BMCA brings the laughs with sketch comedy class

May workshops and classes fuel creativity

Jessica Klarp
Guest contributor
The Valley Echo
April 30, 2021

The comedy team of Lucy O’Brien and Jessica Gift will teach fundamentals of sketch comedy at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts in May, in their Punch It Up class. Photo courtesy of BMCA

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts has a wide variety of arts opportunities in May for creatives throughout our region.

In addition to music classes, clay classes, dance classes, summer camps and after-school programs, BMMCA will offer new chances  for those who want a short-term opportunity for long-term gratification.

After a year of being cooped up, those with a funny bone may want to consider an eight-week sketch comedy class to stretch their natural instincts.

Punch It Up is led by Black Mountain’s own Lucy O’Brien and comedy partner Jessica Gift, both graduates of UNC Wilmington. This 90-minute class begins at 6:30 p.m., May 13, meets every Thursday, and is open to ages 13 and up. It will cover foundational comedic concepts, pitch ideas, workshop each other’s writing and explore performance techniques as participants work to write and perform their very own sketch show.

The class, which cost $150, will end with a showcase.

O’Brien and Gift met during their shared time with Wilmington-based production company Pineapple Shaped Lamps, where their brains fused together permanently. Together they’ve traveled around the southeast performing at conventions and comedy festivals, hosting events, leading workshops in improv, acting and comedy writing, and showcasing both film and theatre work at international film festivals. They both enjoy live theatre and stand-up comedy, and feel that sketch is the perfect marriage of the two.

 If you prefer more solitary pursuits, there are a few openings in visual art classes with acclaimed wild-life artist Bob Travers. His classes are designed for students ages 14 and up, beginner through advanced. Using a step-by-step process, students learn the fundamentals of drawing, painting, design-composition, perspective, working with color and more.

BMCA is planning events around Pollinators Day, May 29, a collaboration between the BMCA and the Swannanoa Valley Museum and History Center. As part of an ongoing commitment to bringing awareness to endangered and threatened species, the public is invited to the pollinator garden behind the buildings for free arts and crafts activities from 10 a.m. - 5 p.m., a garden talk at 1 p.m. and in the BMCA Gallery for a photography exhibit by Clayton Sharp.

Asheville artist Nate Barton will offer a visual arts workshop, Take Flight: Butterfly Wing Earrings from 2-4 p.m. This workshops, available to ages 9 and up, costs $30 and comes with all the supplies needed to make beautiful butterfly earrings.

Tickets are now available for events surrounding the 15th annual Art in Bloom. The two-month flower-filled extravaganza is in-person this year, but has shifted the main events to July 8-10.  Preview party tickets are in limited supply.

To learn more or register for these and all other arts opportunities, visit the BMCA website at blackmountainarts.org or call 828-669-0930. The Black Mountain Center for the Arts is located at 225 West State Street.