SF Sketchfest Interview: Adrian Villegas from Latino Comedy Project

The Latino Comedy Project is a sketch troupe out of Austin, Texas. They do a healthy mix of political and cultural sketch, and are bringing their live show, “Gentrifucked,” to SF Sketchfest this year for four shows this Friday and Saturday night. Tickets are available here, although you might want to act fast, as some performances are already sold out.

We had a chance to talk to one of the troupe’s founders, Adrian Villegas, on the eve of Donald Trump’s inauguration. We were both a bit feeling a bit raw that day, as you are about to see after the jump!

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SF Sketchfest Review: Laraine Newman: The Audition at PianoFight, 1/21/17

Photo by Heather Wilson

In the world of comedy, Laraine Newman is an industry legend. She’s been consistently working for over 40 years, starting as a member of the legendary first cast of Saturday Night Live, and branching out into dozens of roles in television, film and voice acting. She has an amazing amount of stories, and when I heard she was going to be doing a one-woman show as part of Sketchfest this year, I jumped at the chance to experience her live.

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Spinning Platters Interview: Amy Miller

Amy Miller New Orleans 2015-7

Amy Miller is an old friend of Spinning Platters. She’s also the funniest person in Portland, OR, and was on the final season of Last Comic Standing. She was one of the earliest fans of the site and, despite her continued fame, she still managed to squeeze out some time to talk to us.

She’s going to be headlining at Punchline in SF this Wednesday, January 27th. Tickets are available here!

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SF Sketchfest Review: Workjuice Theatre with Paget Brewster, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Busy Philipps, Paul F. Tompkins and more, 1/9/2016 at Brava Theater Center

The Thrilling Adventure Hour reincarnated = Workjuice Theater
The Thrilling Adventure Hour reincarnated = Workjuice Theater. (Photo cred: thanks to Tommy Lau photography!)

This year would have been my fifth consecutive year watching The Thrilling Adventure Hour at SF Sketchfest. Sadly, it seems I must finally admit that I’m a terrible podcast fan. I adore this show, but I’m a little behind. Ok, a lot behind: what I mean is, I never listen to podcasts. Like, ever. So that’s how far behind I am. It’s always been enough for me to keep up with this show whenever I could catch it live (which, as it happened, was once annually here in the city at Sketchfest). So okay, I didn’t know that there were ashes from which something new could be reborn, but mercifully, I needn’t waste too many tears: Workjuice Theatre definitely scratches the itch withdrawals from TAH might have given me. (Am I making any sense? Translation: I didn’t know that one of my favorite shows had ended, but a similar show with even same bits and characters has taken its place, so yay! Anyway, the show may have a new name, but I was just as happy as always to find myself back in my usual seat at Brava Theater Center last Saturday night to watch Craig, Hal, Marc, Mark, Paget, Paul and the gang! Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Workjuice Theatre with Paget Brewster, Craig Cackowski, Mark Gagliardi, Marc Evan Jackson, Hal Lublin, Busy Philipps, Paul F. Tompkins and more, 1/9/2016 at Brava Theater Center”

SF Sketchfest Review: Mara Wilson’s What Are You Afraid Of? with guests John Ross Bowie and Sarah Thyre, 1/8/2016 at Eureka Theatre

What Are YOU Afraid Of? (Photo cred: thanks Greg Garthe!)
What Are YOU Afraid Of? (Photo cred: thanks Greg Garthe!)

So, I follow Mara Wilson on Twitter. It’s not specifically because she was the cutest-ever child star who happens to still be equal parts clever, funny, and brilliant. (See her in Matilda or Mrs. Doubtfire for further evidence on the aforementioned childhood cuteness.) See, I found Mara through a circle of funny ladies on the Twittersphere (@goldengateblond and @ohnoshetwitnt, in particular) who like to create (and retweet) the best of the best. Long story boring, that’s how I found and followed Mara, and how I found myself at The Eureka Theatre last Friday night to listen to Ms. Wilson (and guests John Ross Bowie & Sarah Thyre) wax hilarious about the things that frighten them, and why vulnerability is worth the risk. Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Review: Mara Wilson’s What Are You Afraid Of? with guests John Ross Bowie and Sarah Thyre, 1/8/2016 at Eureka Theatre”

SF Sketchfest Interview: Ron Funches

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Ron Funches has been the king of dry, soft spoken wit since he first popped on the scene in 2011. After spending years on the road, he’s hit the big time. He’s one of the stars of NBC’s hit sitcom Undateable and is also a regular on @midnight as well as the dearly departed The Kroll Show. Spinning Platters had the honor of getting to speak to Funches recently.

Funches is playing Swedish American Hall on Saturday, January 9th (Tickets Here). He’s also doing a special brunch time set at Cobb’s on Sunday, January 10th (Tickets Here). Continue reading “SF Sketchfest Interview: Ron Funches”

A Nerd’s Guide To Sketchfest 2016

This wouldn't have happened if Chuck just went to a few comedy shows instead.
This wouldn’t have happened if Chuck just went to a few comedy shows instead.

WHAT?!? Sketchfest is already here?!?! It’s quite a bit earlier than usual this year; I’m sure that this is due to some strange event — wherein grown men run around and throw objects at each other in order to help promote the new Coldplay album — interfering with everything in the Bay. If you are actually interested in the big football game in Santa Clara, this list probably isn’t for you. However, if you’re like me and have never seen a football game nor got picked for anything athletic in their life, this is your list. This is where you go to determine which of the 824,422,122 amazing comedy events will be happening in San Francisco over the next three weeks.

SF Sketchfest runs from January 7th – 24th. A full schedule of events can be found here.

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Sketchfest Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour, 2/8/15

Thrilling Adventure Hour lives up to its name, yet again.
Thrilling Adventure Hour lives up to its name, yet again.

One of the best things about SF Sketchfest every year is getting to watch all the fantastic talent of The Thrilling Adventure Hour. For any unfamiliar with this show, it’s a live, staged version of an old time radio show, and it’s never failed to entertain me for all the years I’ve been there to witness it. Thankfully, this year proved to be far less hectic than last year’s performance, for me at least. Last weekend (Saturday, to be exact), thanks to an earlier show, I was already in the city and had no trouble getting to Brava Theater Center with plenty of time before the lights dimmed. Continue reading “Sketchfest Review: The Thrilling Adventure Hour, 2/8/15”

Sketchfest Review: The Hotwives Of Orlando at Verdi Club, 2/7/15

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Panels for TV shows are an interesting thing. They can go in one of two ways: they can either be something educational, where you learn about how certain things work. Or it can a silly display of actors and writers getting together to have fun on stage outside the restrictions of the medium of television. Or, in the case of The Hotwives Of Orlando panel, it was a perfectly balanced version of the two.

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Sketchfest Review: Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Taking Over SF Sketchfest with Dana Snyder and Dave Willis at Marines’ Memorial Theater, 1/31/15

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Aqua Teen Hunger Force is one of those shows that has managed to stay pretty far under the radar. It’s heading into it’s 15th season on Adult Swim, making it the longest running show in Adult Swim history. I, personally, believe that it’s the most inventive of the adult cartoons. Tonight, we had the very rare opportunity to get to listen to the show’s creators, Dana Snyder and Dave Willis, talk about this long running program.

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