Here is not like there

Comedy show about immigrants

Here is not like there

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In June 2025, FoolHouse decided to wander off the well-trodden path and try something unexpected — a genre-bending experiment mixing comedy show and avant-garde theatre.

For this adventure, we teamed upwith the brilliantly witty Booster ot Grusti (“Gloom Busters”) — Beaverton-based comedy group already well-loved by Portland’s Slavic-speaking audiences.

This time, some of our own FoolHouse actors swapped scripts for pens, stepping into the role of comedy authors to craft and perform their own skits. And what better theme to explore than immigration — a topic that runs through FoolHouse’s veins? Founded, run, and supported by immigrants, we share the same griefs, joys, absurdities, and, naturally, jokes.

Our sketches poked fun at the immigration process, cultural adaptation, the toska for Slavic food (which, to an American, might seem oddly specific), language mishaps, generational clashes, and — of course — the eternal Slavic urge for a good time in a traditional banya.

The Latvian Community Center became our stage, drawing an audience of around 100. We set out to create not just a show, but an experience: an “immigrant tour” of the building, homemade bread and vodka for our guests (we joked about vodka on stage, so we had to be serious about it off stage), and carefully chosen details — tastes, sounds, costumes — that tapped straight into our shared nostalgia.

Our large, fearless cast embraced both sensitive and silly material, stepping into untraditional costumes and unfiltered moments. Because using comedy to shine light on bittersweet truths — and maybe accept them — can be healing. And we like to think we managed that.

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