{"id":8613,"date":"2014-02-19T08:50:29","date_gmt":"2014-02-19T16:50:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=8613"},"modified":"2014-02-17T12:51:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-17T20:51:00","slug":"victorias-first-funny-women-festival-brings-together-funny-women-of-all-kinds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2014\/02\/19\/victorias-first-funny-women-festival-brings-together-funny-women-of-all-kinds\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria’s first Funny Women Festival brings together funny women of all kinds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s to cheer us up, connect with friends, avoid an awkward silence, or to keep us from keying our neighbour\u2019s car, comedy seems to do the trick. Laughter cuts tension, lightens the mood, and allows us to explore every kind of topic\u0143from airplane peanuts to racial profiling\u0143all in a way that transcends the straight-faced nature of everyday public life.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kirsten Van Ritzen playing her character Louise for some laughs (photo by David Bukach).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On that note, the very first Funny Women Festival will be exploring a variety of themes with acts that include standup, sketch, improv, as well as music\u0143and it\u2019s all\u00a0 delivered from an entirely female perspective.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really wanted women to get the spotlight,\u201d explains festival organizer Kirsten Van Ritzen. \u201cTo take women\u2019s work in comedy and the support they have for each other to a whole new level, and to share that with the audience and the community.\u201d<\/p>\n

Founder of the production company Broad Theatrics, Ritzen has been a very active participant in the local comedy and theatre scene with a little bit of everything on her resume. But when it comes down to it, comedy is her first love. \u201cIt\u2019s something that I thrive on,\u201d admits Ritzen, \u201cand I need quite a bit of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s true: a big belly laugh now and again definitely satisfies a fundamental need within us all, but it\u2019s also capable of so much more. \u201cThere can be depth to it,\u201d says Ritzen, with excitement in her voice. \u201cIt can inspire us to change.\u201d<\/p>\n

If anyone is proof of that statement, it is Vancouver\u2019s Melanie Rose\u0143one of the comedians performing at the festival. In contrast to the flashy tie-dye shirts she sports on stage, things were not always so bright for Rose.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was in a psychiatrist\u2019s office, in the elevator when I saw the sign for Stand Up for Mental Health,\u201d recalls Rose, \u201cI phoned the number and said, \u2018Everything around me is falling apart, but I know I\u2019m funny, and I really need to be in your class.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

As someone who suffers from bipolar, Rose attended the program, which uses humour to help those struggling with mental illness. She claims that it saved her life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found it very therapeutic,\u201d she says, \u201cIt\u2019s been a real blessing to have found it.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the other hand, being behind the mic also has its ups and downs. When asked what she does after an \u201coff\u201d night, Rose refers to another form of therapy: \u201cTV and chips,\u201d she says with a full stop.<\/p>\n

Another funny woman slated to appear is Karen Brelsford\u0143a Victoria actor and improv performer. Brelsford always knew she was a performer, but it wasn\u2019t until after studying sciences at the University of Victoria and working for the government that she decided to try her hand at show business.<\/p>\n

While working in the field of tree-ring dating, Brelsford asked herself, \u201cDo I want to do this for the next 40 years?\u201d It wasn\u2019t long before she went to New York to attend the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.<\/p>\n

With a background in acting, improv comedy is what really pumps Brelsford up. \u201cThere\u2019s an adrenaline rush with it because you don\u2019t know what\u2019s coming, and that\u2019s fun,\u201d she says, also noting that \u201cit\u2019s safer than bungee jumping.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Rose and Brelsford, Ritzen explains that the lineup she has planned for the festival includes a little bit of everything: \u201cThere\u2019s a huge range of voice, diversity, and variety,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

When asked if she plans on making the festival an annual event, Ritzen seems torn. \u201cWhy have I given myself this massive job?\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

But Ritzen seems to know how to juggle all of the things she\u2019s involved in. Needless to say, I\u2019m sure the first Funny Women Festival will not be the last.<\/p>\n

Funny Women Festival
\n8pm Friday February 21 and 8pm Saturday February 22
\n$25, Victoria Event Centre
\nfunnywomenfestival.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Whether it\u2019s to cheer us up, connect with friends, avoid an awkward silence, or to keep us from keying our neighbour\u2019s car, comedy seems to do the trick. Laughter cuts tension, lightens the mood, and allows us to explore every kind of topic\u0143from airplane peanuts to racial profiling\u0143all in a way that transcends the straight-faced […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8614,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8613","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-february-19-2014"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8613"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8615,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8613\/revisions\/8615"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8614"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8613"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8613"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8613"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}