Meet Olivia Aguilar and Harrison Woliner of Cold Cereal in Thai Town

Today we’d like to introduce you to Olivia Aguilar and Harrison Woliner. Them and their team share their story with us below.

Please kick things off for us with some background.
Olivia has always been interested in stand-up comedy ever since she was little. Her first live comedy show was seeing George Carlin at the Kalamazoo State Theatre in Michigan. She really got involved in the stand-up world four years ago when she coordinated the “Office Stand-Up” Facebook Live segment from Funny Or Die. After that, she started producing Nina Daniels’ stand-up show “The Playground” at Meltdown Comics at The NerdMelt Showroom. Through these experiences, she decided to start Cold Cereal to bring a more diverse lineup to the stand-up world. In addition to curating stellar comedy, she wanted to give stage time to comedians who were not only hilarious but were underrepresented in comedy in general.

In February of 2017, Cold Cereal was born in Glassell Park at a small black box theater. Two months into doing the show at this venue, she and her co-producer Harrison Woliner found out that the owner was selling the venue, so they had to look elsewhere to put on the show. It was moved to a space at the New California Barbershop in Echo Park for the next two shows. After that, they found what would come to be their more permanent home at Junior High on Hollywood Boulevard in June 2017. The show still takes place there once a month, typically the last Saturday of the month, and every show begins with free cereal and cartoons, as people begin to make their way into the venue space. The show is normally an hour long, with Olivia running hosting duties and introducing each performer, and Harrison running the technical aspects with music, microphone levels, and a cartoon theme song to introduce each performer. The show is themed in such a way to make people feel nostalgic for when they were kids on Saturday mornings.

During what would be the month of the show’s one-year anniversary, Junior High was undergoing renovations which led Olivia and Harrison to search for a temporary location. Through this, they were able to make some connections and have the show at the legendary NerdMelt Showroom, which was a bucket list moment for both of them to run a show at the venue before it sadly closed down.

Has it been a smooth road?
It’s had some bumps along the way, but nothing that would deter Olivia or Harrison. Having the show mid-day on a Saturday, you can never know what attendance will be like. Who knows? Your audience may be hungover from the night before!

We’d love to hear more about Cold Cereal. What else should we know?
Cold Cereal is a monthly stand-up show typically occurring on the last Saturday of the month. Olivia is most proud of curating a unique and stellar lineup for each installment. The show sets itself apart from others by bringing the nostalgia of Cartoons and Cereal with Stand-Up comedy and bringing people together who enjoy both.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Besides Chicago and New York, LA is one of the best cities for stand-up comedy. Whether it’s seeing someone just starting out, or seeing a seasoned veteran trying out something new that they might want to use for a late night talk show set or their next special. This really is the place to be. Sometimes that can make it feel like the “stand-up show” scene is overcrowded, but if you have a unique idea and platform to do it, why not try it? Cold Cereal is two and a half years in and is set to continue for the foreseeable future. As long as there are funny and interesting comedians, the show will go on.

Pricing:

• Just a $5 donation to Junior High (the venue) to help keep the space running.
• Show & Cereal are all free!

Contact Info:

• Address: 5656 Hollywood Blvd (Address of Junior High)
• Instagram: @ColdCerealShow
• Facebook: Cold Cereal
• Twitter: @ColdCerealShow

Image Credit:
Harrison Woliner (Personal Photos), Faye Orlove (Junior High Logo Flyer)

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