WICF Spotlight: Somebody’s In the Doghouse

Somebody's In the Doghouse plays
the WICF tonight at ImprovBoston

Marty Johnson is a veteran of the Women In Comedy Festival. She was part of the Festival last year with her duo Sombody’s In the Doghouse, along with Leah Gotcsik, and was happy to see the Festival make strides in its second year last year.

“Every year is bigger and better than the last,” she says. “I think people in other cities really got wind of what was happening after last year -- they had some amazing groups come in from LA and New York, among other places. I could tell because as this year ramped up, friends from other cities were getting in touch to get the skinny, and ask about applying. Word is clearly getting around that this is a great, worthwhile festival.”

Somebody’s In the Doghouse does sketch and video, which makes it a good fit for a festival that includes comic formats ranging from stand-up to improv to musical comedy. “To me it makes a lot of sense to bring the different types together,” says Johnson. “There’s a lot of overlap anyway. Some of my favorite stand-ups could also be described as storytellers, with some sketch and improv thrown in – like the Walsh Brothers, for example.”

Johnson and Gotscik met as performers at Improv Asylum and started doing shows together shortly thereafter at the North End theatre. How would Johnson describe the group? “We are a two-person comedy group that writes character-driven sketches that are topical, sharp, and a little screwball,” she says. “Then we perform the SH*T out of them. We also sing a fair amount. Doghouse isn't just sketch comedy though. We've written and starred in an independent pilot about a shopping network, called Today's Special, which went to the NY Television Festival. And our video shorts have been featured in the L.A. Comedy Shorts, the Austin Film Festival and other festivals. Leah and I also performed on a cruise ship with The Second City at Sea and wrote a more narrative-driven show about that experience.”



And what of the name, Somebody’s In the Doghouse? “We had started performing without a name, and after one of our late shows we were driving home with another comedy friend, Sara,” says Johnson. :She called her husband on the way and was outraged to find he had eaten the last frozen pizza in their house. The theme song was born. The name also fit because we often write about things that really bother us or we feel deserve to be brutally mocked.”

And now, abruptly, two questions:

Who are you looking forward to seeing at the Festival?

Oh man, so much stuff. Just a few of the many I’m psyched to see are Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, the Laura on Laura Comeback Tour, hometown hero Cathleen Carr, Citizen Rothstein, Doppelganger, of course the headliners Morgan Murphy, Jen Kirkman and Kurt & Kristen. I’m going to become a show-seeing zombie.

Why should people come to see your show?

If they like sketch comedy, they will love us!

Women In Comedy Festival - For Your Entertainment: Improv,Sketch, & Musical Acts of Glory: 8PM, $12. Mainstage. With LivePod Shuffle, Somebody's in the Doghouse, and Delilah Dix: Showin' My Business. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253