[su_carousel source=”media: 32881,32882,32883″ limit=”60″ width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″]<\/p>\n
Nicole Calasich\u2019s opening line is one that always brings a resounding laugh. She announces (and pronounces) her name in perfect Spanish, followed by, \u201cI\u2019m Latina, and I say it like that so you know it\u2019s real.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Calasich, a Mission resident, knows that her intro breaks the barrier between her and the mostly white audience. But it\u2019s also way to affirm herself onstage because as a Latina stand-up comedian, the stage is lonely.<\/span><\/p>\n When you talk with Calasich, you can tell she\u2019s confident in her skin and in the bold profession she has chosen. Still, an inner struggle remains. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnything non-traditional never seemed like an option. \u2018Get a college education, get a good job and help your family,\u2019 That\u2019s kind of the narrative I was used to hearing,\u201d said Calasich, recalling the unspoken expectations placed upon her as the child of Bolivian immigrants. Comedy is not a traditional career where financial stability is promised after even years of hard work.<\/span><\/p>\n Early on, Calasich recognized that in the world of comedy, \u201cthe output is a direct result of your input, and that cannot be said for every other job. I saw that and I became incredibly hungry for it.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n So what does a comedian do to succeed? Calasich commits to studying her tapes, taking lots of notes, rewriting jokes and keeping a pulse on the emotional forecast of her audience. Calasich has now established herself. She has worked with several headliners including San Francisco native, Ali Wong, and she produces four monthly shows in San Francisco.<\/span><\/p>\n For her, the transition into professional comedy felt natural. Before landing in the Feminist Studies department at U.C. Santa Cruz, Calasich took a stand-up comedy course. She rose and her journey with college sketch groups began. After graduation, she pursued comedy as hobby and ultimately realized it was her calling. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe more artists I met the more I realized it was a fit for me,\u201d she said. \u201cYou\u2019re not constantly worried about your boss\u2019s opinion or your family\u2019s or anyone else\u2019s. You are making things that matter to you and hopefully in some way connect with folks.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Calasich acknowledges that making a living as an artist is a selfish choice, one that she is reminded of on a regular basis. As with any artist, the time and dedication it takes to hone a craft means missing out on other obligations. That proved difficult for her, especially growing up in a tightknit Latino family. Calasich has missed numerous birthday parties, quincea\u00f1eras and barbecues with her family, who live in Los Angeles.<\/span><\/p>\n On Jan. 27 and 28, Calasich opened four performances of \u201cGentrif*cked\u201d at Brava Theater Center as part of the 16<\/span>th<\/span> Annual SF Sketchfest. Calasich set the tone at each show with several unapologetic lines about being a Latina feminist. <\/span><\/p>\n The show performed by The Latino Comedy Project, an Emmy-nominated sketch group based in Austin, emphasized the dangers of gentrification with illuminating, animated sketches and clever use of multimedia.<\/span><\/p>\n One of these sketches included a man on the street with a beer in one hand and a gun in the other who is outsmarting the land developer\u2019s walking tour. Another is about a grandmother who was kicked out of her home but, thanks to virtual reality, gets some time in her old neighborhood, revealing her own history as well as the community\u2019s. Another focuses on a Latina bombshell who analyzes how gentrification has infiltrated Latina celebrities\u2019 bodies.<\/span><\/p>\n The Latino Comedy Project addresses issues of class, race and police brutality in their\u00a0sketches, the most clever being one where a land developer and the home buyer are threatened by extraterrestrial beings planning to take over Earth. With some witty lines and slapstick humor the point is made clear\u2014the gentrifiers don\u2019t like the new folks in town.<\/span><\/p>\n The opportunity to partner with the Latino Comedy Project, whose work is meaningful and relevant given the impact gentrification has had in the Mission, was especially important for Calasich. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI know how few of us [Latino comedians] there are, it\u2019s thrilling to meet a whole group touching on relatable things,\u201d she said. One of Calasich\u2019s personal favorites was a video highlighting the culture of comedy, adequately titled \u201cHomogeneous Improv Theater.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She plans to organize a Latino comedy festival sometime in the future and hopes her partnership with the group will help move the project along.<\/span><\/p>\n Calasich said she hopes for the day when her crowd pleasing opening line\u2014accent and all\u2014will render a silent room, because the audience will finally get that being Latina and a comedian isn\u2019t a punchline. <\/span><\/p>\n Catch Calasich at any of her current shows: \u201cBrave New Jokes\u201d at Dear Mom in the Mission every fourth Saturday at 7 p.m.; \u201cResistance is Fertile\u201d at Rite Spot Caf\u00e9 in the Mission every third Monday at 8 p.m.; \u201cJokelandish\u201d at The Hatch in Oakland every third Wednesday at 8 p.m.; and beginning in April, \u201cAttractive Camp\u201d at Doc\u2019s Lab in Chinatown every fourth Wednesday of the month at 8 p.m.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [su_carousel source=”media: 32881,32882,32883″ limit=”60″ width=”800″ height=”540″ responsive=”no” items=”1″] Nicole Calasich\u2019s opening line is one that always brings a resounding laugh. She announces (and pronounces) her name in perfect Spanish, followed by, \u201cI\u2019m Latina, and I say it like that so you know it\u2019s real.\u201d Calasich, a Mission resident, knows that her intro breaks the barrier […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":32882,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[12607,7247,12605,12603,12601,12609],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-32880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-16th-annual-sf-sketchfest","tag-brava-theater-center","tag-gentrifcked","tag-latina-comedian","tag-nicole-calasich","tag-the-latino-comedy-project","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n