Ramon Rivas is a seasoned Cleveland comedian and show producer with years of experience navigating the comedy game around the country. He’s also program director at Dunlap’s Corner Bar at 3258 W. 32nd St. in Cleveland’s Clark-Fulton neighborhood. Dunlap’s is home to two of Cleveland’s freshest showcases of comedy, music and poetry — Con Tu (music, poetry and comedy) and Sundaze (a weekly comedy showcase featuring 4 to 6 guest comics doing shorter sets). The unique double bill debuts a new structure on Sunday, Feb. 18, when Con Tu will take place at 8 p.m. with Sundaze following at 9:30 p.m.
Sundaze is headlined by Rivas and his co-host and fellow comedian Tania Timmons. Con Tu is headlined by poet and comedian Stephanie Ginese and musician and comedian TJ Maclin, also known as PeachCurls.
All four headliners have a passion for performing and creating space for other artists. They know how hard it can be to get your name out there and work on material, especially as artists of color.
The creatives behind the shows
Rivas explained how he sees Sundaze helping comics develop their work. “We adapted the show to shorter sets so we could book more comics,” he said. “So now, instead of being a show modeled around performer growth, we are modeled after performer distillation. Being able to pack as much for yourself in a shorter set is a valuable skill (known as showcasing). It is really invaluable as many of the best opportunities for comics are based on 4 to 10 minute sets, such as festivals, TV appearances etc., while most club work ranges from 15 to 45 minute sets.”
Rivas’ co-host Tania Timmons takes inspiration from female comics like Nikki Glaser and Zainab Johnson. Timmons started her career by taking a comedy workshop taught by Dave Schwensen in 2018 at the Cleveland Improv. The class built up to a performance, and since then she’s been hitting the open mics. These days, she often hosts at Hilarities, opening for traveling comedians, and regularly does sets at local comedy festivals. Sundaze is another production under her belt and one that’s further honing her skills as a host and comic.
“She’d never produced a show before, so seeing her growth not only as a performer but as a community liaison and businessperson has been one of my favorite parts of the endeavor,” Rivas said.
Rivas said he’s also enjoyed working with a great team. “We have the good fortune of all of our skills,” he said. “I have a wealth of successful production experience on a micro and macro level, and TJ is very personable and charming. Steph is well versed at community building and connecting, and Tania is as multi-faceted an artist as I’ve come across, so we kind of cover each other’s weaknesses and help accentuate each other’s strengths. Everyone contributes to the labor required to community build and create these show experiences in the best way they’re able.”
Cultivating community
Shows are free but donations are welcome. The whole experience is curated with community in mind. Rivas said donation-based shows keep the experience open to a wide range of people while also supporting artists. Those who can pay, will pay, and those who can’t still get to see the show.
“Back in 2020 due to the pandemic I was producing outdoor comedy shows in my hometown of Lorain and implemented the donation-based model,” Rivas said. “I vividly remember setting up one show and a dude was sleeping on the bench, and he woke up to just a bunch of people watching comedy. He stayed the whole time and that really dug into my soul. He may not have had the ability to get to a proper comedy club let alone pay admission, meet the two-item minimum. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t deserve to laugh, get a moment of respite from the weight of the world and be a part of the audience that winds up being part of the community.”
Hosts are able to pay performers for their time, thanks to the support from the bar owners that work with Rivas as the comedy program director. On a given night at Dunlap’s, you may see comics from Oberlin or Akron, or a traveling comedian like Roy Wood Jr. stopping by while on the road. Rivas’ skill in booking and producing shows shines through with the variety and diversity shown on the Sundaze stage. The care in tending to the fire of the local scene is palpable. It is also shown in the time and labor it takes to set up the space, position the lights, promote the event consistently, and provide food for audience and performers.
Rivas said he makes “a pot of rice and beans every week for folks to snack on. It’s a family recipe passed down secondhand from my abuela, who had 17 children and didn’t teach her recipe to anyone because then they wouldn’t go visit her to eat the rice.” He also tells the story of how he learned to make it. “My mom picked up her recipe slowly over the years, and when I was living in LA and homesick she taught me how to make it over the phone,” he said. “It’s what we’ve had as a regular meal, as part of a graduation party, birthday, funeral repast, wedding and everything in between. It tastes like family to me. It’s something my grandmother fed a seemingly endless amount of kids, grandkids and extended family with. So, by making it for folks who come to shows, I feel like it’s generating that same familial endearment to folks who come in as strangers and leave as part of a growing community.”
Community gathering is a highlight of this work, and the way community is curated in this space stands out to me, as I notice that both performers and audiences rely on each other for these events to work. The audience showing up, grabbing drinks and sitting around the stage lend their presence and attention, while Ramon and Tania warm up the crowd, and the performers gain experience and feedback on their creative work. It’s a magical collective formula.
A new approach to comedy shows
Their booking model is also unique, as they have a finger on the pulse of the local scene, but have opened up their process to allowing comics to enter submissions for participation, and allow Sundaze to be a springboard for new and seasoned comics. Artists can fill out the form for Sundaze here. Rivas also records the shows on his iPad and sends them to performers afterward.
He said it is refreshing to see a model where artists are not expected to come out for free, their talent is appreciated and honored, and their artistic development is encouraged.
The same compliments can be paid to Con Tu, a variety show highlighting comedy, music and poetry. Typically, they book an artist from each of the three mediums mentioned above, and artists are welcome to share a few songs, a few poems, and a comedic set. Hosts Stephanie Ginese and TJ Maclin have those three skills under their belts, and noticed the similarities and wordsmithing used in all three practices. Ginese grew up with Rivas, and he encouraged her to pursue comedy and bring her talents to Dunlap’s. Ginese roped in Maclin and the rest is history.
“We thought that it would be dope to bridge the gap between these three worlds, and engage all these dope artists we know and have witnessed,” said Maclin. “So far it’s been great since we’ve had several performers tell us that Con Tu was the most fun they’ve had performing. It’s been so organic and smooth working with local artists and folks from out of town.”
Ginese and Maclin would like to take their show on tour in the future, and launched a podcast in November. They said the shows so far have been special because of the performers, but also because of the location and community they serve. “This is an often overlooked neighborhood, people are often driving through and miss a lot of what it has to offer,” said Ginese. “It is a mainly Black and Latino area, and has yet to be gentrified and changed. A lot of locals come out to rock with us and we want them to feel as welcome as people coming from out of town. Oftentimes people set up spots in local Black and brown neighborhoods and exclude the people who live there. Dunlaps gives us a lot of freedom and trust, and they are very supportive. We appreciate that and love being able to bring this energy to this neighborhood.”
Maclin said that even though Cleveland is changing, the show has remained true to the city’s roots. “I want this to remain an authentic piece of Cleveland culture and a true representation of the city and the talent we have to offer,” he said. “When you bring a friend from out of town, bring them to Con Tu to see what Cleveland is really like.”
Sundaze and Con Tu are returning on Sunday, February 18th, with new time slots. Con Tu will be at the top of the bill starting at 8 p.m., with Sundaze following at 9:30 p.m. There will also be a new open mic segment starting at 10:30 p.m. called The Mic That Doesn’t End. For more information, visit Sundaze’d Comedy Show on Eventbrite. Con Tu’s artist availability form can be found here: https://www.contuonline.com/artistavailabiltyform. Sundaze’s artist availability form can be found here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeBXPi_zARU0iOkGowLFRra3f59swLW8VTko_bTSfDn8y9Xnw/viewform
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