Hashtag Comedy
Hillcrest Center for the Arts
Saturday, November 21, 2015
8pm
Comedienne Carol Burnett famously quipped: “I couldn’t tell a joke to save my soul.” Yet for eleven years, week after week, Burnett went before audiences with a talented troupe of friends. And everywhere they appeared, audiences fell in love.
One click on YouTube and it’s clear that Conejo Valley native Julia Jasunas can tell jokes. And tonight she’s bringing a very talented troupe of friends to the Hillcrest Center for the Arts.
The latest incarnation of what Jasunas calls #Comedy (on Facebook at HashtagComedyLA) includes Conan O’Brien writer Laurie Kilmartin, comedy producer Bronston Jones, and Chris Porter, a Last Comic Standing finalist who opens regularly for Kid Rock.
The group, Jasunas says, is “high-caliber. The level of talent you find on a Saturday night in LA. They’re trekking out here because they love the art form.”
“Chris, Laurie – they are amazingly talented comics. And they’re not in this area very often. It’s a great show right in our backyard.”
Jasunas grew up working with the Young Artists Ensemble in Thousand Oaks. She studied at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia but, “not a fan of cold weather,” she admitted, Jasunas was soon home auditioning for Cabrillo Music Theater. There she ran into Hillcrest Arts director Scott Buchanan.
When Jasunas mentioned doing stand-up in L.A., Buchanan suggested bringing the show to town. #Comedy began in April 2014, mostly as a monthly feature.
“We expected a younger crowd,” Jasunas said. “We got the newspaper crowd. They didn’t really know what a hashtag is.”
In LA, Jasunas found a mentor in comedienne Jodi Miller. “It’s a tight-knit community,” she says of the scene. “I got my commercial agent thru a fellow comic. I got my modeling agent thru a comic…”
“You produce your own content, work on your craft, showcase yourself and that you’re working toward something.”
And what is this all building toward?
“The ultimate goal is film and television. When I can fully support myself with the creative arts, commercials, stand-up, acting – that’s when I’ve made it.”
And tonight, like Burnett, Jasunas will appear with yet another very talented group of friends.
#Comedy
Hillcrest Center for the Arts
403 W. Hillcrest Dr, Thousand Oaks. 8pm
Tickets $15 at the door or $12 pre-sale online at:
805-381-1246
Note: Admission is 18+. Beer & wine available with a valid ID. Please also note: these shows are meant for adults and may feature humor that will be offensive to some.
What a wonderful article! You go girl!!!