SF’s Solo Performance Workshop Festival Celebrates 5 years of the Bay Area’s most engaging solo theater.

The Solo Performance Workshop celebrates 5 years of creating some of The Bay Area’s most engaging, socially relevant, politically conscious, genre bending, and hilarious solo theater.

From Enzo Lombard’s comedic musical, “Love, Humiliation, Karaoke,” to Jennifer Jajeh’s tragic-comedy “I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid to Tell You,” to Lisa Marie Rollins’ powerful and funny “Ungrateful Daughter,” to W. Kamau Bell’s critically acclaimed hit show “The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour,” and much, much more. Founded in 2005 by W. Kamau Bell & Bruce Pachtman, SPW concentrates on NEW voices of solo work.

TICKETS $20-35
OR BUY A FESTIVAL PASS FOR $69 AND SEE ALL 7 PERFORMANCES!
http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/120652

EVENT SCHEDULE:
WEEK 1
8/19 THURSDAY 8PM: “DIS-ORIENTED”: A trio of solo performances by Asian-American women” featuring Zahra Noorbakhsh, Coke Nakamoto, Thao P. Nguyen

8/20 FRIDAY 8PM: “I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid To Tell You” Written & Performed by Jennifer Jajeh

8/21 SATURDAY 8PM: “Love, Humiliation and Karaoke” Written & Performed by Enzo Lombard

8/22 SUNDAY 7PM: “I Heart Hamas: And other things I’m afraid To Tell You” Written & Performed by Jennifer Jajeh

WEEK 2
8/26 THURSDAY 8PM: “Lady Parts” Written & Performed by Martha Rynberg and “Solo Show #2” Written & Performed by Bruce Pachtman

8/27 FRIDAY 8PM: “Ungrateful Daughter” Written & Performed by Lisa-Marie Rollins

8/28 SATURDAY 8PM: “AAAAAAAAAARGH!” Written & Performed by W. Kamau Bell

8/29 SUNDAY 7PM: THE SPW SHOWCASE featuring Nicole Maxali, Ericka Lutz, Julia Jackson, Debra Netkin

SHOW DESCRIPTIONS
WEEK 1

8/19 THURSDAY 8PM
DIS-ORIENTED.
Featuring: Zahra Noorbakhsh in “All Atheists Are Muslim”, Coke Nakamoto in “Soft Tissue: Secret Agent Bucket”, Thao Nguyen in “Fortunate Daughter”.
Cultural indigestion, color-blindness and inter-ethnic vertigo. Is there a cure? Is it treatable? Is it contagious? That’s what three women — Iranian, Vietnamese and Okinawan/Japanese — try to find out as they aim to DIS-orient themselves from external stereotypes and internal expectations. This show features a dynamic trio of performers who will lead you across a Muslim-Atheist supper table, the Mekong Delta, and Diagnostic Systems of Sexual Dysfunction. In between each solo performance are smart and biting vignettes — comic sketches, audience improv games, and contemporary dance — that will leave you happy to be as DIS-oriented as they are.

8/20 FRIDAY 8PM (also: 8/22 SUNDAY 7PM)
I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid to Tell You
Written and Performed by Jennifer Jajeh
Jennifer Jajeh is Palestinian. Well, Palestinian American. Or more precisely: a single, Catholic, first generation, Palestinian American woman who chooses to return to her parents hometown of Ramallah at the start of the Second Intifada. Sick and tired of the unsolicited discussions, debate and disagreements about her identity and her opinions about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Jennifer tries to figure it out for herself. Join her on American and Palestinian soil on auditions, bad dates, and across military checkpoints as she navigates the thorny terrain around Palestinian identity in this critically acclaimed tragicomic solo show.

8/21 SATURDAY 8PM
Love, Humiliation & Karaoke
Written and Performed by Enzo Lombard
Enzo Lombard’s hilarious solo musical comedy Love, Humiliation & Karaoke, returns to SF for one night only direct from NYC’s Midtown Theatre Festival, where it was nominated for Best Solo Show and Outstanding Actor in a Musical Production. Already rated “Don’t Miss” by SF Chronicle and “a quirky and cynical romantic comedy” by Showbiz weekly, SFGuardian calls LH&K “a smart and witty no-frills autobiographical show”, and BroadwayWorld has dubbed writer/performer Enzo Lombard the “Sedaris of San Francisco.”

