MAY 11, 2017 // 9
Continued from Pg. 8
Comedy and politics
Some topics she prefers to avoid:
“Politics are trouble,” Rice said.
“It’s a very personal thing, not to be
shared with an audience at large.”
“If challenged, though, I can hold
my own,” she assured.
But the intersection of politics and
comedy is an intriguing topic in her
field. Rice is skeptical of the claim
that political satire fosters compla-
cency in its fans.
“Children and young adults are
introduced to the political arena by
shows like ‘The Daily Show,’” she
said. “Well-informed comedians
reveal hypocrisy. That’s important.
Political comedy is an entry point to
political engagement, especially for
young people.”
Rice is an advocate for women’s
rights. When she began touring in the
1980s, she could count perhaps 20
female comedians in the business.
“Women’s comedy has blos-
somed,” she said. Comedy now gives
voice to both male and female issues.
“It’s really empowering. I champion
women whenever I can. As long as
they’re funny.”
Stand-up heaven
As the arts colony’s director,
Andrew Tonry has brought music,
poetry, dance and literature to the
community, but Friday’s comedy
festival at Tolovana Hall is the first in
recent memory.
Tonry used to cover entertainment
for the Portland Mercury, where he
developed an enduring appetite for
stand-up. A favorite venue was Suki’s
Bar and Grill, beneath a Travelodge
on Southwest Fourth Avenue, where
comedians often played Saturday
nights for no one but other comedi-
ans.
“A tough venue,” said Tonry, who
followed comics at scores of venues
up and down the West Coast.
Comedians who make it big
often move to Los Angeles, and
when circumstances landed Tonry
there, too, he luxuriated in stand-up
heaven. “Five free shows a night,” he
remembered.
Then he landed in Cannon Beach,
where there are no shows. “I’m miss-
ing it,” he explained.
The limits of taste
Inspired by the success of the
Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen,
Colorado — which funded its
first seasons with grants from real
estate transfer tax funds — Tonry
applied for an ambitious $6,500
grant from the Cannon Beach
Tourism and Arts Commission.
“They gave us $286,” he said.
“But it got the ball rolling.”
Another grant from the Clatsop
County Cultural Coalition got
plans off the ground.
Tonry booked the Rice-Frost-
Ricketts set with its coastal audi-
ence in mind — to offer a diverse
lineup without testing too hard the
limits of taste.
“Don’t expect late-night pop
comedy,” Tonry said. “What you’ll
hear is comedy about the human
condition.”
Those limits of taste may be
explored, however. “Don Frost is
very improvised and unhinged,”
Tonry said. “He rants and shrieks;
he traffics in outrage.”
Ricketts, on the other hand, is
untraditional: “a meta-comedian,”
an “avant-garde who explores
strange creative angles,” Tonry
said.
“It’s a fallacy that
stand-up comedians are
dark and self-loathing,”
WHAT: CANNON BEACH COMEDY FESTIVAL
he explained. “A lot of
WHEN: 7 P.M. FRIDAY, MAY 12
comedians developed a
WHERE: TOLOVANA HALL, 3779 SOUTH
comedic sense to defend
HEMLOCK ST., CANNON BEACH
themselves as young-
sters through difficult
WHO: COMEDIANS SUSAN RICE, DON
times.”
FROST AND CHRISTIAN RICKETTS
ADMISSION: $5 AT DOOR.
An American
art form
According to Rice,
“stand-up comedy is an American
art form,” like rock and roll.
It began in Greenwich Village
in the 1960s, reaching Portland in
the 1980s. In the City of Roses,
Rice joined other aspiring local
acts at The Leaky Roof in Goose
Hollow. She relished Lenny Bruce,
Bill Cosby, Bob Carlin, Richard
Pryor, and their frank, revealing,
spontaneous comedy that didn’t
rely on set-ups and punch lines.
“Over the years, comedy’s
rhythm has changed. Kids now
are telling stories,” she said. “It’s
wonderful.”
Tonry hopes to introduce stand-
up comedy to folks who may be
unfamiliar with its appeal. “I want
to get people in the door who may
not know that they’re missing out
on comedy in their lives,” he said.
Rice is looking forward to it. “No
one’s going to get hurt,” she said.
Christian Ricketts
Don Frost