Drama Talk & Drinks: The Big, Buttery Sketch Show

Posted Feb 11, 2014 at 1:01 pm by
Categories: Theater
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As promised, here is Katie & Brittany‘s report from PianoFight’s new sketch show. This time they brought their boyfriends along:

After some changes in relationship status, and with Valentine’s day around the corner, we were looking for an opportunity to do Drama Talk & Drinks: Double Date Edition, and we finally found the perfect show. PianoFight’s female-driven sketch comedy group, Chardonnay, was premiering “The Big, Buttery Sketch Show”. With guest appearances from Uni and Her Ukelele and stand-up comedian Mary Van Note, we thought this estrogen filled evening would be a great place for a pre-Valentine’s day date night. After lots of drinks, and lots of laughs, here are all of our thoughts:

Garrett (Katie’s Date): So was Uni on the Ukulele the best part or was that just me?

Brittany: I think that was just you, Garrett. She’s super creative but it ruined the arc, I felt like she brought down the energy of the show.

Katie: Agreed.

Garrett: Well, it was more real than the rest of it . . . it was soulful and cute and engaging. I didn’t think the rest of the show was very well done. If SNL had the same concepts they would have delivered it better. The show was cute and fun but the execution wasn’t there.

Sam (Brittany’s Date): The execution is what got me – I was laughing the whole time. Even some of the sketches that were a little off, like that postman sketch, that was eventually hilarious. It just took a while to hit its stride. A lot of the scenes had to build up like that.

Katie: So was the guest comedian the best part of that show or was that just me? The sketches weren’t as funny as I was expecting . . . but I think I went in with too high expectations.

Brittany: I think the stand up girl was funny in a perfectly awkward way. But, the guy who played Putin and the DJ (David Lavine) was the funniest actor in the entire show. The comedy the ladies wrote for him was great, but his acting outshined the woman. The ladies had moments where they were hella on, but not one of them nailed a character like he did. I had a fun time, and that’s really what I’m looking for out of sketch comedy, so I’d say go.

Sam: The trick to good comedy – get drinks before, during and after the show.

The Score:
6.5 from Katie and Garrett
9.0 from Brittany and Sam

The Verdict: This show is a good time and a great (double) date night. They have two more shows, this Friday and Saturday. Although there are currently still tickets available, the show we went to looked sold out, so you probably want to buy these soon. Impress your date with your local theater knowledge and get your tickets for a fun-filled Valentine’s weekend date.

The Drama Talk: Get to EXIT Theater a little early so you can get drinks at the bar to bring into the theater with you. This is sketch, it’s better with a few drinks.

The Drinks: We took our dates just a block away to Mikkeller. They had a great beer and wine selection plus food, which was great because 4 drinks deep we felt like some french fries. Brittany and Sam shared a Saison Winter, Garrett ordered a Galaxy White IPA and Katie stuck with a glass of white wine.

You can check out the show this weekend, February 14 and 15, at 8pm at EXIT Theatre.
Tickets are $20 for General Admission, $12 for groups of 5+ people and $30 for VIP tickets, which include best seating and a special Chardonnay gift.

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Comedy tonight from Piano Fight

Posted Feb 7, 2014 at 4:54 pm by
Categories: Theater
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The rad theater people over at Piano Fight, who recently successfully completed their ambitious campaign to build out their huge new space, are premiering a new sketch comedy show. “The Big Buttery Sketch Show” is performed by Chardonnay, a female-led comedy group, and opens tonight for a two weekend run at the Exit Theater. Check out the teaser below, then go laugh your belly off.

Chardonnay is premiering a compilation of original and scandalous sketches paired with local comedians and live music in “The Big Buttery Sketch Show” on February 7, 8, 14, and 15 at Exit Theater (156 Eddy St., San Francisco) at 8pm.

Tickets are $20 for General Admission, $12 for groups of 5+ people and $30 for VIP tickets, which include best seating and a special Chardonnay gift.

Expect the Drama Talk & Drinks review shortly . . .

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Weekend Entertainment Pick: The Kids in the Hall

Posted May 9, 2008 at 10:16 am by
Categories: Humor
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The Kids in the Hall perform Saturday at the War Memorial Opera House. In January we ran my interview with Dave Foley, in which he dropped some hints about the substance of this current tour — and shared the following bit of actorly introspection:

You know what? I think I’m too old to play a young Asian girl now.

Link to full feature, which also includes video of the Kids explaining how Scott Thompson killed Kurt Cobain.

(photo of my new favorite sketch by linoleum jet)

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Kid in the Hall Dave Foley on Comedy Festivals, Reunion Tours, Canada, and Young Asian Girls Growing up in Prostitution

Posted Jan 30, 2008 at 6:13 pm by
Categories: News, Video
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Last week, the Bay Area print edition of The Onion ran my interview with Kid in the Hall Dave Foley, in advance of the troupe’s whirlwind weekend at Sketchfest. The Onion doesn’t make local content available online, so here it is, as published.