8/22 SUNDAY 7PM (also: 8/20 FRIDAY 8PM)
I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid to Tell You
SEE THE DESCRIPTION ABOVE

WEEK 2

8/26 THURSDAY 8PM
Lady Parts
Written and Performed by Martha Rynberg
This is not the show you think it is. Ok, maybe it is a little. It’s about hair removal on public transportation, and elective surgery. It’s about mom thighs and tiny breasts and body odor and women’s magazine sobriety. Lady Parts is really a frank (and funny) internal adventure, tracking the contradictions within Martha’s convictions to leap from being a daughter to being a mother, without hating herself or the women and girls around her.

Solo Show #2
Written and Performed by Bruce Pachtman
It’s 1980 and Bruce is living in New York City, struggling to make it in comedy. He gets cast in an NYU student film directed by Chris Columbus (who later directs “Mrs. Doubtfire” and “Harry Potter”). It’s seen by big-time Hollywood agents who want to represent him. He moves to LA. They no longer want him. Bruce is now in LA without a job. Without hope. And most importantly, he is now burdened with a feeling of failure. That was 30 years ago. Why does that feeling of having failed persist? How did he turn it all into a very funny comedy?

8/27 FRIDAY 8PM
Ungrateful Daughter: One Black Girl’s Story of Being Adopted into a White Family. . . that aren’t Celebrities
Written and Performed by Lisa Marie Rollins
In a rush of electrifying story-telling, spoken word poetry and hilarious, unexpected characterizations, Lisa Marie reveals a sometimes disturbing picture of what it’s like to attend an almost exclusively white, private school; expresses her fierce love for her conservative, Republican, Christian, organic farmer parents and addresses the well-meaning, white, liberal adoptive parents that strain her patience . . . repeatedly. Infused with a gentle sense of humor and a seething rage, Lisa Marie wonders if she will ever heal from the secrets, stolen histories and unknowns she and other adopted people share.

8/28 SATURDAY 8PM
AAAAAAAAAARGH!: A Solo Comedy About How Frustrating Frustration Can Be
Written and Performed by W. Kamau Bell
After three years of trying to end racism in about an hour, Kamau is debuting his second solo show, AAAAAAAAAARGH! See, after spending all that time trying to make the world a better place, Kamau is exhausted and frustrated. Exhausted because it was a huge task, and frustrated, because it didn’t seem to help all that much. Well, Kamau is taking his frustration about all that and more and channeling it into AAAAAAAAAARGH! And this time, he’s not promising to end anything. He’s only hoping to feel better when it’s over.

8/29 SUNDAY 7PM
THE SPW SHOWCASE:
I Didn’t Sign Up For This
Written and Performed by Julia Jackson
A twisting ride on modern adoption’s emotional roller coaster: We meet anxious adoptive parents, and a birth mother pacing the halls of a hospital as she is slipping into labor. Back home, her mom’s totally fed up with her daughter’s pregnancy. And the birth father? He’s living in his own particular world of hurt.

A Widow’s To Do List
Written and Performed by Ericka Lutz
When she got married, Ericka Lutz didn’t want to say the “’til death do us part” part. Twenty years later – BOOM! – sudden widowhood! Then grief, absurdity, skin-hunger, tattoos. And who knew that Love and Death came with a side order of so-much-to-do? A Widow’s To-Do List is a solo performance about death, but more so, it’s about life after a tragedy, and a complicated, contemporary marriage.

I Heart Lola
Written and Performed by Nicole Maxali
I Heart Lola captures the impact of losing a beloved lola (lola is the Filipino word for Grandma) to Alzheimer’s. In the brief time span that Nicole’s grandmother spiraled from a strong, matriarchal role model to a dependent, childlike woman, their roles reversed by leaps and bounds. This piece pays tribute to all of those who suffer from Alzheimer’s by reminding us that their dementia does not define who they are.

Childhood Mammaries
Written and Performed by Debra Netkin
There’s a mound of bras on the dining room table and little Debzie is feeling the impending doom –blooming breasts and the upcoming onslaught of womanhood. This could be ugly. Come join Debra Netkin as she shares her Maidenform fantasies and fears. “I dreamed I performed a show at Stagewerx…. in my Maidenform bra!

W. Kamau Bell Curve in New York! MAY 11 -22

These shows are part of terraNOVA Collective’s 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival.

