The comedy series is creating space for local comedians by putting on shows that are specifically for Dallas and filling them with local comics.
“Dallas has a swagger to it. It has a culture to it,” says Paulos Feerow, one of the founders of For The City Comedy.
He and his creative partner, Chris Olsen, have produced shows in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for almost a decade, most recently at Amphibian Stage in Fort Worth.
The first of six For The City Comedy shows lined up takes place Friday, Jan. 18, at the Latino Cultural Center and presents an all-Latin lineup of Texas comedians.
Originally from Dallas, headliner Chris Tellez made a name for himself doing standup in Austin and touring with other comedians. Tellez was named Comedy Central’s “up next” comic to watch.
Also on the bill are comics Dante Martinez and Lilli Lopez. The youngest child in a family of immigrants, Martinez creates comedy centered on his experience as a first-generation, working-class Latino who grew up in the Dallas suburbs. Lopez, who is new to Dallas, hosts the show United Tacos of America on El Rey Network and has performed at festivals such as the L.A. Diversity in Comedy Festival by Second City and SXSWedu.
The comedians in For The City shows either come from or live in Dallas, and the content of the shows in this comedy series is all Dallas-focused.
Comedian Dante Martinez, who will perform in For The City Comedy’s first show in a series.
Evan Woods
“Our big mission statement is to really give more opportunities to get good shows that are well paid and everything,” Olsen says. “But a secondary goal is to celebrate the culture of the city.“
Through their shows, the duo is creating an alternative to the club shows in Dallas. Their aim is to make doing comedy in this city more sustainable for up-and-coming stand-ups. Meanwhile, cities like Austin and Houston have lots of venues for comics in all stages of their career to perform, Olsen says. He notes that at the moment, the primary opportunity for local comics to get in front of audiences in Dallas is to be a local opener for touring comedians.
“Big headliners come in from out of town, and local comedians are asked to open for them or do a middle [performance],” Olsen says. “It’d be great if a working comedian in Dallas who’s doing well had just another way to get paid to do a big show in a venue that doesn’t usually house comedy.”
Half of For The City’s shows are funded by the city of Dallas, making ticket prices much more accessible to the public. In keeping with their goal of bringing the city together, the shows present art from local artists in addition to comedy. In partnership with Deep Ellum Brewing Company, shows include free beer for attendees ages 21 and older.
After the show at the Latino Cultural Center, the next one in the series will be headlined by Laurie Kilmartin (who has appeared on Conan and on Comedy Central), at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 24, at the Dallas Comedy Club. A third show will take place at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 16, at the Oak Cliff Assembly, at 907 Morrell Ave
To the organizers, the dearth of local comedy shows in Dallas is due not to a lack of talent but of infrastructure. And that’s what they are trying to help build.
“We wanted to show that Dallas is a thriving creative community,” Olsen says.
Feerow agrees. “We have a really cool thing going [in Dallas], and that’s what For The City wants to highlight,” he adds.
