Kristine Levine<\/strong> of Tuscon<\/strong>, Arizona<\/strong> and Dave Nelson<\/strong> of Valdosta<\/strong>, Georgia<\/strong> will grace the Larry\u2019s stage that night, in addition to an opening set from local Logan Little and the evening\u2019s host, Connor King<\/strong>.\u00a0 Fans may recognize Levine from IFC<\/strong>\u2019s Portlandia<\/strong>, on which she\u2019s had a recurring role since 2011. She has also performed at such renowned events as Edinburgh<\/strong>\u2019s Fringe Festival<\/strong> and SXSW<\/strong> in Austin<\/strong>, Texas<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n According to Levine, Portlandia \u201cneeded a female comedian to play a fat nympho, and [the casting director] said, \u2018I know that character! We\u2019ll have Kristine come play herself!\u2019\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Levine has been performing on stage for seventeen years, and has also done commercial and radio work in her former hometown of Portland. More interesting, though, is her fourteen-year stint as a clerk at a porn store, from which she\u2019s drawn inspiration for her stand up career. She is currently shopping around a TV pilot based on those and other real-life experiences, entitled \u201cLife Is Ass<\/strong>.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Nelson is likewise a veteran of comedy, though he has been living and working in the southeast for some years now. The Kansas City<\/strong> native produces comedy shows and podcasts in Valdosta, Georgia, while holding down his day job as a communications professor. Despite teaching public speaking classes, he says that his real life and his stand up career do not cross paths.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen I teach, I\u2019m paid to teach. When I do stand up, I\u2019m paid to do stand up,\u201d says Nelson. \u201cI try to keep those worlds separate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A touring musician in his younger years, Nelson has high hopes for the two-week tour, but isn\u2019t looking forward to sleeping on floors as much these days. \u201cIt was cool back then,\u201d he notes, \u201cbut I\u2019m really going to miss my Sealy Posture-Pedic mattress.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Levine and Nelson are old friends in the close-knit comedy world, and Levine says that they will continue to do tours together.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNot only is [Dave] funny, but he has the business acumen that I completely lack,\u201d she says. \u201cI haven\u2019t gone out on tours, because I honestly don\u2019t have\u2026 the brain for it. Dave is very, very organized. He has all the skills that I lack, and he\u2019s a great opener, so it\u2019s a dream situation for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The two-week tour will take them to some smaller towns throughout the southeast, such as Lafayette<\/strong>, LA<\/strong> and Montgomery<\/strong>, AL<\/strong>. And though Levine is a product of the Pacific Northwest and its progressive politics, she \u201cfell in love with\u201d the south on her previous travels, claiming that \u201cthe audiences are amazing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In that same spirit, Nelson encourages Oxford audiences to \u201cget out and see live entertainment\u2026 instead of Netflix & chill,\u201d and Levine promises that \u201cyou\u2019ve never seen anything like me, as far as female comedians go.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.thelocalvoice.net\/oxford\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/TheLocalVoiceLigature-25web.jpg\")
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