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5th Annual Desi Comedy Fest ~ #GetGandhi ~ Word for Word: Anniversary! ~ My Name is Rachel Corrie

This week on Open Air, host David Latulippe talks with comedian and festival co-producer Abhay Nadkarni about the 5th Annual Desi Comedy Fest which takes place from August 9 - 19 at comedy clubs and theaters in 9 Northern California cities: San Francisco, Berkeley, Mill Valley, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, San Mateo, Milpitas, Dublin, and Mountain View.

The festival, which is the largest of its kind in the US, features more than 30 South Asian comedians from all over the US, with diverse ethnic (Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Iranian, Syrian-Mexican, Libyan, Japanese, and Filipino) and religious backgrounds (Muslim, Jewish, Sikh, and Catholic). They are raw, hilarious, Emmy nominated, and boast appearances on Comedy Central, Last Comic Standing, Late Night with Stephen Colbert, Conan and elsewhere, all over the globe.

Playwright Anne Galjour stops by to talk about the world premiere of #GetGandhi, A Seriously Radical Feminist Comedy, by The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pantsuits Theatre Collective. Inspired by the writings of radical feminist philosopher and theologian Mary Daly, #GetGandhi focuses on Mahatma Gandhi's infamous experiments in celibacy. 

Gandhi would have a young woman disrobe and sleep with him completely naked as a test to prove his restraint and his purity of spirit. Gandhi never saw anything wrong with this practice, but a small coven of old school San Francisco feminists do.#GetGandhiruns from August 10 – 26 at Z Below (450 Florida Street) in San Francisco. Actress Jeri Lynn Cohen will join the conversation.  

We talk with co-artistic director JoAnne Winter from performing arts company Word for Word, which celebrates its 25thseason with Anniversary!, stories by two of the companies favorite authors, Tobias Wolff and George Saunders. Featured are Wolff’s Deep Kissand Saunders’ Victory Lap. Director Joel Mullennix, who directs Deep Kiss, will join the conversation.  Anniversary! runs through September 2 at Z Space (450 Florida Street) in San Francisco. 

Plus, we meet with Bay Area actress Ashley Malloy, getting her MFA in Acting from American Conservatory Theater, who is doing a production of My Name is Rachel Corrie. This solo play chronicles the life of American peace activist Rachel Corrie, from when she was young until days before her death in Gaza. 

Corrie was killed in March of 2003 by an Israeli bulldozer while defending a Palestinian home from being demolished. My Name is Rachel Corrieruns from August 17 -19 in American Conservatory Theater's Costume Shop Theater (1117 Market Street) in San Francisco. 

Open Air with host David Latulippe; heard live on Thursday, August 9 at 1pm. Listen now or anytime…