After an intense debate, a Norwegian heavy-metal rocker turns into a demon and devours his opponent. The Chinese national soccer team improves its game by allowing child labourers to practice with the soccer balls they’re manufacturing. An Olympic team of corporate CEOs goes for gold in the ultimate Union Crushing event.
Confused? You need to tune in to CiTR’s satirical comedy show, White Noise.
Hosted by the eccentric, fictitious Richard Blackmore, voiced by UBC undergrad and show creator Simon Welton, White Noise features “intentionally absurdist” sketches designed to provoke conversations about the real-world issues behind the tropes it employs.
Welton, originally from England, was drawn to Vancouver by its thriving comedy community and calls stand-up comedy “the greatest drug you’ll ever try.”
But it wasn’t enough. Chafing against the limitations of the form and determined to build a more meaningful framework for his incisive sense of humour, Welton came to UBC and enrolled in philosophy, with a minor in psychology.
“The idea being that it covers the human condition,” he said, “so that when I write, I have something to say.”
White Noise is built on Welton’s original content, and performed by himself and his cast: Victoria Bass, Marianna Mattes, Connor Nechelput and Sierra Wylie.
It is an unexpectedly diverse group. Bass, for example, is a graduate of The Juilliard School and was once a professional cellist. She now conducts research in UBC’s chemistry department while fulfilling the prerequisites for her application to medical school.
“I just decided to stop doing the thing I happened to be good at, and try to do the thing I actually wanted to do,” she said.
While Bass may be serious about becoming a doctor, her love of comedy is equally undeniable. She and local improv actress Raquel Belmonte host a podcast called The Bacheloreats, in which local improvisers and stand-up comics are invited to dinner parties featuring unconventional food items. Bass will also be performing in The Imaginary Invalid, Molière’s famous comedy, at the Jericho Arts Centre this summer.
Mattes, who identifies herself as “Aquarius sun, Libra moon," writes her own comics, and names Louis CK as her favourite comedian, seems destined for a similarly unpredictable career path. Although her admission to UBC’s BFA acting program initially felt like the natural choice for someone who had long dreamed of being an actor, she finds herself increasingly drawn to other art forms.
“The more I make myself work at theatre, the more I love visual arts, music and film,” she said. In a dubious British accent, she continued, “White Noise has become a core part of not only my shed-jool, but my heart.”
The show is divided into two parts: the first half hour is filled with sketches in the form of debates, interviews with fictional characters and sporting events. The second half is billed as an after show, and features interviews with cast members or local comedians. Anyone considering a career in comedy will find this portion particularly valuable, as it offers insider advice from professionals and up-and-comers on breaking into the scene, finding good venues, personal philosophies and anecdotes about life on tour.
Several big names have already joined Welton in the booth, notably Kelly Dyer and Ed Hill, the latter recently named “Best Vancouver Comedian of 2015” by the West Ender magazine. Byron Bertram, another critically-acclaimed comic, will be on the show in May.
With six gleefully irreverent and surprisingly informative episodes under its belt, and so much more to come, White Noise may be just the thing to keep you sane and silly during the end of the semester.
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