On Background: A Journalism-Improv Mashup Featuring Tom Sietsema
Schedule
Thu Jan 22 2026 at 07:30 pm to 09:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
926 N St NW Washington, DC 20001 | Washington, DC
About this Event
UPDATE: THIS SHOW IS NOW SOLD OUT! Fifty spaces gone in a matter of hours. Thank you all for the momentum and support around this show. Let the producers know if you're interested in being among the first notified regarding next month's show by sending us an email at [email protected]! Thank you!
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In our innaugural show, On Background pairs some of the DC area's most recognized and renowned journalists and media personalities with some of DC's most talented and versatile improvisational comedians for an unforgettable evening of learning and laughter. Improvisors turn the tables on journalists, interviewing them (in this case our first guest, legendary DC-area food critic Tom Sietsema), inviting them to pull back the journalistic curtain to reveal the unique, fun stories from their careers: the places they traveled to, the roadblocks they confronted, and the unforgettable personalities they encountered on their journeys toward a byline.
Cast:
Kate Symes
Eva Lewis
Jamal Newman
Paul Detrick
Chris Ulrich
Dan Kois
Shawn Westfall
About Tom Sietsema: Tom Sietsema was The Washington Post's food critic from 2000 to 2025. In leaner years, he worked for the Microsoft Corp., where he launched sidewalk.com; the Seattle Post-Intelligencer; the San Francisco Chronicle; and the Milwaukee Journal. A graduate of the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, he has also written for Food & Wine, Gourmet, GQ, Travel & Leisure and other national publications. In 2016, he received an award from the James Beard Foundation for his series identifying and rating the "10 Best Food Cities in America" the previous year.
About On Background: Produced by local DMV improv mainstay Shawn Westfall, local DMV journalist/writer Dan Kois, and NOBODY, one of the most respected social-first communications/ad agencies in the country, On Background pairs some of the DC area's most recognized and renowned journalists and media personalities with some of DC's most talented and versatile improvisational comedians for an unforgettable evening of learning and laughter.
Where is it happening?
926 N St NW Washington, DC 20001, 926 N Street Northwest, Washington, United StatesEvent Location & Nearby Stays:
USD 0.00
