The Improv Life: My 80th Show of The Year

Synchronicity

The Improv Life: My 80th Show of  2023

I can’t believe it’s been 2 weeks since my 80th show of the year!

And here’s what made it so special – it was the 8th Duo It Again on the 8th day of the 8th month of the year!

What do you call that?

I call that synchronicity!

Synchronicity is a crazy concept that even I can’t explain succinctly, but it’s the idea of random coincidences having a deeper causality to them, as if being propelled by a larger unknown force.

What is that force? Destiny maybe? I don’t know. But I do know all these coincidences lining up into a crescendo of 8s serve as a cosmic validation that I’m on the right path.

These past 14 months have been rough, but this beautiful thing called Duo It Again came into my life, and it’s saved me in more ways than I realize, especially the part of creating art and facilitating community with Kristen Gull as FernGully.

Sometimes we get redirected onto the path we’re supposed to be on; we just don’t know it at the time because rapid change feels like punishment, but it’s really funneling you where you’re supposed to be.

This show has been a gift to my life, and I’m so grateful for all the abundance it has brought to my life in my form of new memories, artistic insights, and a burgeoning community that is down to take risks and have fun.

I don’t know? Do what calls you. Experiment. Learn from losses and document wins. The journey is endless. Have fun and keep learning. Enjoy the moment, but don’t cling onto it too tightly. Just breathe and be grateful.

#duoitagain #duoprov #duplex #2prov #improv #lyrichyperion #losangeles

Show 80 of 2023

I just did 6 shows in 6 days!

The Best Week of My Life

Just did 6 shows in 6 days!

And I booked 66 performers too!

And I performed at 4 amazing LA Theaters: The Lyric Hyperion, The Glendale Room, UCB, and The Pack Theater!

I did 3 improv shows, 1 bit show, 1 game show, and 1 sketch show!

This was probably the biggest week I’ve ever had as a performer.

Of all the hats I wear, that’s the one I wear the easiest.

The shows were good – I mean like they were fire good!!! – but hanging out with so many of my amazing peers from across different LA communities was probably the thing I’ll remember the most.

Plus, I got to hangout with Kristen Gull all week, which was a gift.

My life has been filled with extreme highs and lows as of late, but it felt good to have an amazing week like this past one, s week that was unlike anything I’ve ever done. Thank you to everyone who made this possible.

#improv #duoitagain
#theduplex #menudo #bithole #cuñadoscuñadasycarnales
#moonshotcomedy #lyrichyperion #theglendaleroom #ucb #packtheater

Shows 47-52

Goodbye Cuñados

I’m waving good bye to the Latinx Panel Show!

Every single Cuñados, Cuñadas, y Carnales we ever put up was a blast.

We proved the concept over and over again: get Latinx comics and artists to play trivia games and everyone will have fun, including the audience.

Latinx content from Latinx creators is more important than ever right now.

I know what it feels like to be fetishized for my identity, to have my identity turned into a commodity, and to know the difference between people laughing with me and people laughing at me.

Because of these experiences (which there never seems to be in short supply) I know the importance of Latinx art form Latinx artists. If we don’t tell our stories, someone else will, and they’ll reinforce stereotypes and tired narratives that do nothing to progress our people in America.

So, yes, everytime we did this show it was a story. It was the story of six strangers becoming friends over trivia games.

It’s still a great concept, and I’ll return to it one day when I have the time, attention, and resources it needs to be its best version possible.

Thanks to all the past panelists, and to my origin co-creators, Joe Felix and Andy Lomeli.

Thank you to my latest co-producer, Karla Espino.

Thanks to my special guest co-host, Ammy Ontiveros, for help with this last one.

Thanks to our panelists for this last one: Carmen Scott, Ricky Prieto, CJ Villagómez, and Julio Urquidi.

Thanks to The Pack Theater for this past run.

And special thanks to my sister, Melissa Funes, for the artwork, and for all the help with the social media.

I’m either winning or I’m learning, and I learned a lot on this show.

#improv #latinxcomedy #packtheater #latinxcomedypachanga

Show 51 of 2023

Another Amazing Show at Company of Angels!

Love This New Ensemble

Just when I think I’m done with narrative improv, it pulls me back in.

Angel City Improv had an amazing show on Saturday for Our Welcome To The Vantage Point run at Company of Angels hq in Boyle Heights.

We got to do a show filled with fun characters, bits, and not so nuanced social commentary. The plot was moved from the steam created by the characters, a more organic way to move a story, with the right plot moves here and there to keep the whole thing on schedule.

I got to play with one of my improv mentors (and LA goats) Sean Michael Boozer, which is always a joy. He’s been doing a great job as our director, so playing with him was a special treat and surprise for me.

And this new ensemble is coming along! Nothing will bring a team together like doing shows!

We got two more weekends of shows, so come check it out! I got comps too if you need them!

What you love will love you back in ways you can’t imagine.

#improv #coa #companyofangels #angelcityimprov #boyleheights #theater #bipoc #bipoctheater

Show 38 of 2023

A Poem for Red Door

I love Red Door. Thank you for the masterclasses, y’all. From left to right: Ryan Marisco, me (Fernando A. Funes) and Justin Michael Terry

Here’s a Poem I Wrote In Honor of Red Door for My Poem A Day Project

Poem 44

The secret of the masters
Is that they play with great joy

If you want to be
A brooding, self loathing artisan
Whose sense of self importance
Is crucial to your work
Cool!

That’s not for me
I want to see people
Having fun

I want to see players
Moving from moment to moment
Making discoveries
Yes anding gifts
Building on top of every choice
In a way that doesn’t feel
Forced, labored, or resentful

I want to see players
Jabbing each other
Setting each other up
Trying to make the other break
Always knowing
That a foundation of
Let’s go out there and have fun
Supports everything

I want to see whimsey
Cut with vulgarity
For the sake of contrast
And to see that they can be
Balanced and complimentary
Like peanut butter
On a ham sandwich

Red Door
Weaves every choice, moment
And mistake into a great
Narrative tapestry
That feels like a built in world

They’re shows feel like a
Paperback novel you find
At a used bookstore
That you know
Has been passed around
A few times from friend to friend
That once you start reading it
You can’t stop yourself
From finishing
Until you realize it’s over
And then you’re like
What do I do next?

It’s a literal journey
A unscripted experience
That reveals the great heights
Our art form is capable
And worthy of reaching

I love these guys
Because they show me
How far I need to go
But how fun it’s going to be
To get there

44.2023

#improv #reddoor #theglendaleroom

Pic is from Red Door’s most recent show at The Glendale Room on Thursday, February 9th, 2023. Go watch their shows and take their workshops!

And special thanks to The Glendale Room for making these special moments oments possible!