Great news! I’m excited to announce that I’m going to be in the Joshua Tree International Improv / Comedy Festival! I’ll be   part of Standup Saturday at the Blak Box Theatre in Joshua Tree. The festival is sponsored by the Hi-Desert Cultural Center. I’m stoked because this happens right near my birthday (yes I will be turning 25 yet again!). If you’re out that way come for the show on July 8th – we start at 3:15 in the afternoon, I’m on at 3:45, and the show runs all the way to 8 p.m. Looking forward to seeing other comedian friends and meeting new people! If you’re out that way, I hope to see you there. If you need info about the festival, which features over 40 different acts, you can check out their website here: Joshua Tree International Improv / Comedy Festival.

I’m on a roll with festivals! As of this moment I’m proud to announce I’ll be headlining a show as part of Laugh Riot Grrrl Comedy Festival. This festival was created by Bobbie Oliver, and is inspired by the early 90s punk rock feminist movement Riot Grrrl (which I didn’t know this, but they inspired punk activists Pussy Riot). The festival ideology is:

• 

  Tao Comedy Studio before a show

  Encouraging more grrrls to do comedy and supporting the ones who do

• Supporting the boys who are down with the cause
• Using our comedy powers for good and not evil
• Following the long standing adage that good comedy punches UP, not down
• Creating safe spaces for women
• Political activism supporting Feminism and Civil Rights for all

I’m looking forward to appearing a part of this festival, Bobbie Oliver does a lot for our comedy community here in Los Angeles. I’m honored to be invited to perform. All the shows are at Tao Comedy Studio, and happen the week of June 5-12th. I can’t wait. To quote the festival info… “START A FUCKING RIOT!” And of course, if you want to learn more about the festival, you can check out the website: Laugh Riot Grrrl Comedy Festival.

Ya can’t always do stand-up, so I joined a dance troupe. Some of our numbers are comedy numbers, like this one. I had a blast performing as part of Intrepid Dance Troupe at Scot Nery’s Boobie Trap!

It was a magical evening – it started with me bringing a dress that didn’t suit the theme due to a miscommunication. I didn’t have an outfit so I wasn’t sure what to do. Then I happened to look in the convenience store next door and find the dress I’m wearing on sale for $10! I lucked out. I put on the dress which was a little big, so we pinned it… and I got help with my hair. I’m thinking about doing a beehive a lot more often now. I was pretty psyched with how high we got my beehive to go with only a few minutes to put it up and spray it. I’m posting a picture here. My favorite thing about Intrepid is the group’s mission statement which is ‘Anyone can dance’ … and it’s true. We all had a great time dancing for this routine. 🙂

I’m so excited! We put together the set! This is what it looked like during the filming of Unicorn Dance Party 2!

Our production designer Wendie Goode Dox came up with the design and everyone pitched in to build the set. I sewed the columns – they are made from brightly colored silk sewn around small exercise hoops. Wendie suggested we try this to get the shape. There are lights at the base of each column to give an illuminated effect. Sky Adams and the stage manager nailed the flats together. The stage manager added the silvery curtain in the back, and Pierce Cook worked on the lighting. A fun piece of trivia – the couch apparently used to belong to Burt Reynolds! Haha!

The unicorn is actually too big inflated to fit in a car. Wendie had to go to a gas station to blow it up, and then walk down the street carrying the unicorn back to the theatre.

We have a lot of editing to do, so the special will hopefully be out in the first half of 2017.

I applied for a comedy grant. Quoting from the website: “The Martin Grant was established by Steve Hofstetter and Next Round Entertainment in order to identify and reward up and coming stand-up comedians. It was inspired by Hofstetter’s work on Laughs, and the loss of his father. Read the full story here.

The grant was named in honor of Hofstetter’s father, Martin. The grant will be awarded in order to aid a talented comedian with rent, car payments, or anything else that will help them focus on developing their art. A panel of some of the most influential television executives, comedy club owners, talent agents, and managers will view applications and eventually decide a winner.

The grant is funded thanks to Reddit.com and their wonderful store. A unique comedy tee was designed exclusively by Inkventive, and 100% of all proceeds from sales are used to fund the grant.”

Today was exciting, because I found out I was accepted as a finalist! Woohoo!

I’m super psyched – I’m going to perform on Nerd Night with Don McMillan! I’ve wanted to be on a show with him forever, so this is pretty awesome. Performing with us are some of my favorite bay area comedians like Tim Babb and Norm Goldblatt!