DSI festival to draw 450 performers
By Robert Matteson
Co-Editor
Commons Photo by Robert Matteson
In just a few weeks, Carrboro’s population is going to temporarily increase.
The Dirty South Improv Festival will bring about 450 performers from across the nation to Carrboro from Feb. 6 until Feb. 11.
The seventh annual DSI festival, which is being called “Carrboro’s Comedy Block Party,” will feature Saturday Night Live cast member Horatio Sanz.
The first DSI Festival was held when founder Zach Ward returned to his hometown of Chapel Hill from Chicago in 2001.
The show was a success, and the name stuck. He continued to use the DSI name for his shows in Chicago from 2001 to 2005.
When asked how the festival got its name, Ward said, “I wanted to recognize that I was from the South and dirty because everyone works so hard to make it happen.”
Ward is a Chapel Hill native, and has been doing comedy since he was 15. Now 29 years old, Ward is the executive producer of the DSI Comedy Theater in Carrboro.
As executive producer, Ward makes sure that all the bills get paid and that shows at DSI are of a certain caliber. “But I also go to Sam’s Club to buy paper towels,” he said.
Ward said that he feels a sense of achievement for what he has accomplished so far, but that he is trying to be realistic about what it means to be a business owner.
Ward said he faces the day-to-day challenges of keeping people happy and the group cohesive.
“It’s the same thing that bands experience, but without that drama, there’s no spark,” he said.
Ward also explained his enthusiasm for improvisational comedy.
“I believe in improv as an art form,” Ward said, stressing that people should support local comedy.
“There’s something hard about being everything for everyone, but that’s what you should aspire to do to serve the community,” he said. “There’s no better first date than an improv show,” he added.
In addition to the shows they perform, DSI offers classes in improvisation. Ward said lawyers and business school students, as well as people just trying to take a break from their routine, will come in to take classes. “(They get) an honest release that (they) don’t get at any other part of their days,” he said.
Ward said that the upcoming festival is a chance to showcase awesome comedy, but that not many people know about it.
“(The festival) has gone unnoticed because I operated completely under the radar,” Ward said. He said he hopes to involve the town next year in an official capacity, citing the potential economic benefits for Carrboro of bringing in so many people.
“Carrboro wants a comedy theater but doesn’t know it’s here yet,” Ward said.
More information about DSI Comedy Theater can be found on its Web site at www.dsicomedytheater.com.
