Local comedian Alex Modic has his preferences. Richard Pryor over Dane Cook, for instance, and Jimmy Carr over Larry the Cable Guy. He has his favorite subjects, which he lists: “Sex. Politics. Religion. My own insecurities.” He’d rather perform outside of theaters than on stages, he says—spots like Charlottesville Comedy Roundtable’s monthly gig at Buddhist Biker Bar. “Especially when bombing,” he adds during a recent interview. “It feels like bombing in a conversation rather than in a CIA interrogation.”
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Alex Modic and members of the Charlottesville Comedy Roundtable perform on New Year’s Eve at 12th Street Taphouse. |
And as we talk about an upcoming gig at a Waynesboro restaurant, it becomes clear that, when it comes to swearing, Modic is decidedly in favor. The challenge for his Waynesboro gig? Holding the salt.
“They asked for 15 minutes of clean material,” he says. He stops, pulls one hand from his jacket pocket, scratches his head. While Modic doesn’t seem worried about coming up with an act, he seems slightly concerned that he might, in his considerable natural enthusiasm, drop a world-shattering, Disney-damning, multi-syllabic curse.
Although, shit—what’s the worst that could happen?
Because we haven’t had a reliable comedy scene in Charlottesville quite like the one Modic and his fellow performers are at the center of—a loose collective that is, if nothing else, the most active group of comedy performers in the last several years. Dead center is Jim Zarling, founder of both the Charlottesville Comedy Roundtable and Wu Prov improv clan. But joining him in each group, as well as spending time with longtime local improv troupe The Bent Theatre, is Modic.
And, save the occasional family-friendly set, things seem like they’re going Modic’s way. In the last month, the Comedy Roundtable performed gigs at 12th Street Taphouse, a roast of Zarling at Bel Rio and the usual Buddhist gig. (“We’ve had one show that wasn’t standing-room-only,” he says of the latter gig.) Modic also performed improv sets at The Bridge/Progressive Arts Initiative and Rapunzel’s Coffeehouse in Lovingston.
In fact, Modic and the Wu Prov/Roundtable crews plan to host their own New Year’s Eve performance at 12th Street Taphouse, dubbed “Last Night 2009.” Stand-up performances and improv games start circa 8pm and run until 12:30am in a reasonably orderly fashion; after, Modic says there’s talk of a “Dirtiest Stand-Up in Charlottesville” competition until 2am. It’s the last time and place you’d expect to see a stand-up comedy show in town; increasingly, local comedians like Modic prefer it that way.
Live Arts hires new executive director
It takes two, baby. Longtime local theater Live Arts made clear in May when managing director John Gibson announced his resignation in May that it would start 2010 with a pair of new leaders. Satch Huizenga accepted the role of artistic and producing director in July. And according to Live Arts, he’ll make his January 4 premiere alongside new executive director Matt Joslyn, a 33-year-old native of Columbus, Ohio.
Joslyn worked previously as executive director of the State Theatre of Ithaca and director of education for the Columbus Children’s Theatre. He also served as executive director of Mansfield, Ohio’s Renaissance Theatre from May 2007 until January 2009, when he was let go “because of economic reasons,” according to Mansfield TV station WMFD. During recent visits to Charlottesville, Joslyn caught performances of Performance Exchange Project’s Our American Ann Sisters and Gibson’s farewell production of Gypsy.
Last week, Feedback spoke with Huizenga and Joslyn about their new gigs. Read the full story on the Feedback blog.
