warning Hi, we've moved to USCANNENBERGMEDIA.COM. Visit us there!

Neon Tommy - Annenberg digital news

Butt Stuff Comedy Sets Up Shop In Atwater Village

Tahsin Hyder |
February 5, 2014 | 12:49 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

"Butt Stuff." Yep, that's the name of a Miami-born, hand-picked vintage clothing store, turned makeshift comedy show coming once a month to Atwater Village. Yes, I know, let me explain. 

Fate struck one day when aspiring comedian Lauren Brown found herself exploring her new neighborhood of Atwater Village. Lured by a curious unicorn mask atop a mannequin in vintage clothes propped up outside, Brown found herself inside Tela Fiera Vintage Threads for a chance meeting with the owner. 

“We talked about comedy, and she goes, ‘Oh my god, you should see this backyard spot I have. You guys should do a comedy show,’” says Brown. “And it just kind of snowballed from there.”

Vivian Fernandez, the owner of Tela Fiera, like Brown, made the move across the country from Florida to Los Angeles. When it was time for her five-year-old daughter to start kindergarten, Fernandez decided to reinvigorate a storefront for her passion in hand-selected vintage clothes. Tela Fiera was the new concept she had in mind for the famous store of the same kind, called Recycled Blues, first owned by her in-laws on a stretch of Miami’s South Beach.

Inside Tela Fiera Vintage Clothing (Hyder, Neon Tommy)
Inside Tela Fiera Vintage Clothing (Hyder, Neon Tommy)
“I want to start a community hangout in Atwater Village,” says Fernandez, referencing the vibe of the original shop in Miami. In terms of Brown and co-creator Jackie Preciado, Fernandez adds, “I am one-hundred-percent backing up anything and supporting them throwing themselves out there and doing what they love.”

And, man, did they ever.

First, the “backyard spot” Fernandez showed Brown is the size of a small parking lot. It was decked out with christmas lights, seating for about sixty, a self service fire-pit/smores station, and a keg—which by the way, served bottomless beer for only $5 all night. 

Need I say more?

Well, yes, because it only got better. Once eight o’clock rolled around, it was quickly a standing-room-only event. Brown and Preciado opened the show with a round of shared standup. 

Preciado specializes in storytelling herself. But these aren’t your mother’s bedtime stories. She did a standup-like piece that focused entirely on one topic. Saturday night’s story? How she dated two different men with testicular torsiona.k.a. a strangulation of the blood supply that could result in the loss of a testicle.  

Cringe-worthy and hilarious, Preciado set the stage for a couple other storytellers that had the crowd tearing from laughter. 

“I knew it was going to be great, but I didn’t realize that it was going to be to this caliber,” says Leah Whitehill, who heard about the show a month earlier. 

Ryan O'Flanagan's opening standup (Hyder, Neon Tommy)
Ryan O'Flanagan's opening standup (Hyder, Neon Tommy)
That was the resounding response from a group of over one hundred people who came out to Saturday night’s show. Comedians like Dave Ross from sketch group "Women," comedic pair Curt Neill and Cornell Reid of Power Violence’s "Bro Show," and Brandie Posey of the "Lady to Lady Podcast" had people forgetting that it was one of the coldest and windiest nights L.A. has seen all winter. 

After the show, many stuck around and chatted with the more-than-friendly cast, taking full advantage of food truck fare from "Me So Hungry" and melting up marshmallows and chocolate for s'mores that were on the house.

It wasn’t a bad way to spend a Friday night in LAespecially to the tune of $0. 

“I love Atwater Village and want more people to come out here and see how great it is,” says Preciado. “To have a free event here and a space that can fit so many people to just come and meet each other and have a good time? I think it’s great for the community.”

Agreed, Jackie. "Butt Stuff" will be holding their show on the last Friday of each month at Tela Fiera Vintage Threads in Atwater Village. Their next show is on Friday, February 28.

For more theater and dance coverage, click here.

Reach Staff Reporter Tahsin Hyder here. Follow her on Twitter here.



 

Buzz

Craig Gillespie directed this true story about "the most daring rescue mission in the history of the U.S. Coast Guard.”

Watch USC Annenberg Media's live State of the Union recap and analysis here.

 
ntrandomness