Quirky comedy fans have a reason to celebrate\u2014Chaz T. Martin and R. Eric Thomas\u2019 witty festival experience is back this summer.<\/p>\n
Dubbed Variety Pack Vol. 3<\/a>, this year\u2019s event will feature 15 different acts with a line-up spanning clown performances, a polyamorous dating game show, networking events disguised as comedy events, and even stoner reinterpretations of Dickens classics.<\/p>\n As a release notes, the festival celebrates artists working in “the messy, hilarious space between stand-up, sketch, improv, theatre, and performance art.” Created by writer, producer, and performer Chaz T. Martin alongside bestselling author and television writer R. Eric Thomas, Variety Pack has become “a gathering place for artists making comedy that is theatrical, experimental, emotionally honest, deeply stupid, or sometimes all four at once.”<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things the first two Variety Packs proved is that there\u2019s a huge Philly audience that\u2019s hungry for a wide range of comedic shows,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cIt also proved that this town is overflowing with hilarious weirdos, freaks, and (actual) clowns who love attention. Putting the two groups together again is a kind of a love story, if you think about it. Who says the romcom is dead?\u201d<\/p>\n Variety Pack Vol. 3 will include shows like ‘Let\u2019s Fight’, where performers compete through “absurd tests of wit, strength, and endurance,\u201d and ‘Incredible Dreams: Apps Only’, a comedy exploring appetizers through live performance. Other works lean into sketch, like ‘Girl Mic Presents: I <3 Philadelphia’, and ‘Am I The A$$hole \/ Episode 3,’ an improvised mashup of a Reddit-style moral drama and true-crime podcast satire.<\/p>\n The program also includes more theatrical pieces: For one, ‘The Faggotto Bros. Present\u2026SEANCE!’\u00a0 comes from award-winning performers Dan Kitrosser and Kyle Metzger, while a show like ‘Submission’ examines reality TV fame. And Francesca Montanile Lyons\u2019 solo show ‘VILE’ uses clown and bouffon techniques to confront depression, rape culture, and life.<\/p>\n Additional offerings include ‘Networking: The Show’, which satirizes freelance creative culture as a faux networking event, ‘A Stoner Christmas Carol’, a weed-fueled retelling of Dickens, and ‘poly poly oxen free’, a live polyamory dating show.<\/p>\n The festival also offers family programming, comedy<\/a> showcases, audience participation events, workshops for independent artists and free popcorn.<\/p>\n Ticketing is designed to be accessible, with all festival tickets priced at $15, and children\u2019s tickets for Kidprov! set for just $5. New this year is the Ten Dollar Club, a $60 annual membership that gives audiences $10 tickets to all future Variety Pack productions for life, alongside Got You Tickets, a pay-it-forward initiative aimed at reducing financial barriers for attendance.<\/p>\n Variety Pack is also expanding into Variety Pack Presents, a proscenium series featuring $25 performances in a 121-seat venue.\u00a0 The festival is set for July 9 to 13, at the Louis Bluver Theatre at The Drake (302 S. Hicks Street). More information and tickets are available at tickettailor.com\/events\/varietypack<\/a>, and updates can be found on Instagram at @varietypackcomedy.<\/p>\n