If you go
o What: Slocum House Theatre Comedy Showcase, featuring five stand-up comedians from the greater Vancouver-Portland area.
o When: 7 p.m. March 5.
o Where: Slocum House, 605 Esther St., Vancouver.
o Cost: $10.
o Information: 360-696-2427.
Slocum House Theatre Company had already expanded its offerings to include improvisation, courtesy of the Portland troupe Sideburns, and now it’s adding stand-up comedy to the mix.
On March 5, Vancouver comedian Andrew Berkowitz and four Portland area comedians will perform in a stand-up showcase at Slocum House.
The show is the brainchild of Slocum House production manager, stand-up fan and Sideburns member Rosina Busse. Busse noticed gaps in the schedule between main-stage shows and looked for other programming to offer.
If you go
o What: Slocum House Theatre Comedy Showcase, featuring five stand-up comedians from the greater Vancouver-Portland area.
o When: 7 p.m. March 5.
o Where: Slocum House, 605 Esther St., Vancouver.
o Cost: $10.
o Information: 360-696-2427.
“As an actor, I hate to see an empty stage,” said Busse, a 29-year-old Portland book editor.
The comedians performing on March 5 are all involved with ComedySportz-Portland. The March 5 show might be slightly less family friendly than ComedySportz programming, but won’t be any racier than PG-13, Busse said.
A solo endeavor
For his part, Berkowitz prides himself on his clean, positive, observational style of joke-telling.
Berkowitz, a 42-year-old software developer and artistic director of ComedySportz-Portland, has been doing improv for 10 or 11 years, but only started performing as a stand-up comedian about a year ago.
“I enjoy it because I’m a writer, and I like the writing challenge of it,” Berkowitz said. “I take a very structured approach. I really write out my routine.”
While Berkowitz performs as part of a team with ComedySportz, stand-up is a solo event.
“In improv, you’ve got a whole bunch of people, so you’re never alone up there,” he said. “Stand-up is just you and a microphone. It’s scary but exciting.”
