Don’t kid yourself. Comedy is a very serious business. As much
as any Shakespearean tragedy, it must be attentive to all the
thousands of details that make live theatre happen: casting, set
design, acting, rehearsal schedules, ticket sales, props and
more.
Don’t kid yourself. Comedy is a very serious business. As much as any Shakespearean tragedy, it must be attentive to all the thousands of details that make live theatre happen: casting, set design, acting, rehearsal schedules, ticket sales, props and more. Unlike tragedy, which does not measure its success by how many hankies were used during a performance to wipe away the audience’s tears, comedy’s success is dependent on laughter, lots of it. That embarrassing tittering during a stand-up comic’s routine is a sure sign he should not give up his day job.
No less than W.C. Fields was stumped as to why people laugh. “I know what makes them laugh,” he said. “But trying to get your hands on the why of it is like trying to pick an eel out of a tub of water.”
Robin Williams, a man who seems to perform effortlessly, has likened comedy to “emotional hang-gliding.”
Sounds scary to me but, fortunately, not to Rod and Marion Pintello, who are mild-mannered Kaiser employees during the day and whirling dervishes in the evening as they prepare for the Jan. 3 opening of the Pintello Comedy Theater at 8351 Church St. (across from Gilroy Health and Fitness and part of the Calvary Chapel). Plans are to offer four different plays in its first season, with the first one being “Holiday Snap” by John Chapman and Michael Pertwee.
I am laughing already, and the show hasn’t even started yet. This has to be a good sign for the Pintellos, who hope that the company’s motto “There’s something funny going on here!” proves only too true. Who else but Rod could spend years searching for an appropriate theater space and find it under a classified ad for Church Space For Rent? The jokes start immediately – “We are praying to God it will work!” – and the project is off and running.
First, a little background. One of South County’s most talented couples, Rod and Marion have been entertaining local audiences for well over two decades. Though they have acted, danced, sung, produced and directed their way through all kinds of shows, their love has always been comedy. Card-carrying, active members of South Valley Civic Theatre, the Pintellos also performed in the now defunct Center Stage, which, under the directorship of Russ Hendrickson, staged comedies and musicals in Gilroy’s Old City Hall.
The Pintellos trace the dream of opening their own comedy theater to the day the doors closed at Center Stage. “Center Stage was a great loss,” explains Rod. “A big, gaping hole was left in the theater community. The enthusiastic audience response to SVCT’s annual comedies, such as ‘The Foreigner’ and, more recently, ‘Run For Your Wife’ sent a strong message that locals wanted more comedies in a close and intimate surrounding. Moreover, we are anxious to keep on stage all the great comic talent there is in this area.”
In three hectic months, 2,800 square feet of unused space at Calvary Chapel has been transformed into a theater. 120 chairs and several tables, where patrons will be able to munch away as they watch the show, have arrived, and, most importantly, a who’s who of local talent (Maureen Imagawa, Rosalind Farotte, Tom Hepner, Kevin Heath, Christine McElroy, Bill Corneth, Whitney McClelland and the incorrigible Rod himself) has been cast for the first show, which is being directed by Marion.
“Holiday Snap
seems to have all the qualities needed to ensure a perfect beginning for The Pintello Comedy Theater, which is guaranteed to be here for at least 15 months and three more plays but hopefully longer, depending on us. Opening up a new theater company has got to be a risky undertaking, but if anyone can do it in this community, I’d place my bets on the Pintello family. They bring an infectious enthusiasm to theater both on and off the stage, and no matter what the outcome, they’re definitely going to take us on a fun ride.
Coming from Rod’s mouth, the expression “a labor of love” doesn’t sound trite at all. He and Marion are committed to taking good care of their casts and audiences and, with talented daughter Whitney McClelland helping to make the empty space feel like home, there will definitely be a family atmosphere to the undertaking. Good luck Rod and Marion; I’m rooting for you.
Holiday Snap will run for five weekends beginning Jan. 3. Ticket prices are $15 and reservations can be made by calling 408-776-8004 or by e-mailing pi******@****ic.com.
