I know, I know. It’s been a while since you’ve heard from me. I’m sorry. I’ve missed you, too. As most of you know, I’ve been working a lot. But have no fear, I’m still here. (Oh, and I’m only working TWO jobs now!) But what many of you may NOT know, is that I am a proud staff member of the 2010 North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival (#NCCAF).

I was honored to perform at NCCAF (as a guest) last year in 2009. This year, I have the honor of performing again AND the privilege of serving on the volunteer staff. It’s been an amazing experience so far, and the festival hasn’t even started yet. I was charged with being the Sponsorship Coordinator. What does that mean? Well, basically, the North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival (the largest comedy festival of its kind in the COUNTRY) takes A LOT of work to put on… and we can’t do it alone. So, I have been working with local media outlets, businesses, and individuals to coordinate sponsorships, coupons, and discounts for our over 500+ comedians that will be arriving throughout the ENTIRE month of February. This is one of those positions that is a lot harder than it sounds, especially when resources are tight… for everyone. It has definitely been a learning process, but I know that I’ve worked hard and represented the festival well.

What else am I excited about?

For those of you who aren’t familiar with NCCAF (formerly the Dirty South Improv Festival/DSIF) – this year is the 10th anniversary and it is bigger and better than ever. Executive Producer, Zach Ward has put more time, money, blood, sweat, and tears into this festival than you can imagine – all to make it what it is. A condensed timeline: (DSIF) Festival was started in 2001 showcasing ONLY improv comedy, went to TWO weeks in 2009 adding standup comedy, and in 2010 has added sketch comedy and film and video taking the festival to an entire month.

In addition to that, something that I had wanted to do for Zach and DSI for a long time also came to fruition this week. I spoke with both the Mayors of Carrboro and Chapel Hill and talked to them not only about how important the festival is for the arts culture in the community, but also the impact is has fiscally on local businesses. I wasn’t sure if they were going to be able to do anything, but I had high hopes. And then I got the good news. I take that back, AWESOME news. It’s OFFICIAL: both Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt of Chapel Hill and Mayor Mark Chilton of Carrboro have formally and officially proclaimed February 2010 DSI Comedy Arts Month in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. (And Mayor Mark Chilton will be at OPENING night this Thursday the 4th to read his proclamation before the start of the first show.)

Awesome.

Oh, and DSI won 2009 Small-Business of the Year last week. Pretty cool, huh?

We’re kind of a big deal.

Okay, okay. So why am I rambling and what is my point? My point is that this Thursday, February 4th marks the start of a HUGE month of comedy here in North Carolina.

Do you live in and around the Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Greensboro, North Carolina, and parts of Virginia area? Do you love comedy? Do you want to laugh… a lot?

Then you should come see shows.

Seriously.

Support you local, national, AND international comedy this month. Support your local comedy festival. Support #NCCAF.

Oh, and did I mention I’m performing? …Twice.

• Friday, February 5th, 7:30PM at the DSI Comedy Theater with DSI Witness News: (Facebook Event)
• Saturday, February 20th, 10:00PM at the ArtsCenter Mainstage with Made of BEES: (Facebook Event)

Want to know the rest of the schedule?

• Sketch Comedy – February 4-6
• Standup Comedy – February 11-14
• Improv Comedy – February 16-21
• Film/Video – February 25-27

I just want to reiterate how excited and how proud I am to be a part of such an amazing theater, company, and festival.

Questions? Let me know. Want to see a show but don’t know which one to come to? Let me know. Want to donate swag to performers in town? Let me know. Want to help out another way? Let me know.

I’ll make it happen for you.

Word.

Some of you know that I write for a local news parody, Weekend Update style, show called DSI Witness News. In addition to writing for our own live shows at the DSI Comedy Theater, we write for a daily segment on a local station, WCHL 1360AM (every morning at 8:20AM and again at 5:55PM).

Well, some of you have probably seen these crazy Facebook phishing scams and viruses going around. “Test your IQ,” ‘I found pics of you,” and the newest, “Your friend’s booty looks GRRRREAT in the video.” Well, the booty virus hit local politicians and we were lucky enough to have THE Mayor of Carrboro himself, Mark Chilton, join us for a HILARIOUS episode on Tuesday.

(Click here if you can’t see the video. And click here if you want just the audio.)

Hilarious, right? Ahhh gotta love elected officials on Facebook. Thanks, Mayor Chilton for being awesome.

Question: Do YOU have a booty virus?

Word.

In case you weren’t aware, already… I am on the awesome rockstar writing team for a show called DSI Witness News out of the DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro, NC. We write news parody, headlines, and character pieces. We do a once a month live show in a similar format to Weekend Update and we write for a 5 minute news segment MONDAY – FRIDAY on local radio station WCHL 1360AM, Chapel Hill-Carrboro’s News, Talk, and Tarheels station. DSI Witness News is ON AIR every morning at 8:20AM and every afternoon at 5:55PM.

We write hyper-local news, but we love tying in national headlines and national figures. I had so much fun with this morning’s episode that I wanted to share it on my own blog and do a plug for DSIWN, too!

Today’s episode featured endorsements for the Chapel Hill Mayoral election with Sarah Palin (me), Aurora Joplin (me), and Bill Strom (Kit FitzSimons). It was awesome. Check out the episode here.

Awesome. You can subscribe to the DSI Witness News podcast on iTunes – just search: DSI COMEDY and click subscribe!

You can also FOLLOW us on Twitter: @DSIWN. Don’t live in Chapel Hill/Carrboro? We also stream online… listen here: http://wchl1360.com/live_streaming.html. Now there’s no excuse not to listen and laugh! Thanks for supporting DSI Witness News. Thanks for supporting local comedy.

All for now.

So, I had the awesome opportunity to guest anchor on the WCHL1360 DSI Witness News morning show last week. The clips are up and I thought I would share them with you. As always, check out DSI Comedy and DSI Witness News Monday-Friday at 8:20am on WCHL 1360. (Or visit DSIcomedy.com) Enjoy!

• Monday, June 22, 2009 (Guest Anchoring)
• Tuesday, June 23, 2009 (BABE the Pig)
• Wednesday, June 24, 2009 (Guest Anchoring)
• Friday, June 26, 2009 (Guest Anchoring)
• Monday, July 6, 2009 (Guest Anchoring)
• Tuesday, July 7, 2009 (SARAH PALIN Runs for Chapel Hill Mayor)

Sarah Palin hosts political events, too!

Okay, I know I’m a slacker. I’m not even going to address my lack of blogging in the last month. I completed a 304 page yearbook, finished out my 2nd year teaching high school, drove to CANADA, brought on three new social media clients, AND I’m moving to a different state this Friday. Therefore, I’ve been rather busy. So, I promise that this is going to get better now that my schedule is starting to clear up… a little bit… sort of. Whatever, no excuses. 

I have a hilarious bit I want you to hear. I had the pleasure of doing a guest character piece on DSI Witness News Radio this morning on WCHL 1360 AM in Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC. Here is the clip. If you’re not from Carrboro/Chapel Hill, you might not get all the references, but it’s still funny nevertheless. 

LEETHA, 2009 Graduate of Carrboro High School

All for now.