Oakland plans raucous meeting on health care

By Guy D’Astolfo

YOUNGSTOWN — The Oakland Center for the Arts will sponsor a no-holds-barred, town-hall meeting on health care at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday.

But there will be one big difference between the Oakland’s event and the heated public forums that have been making news across the country: The Oakland’s will be tongue-in-cheek.

The event is the season-opener for The Stage, the Oakland’s monthly open-microphone variety show. It will be hosted by Matt Liller and Oakland president Brooke Slanina.

Liller, who is in his first year as co-host, said attendees are encouraged to bring a well-constructed sign that supports their side of the issue — plus a hastily-made sign bearing the dogma of the opposing side.

“The event certainly will be in jest,” said Liller. “But the rhetoric is so overblown at these town halls, I don’t see this being any more of a circus than the real thing.”

Those who don’t want to perform “can still bring signs and yell things,” said Liller. “Anything regurgitated from Glenn Beck or the Huffington Post will work perfectly.”

Wednesday’s show will represent a new approach for The Stage. “Brooke and I want to give it more of a structure and coherent theme, while still giving the public an opportunity to perform. Health-care reform is dominating the news and it seemed like an obvious choice as a topic.”

The Stage will also include more comedy this season, said Liller, including sketches and stand-up.

“This is the first show in this format, and I’m sure there will be some fine-tuning in the coming months,” he said. “We would like this to become an event that people look forward to, rather than the open-mic shows that they consciously avoid like swine flu.”

Liller said that those who want to perform at Wednesday’s event — musicians, comedians, dancers, writers, actors or whatever — do not have to adhere to the health-care theme. They should, however, arrive an hour early to secure a spot.

Admission to The Stage is $5; performers are free. The Oakland is 220 W. Boardman St., downtown.