UCT comedians let loose at Wildcard Wknd
Mumz The Word is very proud to be involved in the Wildcard Wknd from the 14th April – 17th April 2011 held at The Playroom on Hiddingh Campus (Orange Street) UCT. All young comedians have to start somewhere and concepts like Wildcard Wknd are just what we need to give the young budding acts a chance to practice their art.
Wildcard Wknd is an initiative that was conceived by UCT student Dean Kriel and has been supported by the UCT Drama department and Mumz The Word. The concept is to showcase eight comedic acts produced and performed by UCT Drama students in hopes of developing their abilities and showcasing them to the public. The headline sponsor for the event is Graca wine (of Distell), who have always supported comedy within the country having run the Graca Comedy Showdown in previous years as a pre-event addition to the annual Cape Town International Comedy Festival held at the Baxter Theatre.
The vision of the Wildcard Wknd is that Through directing budding student comedians to perform for a varied audience of South African youth, our aim is to shed light upon the greater ‘social poke’ (critique of our current state of existence, both good and bad, through laughter) – using this as the foundation for a platform where South African youth may celebrate, challenge and engage with what it is that makes us South African, yet so distinctly different from one another. This affinity to what makes us laugh through each other, that which makes us so different, can be attributed to the idea of a “Wild Card”. The symbol of this “Wild Card” also subtly plays upon the criteria from which conflicts often arise on a daily basis in South Africa – the “race” card, the “gender” card, the “class” card and so on. These conflicts and affinities are to be shuffled and drawn in jest as comedians hailing from different social spectrums share their personal stories, with the aim to unite their peers in laughter.
Each evening will also feature an established guest comedian (excluding the opening night). On the 15th April you can expect to see the fantastic, whimsical comedic flare of one of South Africa’s best comediennes – Anne Hirsch (winner of the second season of David Kau’s “So You Think You’re Funny”). On the 16th April, Dylan Skews will be the guest comedian. Dylan just recently finished his successful run of his one man show “Skews Me” that was on at “On Broadway”. Peter Sserwanga will be the guest act on the 17th April. Although he is new to the comedy scene, he was one of the 2010 Graca Comedy showdown winners and got to perform at the 2010 Cape Town International Comedy Festival. Mum-z will be headling all the evenings from 14th – 17th April 2011. The host will be Oliver Booth, who is a young up-and-coming comedian who is currently studying at UCT Drama School.
The eight comedic acts that will be performing in the Wildcard Wknd will then also get the opportunity to perform at Funny Bones Comedy Nights at the Purple Turtle on the following Tuesday nights: 19th April, 26th April, 3rd May and 10th May 2011. This will allow the acts to test out their comedic abilities on a more mature and comedy dedicated audience. This will give them a more conclusive idea of what it will be like to perform comedy in an established comedy venue.
“Mumz The Word is really excited to be involved in this project as it will allow for new acts to bloom into the comedy industry in Cape Town,” states Mum-z (Mamello Mokoena) who runs the comedy nights every Tuesday at the Purple Turtle. “Cape Town is in need of new, fresh comedy blood and this event will be the transfusion bridging the way for new comedic acts to be discovered.”
Order of events
1. Live band outside, with welcome drinks (Courtesy of Graca Wine – Distell)
2. Upon the host’s invitation, audience will be invited to have their tickets checked and enter the performance space
3. Acts 1 – 5 (which will be introduced and taken off by the host)
4. Interval
5. Short welcome back by the host
6. Acts 6 – 9
7. Headline act (Mum-z)
8. Wrap-up and thank yous
Entrance: R40
Launch evening: 14th April 2011
Performance nights: 15th April 2011, 16th April and 17th April
Venue: Hiddingh Campus (Orange Street), The Playroom
Time: 20h00 for 20h30
ABOUT GRACA WINE
Graça is the best-selling white corked wine in South Africa, constantly selling more than 2 million litres per annum since 1990. Graça is a wine with a difference – in both taste and personality. It is widely known as the seafood wine. Graça is a friendly, exuberant wine. It has warmth, charm, a “cheeky” personality and a continental image. The blend appeals to both occasional and knowledgeable drinkers. The brand suits a fun-loving, outgoing lifestyle. Conveniently packaged in both 750ml and 375ml (the Bambino), Graça can be enjoyed either when dining with friends at a restaurant or alone at home. Graça is packaged in a most unusual bottle and label reminiscent of imported wines. The packaging has an upmarket presence with a difference. Graça was first launched in 1983, followed by a Rose extension in 1999.
ABOUT MUMZ THE WORD
Mumz The Word is a comedy blog dedicated to the South African comedy industry. It is run by comedian – Mum-z, whose comedy career has allowed him to perform all over the country at some of the biggest comedy festival in South Africa including The Soweto Comedy Festival, Arts Alive, Real Heavyweight Comedy Jam, Blacks Only, Giggle Gaggle Tulbagh Comedy Festival, Rocking The Daisies, Synergy Music Festival and many more. His contribution to the comedy industry in South Africa can be measured by the comedy venues that he runs, including Funny Bones Comedy every Tuesday night at the Purple Turtle and The Giggle Gaggle Comedy Festival in Tulbagh (Saronsberg Theatre) as well as working with the young acts from UCT hands on to develop them in viable comedic talent. The Mumz The Word blog is one of the most popular comedy blogs in the country.
ABOUT FUNNY BONES COMEDY
Every Tuesday, Mumz The Word and Purple Turtle present Funny Bones. These evenings have already played host to some of South Africa’s best comedinas including; Trevor Noah, Chris Forrest, Eugene Khoza, Paul Snodgrass, Rob Van Vuuren and Martin Evans. Entrance is R40 every Tuesday (R30 with bookings) and the comedy starts at 21h00 every Tuesday. Bookings: 021 424 0811
Welcome to Mumz The Word (and no, this is not a real Facebook page). Let this site be your comedy playground. I will post articles of interest to the comedy industry and articles that are just generally funny. I would also like to encourage you guys to send through jokes that tickled you or made you hurl with unadulterated laughter.
