“Propaganda Machine”, an annual sketch comedy show, is proving to be an ideal showcase for a cast of 14 comedians who have the flair and energy to perform in 20 hilarious sketches over 90 minutes through March 15 at the Villain Theater in the Little Haiti district of Miami.
Written by a team of comedians headed by Villain Theater founder and Artistic Director Peter Mir, “Propaganda Machine” has been popular fare at the Villain Theater for the past three years. The current version titled “Propaganda Machine: Precedented Times” has been running weekly each Saturday night since early February.
“What makes the show work so well is the dedication and teamwork involved by the cast to prepare the skits, the costumes and preparation for the many characters created on the stage,” said Mir, who has co- owned Villain Theater in 1995 with fellow comedian Jannelys Santos.
Many in the cast have been working in “Propaganda Machine” for several years and first met Mir and Santos by taking comedy classes at Villain Theater to adapt themselves to the fast pace and comic timing that is fundamental to the success of each performance.
After watching a recent performance of “Propaganda Machine: Precedented Times” with over 80 people in attendance, one can see so many similarities in the fast pace and visual comedy of the show to the television comedy series “Saturday Night Live” and live shows at the “Second City” venues in Chicago and Toronto.
Acting as a ten minute introduction, the entire cast participated in a long running series of multiple characters who went from one scene to another in a madcap pace with lots of one liners, funny costumes but with no plot..
Following the madcap which the audience loved, host and stand up comedian Michael Cunhill showcased his skills by introducing lots of funny lines and selected a member of the audience to showcase the improv skills as an introduction to the sketches that followed.
What followed were carefully crafted, defined sketches that were easy for the audience to relate to and follow in telling a brief story. Each of the 18 sketches involved subjects that pertained to the youthful audience, such as sketches about dating, politicians, parodies of popular television shows and movies, spoofing plastic surgery, feminists in action, among other subjects.
My favorite sketch was “Hero”, a parody of the present day political scene in which Jannelys Santos (who wrote the sketch and was the only performer in the sketch) sings the famed Mariah Carey song. Her brilliance and daring point of view about the abuse of the ocean by dressing as an okra showcased sentiment about the abuse of the environment. Adding to the sketch was the onscreen video featuring the reworked lyrics with an okra in the water.This sketch was performed as the ninth sketch leading to an intermission and drew the most applause from all the sketches.
“I’m very proud to be making a statement while still making people laugh, without being too preachy or cringy. I love Villain shows because we have the opportunity to speak on issues in a more immediate fashion than in traditional theater,” said Santos in a post-show interview.
The majority of the sketches worked because of a combination of a fast pace, oddball characters, visual and funny costumes and videos to complement the work of the comedians, all impeccably timed to garner the most laughs.
Some of the best sketches include “Mayor Bro” starring Alex Cacciamani, who wrote the sketch. “Mayor Bro” was about corrupt Miami politicians. Cacciamani was believable and the perfect cast member as the slick and good looking Mayor who knows how to win the voters and woo the backers in a funny sketch
“Dr. Boob” witten by Peter Mir and starring Jannlys Santos and Lucia Martinez was a hilarious spoof about the daily life of a plastic surgeon and his patients.
“Party for One” written by Thomas LaMountain and performed by Cacciamani takes a look at a so-called very popular man who is really the opposite of what he seems.
“Pick Me’ written by Melissa Ezell, has five women (Cristina Arguelles, Carolina Sabrina Carusi, Victoria Haig, Aimee Poyato, Jannelys Santos) each being persistent and funny in trying to woo a man (Michael Cunill).
“Yung Dracula Flow” written by Mir who starred with Martinez and Santos is a parody of the famed television series “The Addams Family” that stood out for the funny “Dracula” character portrayed by Santos.
“Meditation”, written and starring John Rodriguez, was about a meditation expert who was over the top and funny while interacting with a member of the audience.
“Titanic” written by Chris Molina and portrayed by Ezell and LaMountain had a young man who identified so much with the “Titanic” movie and characters that he turned off his date, was funny due to the over the top humor of both Ezell and LaMountain. .
Many of the sketches had so many hilarious moments and scenes that it was hard to recollect all the scenes as one hardy laugh followed another in this excellent display of sketch comedy talent.
The hard working cast of comedians in “Propaganda Machine: Precedented Times” are: Cristina Arguelles, Alex Cacciamani, Carolina Sabrina Caruso, Michael Cunill, Alvaro D’Amico, Andrew Evans (working backstage on videos), Melissa Ezell, Victoria Haig, Thomas LaMountain, Lucia Martinez, Peter Mir, Aimee Poyato, John Rodriguez and Jannelys Santos.
One notable feature in Villain Theater is the low price of $20 for each ticket with no obligation to buy food or drinks, making Villain Theater more affordable than other South Florida comedy clubs.
“We want to make sure that everyone from all incomes, especially students, can enjoy a funny, entertaining show. The high quality of shows plus our price has contributed to our loyal audiences,” said Mir.
Along with “Propaganda Machine”, Villain Theater also offers weekly stand up comedy shows and numerous comedy classes over the year. Most of the shows feature students who graduated from the classes.
One may think that, given the limited revenue earned by the comedians, that Villain Theatre would be just a brief spot in a journey for the bright lights of comedy at larger venues or on television for the comedians..
But that is not how they feel about their future in comedy.. Many of them, such as Santos who has been with Villain Theater for 10 years, not only love the Villain audiences, but view the working environment as warm and supportive.
“Everything we do is a combination of the opportunities given to us by Peter (Mir) to go out on stage and create our sketches through writing and performing. I have performed at other theaters, but I don’t seek work outside of Villain because I am not interested in going elsewhere,” said Santos.
“Getting cast in a show for ten weeks is a completely different experience compared to being part of a company of actors. Our bonds are what make things possible. Since we get to perform so often, our shows are fresh, queer and current,” added Santos. Other cast members also stated that the deep bonds cultivated over the quality of the work and the time spent with each other deepens their commitment to Villain Theater.
Offstage, the comedians have strong, stable careers that give them the opportunity of performing comedy on selected weeknights and weekends. Alex Cacciamani worked in technology in New York before returning to his hometown Miami where he works in the family real estate business. Michael Cunill works with the Miami Dolphins football organization. Victoria Haig, a seven year member of Villain Theater, is a nurse practitioner.
Two cast members have offstage careers that are aligned with show business. Cristina Arguelles has worked on various television and film sets, including an internship on the comedy television series “The Daily Show”. Melissa Ezell books entertainment acts for Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
All the performers reside and most were also born in South Florida. Many of them came from families who did not want the comedians to work on the stage..
“I come from an old fashioned Cuban family who were worried that I would not have a stable life by doing comedy. Fortunately, over the years, they have admired what I have done with comedy and I could not be happier than I am today,” said Cunill.
The cast are grateful to Mir for his vision of developing the core talent of sketch comedy from the many comedy classes he and Santos, among others, have taught for ten years.
“Being adept at comedy is a strong word in my case. I have learned so much from Peter and Jannelys and my experiences in comedy prior to coming to Villain Theater were very limited,” said Cacciamani.
“Propaganda Machine: Precedented Times”, a sketch comedy show featuring 14 comedians in 18 comedy sketches will be performed for the last time this season on Saturday March 15 from 8:30 p.m.- 11 pm.at Villain Theater, 5865 NE 2nd Ave. In the Little Haiti district of Miami. Tickets are $20 (not including tax and handling fees) and can be purchased at villaintheater.com or by calling 786-391-2241.
