The LIDA Project

Lorenzo Sariñana plays "Yank" in LIDA's production of Eugene O'Neill's The Hairy Ape.

The LIDA Project was named for a Soviet device that was supposedly capable of manipulating human brain-waves through the use of low-frequency radio, and for nearly two decades, this innovative theater company has offered productions that often incorporate technology in unusual ways. It latest effort is a modernized version of Eugene O'Neill's expressionist play The Hairy Ape, re-imagined as a one-man show; it opens tonight.

See also:
- Lida Project's R.U.R./lol uses robots to examine what it means to be human
- Everything adds up as the LIDA Project embarks on its 18th season
- A Critic's View on LIDA

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Shayna Ferm, a prodigal Coloradan who's returned from years in the New York comedy scene, hosts and organizes a monthly show called Pump and Dump, designed to engage young moms and provide a sorely needed evening of fun. Ferm, a young mother herself, was frustrated by the lack of entertainment opportunities for new moms and created a show specifically suited to their unique needs. In doing so, she has not identified an underserved demographic, but brought cathartic laughs to many overstressed local mothers.

In advance of Saturday night's show at Local 46, we met with Ferm to discuss Pump and Dump, moving back to Denver and the Highlands Mommy mafia.

See also:
- Think Mommy Dearest was tough? Consider these divas of the animal world
- Westword Book Club: Comedian Adrian Mesa on spirituality in literature
- Mother's Day Family Show at Comedy Works

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Ron White performs at the Temple Buell Theatre on May 17.

Now that we've finally eked our way into the warmer weeks of spring (fingers crossed), it's time to get off the couch and head out into the fresh air to get to May's ten best comedy events. We've got albums being recorded, albums being released, two Latino-themed shows, nerd heroes Aziz Ansari and Chris Hardwick, a benefit for troubled children, and classy rube Ron White explaining why everyone's a little gay. So lower your defenses and put on your drinking shoes, because May is jam-packed with some hyperventilating hysteria to warm your heart after all those snowy months of hibernation.

See also:
- Louis C.K. debuts new HBO special, continues frightening us all with his vivid logic
- Amazon's new comedy pilots are full of flops -- with a Bill Murray and Grawlix exception
- Anthony Jeselnik celebrates baby-death, bulimia and domestic violence at DU

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David Andrews

Nancy Smith dangling in a sphere.

#74: Nancy Smith
The sky's not the limit for Frequent Flyers founder and director Nancy Smith, who literally hangs around most days at her Boulder aerial-dance studio: teaching, choreographing, visualizing, directing and dancing, sometimes in an upside-down position. It's a rare profession, with one hand reaching clear up into the stratosphere, and if you want to learn more about it here in Colorado, you'll want to fly up and see Smith.

See also:
- It's a circus out there: Frequent Flyers brings Cirque de Minuet to The Dairy
- Ratcracker is back, a high-flying alternative to Nutcracker
- Best Flight School, 2010: Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Studio

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Anthony Jeselnik performed two sold-out shows at DU on Saturday.

The appearance of sociopathic dreamboat Anthony Jeselnik at the University of Denver's Newman Center Saturday was filled with unthinkable rape jokes and reverse-pandering to the backward-hat bros and "Woo!" women who populate the college campus. Despite the fact that nearly half his set was recycled material from his standup special and Comedy Central show, The Jeselnik Offensive, this charming deviant was a hit among the outrage-aficionados who showed up in cultish masses (enough to justify a second show, which also quickly sold out), many of whom seemed delighted to hear familiar material in the way classic-rock fans would their favorite radio hits.