The Kids In The Hall
The Kids In The Hall were to the first half of the ’90s what Mr. Show was to the second half and Flight Of The Conchords are to today: an off-kilter sketch-comedy troupe with a cable show loved by teens, college students, and discerning thirtysomethings. Since the TV show came to an end more than a decade ago, Dave Foley, Kevin McDonald, Bruce McCulloch, Mark McKinney, and Scott Thompson have ventured into feature films, sitcoms, and reality shows, and they still occasionally get back together to perform live for their legions of fans. The A.V. Club spoke with Foley about the old times, the new times, and why not everyone in Canada is allowed to be funny.
The A.V. Club: Do you like comedy festivals?
Dave Foley: I usually enjoy going to them because I get to run into old friends that maybe I haven’t seen in years, people I’ve met doing comedy. It’s like going to a high-school reunion or a convention: You get to hang out and see what everybody’s up to. And it’s always nice to get surprised by somebody new.
AVC: Does the festival atmosphere serve the art?

DF: I know it serves the desire of comedians to get drunk together fairly effectively. It really is just that coming together of people that you run into and get to know. Then maybe you don’t see them for a year or two or more, and then you just pick up again and see what kind of comedy they’re doing. There’s this cross-pollination.
AVC: You guys reunited for the first time in 2000. Are reunions fun?

DF: The 2000 one was truly a reunion because we hadn’t done anything in five years, and we weren’t talking for a long time. Since then, when we get back together, we kind of feel like being a Kid In The Hall is an ongoing part of our lives, whereas in 2000 we weren’t sure if it would be. Now we all really enjoy it. I think we like being together because we don’t have to be nice to each other at all. We can be just as mean to each other as we want to be, and usually all that happens is we make each other laugh.

AVC: Are there still moments when it feels as vital as it did back in the day?

DF: That, disturbingly, hasn’t changed much at all. We still like to surprise each other. We still make each other laugh really hard. It still feels like the same experience, except that now we’re writing as middle-aged men instead of 20-year-old kids. I was always worried we’d lapse into doing “Kids In The Hall-style comedy,” as opposed to just doing comedy, but it doesn’t feel like we’re trying to echo stuff that we’ve done in the past.

AVC: Have years in Hollywood changed the dynamic at all?

DF: It’s weird. We’ve really benefited from the fact that we’ve never been really successful. Even though we’re paunchy, gray-haired men, we can, in our minds, feel like we’re still young punks doing comedy that is still sort of outside the mainstream, which is a nice delusion to be able to have in your later years. We definitely have more “authority” now than we used to, but happily we’re not too aware of it. We still feel like we’ve got to prove ourselves all the time.

AVC: But you do accept that you’re something of an authority.

DF: I think the preferred term is “legend”? [Laughs.]

AVC: Right. So how do the young punks treat you guys?

DF: People treat us with an uncomfortable amount of respect. To me, it still feels odd to be receiving the kind of respect that I remember giving to the comedians I looked up to. It’s something you’re grateful for, but I don’t know if you ever really get used to being respected.

AVC: If there had been web-based viral video 20 years ago, how would your troupe’s history be different?

DF: There would have been less emphasis on live performing. I’m glad we learned that skill and had that fun of being in a nightclub and having that real connection with the audience. If you’re just putting comedy sketches up on YouTube and then you get a development deal, I don’t know if you have that same connection to the people you’re performing for. For us, the closest thing to YouTube was a college radio show. I’ve still got the tapes somewhere.

AVC: Any plans to release that stuff?

DF: Not any plans. I think we’d like to.

AVC: Why are Canadians such great comedians?

DF: Actually, we’re good at comedy on TV, but if you look at Canadian feature films, they’re not funny. Canadian feature films are all like Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg–not a lot of laughs. It’s hard to get funding for a funny film because it doesn’t seem culturally relevant. The film industry is mostly government-funded, so you have to write this sensitive story of a young Asian girl growing up in prostitution.

AVC: Think you’ve got something like that in you?

DF: You know what? I think I’m too old to play a young Asian girl now.

AVC: No, as a writer!

DF: Oh that–oh definitely, yeah.

AVC: The night before your performance, Sketchfest is also hosting a Kids In The Hall tribute. Have you done that before?

DF: No, not really. No one’s paid tribute to us yet. My hope is that we’re all, you know, funny. I expect the other guys to say things that I will laugh at. We won’t be taking it all that seriously. Hopefully we’ll just have some fun.

AVC: Beyond the festival, what’s next for The Kids In The Hall?

DF: We’re planning on going on tour this spring. Dates are starting to be booked now. We’re gonna go out for maybe a couple months. The bulk of the show will be new material, as it will be in San Francisco. This past year is the first time we’ve gone out with new material since the TV show. I know we’re all happy with it. The quality of the material is comparable to any of the stuff we’ve done. –Allan Hough

The Kids In The Hall tribute takes place Jan. 26 at the Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre and their closing-night performance is Jan. 27 at the Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre.

The closing-night performance was loosey goosey and great. Time traveling Dave is an image I will never forget. Let me know if you want more of a rundown on my thoughts on the performance. I missed the tribute, but here’s a great video excerpt, in which they explain how Scott Thompson killed Kurt Cobain:
Link to my Onion interview with John McCrea of Cake.
Link to all our posts involving web-based video, YouTube or otherwise.

photo by t-dawg

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