Unity Shoppe seeks local talent

BY ERIC LINDBERG
DAILY SOUND STAFF WRITER

Imagine pooling all the talent in Santa Barbara: the musicians, standup comics, singers and dancers.
Then throw in the novelty acts, magicians, mimes, air guitarists, clowns, contortionists and every other bizarre and weird talent imaginable. Now cram the best and most entertaining of those performances into a 30-minute television segment.
The result is probably pretty close to what Tom Reed, executive director of the Unity Shoppe, envisions for his latest fundraising effort, a local reality show dubbed “Chance of a Laugh Time” that is holding an open audition this Saturday.

“It’s sort of like a ‘Santa Barbara Idol,’” Reed said, making sure to note that he’s also looking for talent that’s, well, entertaining on a totally different level than professional performers.
Longtime Hollywood producer and creator of “The Gong Show” Chris Bearde is also on board. A big supporter of the Unity Shoppe, Bearde is hoping to draw enough amateur talent to fill four 30-minute shows that will air on a local Cox cable channel.
“I know Santa Barbara is an area with a lot of talented people and crazy people as well,” Bearde said.
When the show airs, viewers will be encouraged to call or go online to vote for their favorite act. The most popular acts will be showcased during the Unity Telethon this December, Reed said, and might even make it to one of three new Bearde television shows in Hollywood.
“The guy who wins and gets on the telethon may or may not have any talent at all,” Reed said with a laugh.
If the show turns out to be a success, Reed and Bearde said they are thinking about continuing the show throughout the year, explaining that sponsorship and advertising revenue, along with nominal fees charged for phone-in votes, will help fund the Unity Shoppe at times other than Christmas.
“This would be a great thing to do to get the charity on television more,” Bearde said, adding that the reality show would be “able to get more promotion and donations coming in for the whole year rather than just at Telethon time.”
“The families we take care of need to be taken care of all year long,” Reed added.
The Unity Shoppe is the largest single direct distributor of food and clothing in the county, providing basic necessities to families to help them avoid welfare dependency and homelessness.
In addition to talented acts, organizers are also looking for sponsors and advertisers for the reality show. Bearde described the show as a “win-win-win” situation for sponsors, Cox and the Unity Shoppe.
“Cox gets a Bearde show, the charity gets total promotion ... and sponsors get their name out there,” Bearde said.
The producer said he expects enough auditions this Saturday to fill at least one or two half-hour shows. After the first show airs, Bearde said, people will start pouring in from throughout Santa Barbara County.
“Once the show goes on the air and people see what the show is, they’ll say, oh, I can do that,” he said.
For now, organizers hope to attract enough talent to the open audition at Victoria Hall Theater — 33 W. Victoria St. in Santa Barbara — from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. this Saturday to get “Chance of a Laugh Time” up and running.
“I’m known for doing amateur talent shows,” Bearde said. “If I can’t do that after 40 years of doing this, then what the hell can I do?”