Hello Fancypants Family! We’re ending the year together with an installment of CROONERS, and jumping into the new year with a new show: SWITCH/BOARD! Read on for an interview with EnSeanté about the show, including the origin of the concept, the nature of comedy, and a look at their history with radio theater.

Don’t be late for CROONERS Races the Clock, this Sunday, December 28. Think of it as a pre New Year’s Eve party, and probably more fun than the real thing. Contemplate the nature of time with host Chester Vanderbox, performers EnSeanté and Polly Amber Ross, accompanist Brendan Getzell, and guest stars Wiley Naman Strasser and An Authentic Skidmark.

Our night owl friends can use discount TIME20 for the 9pm show this month!

_{Join host Chester Vanderbox on the fourth Sunday of each month for an evening of jazz standards and smoky ballads, in the sumptuous atmosphere of the inimitable Blue Room! Queer elegance abounds, with Chester's cunning co-hosts, drag luminaries EnSeanTé and Polly Amber Ross. Put on your sassiest duds and reserve a table today-- seating is extremely limited, as we welcome another fantastic Fancypants production! As you know, celebrity bartender MK is onhand, pouring out your favorites as we're pouring out our hearts to you.}

Looking ahead to January, we interviewed EnSeanté to learn more about SWITCH/BOARD, which will be Mondays in January at Stookey’s Blue Room.

_{A pair of improv comedy mixologists, Nicole Odell & Sean Owens, aided by expert accompanist Brendan Getzell, find themselves in a world of old-time movies, in which the answer to every problem goes through the SWITCH/BOARD! Presented as live radio theatre, these vocal acrobats will populate an entire imaginary screenplay, week after week, while Getzell composes the score spontaneously!}

How did you come up with the concept for SWITCH/BOARD?

My co-producer (and partner) Nathaniel Bice and I were watching Sorry Wrong Number, and when it finished he turned to me and said, “That needs to be a drag show, or an improv, or something...” And little by little, the shape of the evening became very clear to us: there would always be a caller and an operator on either side of a switchboard. There would always be a reason why the caller was entirely dependent on the operator to help them solve some huge central problem in the plot. SWITCH/BOARD was born out of that!

What's your history with radio theater? With film? 

Well, I've loved old movies for a very long time, and when I moved to San Francisco there were Art House cinemas everywhere, so I went to see a double feature of something almost every week, if not more. I especially love film noir, and I've written a number of film noir parodies through the years. I don't think you can really parody something well, unless you love it a lot. 

As for radio theater, years ago I hosted something called "Radio Takes Stage" downstairs in Cafe du Nord. Du Nord was still trying to figure out what kind of music venue they were, but they had a little kitchen and they served really lovely meals, but of course none of the bands wanted to play while people were eating. So I proposed that we do radio theater, so people could look down at their plates and enjoy their food while taking in 90 minutes of comedy, plus thriller, plus original songs! It was a really bold experiment and it meant that I had to produce 90 minutes of original material every month, all scripted. People loved it, and I'm hoping that they'll love SWITCH/BOARD even more, because they get to watch the comedy being made right in front of them.

Why do this as an improvised show? What's your history with Nicole and how do you know the two of you can pull it off?

Nicole Odell is not simply a great improviser, she is the artistic director of Killing My Lobster, a sketch comedy group with 30 years of experience, that I've been proud to be a part of for 10 or 12 years now. I've also worked with Nicole in her drag persona as Nicky Nomicon, at Fancypants, which is my club night (as many readers know). I trust her in the best way that one improviser can trust another; that is, I trust her to be a powerful agent of both chaos and control.. she's capable of incredible, insane choices, but she also keeps a wonderful eye on structure, and pacing, and she stays incredibly true to the arc of the characters she's creating.

In fact, if anyone is so inspired, they can hear Nicole and I doing a little bit of pandemic era radio comedy, entitled "None of this surprises Me."

Why combine all of these media from all these different eras? Can they co-exist?

There is something irresistibly analog about a switchboard, isn't there? We live in an age where kids don't even recognize what a rotary phone is, let alone a radio melodrama, and it's really fun to reclaim that. I also think it's wonderful to revisit how people used to communicate, not just technologically, but how they would ask for help, how they would assert their authority, how they would react to a hint of trouble.

Most of all, I'm just excited to have a group of people together laughing in this wonderfully intimate and elegant venue. Stand-up comedy gets put in stadiums now, but that's not really an ideal medium for it... Great comedy should allow you to watch the gears turn, and see the decisions being made in the eyes of the performers. Comedy is a very intimate thing-- It's a secret you're keeping on behalf of the person who's struggling, or who's trying to get away with something, and because you're watching both sides of it, you get to delight in the pressure that's building up.

How will a live accompanist change the show/ why is that essential? 

Well, let's start by saying that Brendan Getzell is a genius, and any chance we get to work with him, we jump at. There is so much that a musical score contributes to a narrative of that era... The '40s and '50s are full of great composers who did so much to flesh out the universe of those movies and those radio dramas, and I'm quite sure that Brendan will give us some prime examples of that.

Brendan is far more than just an accompanist. He's a partner in the scene, and I think that if Nicole and I are good listeners, and responsive, he can be telling us where the builds are, when we're starting to resolve, and probably even when we should anticipate the arrival of certain characters or events. This is absolutely a collaboration between three artists, as well as the incredible contributions of the audience!

Earlier you mentioned how food played a role in Radio Takes Stage, how does taste play a part in this show?

Hospitality plays an indispensable part of any Fancypants Production, and one of the reasons we love working at Stookey's Blue Room is the incredible staff. We are so delighted to be offering a trio of cocktails devised, especially for the event by Kelly Blong. He's been considering the era, as well as the season, so we'll have something non-alcoholic for our Dry Januarians, something hot and cheerful for those looking to stay cozy, as well as a signature cocktail that fits snugly into the era-- and knowing Kelly, they'll all be equally delicious! 

SWITCH/BOARD will take place each Monday in January, exploring a different genre and followed by one of the films that inspired it. Give yourself something to look forward to and get your tickets now!

January 5: Power Hungry-- This gritty thriller finds a ruthless female CEO trapped in her penthouse office during a power failure-- and only the Operator can save her! Followed by a screening of SORRY, WRONG NUMBER, starring Barbara Stanwyck as a hypochondriac with a crossed connection.

January 12: The Man in Charge-- This screwball comedy finds a guardian angel, who's responsible for the election of our first Female President-- and only the Operator can save her! Followed by a screening of FOR THE LOVE OF MARY, starring Deanna Durbin as a White House switchboard operator with three suitors!

January 19: Come In, Moon Patrol!-- This sci-fi adventure finds a lone Lady astronaut trying to avoid collision with an asteroid no-one believes is there-- and only the Operator can save her!!  Followed by a screening of FORBIDDEN PLANET, starring Anne Francis.

January 26: The Bride Wore Stripes-- This bright, bubbly musical finds a bride behind bars on her wedding day, with only one phone call-- and only the Operator can save her!! Followed by a screening of BELLS ARE RINGING, starring Judy Holliday.

Thank you for reading our newsletter and supporting independent, queer arts in San Francisco! While you’re waiting for the next, did you know that you can see photos from previous shows and read about our performers on our website?

See you at the show!

-EnSeanté and the Fancypants cohort