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| Comedienne promises a scary, funny Halloween By Stacy Trevenon [ stacy@hmbreview.com] Published/Last Modified on Wednesday, October 29, 2008 1:16 PM PDT Halloween may not be so much frightening as funny if comedienne Lieben McDermott has her way. The thirtysomething Pescadero resident, who grew up in La Honda, will be the headliner in “Hysterical Housewives’ Halloween Ha! Ha!” a dinner and comedy show, which will benefit Coastside Hope and is scheduled for Halloween evening at the Gazos Grill. The evening combines dinner from 5:30 to 8 p.m., followed by a comedy show with McDermott, who was one of the original “Hysterical Housewives” all-women comedy troupe. The troupe grew out of a comedy workshop offered by theater arts teacher Hester Schell of Half Moon Bay, who dubbed McDermott among her more promising students. “Her cadence, her rhythm, the breadth and depth of her life experiences” were the elements that marked McDermott as a natural comedic talent, said Schell. “People really respond to her,” said Schell. One reason why might be a comedy schtick in which McDermott pulls things from her bra, which she stocks beforehand. Another reason could be her enthusiasm when it comes to comedy. “It’s one of the best things that ever happened to me in a long time,” she said. “I really, really enjoy it.” McDermott became involved with comedy almost accidentally. She owned a retail shop in Pescadero, raised two children and was working at Duarte’s Tavern on Stage Road in Pescadero, where she still works, when a waitress friend bought her admission to Schell’s workshop as a birthday gift in 2004. She went on to perform as one of the Housewives for about a year-and-a-half, and is now branching off on her hilarious own. She found she enjoyed making people laugh, and loved being onstage. “I like to be the center of attention,” she said. As a comedienne, she said, she does not set up jokes in the traditional comedy style, but rather describes herself as a storyteller who draws from real-life experience. And she has plenty of those, after working as a waitress at Duarte’s for eight years, and being a mother to an 18-year-old son and 14-year-old daughter who both “give me a lot of material.” She said she has some new material in store for audiences since her “Housewives” days. “Better buckle up for safety,” she said with a hearty laugh. It’s all drawn from true-to-life experience, she said, and designed to show the funny side of everyday existence. “I’m not afraid to get up to the line,” she said. “I put everyday things into a stand-up show.” The Halloween dinner show will include a costume contest, with judging starting around 11 p.m., with prizes for the best individual costume, runner-up, best couple and scariest given by local businesses, including a wine and cheese basket form Harley Farms goat dairy, and dinners for two at 7th Street Montara or Gazos Grill. The audience will be warmed up by fellow Hysterical Housewife Jennifer Celestre. Tickets for the dinner are $25, and admission to the show is $20 plus a can of food, which will go to Coastside Hope. For information, call 726-5424. |