PAGE A16, KEIZERTIMES, JULY 16, 2021
LIFE
Laughing
together
again
Stand-ups deliver doses of the
best medicine at cultural center
By ERIC A. HOWALD
Of the Keizertimes
As a stand-up comedian, Jared Richard
dreads some of the venues he’s had to per-
form in.
“There’s never any parking. All the
venues seem to be right off a busy street
and it’s always super inconvenient for the
performers and the audience to fi nd a
place to put their cars,” Richard said.
When he and friend Andrew Brunello
were looking for a new stand-up com-
edy venue, the parking around the
Keizer Cultural Center was one major
enticement.
The duo is producing regular comedy
shows in the Keizer Homegrown Theatre
space at the cultural center and the enthu-
siasm for the shows as pandemic restric-
tions were lifted has been palpable.
When the pandemic forced everyone
to live vicariously through their com-
puter and phone screens, there were some
aspects of life that simply didn’t translate
well. For Richard and Brunello, stand-up
comedy was one of them.
“We both saw a lot of comedians out
there trying diff erent things, but none of
it seemed to work, and it defi nitely didn’t
have the same feel as a live
show,” said Richard, presi-
dent of the Salem Theatre
Network. “My favorite
thing in the world is people
laughing together and we
can agree to laugh at some-
thing together – a joke that
is undeniable – it feels like
maybe not all is lost.”
Brunello is the booker
for PNW Comedy,
which is an organiza-
tion hosting stand-up
shows throughout the
mid-valley and at the
Keizer Cultural Center,
980 Chemawa Road N.E.
There is a new stand-up
event slated almost every week. The talent
ranges from locals taking advantage of an
open mic to touring pros.
The next Keizer show, on July 22,
will feature touring comics Amy Miller
and Johnny Pemberton. Miller was a
semi-fi nalist on Last Comic Standing
He said the building felt
like a place for a library
or museum. Then I told
him it had both
of those too.
— ANDREW BRUNELLO
Booker, PNW COMEDY
and Pemberton currently plays Bo in the
sit-com Superstore. Showtime is 8 p.m.
Tickets are available at pnwcomedy.
com. Those who want to sign up for a few
minutes on an open mic night can also do
so at the site. On July 23, traveling com-
ics Cheri Hardman, from Washington, and
Ken Hamlett, from Illinois, are taking the
stage. On July 24, Andrew Sleighter, who
made his big debut on Conan, will stop by
Keizer.
The fi rst show Brunello booked in
Keizer sold out all 30 tickets, which was
the limit under COVID-19 restrictions.
“When I fi rst visited the [Keizer
Homegrown Theatre Space], I think I fell
in love with it. And having the show sell
out was an indication that people were
ready for stand-up again. It was validation
that there was still a space for stand-up,”
Brunello said.
Given the tribulations of the past 16
months, Brunello and Richard worried
that the space for jokes and laughter had
dried up. But audiences and performers
have enjoyed the show and the atmo-
sphere Keizer Homegrown Theatre cre-
ated within the cultural center.
Another stand-up performer who vis-
ited the theatre for the fi rst time was sur-
prised to fi nd the space so enticing and
said as much to Brunello.
“He said the building felt like a place
for a library or museum. Then I told him it
had both of those too,” Brunello said.
Most of the shows are meant for a crowd
that is 18 or older, but Brunello is hoping
to book all-ages shows in the future.
“One of the things people typically
associate with stand-up is drinking, but
we don’t have that at the cultural center.
I think it opens up to experimenting with
the types of shows we can have,” Brunello
said.
As one of the guiding hands for the
local live theatre scene, Richard wants the
Keizer shows to have a heavy element of
audience participation.
“We want to build a community.
We want to know what type of com-
edy the audience wants. If they are
interested in skit or improv in addi-
tion to stand-up, we might be able
to fi nd a space for it,” Richard said.
Those with ideas, insights or
suggestions are welcome to engage
with Brunello and Richard at info@
pnwcomedy.com.
“We want this to be a space where
all types of comedy are included,”
Brunello added. “If we get that kind
of buy-in it will feel way more like a
community.”
While parking and the theatre
itself were major draws in bringing
comedy to Keizer, but Richard said
there was one other benefi t to host-
ing the shows in Keizer.
“It’s right next to the municipal court so
the comedians have to behave themselves,
which is really nice,” he said.