary Jackson, from Mount Pleasant; and musician and activist Si Kahn of Charlotte.

Organizers say the Medal of Honor program is designed to be diverse because the arts world is diverse.

“We also honor arts advocates, organizations and arts educators because they are part of the full life-cycle of the arts,” said Amanda Kibiloski, director of Winthrop’s office of special projects.

The event benefits student scholarships through ticket sales. The experience and various honorees also teach students an important lesson.

“Not everyone who graduates from Winthrop’s College of Visual and Performing Arts will go on to play in the Boston Symphony Orchestra, perform on Broadway, or show their work in the MET,” Kibiloski said.

“Many will go on to do the tireless work that keeps the arts alive in our communities and that is advocacy and education. Above all, art is a business and there are many moving parts that keep it sustained.”

Winthrop officials spend nearly all year planning the Medal of Honor event. Programming includes multiple student and faculty performances and a reception ceremony for honorees.

One of the university’s most visible community events, the Medal of Honor presentations extend the school’s visual and performing arts mission, officials said. Winthrop’s music, theater, and arts education is regionally and nationally-recognized for its quality.

This year, proceeds from the event will benefit Winthrop junior Leianne Johnson, a choral music education major and S.C. Teaching Fellow from Gaston near Columbia. Johnson plans to teach music after college. She participates in various organizations on campus and performs with the Winthrop Chorale and Chamber Singers.

Financial support from the Medal of Honor directly benefits university students, Kibiloski said. “Who is to say that one day, one of the scholarship recipients will not be back on the stage at Winthrop accepting their own Medal of Honor in the Arts.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Winthrop arts award finds its funny bone."