The Velvet Duke is at it again—and we are the lucky beneficiaries. All Request Radio, which meshes music and comedy with fabulous results, will be Ottawa’s monthly BFF for the foreseeable future. That’s right; get your suggestions ready, because the Duke will be “playing your favourite made-up songs” monthly at Arts Court starting February 3 at 7:30pm.
All Request Radio at Ottawa Fringe. Photo: Curtis Perry.
Last week, I caught up with The Velvet Duke (aka Velvet Wells) to learn more about the show. All Request Radio isn’t your average improv comedy performance.
“A lot of the reason people dislike improv is they don’t want to be put on the spot,” Wells says. “I have people submit their suggestions at the top of the show … so people are allowed to respond on their time, and that’s been very important, especially for any of my anxious audience members to not have to worry.”
The Velvet Duke at Halifax Fringe. Photo by Stoometz Photos.
Past All Request Radio events have also featured American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation. “Unfortunately,” Wells said, “this February show won’t have it, but going forward, keeping accessibility at the forefront in the show is important to me.”
They jumped right into what’s new for the upcoming Ottawa show. “This is going to be a variety show, because not everybody is into improv. So, I’ll have a stand-up [comedian] as my host. I will have a couple of variety acts … There are a lot of shows that are very monochromatic in terms of who is on stage. I’m trying to broaden that and give more stage time to more people who may not have had it before.”
“Comedy is a powerful way to examine or lighten a situation. It allows you to be sassy, or it allows you to be cutting and biting, and still not so personal that people feel taken aback.”—Velvet Wells
Wells is very keen on giving a platform to those with marginalized voices. “I am Black,” they say. “And so that right away, just being the producer and the headliner does that, but then I’m curating who I’m asking to be on stage.”
Did I mention the February show will be the first of many?
“Having a monthly format achieves two things,” Wells explains. “One is a consistency of being part of the comedy schedule, but it’s not so regular that I get burned out in all of the production side, the publicity, the curating, finding the acts, etc., and then also as much as it’s improv, and I’m making it up on the spot, there is this feeling sometimes for an audience of ‘Oh, I’ve seen that.’ Having it monthly allows it to be like, ‘oh … what’s happened in the news that we can call upon to be present in this moment.’”
All Request Radio at Ottawa Fringe. Photo: Curtis Perry.
All Request Radio allows people to come together, says Wells.
“I recognize that the communities that I am part of are not necessarily the status quo. So, it’s a way for me to connect with people who don’t look like me, don’t think like me. We have that common ground that we can fit in for at least, you know, two or three moments of the song.”
“What I love about improv,” Wells added, “is that it doesn’t demand perfection, and I feel like other forms of comedy require a bit more rigidity. I’m hoping to model for more people that ‘hey, you may fail a little bit in this moment, and you survived. You can move on to the next part of your day, your week, your life … See. We can do this.’”
To learn more about All Request Radio and to get tickets to the February 3 show, click here.
