Monte Carlo yuks it up Monte Carlo yuks it up (July 15, 2005)

By Katie Vaughn

The Sunday nights of Peninsula residents no longer have to be filled with dread over the coming workweek. At least not if Karen Smyth has anything to say about it.

Smyth has made it her mission to infuse some fun into the final minutes of each weekend. In May, she started "Sunday Funny Sunday," a comedy night at the Monte Carlo Restaurant & Nightclub on Castro Street. The weekly event has steadily been generating interest as a new entertainment option on a night most venues don't typically court audiences.

A graduate of the San Francisco Comedy College, a comedy school formed in 1999, and a longtime resident of downtown Mountain View, Smyth felt the city both lacked a place to hear live comedy and had residents who would be responsive to someone providing it. She sought to create an alternative to driving to San Francisco to see a comedy show.

"Mountain View is very deserving of something like this," Smyth said.

Smyth's project started out small. She simply approached the owners of the nightclub, asking for permission to open a comedy night on Sundays. When the club owners complied, Smyth began recruiting performers, many of whom are graduates or students of the comedy college who perform regularly at clubs throughout the Bay Area.

The setup was modest at first, with Smyth bringing in her own spotlight to attract attention to herself and the other performers on stage. Now, performers enjoy professional lighting and music at the shows.

On any typical Sunday night, five or six comics offer acts or roughly 15 minutes. The lineup varies week to week, but Smyth always serves as host, performing an opening act and introducing the entertainers. The comedians are allowed to cover nearly any subject, but Smyth likes them to stay within the PG and PG-13 range of material.

The audience size usually varies from 30 to 50 people, Smyth said, and the event has accumulated some regular attendees in recent weeks. While some audience members come specifically to hear the comics, others attend accidentally or on a whim, sometimes spotting a "Sunday Funny Sunday" flier while strolling down Castro Street.

"A lot of times people come in for dinner and stick around for the comedy," Smyth said. "And what's been really nice is the people who just stop by."

Audience members have a choice of seating at the Monte Carlo. Directly in front of the sizable stage, small tables are set on the club's dance floor for the most intimate experience. Others can watch the performers from booths, tall tables and a bar. All of these seating options are set back from the stage and separated partially by an archway, but are spots from which attendees can also enjoy dinner.

The Monte Carlo offers drink specials in conjunction with the comedy event, a practice that sometimes creates rowdy audiences. But Smyth said the show need not have a raucous audience to be enjoyable. She said she also keeps in mind that many patrons don't want to stay out late on a Sunday night. For this reason, she runs the show on a tight schedule, usually wrapping by 10:15 or 10:30 p.m.

"People can still have a nice night of comedy and not be trashed the next day," Smyth said.

Ultimately, Smyth said, the purpose of the event is to bring live comedy to the Peninsula and offer a new night to enjoy entertainment. Instead of watching Comedy Central reruns at home Sunday nights, residents can get out and watch a live show downtown.

"I think it's nice to start the week off that way," she said.

E-mail Katie Vaughn at kvaughn@mv-voice.com
INFORMATION What: Sunday Funny Sunday Where: Monte Carlo Restaurant & Nightclub, 228 Castro St. When: Sunday nights at 9 p.m. Call: (650) 988-1500

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