#manipedisketch

In honor of #manipedimonday, my next story will be the recounting of ManiPedi’s first ever sketch festival!

MP had started in August of 2012, and in May we were accepted into the Ladies Are Funny Festival in Austin, TX. This was our first time traveling as a group and I believe all of our first sketch festivals. I had only done Improv festivals before, so packing a bunch of rope and wigs and colonial nightgowns in your luggage was new territory for me.

There are so many things I can focus on- like the overwhelming hospitality of the festival towards 5 strangers from Philly, seeing the bats fly out of the Congress Ave. Bridge while a dude dressed as Thor rode a rickshaw overtop, driving to Barton Springs to find out it was closed. But I’ll focus on the first thing I researched when finding out we were going to Austin- the food.

We must’ve consumed ∞ calories between the five of us over the first 24 hours. We ate barbecue, .89 breakfast tacos, and frito pie. Kait tried a Philly cheesesteak at a diner even though we were in Austin, and it was not good at all. The most memorable food day for me was Friday, the day of our first out of town show. We decided the smart thing to do would be to go on our own food truck tour a few hours before our show. We hit up all of the trucks on South 1st St. in the blistering heat. I had chicken fried bacon on a lobster roll, donuts with chicken fingers and bacon on them, deep fried mac and cheese, fried pickles, ice cream, coffee, water ice, a bite of a corn dog- all a few hours before our show. It was the best worst idea we’ve ever had, and I know that we’ll do this again at a future festival.

Once we got back to the hotel to grab our stuff, we had to lay down in hopes to stop sweating bacon grease- this is what I did at least. When we got to the theater, we got in the green room with the other two acts on the bill, one of which was Mary Jo Pehl from Mystery Science theater 3000- everyone else was holding up fine and chatting with her. Madonna even mentioned the Camp Woods video Mystery Science Andre 3000 and she watched and shared it. I, however, felt like five food trucks drove into my stomach. There was a point about an hour before the show thought I had food poisoning- my face turned white and I had to lay down on a couch and take a time out.

Luckily, the comedy Gods were on my side and let my guttony go, because a half hour before we went on, I snapped out of it and decided to chug a beer. The moral of this story for all of the MP’s would have to be this- “YOLO.” Luckily none of us died that day!

It's an exciting week here at Aubrie Headquarters! Tomorrow, ManiPedi hosts The Theme Show presents...Let's Eat! You can grab tickets here!

And on Saturday we perform at the Philly Sketchfest at 8PM, along with National Scandal and Brick Penguin! You can grab tickets here!