BRING A FRIEND OF A DIFFERENT RACE & GET IN 2FOR1!

MAY 11, 14, 16, 20 @ 9p & MAY 22 at 4p

To get the 2FOR1 deal use the promo code “solo241″ when you BUY TICKETS!

The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour is a comedic exploration of the current state of America’s racism, combined with a little (unknown) history, a little Powerpoint, and a whole bunch of Kamau. And because racism is always attacking in new ways and from new angles, Kamau attacks back by constantly adding new material. The Curve is a seamless mix of stand-up comedy, video and audio clips, personal stories and solo theatrical performance.

“Smart, stylish, and very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho.”
– San Francisco Weekly

“W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.”
– Margaret Cho

Laughter Against the Machine in the East Bay!

Laughter Against the Machine continues January 7, 8, and 9 in OAKLAND!!!

The New Parish
579 18th Street (near 19th St BART)

GET INFORMATION AND BUY TICKETS HERE!

W. Kamau Bell, Hari Kondabolu, and Nato Green, three of the nation’s most fearless and thought-provoking comedians, reunite once again for “Laughter Against The Machine”. LATM is a rare kind of stand-up comedy show filled with biting commentary about politics, culture, and society, which will attack the entire spectrum from the rightest right to the leftest left.

If you want to witness three comedians diving off the edge of their intelligence and comfort, come to Laughter Against The Machine. This is an evening of three acclaimed comedians doing what they do best, expressing their opinions in hilariously awesome ways, without the yoke of two drink minimums. Just come. Sit down. Laugh. Go home.

LATM came together suddenly in the back of a comedy show during a discussion among Nato, Kamau, and Hari about wanting to find new audiences for their material. Having collaborated on several successful political comedy showsincluding “Laugh Out The Vote” and “Laughing Liberally Local 415”, they wanted to figure out a way to put on an issue-oriented, topical comedy show constructed of truly impassioned material to attract the thoughtful, dauntless, urban, and urbane audiences that they knew were out there but rarely see in comedy clubs. They wanted a show where the comedians and the audience would show up understanding that they were both going to be challenged, where the audience could be entertained and think at the same time, and where the comedians would promise to push themselves to places comics normally fear to tread. They also wanted it to be hilarious. Hari, Nato, and Kamau wanted a comedy show with no preconceived expectations, no party lines, and certainly no cheerleading, because these three have beef with everybody including themselves. Welcome to Laughter Against The Machine. LATM is not just a show, it is a band… of comedians. It is a band that is strengthened by the diversity of the comedians opinions, ethnicity, and upbringing. LATM has happened three times and has seen sold out audiences every time. Welcome to a comedy show where the comics may (among other lighthearted topics) vivisect the very notion of post-racial America, AND attack the corruption and decadence of late-imperial America, AND provide an historical context for the mess we’re in, AND make jokes about it. Very, very funny jokes.

Hosted by Janine Brito. Featuring Special Guest, Chris Garcia.

ABOUT THE COMEDIANS

W. Kamau Bell has been called very much in the mold of politically outspoken comedians like Dave Chappelle and Margaret Cho. Margaret Cho said, “W. Kamau Bell is the most important guy doing comedy right now. Do yourself a favor and go see him. He’s got the most astute, hilarious and completely righteous material going and he’s going to be a legend in his own lifetime like Richard Pryor and Lenny Bruce. Think Bill Hicks but slightly taller.” Kamau was named Best Comedian 2008 by The SF Weekly, and also was featured in a cover story in 2009. Also seen on Comedy Central’s Premium Blend and performing his critically-acclaimed solo show, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism In About An Hour. Time Out New York said, “Happily, Bell finds comic gold in the wide range of material he mines, offering provocative insights into an ugly reality. FOUR STARS”

www.wkamaubell.com

Hari Kondabolu is, according to the Seattle Times, a young man reaching for the hand-scalding torch of confrontational comics like Lenny Bruce and Richard Pryor. Hari has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live and Comedy Centrals Live at Gotham. His short film MANOJ was selected to play at the 2008 Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal and was a Finalist in the 2007-2008 Boston Motion Picture Awards. Born and raised in Queens, NY and a graduate of Bowdoin College with a B.A. in Comparative Politics in 2004, Hari also earned a Masters in Human Rights from the London School of Economics in 2008.