See also:
- Anthony Jeselnik's five most deliciously offensive moments
- Offended: Why Anthony Jeselnik will never be Joan Rivers, or The Onion
- Anthony Jeselnik on his jerk persona, Comedy Central roasts, and why he likes hecklers

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For nearly two years the Nix Brothers and The Grawlix comedy team have been producing mind-burstingly good short films for the web that also screen each month at the Grawlix's Bug Theatre comedy show. With a trio of hyper-real characters that play off each other with a juvenile cruelty and self-debasement, the web series takes a conceptual cue from The Office. It acts as a faux-documentary profiling three goofball comics from Denver -- while also slipping in a few episodes of random weirdness that have nothing to do with anything.

As these comics close the chapter tonight with their season finale episode -- which will be screened at the Bug Theatre at 10 p.m. -- we thought we'd take a look back at our favorite moments in the Grawlix catalogue, reviewing all the childish cruelty these three monsters have inflicted on each other over the years.

See also:
- Denver's ten best comedy nights
- Andrew Orvedahl on Those Who Can't, the Grawlix pilot for Amazon
- Meet the 2013 MasterMinds: Evan and Adam Nix

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Anthony Jeselnik will perform at the Newman Center Saturday, April 27.

Between his standup performances and his Comedy Central show, The Jeselnik Offensive, handsome asshole Anthony Jeselnik has slapped the PC button of just about every sociopolitical demographic the world over. Whether you're a liberal female with an eating disorder or a conservative Catholic who survived cancer, this sharp-tongued mockster will find some way to burrow under your skin.

In anticipation of Jeselnik's performance in Denver this Saturday, we've assembled some of our favorite assaults throughout the years. If you are easily offended, these next five clips are definitely intended for you.

See also:
- Anthony Jeselnik on his jerk persona, Comedy Central roasts, and why he likes hecklers
- Louis C.K. debuts new HBO special, continues frightening us all with his vivid logic
- Kim Jong-Un supports gay marriage: Did SNL steal this from The Onion?

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#75: Conrad Kehn

The opening sentence of Conrad Kehn's professional bio kind of says it all: "Conrad Kehn is a composer, improviser, performer, educator, writer and artist." But that's the glib definition of a guy who, under the skin of his basic vita, is hellbent on spreading the joy of making and sharing and being a part of music that is sometimes difficult, all while never assuming that any audience is too dumb -- or immature -- to appreciate it.

See also:
- Soundpaint with Walter Thompson and the Playground tonight at the Auraria campus
- With its Mile High Voltage Festival, the Newman Center makes classical music more accessible to the masses
- 100 Colorado Creatives: Mark McCoin

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Mark McCoin, in the heat of a performance.

#77: Mark McCoin
Experimental musician and multimedia artist Mark McCoin has paid his dues many times over, contributing a free-thinking, collaborative style of creativity to the Front Range scene over three decades. He's worked with a who's-who of the local avant-garde, and in the last of those decades, he honed his explorative leanings at the University of Colorado as a grad student and instructor.

See also:
- Save the Tank: Musicians unite to preserve an acoustic marvel
- Best Homemade-Instruments Show, 2013: Gorinto
- See the multimedia of tomorrow in Boulder tonight

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The Grawlix have been one of the brightest lights on the Denver comedy scene for a couple of years now, most successful comedy team not to come out of Denver -- but to live in Denver. Their crowning achievement thus far, though, has got to be this past weekend's premiere of the Those Who Can't sitcom pilot, a hope-to-be series bankrolled by Amazon's new Instant Video. The show revolves around three hopeless Denver high school teachers who entangle themselves in juvenile hijinks that often make their students look like the grown-ups. The Grawlix pilot debuted with several other comedy pilots, including The Onion Presents: The News and a John Goodman/Bill Murray vehicle, Alpha House.

In honor of the release, we recently sat down with a third of the Grawlix pie, wide-eyed innocent Andrew Orvedahl, to chat about the Three Stooges, how high school has changed, and why Adam Cayton-Holland is a manipulative dick.

See also:
- Denver's ten best comedy nights
- Louis C.K. debuts new HBO special, continues frightening us all with his vivid logic
- Even sobriety can't change Ben Roy's sense of humor

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