Comedy Is King? One-man Wacky Wonders

Santa Barbara local Dillon Yuhasz is an improviser, puppeteer, singer, and actor who was most recently seen in the title role in SBCC’s spectacular production of Young Frankenstein. But Yuhasz also has his own company called Not Half Bad Theatre that was co-created with Brittany Ragan to showcase his ambitious and high-energy one-man productions bent on extending the limits of the stage. To that canon (which includes Faces of Magic and All My Actors Are Dead ) he is adding The Story of War – which is meant to be much funnier than its title might imply. It’s Yuhasz’s fictionalized tale of Wathel Rogers – the former sculptor, model maker and animator for Disney actually credited as one of the inventors of animatronics – who goes on to fashion a chaotic, violent and satirical show covering the history of warfare. Yuhasz portrays both man and animatronic robot on a journey from the stone age to modern times – a strange tale of violence, greed, and dancing pirates. Performances are March 7 & 8 at the Community Arts Workshop. 

Visit sbcaw.org/upcoming

As transphobia gripped the courts, legislatures, amateur athletics administrations, the oval office, and elsewhere in recent times, Alok Vaid-Menon figured that was the perfect time to launch their career in Hollywood. Impeccable comedic timing or not, the multi-hyphenate ALOK has reached audiences with several literary/poetry works and stand-up shows at the Edinburgh Fringe and Netflix is a Joke Festival. Their first comedy special BIOLOGY! was executive produced by Christopher Guest, while the self-titled short documentary film, executive produced by Jodie Foster, debuted at Sundance in 2024 and played at SBIFF two weeks later. ALOK’s new standup show, Hairy Situations, heads to the Lobero, with bits that include being mistaken for the famous Brazilian DJ of the same name, botching TikTok makeup tutorials, and signing up for an appointment at the European Wax Center. Expect funny bits both flippant and fabulous – as well as the always-welcome merging of wicked sharp observations with the delightfully silly – at the March 10 show at the Lobero.