Female sketch comedy falls short of its comic potential
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 8, 2000 9:00 p.m.
 ANDREA KIM Shanee Edwards, Susan
Campbell, and Jamy Myatt energize the
stage in the sketch "M.V.W.C" (Militant Virgin Women’s Club), part
of the comedy "Traditional Female Roles."
By Andie Dingman
Daily Bruin Contributor
A goddess, a brownie, a victim of a kidnapping, and a ballerina
““ all four of these characters are portrayed in the sketch
comedy performance “Traditional Female Roles,” now
showing at the Empty Stage Theater.
Written and performed by four women and one man, two of whom, V.
Kim Blish and Shanee Edwards, are UCLA alumnae, “Roles”
is promising, but fails to live up to its potential.
A prime example of the shortcomings of the show is a sketch
starring Jamy Myatt in which she plays a kidnap victim who tries to
seduce her kidnapper by suggesting scandalous acts he could do to
her. At the onset, the sketch looks as if it will be hilarious, but
the sketch is too short and does not push the envelope far enough,
leaving the audience feeling unfulfilled.
Other sketches, however, come closer to reaching comedic
perfection, such as one starring Edwards, who proves to be one of
the stronger members of the group.
Edwards plays a wife who, upon meeting her husband’s
colleagues, becomes subject to all of their snobbery. She is
chastised for not offering a stiff drink to them before they sit
down and for not intrinsically knowing which side each likes to sit
on the couch.
They even convince her that her husband is having a torrid
affair with his secretary. This satirical sketch, ending with
Edwards chugging vodka with the vixens, is the highlight of the
hourlong performance.
Also commendable is a sketch starring Blish and Susan Campbell,
in which the two play officemates. Campbell, one of the funniest
and most composed members of the cast, plays a conniving
back-stabber who not only takes credit for their group project, but
also convinces her accuser that she deserves all the credit.
She coolly and underhandedly threatens Blish’s character
by suggesting that Blish’s boyfriend is only dating her
because he couldn’t get Campbell, and because he thinks Blish
has cancer.
The only testosterone in this female-dominated show is supplied
by Deke Black, a roller coaster engineer by day and a comedian by
night. While he is basically typecast as the requisite male in the
show, he does lend stability and complements many of the other
off-the-wall characters.
 ANDREA KIM "Traditional Female Roles," starring five
actors including Jamy Myatt and Deke
Black, is currently playing at The Empty Stage
Theater.
An exception to his typically typecast roles is one in which he
plays the advisor of an essay competition. Interrupting a sleepover
to congratulate the two winners, the straightlaced advisor ends up
joining in their party and becoming too immature for them.
While most of the sketches have potential to be entertaining, a
couple simply flop. Particularly awkward is the
“ballet” performed by Blish.
Set to “What a Feeling,” the theme song from the
classic ’80s movie “Flashdance,” Blish stumbles
around and desperately tries to be funny, but to no avail. For
instance, in a segment in which she fights with her folding chair,
the audience waits and waits for something to lift the sketch out
of the comedic gutter, but instead Blish continues her
pseudo-dancing until the song fades out.
The best moments of the production are those in which all of the
women are onstage together. The four of them obviously have good
rapport, such as the Militant Virgin Women’s Club sketch in
which Campbell plays the ringleader who, along with Edwards and
Myatt, grill potential member Blish to see if she is worthy of
joining. When Blish answers a question wrong ““ such as the
clincher: what will you do on your wedding night ““ she is
shot down and taunted by the others with comments such as “I
see dead people.”
Through sketches like this, the four women demonstrate good
comedic timing together and seem to be enjoying themselves.
Unfortunately, this isn’t quite enough to make this
performance worth seeing. Perhaps due to the fact that it is
written entirely by the actors, many of the jokes are not quite on
target.
Many of the premises of the sketches are quite funny, such as
the portrayal in the opening sketch of a Greek goddess as a
modern-day housewife in America, but the Oedipus jokes and
references to animal sacrifices soon become tired cliches.
Those who love sketch comedy for its ingenuity, originality and
informality will probably find “Traditional Female
Roles” worth the hour, but others may find
“Roles” unsatisfying and incomplete.
THEATER: “Traditional Female Roles” plays at the
Empty Stage Theater in West L.A. at 2372 Veteran Ave. at Pico.
Performances are Sunday nights at 7 p.m. until Nov. 19. Tickets are
$7. Call (310) 470-3560 for more information.
