Villains of History! Live in Flagstaff!

The Mumble just had to check out the backstory

Hello Cat! Can you tell us about your Latin American heritage?
My mother is from Nicaragua, and I grew up visiting almost every summer to see family. I still have many uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews there who I miss very much! One of my favorite things about my Nicaraguan heritage is that the country have such an amazing history of people trying to take over, and then against all odds regaining freedom again. Unfortunately, it usually leads to another tyrant, but Nicaragua still manages to pull through.

When did you first realise you were funny?
In 6th grade I took a drama class at summer camp, and we did the Complete Works of William Shakespeare Abridged. Somehow I ended up playing King George in a slow motion football game (for the crown), and the physical comedy & silliness came very naturally to me. Everyone in the class doubled over at my King George, and I new I wanted to make people laugh more somehow. Before I did stand up I did theatre for several years, and I never failed to find my way into funny supporting character roles and I played the heck out of them.

How did you get into stand-up?
In college I had gone away from theatre and majored in Economics, but once I got my first 9 to 5 I quickly realized how much I missed my passion. Luckily, I was friends with someone who ran a comedy show in a pizza shop in town. He was nice enough to give me 5 minutes in front of an audience. I tried it, and was a natural. I knew I needed to keep going, and here I am 5 years later.

What does your mother think of all this comedy malarkey?
She thinks I’ll never meet a husband. “Men don’t like women who are out late at night”. But deep down, I know she’s very proud.

Where do you find the comedy in what is essentially the rather serious situation in Nicaragua?
There’s nothing funny about the people who have been killed while protesting dictatorship. However, there is something funny about how dumb the dictator thinks people are. Dictators will flat out lie and deny everything, even when there’s proof beyond proof. There’s a lot of comedy in the lies. After the initial 25 people were killed in protests (his officers shot at peaceful protesters), he told the press that a small group of right wingers from the US were trying to stage a coupe. Just about the whole country knew that was BS, and they staged a historic march on April 20th with over 1 million people throughout the country to let Ortega know they supported the protesters and that these protesters were not representing some tiny group of US agitators.

Can you tell us about Villains of History?
Villains of History is a podcast I created in which I and a guest comedian talk about the life of different horrible people throughout history. That includes dictators, serial killers, cult leaders, and even some US Presidents. I was inspired to do this podcast by how little people know about what is happening and has happened outside of the US. While performing at a college this year, I had a COLLEGE student ask “what’s the cold war?” When Fidel Castro died a few years ago, there were actually people on my facebook who were sad about his death (none of them Cubans). We need more content that gets people to learn their history. As they say, if we don’t learn from it, we are doomed to repeat it.

You’ve got three famous comedians (dead or alive) coming round for dinner. Who would they be & what would you cook; starters, mains & dessert?
Maria Bamford, Jim Gaffigan, and Lewis Black. I would definitely treat them to some Nicaraguan food. Probably a delicious carne asada (flank steak), some steamed yucca, Nicaraguan coleslaw, & fried plantain chips.

You’re performing at this year’s Big Pine; what are you bringing to the table?
I’m bringing that fire! I’ve got some great jokes, and a super interesting live podcast!

How is a podcast translating into live performance?
Audience members will be able to ask questions at the end. Jamie Kennedy is our guest, which is VERY exciting. He’s probably the biggest guest I’ve had so far, and it’s such a privilege to be working with him for the live show. It’s going to be a great time!

You’ve got 20 seconds to sell the show to somebody in the streets of Flagstaff?
If you like history & true crime, and have a sense of humor, come to the live taping of the Villains of History podcast on Sunday September 22nd at Blendz! It’s going to be super fun! You can check out the podcast ahead of time by finding it on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts & Spotify!

VILLAINS OF HISTORY

BLENDZ, FLAGSTAFF (AZ)

Sunday, September 22nd (14.00)

Big Pine Comedy

You can also catch Cat’s stand-up at the following times/places:

Wednesday 18: Comedians Under the Influence @ 11:30 pm at Orpheum Theatre

Thursday 19: Calendar Shoot @ 3:30 pm at Green Room / Frequent Delinquents with Lisa Landry @ 10 pm @ Green Room *Industry Showcase*

Friday 20: Headbangers Comedy Ball with Orlando Leyba @ 10 pm @ Green Room

Saturday 21: Lumber Jills with Jackie Fabulous @ 8pm at Green Room (Host)

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The Mumble welcome Emily Reilly to the team with a wicked piece of on-the-spot reporting in The Windy City

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Saturday Night Live has always been quite near and dear to my heart; if there’s one thing I’m a nerd about, it’s this show. So, it was truly fitting that I spent my valentine’s day date at a place I’m newly in love with– the temporary SNL museum in Chicago, ‘SNL: The Experience.’ Located at 360 N State St, you’ll find that the tickets are reasonably priced for the inside look at a show with so much history and humor. Here were a few of my favorite parts.

The Full Schedule: Not only are there famous wigs, costumes, and scripts, but each room of the museum serves as a day of the week at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, and shows how the day-to-day madness ensues. It displays where the episode is at in the production process on each day. For instance, Tuesdays include long nights that writers spend hours thinking of pitch ideas for the dreaded Wednesday meeting with Lorne and the host. The Tuesday room had videos of famous writers, like Seth Meyers, talking about this day in particular, as well as a glass case full of scripts from over the years, included some from as early as the 70’s. I was having a moment.

The Glamour: With all the character transformations on SNL, it makes for lots of wigs, head moulds, and allllllll kinds of props to make the characters look believable. It was interesting to see all the designated elements for the hilarious characters that famous alum used to wear–especially the iconic cone head.

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The Costumes: We were joined by all of the classics from SNL history at this museum, Stefon’s wedding outfit (YES!), the church lady’s dress (isn’t that special?), and even the suit from Alec Baldwin’s uncanny Donald Trump impersonation. There were so many more that you should check out for yourself because this part of the museum was surreal. I felt like I was entering a forbidden Taiwanese Temple or something. Seriously, it was so cool.

The Final Part: After visiting a replica of the control room (which also felt very real, there was a countdown board to the special SNL episode for museum goers only.) The nutshell SNL episode was short and sweet to sum up the museum, and to send off those just finishing the tour. There were very few other people there when I went on a weekday, so it made this experience even cooler. After the mini show, they encouraged a fun photoshoot behind the recreated ‘weekend update’ desk. I was in heaven.

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Conclusion: This was by far, the best museum I have ever visited. I only mentioned a fraction of the memorabilia, props, costumes, quotes, videos, set pieces, and SNL artifacts that caught my eye on every floor; there are so many more I didn’t mention. It’s funny because we were actually about to do the art institute for the 288343476th time. Luckily, my search recommended this gem, and suddenly there was a day I’ll never forget. In other words, DO THIS WHILE IT’S HERE!

Emily Reilly

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