“I don’t consider myself ‘old’, I consider myself ‘used’!”

- Sandra Risser @ Stage Werx [Paraphrase]

[Photo by Andrew Moore]

12/7. Hella Gay Comedy Show All-Stars @ Stage Werx Theater. 446 Valencia St. SF. 7:30PM. $5. Featuring Kate Willett, Loren Kraut, Shanti Charan, Casey Ley, Sandra Risser, Clare O’Kane, OJ Patterson, Jenn Dronsky, and Tammy Powers. Hosted by Charlie Ballard.

9/16. Previously Secret Information @ Stage Werx Theater. 446 Valencia St. SF. 7PM. $15. Featuring Joe Klocek, Heather Gold, Caitlin Gill, and Keith Lowell Jensen. Tickets Available: Here.

PREVIOUSLY SECRET INFORMATION is a comic storytelling series. It’s not stand-up comedy. It’s not traditional storytelling. It’s not even a mixture of the two. It’s something else. The producers of this monthly series, Bruce Pachtman, Joe Klocek and Ty McKenzie, seek out people who are willing to tell the whole story. They welcome the comedy but want storytellers who will also include the frightening, disastrous, and even tragic aspects of a story.

Spinning Failure Into Comedic Gold:  

Four very funny (and complicated) tales from four of the Bay Area’s top storytellers

“It’s Not Just Me”

Heather Gold

Without warning my marriage broke apart. My car was packed with everything I owned. I drove up north to Canada through the Hudson Valley and into a man. Literally.

“Not for Rehire”

Keith Lowell Jensen

Jensen ended up in comedy by failing at literally every other job open to a high school drop out. He was fired from or quit over 30 jobs before his 30th birthday and while there is no doubt that many managers and owners wanted to strike him over the years only one of his employers dared to live the dream. This is the story of that punch in the face and the type of revenge avaliable to a smart alec with too much time on his hands.

“I’m Just Down”

Caitlin Gill

Kissing ladies in a church, on a stage and finally on purpose.

“On the Road…”

Joe Klocek

In part three of Joe’s ongoing essay of life on the road, he gets a little closer to home, this time Skyping from Sacramento. Tired, worn out and ready for home, he comes to you live from the Sacramento Punch Line.

8/22. Don’t Watch This Show LIVE (Variety Show) @ Stage Werx. 446 Valencia St. SF. 8PM. $10. Featuring Bert DiVietri, Ryan Cronin, Dash Kwiatkowski, Stephen Ku, Alex Lindo, Matt Rath and Matt Casey. Official Website: Here. Tickets Available: Here.

This is a full on Comedy Show. We have sketch, improv, stand up, music and videos. A great array of talented comedians from all over the Bay Area. This is a variety show format where anything can happen. Come enjoy a nice hump day night of comedy. If you are sick and tired of going and seeing the same people perform over and over and the same format of stand up and sketch shows. If you are disappointed at the crap open mics throw at you week after week. THEN come check this show out. Its not amateur hour.We have it all wrapped together. Its something different for San Francisco.

8/15. The Minorities Stand-Up @ Stage Werx Theater. 446 Valencia St. SF. 7:30PM. $10-12. Featuring Samson Koletkar, Marilyn Pittman, and Josef Anolin. Tickets Available: Here. 

6/20. The Minorities Stand-Up @ Stage Werx Theater. 446 Valencia St. SF. 7PM. $10-$12. Featuring Samson Koletkar and Edwin Li. Tickets Available: Here.

Edwin Li & Samson Koletkar blast away at various stereotypes that portray the minorities as goofballs in the mainstream media and entertainment. They take shots at the absurdities that they experience in America as they try to voice the opinions and views of the minorities through humor while not shying away from highlighting the absurdities of their own cultures.

6/17. Previously Secret Information @ Stage Werx Theater. 446 Valencia St. SF. 7PM. $15. Featuring Joe Klocek, Jamie DeWolf, Ericka Lutz, Jack Boulware and C.W. Nevius. Tickets Available: Here.

Previously Secret Information is a comic storytelling series. It’s not stand-up comedy. It’s not traditional storytelling. To make it even more complicated, parts of these stories aren’t even funny. That’s because the producers: Bruce Pachtman, Joe Klocek and Ty McKenzie seek out storytellers who are willing to tell the whole story. There’s a real chance you will hear very funny stories that contain frightening, disastrous, and even tragic elements.  

Looks like they’ve hit on something. This past year Previously Secret Information was included in The SF Weekly’s BEST OF SF issue, played to a full house at SFSketchfest and recently returned from performing at Comedy Central Stage in LA. PSI now attracts performers with national reputations like Marc Maron, Will Durst, Scott Capurro and Greg Proops while continuing to include top local storytellers. They’ve even begun to Skype in performers from remote locations.  And like good storytellig series the world over, they will soon launch a podcast.