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.
Piñata Party This Friday, Match 17 at The Ledge Theatre
LA is Latin America, y’all. Ain’t no ifs and or buts about it!
So once a month I gather my favorite Latinx comics and put up a banger of a show – The Piñata Party! (Because you know piñtas are filled with goodies?)
Every 3rd Friday of the Month, The Latinx Comedy Pachanga gathers at The Ledge Theater for a night of comedy, poetry, and everything in between. I’ve been trying to use the word ‘Sublime’ a lot more lately, so whatever it is, it’ll definitely be ‘Sublime.’
What is ‘Sublime?”
of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe (thank you, Google!)
So it’s going to be that!
And we gotta a killer line up to!
Featuring:
A character bit from Andres Parada
Stand Up from Darling Izzy, Carmen Scott, Ammy Ontiveros
Poetry from Raul Herrera Jr.
A bit from Victor Bryan Olivas
A sketch reading from Marlando (Marcelina Chavira + Fernando A. Funes)
A character from Karla Espino
Music from St. Trois
Improv from Los Tamales Dulces + A Special Guest! (Los Tamales Dulces: Fernando A. Funes, Julio Urquidi, Gracie Gilb, Maia Villa, Samuel Solorio, Marcelina Chavira)
Really proud of all the work the Latinx Comedy Pachanga has done this year so far!
Here’s what we’ve done so far:
1). Launched a live version of our Latinx panel show, Cuñados, Cuñadas, y Carnales – we spent a year developing this show on Twitch, so it was great to do it live at the Pack Theater
2). Completed a run of Ka-Blahm-O! shows at Catsby – this show found its voice by becoming a stand-up/solo showcase with just a bit of clown energy and pro wrestling spirit in its veins
3). Had our first Potluck of the year at the Glendale Room, and had a really great “You should’ve been there” time – this variety hour is our longest running show, so I’m glad we put it up
4). Met new and amazing Latinx comics who blew my mind with their talents, POVs, and energies – LA is bursting with so many funny Latinx comics!
5). Was reminded of the amazing talents in the Pachanga ensemble – people have stepped up as producers, performers, writers, and ambassadors, and I’m all for it! I can’t wait to see more of it!
6). We did shows at The Clubhouse, Pack Theater, The Glendale Room, and Thymele Arts*
*To my tocaya, I consider our Fernandx sets mini Pachanga shows!
7). We featured a bunch of Latinx comics from the huge umbrella that is Latinx, and we all supported and lifted each other up!
8). I want to repeat the last point: we showcased a bunch of Latinx talent – The Pachanga will always be about putting up Latinx voices front and center.
As long we keep doing that – and providing as many opportunities for Latinx artists as possible – we’re going to be amazing.
Thank you to all the artists who shared their talents with the Pachanga so far this year, and I’m grateful for your talents and contributions.
And thank you to the venues and audiences who made all this possible!
It’s true: if you build it, they will come.
We got more shows coming up, so stay tuned!
Also, props to Melissa Funes for all the artwork, promotion, social media, and just general amazing help!
I started coming here to do improv, as the thousands before me, so many now being my friends.
I drive these streets and get inspired creatively.
I feel the history around me in LA’s weird angles. An American City grid on top of a Spanish City outline in what used to be Mexico and native land before that. If that’s not improv, I don’t know what that is.
The one advantage is I didn’t have to live here. I can take what I need from it and return to my fortress of decaying suburbia just beyond the Orange Curtain.
But even then, I don’t escape LA’s grip. From the Grapevine to end of the 405, it’s all just one huge quilt of urban development, with LA being the pulsating heart driving the constant progress and expansion. This is Megacity 2.
And you see LA’s cultural reach in TV as well. You watch a TV show and you notice that key creative leads got their training at UCB, Groundlings, Second City, Pack, and a bunch of other improv schools and communities with people cutting their teeth in the LA comedy scene.
Of all the places to find my life – to find myself – LA has become an integral part of my journey, past, present, and future.
Fernando's Improv Blog 