Orlando comedy showcase Shit Sandwich turns 10
Orlando’s comedy scene owes some of its DNA to the late Matt Gersting’s brainchild, a showcase called Shit Sandwich. A longtime fixture at Bull & Bush in the Milk District, Gersting launched his show at the venue on June 2, 2012. His close friend Larry Fulford hosted on that night, and the pub was packed. Akeem Woods and Tom Feeney were no-shows, which they never lived down.
Fulford was around at the beginning, and recalls Gersting’s intentions as well as anyone could: “He was just like a giant comedy connoisseur. We both played in bands in our 20s in Orlando, but we never really became friends until stand-up. … He was at Bull & Bush a lot, and I just think he saw an opportunity there to run a comedy room at a bar the way he would want one run.”
“Back in the day, there weren’t as many showcases. He wanted something that wasn’t a mic, was a little more vetted, but also regular enough that people who were trying to get really good at comedy would have another place to do it,” recalls Fulford.
