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

The Improv Life: Process > Product

Having fun, That’s The Process

The Improv Life: Process > Product

Well we might have had the best Fernando Funes’ Long Form & Short Form Supreme on Thursday!

I’m not trying to exaggerate or anything. It’s just that the energy was electric that night. It’s as if we were all in synch with each other beforehand about just having fun on not putting pressure on anything.

I wrestle with the relationship between process and product. The more time you spend on the process, the better the product should be, right?

Not always true. When we put pressure on the process to achieve a very specific outcome we set ourselves up for disappointment because we might not always get the final product we envisioned in our head.

I used to see this a lot in narrative improv when one person wanted to go in one direction, someone else in another, and you ended up with competing paths instead of agreement in moving in one direction.

Don’t get me wrong. You fine tune the process in rehearsal, and then you trust the process during your show to deliver you a great final product.

I think when you just enjoy the process and see where it takes you (especially during shows) you’ll go to amazing places, and you’ll be surprised with the final product. The final product is a bonus. The more we lose ourselves in the joy of just playing, the less we’ll care about how it ends. When it ends, people will just be like that was amazing, and I can’t wait to do it again.

I say these things because it’s not always that way, so when it does happen – people having fun by agreeing, heightening, exploring, and supporting – it needs to be called out and celebrated so that it happens more and more. I think all the teams on Thursday demonstrated this, so I just wanted to give them a shout out.

Thanks to all the teams who made this past Thursday a magical night. Stay tuned for the next one.

#improv #theglendaleroom
#LAimprov #longform #shortformimprov

Show 39 of 2023

I Love The Deconstruction

Nuisance. From left to right: (Top Row) Me, Rena Hundert, Colin Longstaff, Jay Light, John Conroy, our coach; (Bottom Row) Liz Galalis, Kristen Gull, Lily Holleman

Good Times with Nuisance

Well Nuisance had another banger show on Sunday along with Mind Reader at the Pack Theater!

It’s been a while since I’ve been on a team that consistently practices the same form over and over, so I’ve forgotten how fun it is to have a form in your bones.

What I’m liking the most about the Deconstruction is that it inspires you to pull every premise possible from the opening scene.

Whether it’s interesting lines of dialogue, off hand cultural references, character traits and emotions, developing themes undergirding the 2-person dynamic– or just whatever spoke to you in that grounded scene – everything is ripe and valid to be brought back later on in the show.

If there was one form that would benefit comedy writers, I think it would be the Deconstruction. It truly shows you how to use the whole buffalo when done right. In fact, I don’t know when I’m going to do this, but I’m going to make a sketch show consisting of scenes developed in a Decon. (Not now, but I’m the future!)

I’m so happy that Nuisance stuck with the Decon because we are definitely reaping the artistic and creative rewards of all the hard work we’ve put in.

Next show is Sunday March 12 at 8pm at The Pack Theater – join us then.

#improv #nuisance #packtheater #deconstruction #writer #performer #premise

Show 22 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!

Clown Heel English Professor

Ian Farley is a good dude.

Send In The Clowns Was So Much Fun!

I got to play a heel English teacher with my friend Ian Farley for Natasha Mercado’s Send In The Clowns!

I don’t like being a bad guy in real life, but damn if I’m not good at playing one on stage.

I played a nasty heel who judged the audience for not doing the poetry homework Ian and I assigned before the show started.

I judged audience members for their penmanship, why they didn’t do the assignment, and had random favorites. I was every petty despot English teacher who made you feel small.

I’m telling you, people looked at me with anger and disgust. They hated my character, but most of them thought that was me!

I’ve gotten looks of disgust for bombing, and these were not it – these people despised me! If I ever turn heel in real life, I have a template ready to go! (It’s just crazy to know that)

My gut is telling me to explore this heel energy more and see how many more bad guy characters I can channel. Who knows what I come up with?

Also, all of this was Ian Farley’s idea. He had a rough idea for using poetry for our bit, we came up with a loose structure, and then found the game on stage. He was a great partner on stage as we worked together to find the piece in real time – book him for your shows!

And all the other acts killed! Natasha Mercado cured a great lineup! I’m so happy we have a clown champion sharing this beautiful art form with as many people as possible! Stay tuned for the next Send In The Clowns!

#clown #bit #heel #sendintheclowns

Show 15 of 2023