www.harithecomic.com

Nato Green, who is he rarest of things — a San Francisco native, continues in the tradition of hard-hitting Jewish comedians like Lenny Bruce, Mort Sahl, and Joe Lieberman. Nato is the mastermind of Iron Comic, Laugh Out the Vote, Laughing Liberally Local 415, and the New Jew Revue. He blogs on Huffington Post, is the Official Comedian of the Progressive Reading Series, appeared at Comedy Day 2009 and SF Sketchfest 2008 & 2009. Nato claims that an anonymous reviewer on an unnamed website — who Nato has reason to believe is not related to him — wrote that Nato, “always manages to look completely relaxed saying the most incendiary sh*t”

www.natogreen.com

Start The New Year off right… FURIOUS.

W. Kamau Bell Curve at La Pena July 30, 31 and Aug 1!

Kamau' SF Weekly cover May 09!

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July 30th, 31st and August 1st, 2009 Third Root Presents “The W Kamau Bell Curve” at La Pena Cultural Center in Berkeley!

The W. Kamau Bell Curve is NOT your typical stand up comedy!! Dont be fooled!

BUY TICKETS HERE! (yes you can purchase a ticket in advance, and bring your person of a different race to get in!)
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JUST LIKE SKINNY JEANS, superhero movies, and frozen yogurt, racism continues to make a comeback. In 2007, The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About An Hour opened big and came out swinging against big targets. Back in 2007, it was celebrity racism that was all the rage. (Imus, Kramer, Rosie O’Donnell, Dog The Bounty Hunter, etc…) But two short years later, America has amazingly elected the first black president… of the Republican National Committee — Michael Steele. Oh, and also we elected, as president of the United States of America, Barack Hussein Obama. All this MUST mean racism is over. We’re officially in Post-Racial America… Right?… Right?

WRONG! Because now that a black man — or a half black/half white man if we want to split not so nappy hairs — is leading the free world, the stakes just have gotten higher. Racial injustice has become more insidious (thanks to Rush Limbaugh, the continued broadcast of BET, black and Latino people being blamed for the passage of Prop 8, Teabaggers marching in lock step with white supremacists, and most of the comments on Kamau’s YouTube page). That’s right. Racism has redoubled — no, re-quadrupled — its efforts. Well, W. Kamau Bell is here to make (non)sense of all of it all. And because racism is always attacking in new ways and from new angles, Kamau attacks back by adding new material at every performance. The Curve is a seamless mix of stand- up comedy, video and audio clips, and solo theatrical performance.

The W. Kamau Bell Curve is inspired by the work of several different comedians: the passionate, agenda driven comedy of Bill Hicks, the free flowing, “talking shows” of Henry Rollins, the soul baring honesty of Margaret Cho’s “I’m The One That I Want,” the take no prisoners and leave no stone unturned style of Dave Chappelle, and the ripped-from-the-headlines relevance of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

And as always…

BRING A FRIEND OF A DIFFERENT RACE & GET IN 2FOR1!

The W. Kamau Bell Curve has played to sold out houses all over San Francisco, Oakland, and has also played The Jewish Community Center East Bay in Berkeley. And this summer will appear at The La Pena Cultural Center and The New York International Fringe Festival.
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Read his great article in that came out in the SF Weekly on May 13, 2009! or watch this video of Kamau on KQED’s Spark!

W. Kamau Bell Curve in Los Angeles!

Call for FREE tickets!!

W. Kamau Bell is excited to return to The Comedy Central Stage to present his critically acclaimed solo show The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour

Tuesday, June 30, 2009
8:00pm – 9:00pm
The Comedy Central Stage at the Hudson
6539 Santa Monica Boulevard (@Hudson btw Highland and Vine)
Los Angeles, CA

Black president or not, racism continues to make a comeback in America. Whether it’s Rush
Limbaugh’s daily treason OR teabaggers marching in lock step with white supremacists OR people of
color being blamed for the lack of legalized gay marriage in California OR the continued
broadcast of BET — racism hasn’t run this rampant since Martin Luther King, Jr. had that dream.
Well, Kamau is here to make (non)sense of it all, with a seamless mix of stand-up comedy, multi-
media, and personal stories. Established in 2007, the Curve is constantly updated in order to be
as fresh as the news is skewers.

For more information go to http://www.wkamaubell.com

Absolutely FREE! To RSVP, Call 323.960.5519