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

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!

The Wildest Improv Duos Show is Back!

Art work by Melissa Funes

Duo It Again is Coming Back to The Lyric Hyperion on Sunday, February 19th!

Happy to announce the return of Duo It Again!

And I’m going to need duos!

Last time was a bonkers experience that resulted in one of the wildest, most inventive, most soul invigorating nights of improv I have ever participated in and been witness to!

The show’s premise: 20+ duos improvise the same scene over and over again with every scene being unique and different from the previous one and the one right after.

I’m hosting it again with my FernGully tag team partner, Kristen Gull, on Sunday, February 19th at 9pm at The Lyric Hyperion.

But I need your help – I need as many duos as I can muster for this grand improv experiment!

So if you want to take part in Duo It Again, please comment below or DM me. I’m taking duos as well as solo riders. If you’re a solo rider, I’ll pair you up with another solo rider. I want to book this show ASAP, so please let me know if you want to do this show!

#improv #improvduos #duoitagain #lyrichyperion #theglendaleroom

Fire Improv Night at The Glendale Room This Thursday October 20th at 8:30pm!

It’s Going To Be Lit at The Glendale Room on Thursday, October 20th

I got a fire show this Thursday at the Glendale Room at 8:30pm!

So many premiers! It feels like the first issue of a brand new comic book that’s going to have a good run!

First off, the premier of Fjord! What is Fjord? Fjord is my new 2-man comedy team with Eli Magers of Gold Baby! We’ll be hosting the night and getting up to other antics!

Then we’re going to have the all mighty lineup of Belligerent! Nika Mabson, Paulina Nguyen, Alana Carithers, and Steph Glass are some pretty funny ladies, so you know they’re going to tear the house down!

Then I’m going to premier my new duo prov set, Fernando & Friend. Fernando (me) plays with a friend (possibly you). I got the great Matt Moeller playing with me – it’s going to be fun!

Finally, we got the debut of a new team featuring Rich Sohn (The Annoyance Theater, Second City, Pack Theater); Nika Mabson (Certified Zoomba Instructor); Fernando A. Funes (Me, Tonkatsu eater) and a friend (possibly you) – this team is called Hot Girl Pool Party!

I got a good feeling about this show!!! So join us at 8:30pm at the Glendale Room! This show is free with a suggested donation of $5 – be there!

#improv #glendale #glendaleroom #thingstodoinla #losangeles #comedy #bits #antics #fjord #belligerent #hotgirlpoolparty #fernandoandfriend