by Christina Butcher for OLY ARTS Hold on to your seats, Olympia, because the Lord Franzannian Royal Olympian Spectacular Vaudeville Show is back, and it’s slated to be bigger and better than ever before. Directed by local storyteller Elizabeth Lord, LFROSVS is an annual variety show featuring short, one-act performances by acrobats, actors, dancers, musicians, …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS The Olympia Improv Collective is producing its first show Sunday, and the group of 10 experienced improvisers already has big plans. Mark Alford and Vanessa Postil — both often seen on local stages and both formerly of Something Wicked, Harlequin Productions’ now-defunct improv troupe — and friends aim to …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS This Thursday evening, comedian Sam Miller is getting serious. Miller, host of the weekly open-mic event Vomity (9 p.m. Wednesdays at Le Voyeur), shares the story of his time in jail in The Jail Letters Project, based on letters he exchanged with mom Mary Soehnlen. If you know Miller, …
by Ned Hayes for OLY ARTS An improv resurrection is happening in Olympia. One of the Puget Sound region’s leading improvisational groups, the Scatterbrains Improv Comedy Troupe, disbanded years ago after being featured at Seattle’s Bumbershoot, Olympia’s Capital City Pride, Tacoma’s First Night and leading theatrical venues all around Puget Sound. The group didn’t disband because members …
THEATER REVIEW by Alec Clayton for OLY ARTS It’s a shame that more than half the seats were empty at Harlequin Productions’s opening-night performance of The Understudy by Theresa Rebeck. Potential audience members who could’ve been in those seats don’t know they missed the funniest comedy to grace South Sound stages this season. The Understudy …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Why is it such a common occurrence for comedians who talk politics to be met with the dismissive refrain, “Stick with the comedy?” For as long as comics have been making audiences laugh, they’ve also been ferrying us through tumultuous times of uprising and conflict. They comfort anxieties while …
by Molly Gilmore for OLY ARTS Olympia comedian Sam Miller will compete in this year’s Seattle International Comedy Competition. He’ll compete in the first round of preliminaries Nov. 2-6, and if he finishes in the top five among that group, he’ll advance to the semifinals, including a Nov. 17 show in Olympia. The host of …
by Christian Carvajal for OLY ARTS Comedian Brad Upton writes about everyday life, a 28-year marriage and anything else that pops into his head. He’s a past winner of the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. His ease and likeability on stage have made him popular with corporate clients and the cruise ship industry, for which he’s …
by Adam McKinney for OLY ARTS Seeing stand-up comedy live can be exhilarating. Even if the comedian is a seasoned performer, it’s never a given that a show will go smoothly; this uncertainty goes double for showcases featuring newer comics. Comedy without a net lends an electricity to the air that’s hard to find in …