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.
Sketchy Comments + Moonshot: (From left to right) Dan Burt, Tess Menzies, Giuseppe Restrepo, Fernando A. Funes, Jonathan Farach. Not pictured, Mike Hughes.
Bonus Show Validation
Moonshot opened up for Sketchy Comments this past Friday night at The Pack Theater!
Sketchy Comments is a cool new sketch show inspired from people’s real internet comments!
It was a well executed premise pulled off by powerhouse writer-performers, Dan Burt and Tess Menzies. You don’t need a whole sketch team – these two are enough!
It was extra special for me as I used to see Dan destroy every Friday night years ago at Endgames Improv when I was an intern.
We had a great little mini Moonshot set! Our material played well!
It’s a special kind of validation when you test new material that gets a positive response, dust off an old classic to see if it still has its umph, and when you put something up that has played well with other audiences and continues to play well with new people seeing it for the first time.
As a house sketch team, we don’t get a lot of chances to test new material or revisit old classics. So this little bonus show ended up becoming an actual spiritual bonus because I felt amazing afterwards and validated as a sketch comedian.
Sketchy Comments was an amazing show! Stay Tuned for the next one!
I Have Amazing Friends: How They Made The American Dream
I’m lucky to work with amazing people.
I’m Elevated By The People Around Me
I wrote this off beat, deeply personal sketch about my life from the perspective of my dad as a young man about to cross the border.
There’s no gimmicks to it. It’s just brutally honest.
I read it for Moonshot (our Pack Theater House Sketch Team based out of Los Angeles) and to my surprise, they liked it. Not that they wouldn’t. It’s just because this sketch is intimate and revelatory, I was vulnerable and nervous about their response.
We put it up at the Pack Theater in front of a live audience. I didn’t know what to expect. Mike Hughes, our Moonshot team mate, came out as Mr.Richards, a coyote, and said, “Alright, Mexicans…” The laughs came in like drizzle before rain – the sketch hit.
And it was electric. Probably the best stage experience of my life. I couldn’t keep it together. I was breaking. The energy between Victor Lopez, Giuseppe Restrepo, (two other Moonshot team mates) and I with the room was amazing.
After that amazing experience, Valerie Vasilas volunteered to produce a filmed version of it. I was hesitant at first because I had personal doubts about me, but her passion and selflessness convinced me to say yes.
We needed a director. I thought of Baldev Sandhu because he had become the defacto Moonshot video sketch director. Luckily, he said yes, and now we could launch this project.
And then Valerie and Baldev took care of all the details. I just had to worry about being an actor. They literally handled every detail to make this shoot happen, along with the great crew they recruited for the shoot.
I was elevated by them like no other team before. I’m very lucky to know them and call them friends. They saw my idea and believed in it, and more importantly, they believed in me, and that’s a gift I’m never going to be able to pay back because of how generous it is.
Thank you Valerie and Baldev, Moonshot, and everybody who believed in this film. Iove you all.
Well, anyways, this winning awards and that’s cool.
Clase de Español from the Moonshot February 2020 Show.PC: Jasper Sams
An Amazing Night For Harris Markson, Moonshot, and I
A wonderful little sketch Harris Markson and I co-wrote about a white savior who tries to teach “Español” to a 100% Latinx class of AP Spanish Literature students at a Los Angeles high school.
Probably one of the funnest experiences I’ve ever had being in a sketch on the Pack stage.
One of those pieces where you have to side smirk to hide your face from breaking at the top of the sketch because the energy of the moment overwhelms your training and preparation; although you just want to enjoy the sketch like everyone else in the audience, you can’t because you’re the other vital part of the sketch – his entitled white savior needs your rising-to-volcanic anger, super literate brown kid to play off of — therefore, you double down on your focus, access the rage your character is feeling, and do your job.
And then everything hits. Your training and preparation kick back in fueled by instinct. And you use the energy of the moment, the electricity between you and your scene partners to elevate your performance and stay in the moment. And everything that’s supposed to go right goes right, even unexpected little things like the way you say a line or respond to someone turning a chair around.
And although you’ve never actually hit a homerun in a packed baseball park, you know how the crack of a bat can signal a feeling inside of you that says, “This one’s going all the way.” And then you just run the bases and enjoy the moment.
What an amazing year. You will live forever in my heart 2019.
The Year I Grew As A Writer, Producer, & Director
I’ve been telling people that 2019 has been the worst year for me as a performer.
I just felt I was off my game, and that I wasn’t the best me possible, the home run hitter I know I am.
And that’s because I focused all my efforts on writing, producing, and directing.
I gave my attention to others and had less for myself, which I’m fine with because I got to work with some amazing people.
These people astounded me with their passion, their gifts, their willingness to take risks and have fun while failing or succeeding, and always delivering finished projects.
This was definitely a year where I embraced the mantle of leadership and put the good of others in front of my own.
But it’s easy to serve when the people you’re working for are amazing and push you to be a better version of yourself.
We did a lot this year.
Two sketch teams were built (Moonshot and The Latinx Comedy Pachanga).
Got to host the final night of the Orange County Improv Festival.
A lot of amazing conversations with Richard Aaron, my co-producer on the Pachanga.
Hanging out with my sister, Melissa.
Reading for Breath of Fire Latina Theater Ensemble Artistic Director Sara Guerrero on her amazing production of Canto de Anaheim, a play written, produced, and directed by her in collaboration with Gustavo Arellano and the Pacific Symphony.
Started teaching improv again after many years by leading the Specs Friday Drop-In.
Teaching my first ever “How To Write A POC Sketch” Class at Second City for LADCF and then San Francisco for Colorized Improv. Thank you for the help Shirley Rivera.
One more Ka-Blahm-O! Show with Dwayne McDaniel.
Big Selfie Shows with Brandon, Liam, Sam, and Tee at the Improv Collective.
Performing on the UCB Franklin Stage for the first time ever with the Latinx Comedy Pachanga.
The Pachanga helped Bonnie He with a character called “John Yang” and she then performed it for 10,000 people the next day at an Andrew Yang Fundraiser! That then got us an opportunity to perform at Andrew Yang Fundraiser produced by her!
Fernando's Improv Blog 