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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Comedy Voting is Better with Drinks, Friends, and Funny People

Posted by Temple Lentz on Wed, Oct 31, 2012 at 4:14 PM

ballot.jpg

Vote/Funny 2012 came about because show producer Joe Hieronymus didn't think he was going to vote. "I had to be convinced to vote this year," he said, "by my good friend Shawn Fleek." Fleek is a fellow comedian who also works for the Bus Project — and anyone who's been even remotely in contact with him over the last many months is well aware that the man's on a mission to get every eligible voter to vote by Tuesday.

"I haven’t voted since the Kerry '04 election," said Hieronymus, who'd worked to support the campaign and became disenchanted after the loss. But Fleek convinced him to get back in the civic responsibility game. "We talked about getting a couple of drinks and going through the ballot together — and from there we thought, why don't we invite some friends and make it a show?"

Turns out Tom Johnson at the Brody was looking for the opportunity to do something political, and the pieces fell into place. "We're going to go through the ballot," said Hieronymus, "and discuss the major ballot measures and races. Everyone's politically engaged and quick thinkers. The idea is, we've got to vote, so let's have some fun with it."

Featuring Fleek, Johnson, Marcia Belsky, Stephanie Purtle and Jon Washington, moderated by Hieronymus, the show will be a lively discussion — what the hell is this measure about, what's the functional difference between these candidates, is voting Green Party in a close election really as douchey as people say it is?

In between sections, comedians Whitney Streed and Phil Schallberger will perform a mock-debate about "issues that didn't make it onto the ballot." "Like, cats vs. dogs, Star Wars vs. Star Trek, voting vs. non-voting," said Hieronymus.

Not quite stand-up, not quite sketch, and definitely not a meeting of the Portland City Club, this should be a fun night.

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