Bi-Poseur at Stage Werx Theatre June 6, 2010

Paolo thinks he’s going to die. And not just quietly in his sleep when he’s 87 either. He’s convinced that the blood clot in his leg is going to make its way into his chest, causing a major heart attack, which would kill Paolo instantly at his desk, while he was updating his status on Facebook. And this is all assuming that Paolo doesn’t kill himself first. Either by finally manning up and slitting his wrists (just making sure to avoid the tendons to retain use of his hands if he screws up) or maybe jumping in front of a BART train (although he doesn’t wanna be remembered as the ass who got the trains delayed). But first, he has to write the perfect suicide note, which he can't seem to do.

If you don’t think that’s dark enough, today is the day his mom died, fourteen years ago. Paolo’s going to visit her grave, to sort out all this cosmic screwing around. From psych wards, to exclusive Bay Area prep schools in Marin County, to Playstation controllers used as improvised nooses, what’s someone who might be bi-polar to do?

After premiering in February 2010, Bi-Poseur, the solo show that Hiya Swanhuyser of the SF Weekly said, “mines the depths and comes up with gold” is coming back to the intimate (and subterranean) StageWerx Theatre in Union Square with two shows in June and July before its triumphant full run opens in September.

Bi-Poseur is proudly directed by the indomitable W. Kamau Bell (Of The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About An Hour fame and directing Enzo Lombard’s Love Humiliation, & Karaoke and Jennifer Jajeh’s I Heart Hamas: And Other Things I’m Afraid to Tell You fame).

About Paolo Sambrano
Some say that Oakland native Paolo Sambrano has done more than the average twenty-three year old, but less than the above average twenty-three year old. For the moment, we’re not talking about those above average twenty-three year olds, with their college degrees, and stable jobs, and not living with their parents. We’re talking about Paolo Sambrano! He’s done stuff! Like he thought he wanted to be a filmmaker in high school, and he produced some great films that people enjoyed! He was nominated for a Golden Gate Award at the 2005 San Francisco International Film Festival, for his work on the Youth Sounds classic, Elements and was invited to the Sundance Film Festival! Which he attended! And he produced a documentary there!

And guess what? He is the youngest member of the soon to be internationally recognized Solo Performance Workshop! And what of Bi-Poseur, his first ever full length solo show that he wrote? Developed in a year! A year! About the same amount of time it took Napoleon to conquer Europe. That’s pretty cool right? Not the Napoleon thing, but writing a solo show in a year. Right? Of course!

About W. Kamau Bell
W. Kamau Bell is a solo performer, director, and stand up comedian. He performed his solo show The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour to sold-out houses in San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland, as well as the New York International Fringe Festival and the Comedy Central stage in LA. He is the founder and director of the Solo Performance Workshop, which is rapidly emerging as one of the top development labs for solo artists in the Bay Area. Kamau's other directing credits include don't make me look too psychotic, F**king Handicapped Guy, miss-matches.com, I Heart Hamas, and Love, Humiliation, & Karaoke all of which enjoyed extended runs. In 2008, the SF Weekly honored Kamau as their Comedian of the Year and in 2009 they made him the subject of a cover story. He has appeared at the prestigious Just For Laughs Festival in Montreal and his television appearances include Comedy Central, Comics Unleashed, KQED’s Spark, ABC’s View From The Bay, and Filter on G4. Comedy Central credits Kamau with telling the first ever Barack Obama joke in 2005. You can see it for yourself on their website.