Touring Comedian Vanessa Gonzalez Performs Sketch Comedy This Weeked

by | Mar 13, 2014 | COMMUNITY

Vanessa Gonzalez will be performing her sketch comedy show entitled “I Don’t Know Words” at Richmond’s Coalition Theater on March 15th this upcoming weekend.

Vanessa Gonzalez will be performing her sketch comedy show entitled “I Don’t Know Words” at Richmond’s Coalition Theater on March 15th this upcoming weekend. I Don’t Know Words is described as a sketch comedy with a unique theme surrounding it. “Vanessa has always had trouble finding the right words so she found the best way to get her point across is through characters, absurdity and songs.”

The concept behind the show is that Vanessa will be using different absurd characters, songs, videos and funny situations to express herself rather than just using words. Although she works with a lot of improv, I Don’t Know Words is a more contrived work being written and produced by Gonzalez.

Gonzalez is based out of Austin, Texas and is a regular performer with The New Movement Theater. In addition to performing with The New Movement she also teaches improv and had toured with comedy groups like Stupid Time Machine. You may have even caught her the last time she visited RVA touring with Air Sex Championships.

She’s been doing comedy for the past seven years and recently performed at festivals around the U.S. like Frontera Fest, Chicago Sketch Fest and many more.

Gonzalez is no stranger to comedy but the twist with her new show, I Don’t Know Words, is that this is her first solo sketch comedy show.
“I’ve always wanted to do a solo show once I saw John Leguizamos solo show Freak,” said Gonzalez who saw Freak in middle school. She’s wanted to do her own version of a solo sketch show ever since.

While Gonzalez will be the only person on stage much like a stand-up performace, I Don’t Know Words definitely seems to be grounded in the sketch comedy genre. Gonzalez said she uses music, people, and personal situations as inspiration and “alters them to be more absurd and funny.”

She also said she’s inspired by other female comedians like Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.

“[A[ Sketch will start off one way and ends in a way you didn’t expect,” said Gonzalez, but what you can expect is something more along the lines of a variety show. There is no overarching narrative or storyline, rather a number of absurd situations which play out before an audience.

Gonzalez explained one scene where she is struggling with a pickle jar in spanish. The scene becomes less of a struggle and more of a battle between her and the jar of pickles.

Watch Gonzales perform as part of the comedy group Glorias in the video below:
)

Theres bound to be something in Gonzalez’s I Don’t Know Words that deserves some laughter. Check out her profile with The New Movement and see some of their work here.

If that got you laughing be sure to catch Gonzalez in town March 15th at the Coalition Theater for I Don’t Know Words.

Brad Kutner

Brad Kutner

Brad Kutner is the former editor of GayRVA and RVAMag from 2013 - 2017. He’s now the Richmond Bureau Chief for Radio IQ, a state-wide NPR outlet based in Roanoke. You can reach him at BradKutnerNPR@gmail.com




more in community

There’s a Murder Coming to Richmond, and You’re Stuck on the Train

Virginia Repertory Theatre is kicking off its new season the way any sensible theatre should: with a train, a murder, and a detective who’s just trying to make sense of it all. Murder on the Orient Express is Agatha Christie’s great reminder that people are both awful...

Confederate Nostalgia, Black Voices: The Paradox of Polk Miller

Over a century ago, engineers from the Edison Company hauled their bulky recording equipment from New Jersey to Richmond, Virginia. In 1909, they captured one of the first interracial recording sessions in American history: Polk Miller, a white Confederate veteran...

The Felon Who Built Scott’s Addition

Before the beer taps and condos, before the buzzwords about ‘revitalization,’ Scott’s Addition’s future passed through the hands of a single man: Justin Glynn French. A convicted felon whose empire collapsed in scandal, he set the stage, even if unintentionally, for...

It’s Still Our City | Ep. 13 Stooping RVA

"The joy of finding a perfectly reusable gem on a sidewalk, in an alley, or on a porch stoop is one of the perks of living in such close proximity in the city of Richmond. The FOMO of not making it on your bike in time for a taxidermy dolphin or a surprisingly decent...