WOODSTOCK — Over the past few years, comedian Vicki Ferentinos has been busy getting in reps at stand-up venues in the Upper Valley and across Vermont.

Last July, she and her wife relocated to Hudson Valley, N.Y., to be closer to family and the comedy clubs in New York City.

“I live on a real road now,” said Ferentinos, 51, whose previous abode sat on a dirt road in Barnard. Ferentinos still feels like a part of the community.

“Vermont gets under your skin…,” she said.

That affinity is part of what inspired her to put together “Funny with Pride,” a comedy show featuring three other comedians that’s slated for this Saturday in Woodstock’s Town Hall Theatre as part of the second annual Pride of Woodstock weekend, which kicks off this Friday with a reception at the Woodstock Inn & Resort. 

“(Ferentinos) is kind of a fixture when it comes to comedy in the area, so if we’re going to do a comedy show, why not do it with Vicki?” said Deborah Greene, executive director of Pentangle Arts, the nonprofit that produces entertainment at the Town Hall.

In choosing comics for the show’s lineup, Ferentinos’ kept it simple. She wanted comedians “who are fun to work with, and who are funny.”

She settled on Shawn Hollenbach, the creator and host of “Closet Cases,” a performance series in the Berkshires in which LGBTQ+ comedians recount their transition and coming out stories; Kendall Farrell, a New York City comic originally from Vermont; and Brooklyn-based Will Purpura, who’s previously performed at Woolen Mill Comedy Club’s Vermont Comedy Festival.

“Being invited on a Pride show is very meaningful to me because I came out as bi(sexual) five years ago and it’s still relatively new to me,” Purpura, 37, said in a phone interview.

Purpura and Ferentinos have performed on the same bill before in gigs at Woolen Mill.

“She’s awesome,” Purpura said of Ferentinos. “She’s so funny. Just one of the best people I’ve met in comedy.”

Purpura, who describes his material as “mostly positive,” enjoys poking fun at the ways in which wellness culture can turn toxic when taken to the extreme.

“I joke about habits and goals and the stress of positive affirmation culture,” he said.

Ferentinos, meanwhile, views her stage persona as a heightened version of herself.

“It’s always been from truth,” she said of her stand-up. “I have difficulty being insincere, so usually it’s just about life and how it’s going.” 

Last year, Ferentinos spearheaded a showcase by the same name that sold out Artistree’s Grange Theatre in South Pomfret. Hollenbach appeared in that lineup too, alongside newcomer Will Berman and Norwich comic Kevin McTaggart.

“Funny with Pride” is sandwiched between two Pride-related film screenings: a Thursday viewing of “The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert,” the 1994 comedy about two drag queens and a trans woman who undertake a road trip across the Australian Outback, and a Sunday showing of “Outliers and Outlaws,” a documentary that traces the history of the thriving lesbian community that emerged in Eugene, Ore. in the 1960s.

The arts nonprofit wants to host “as many things as we can to support Pride,” Greene said.

“Funny With Pride” will happen at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, June 7 at the Woodstock Town Hall. For tickets ($25) or more information, go to pentanglearts.org.

A call to all grammar nerds

About six years ago, grammar enthusiast Ellen Jovin and her husband, Brandt Johnson, set out on a 50-state road trip to connect with the nation over queries about Oxford commas and misplaced modifiers.

At every stop, they set up a “Grammar Table” where passersby could bring their quandaries to Jovin.

“We were talking to people with very different beliefs, but we still had this room to communicate...” Jovin said in a Tuesday interview.

In the years that followed, Johnson whittled more than 400 hours of footage into a feature-length documentary, “Rebel with a Clause,” that’s slated to screen this Thursday at Lebanon Opera House as part of a national tour circuit.

Viewers can expect a “grammar party atmosphere,” said Jovin, as well as an optional quiz to test one’s grammar chops, a Q&A with the two creators and a signing of a book Jovin developed after the trip that shares a name with the documentary.

“Rebel” is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Thursday, June 5 at the Lebanon Opera House. For tickets ($20) and more information, go to lebanonoperahouse.org.

Vermont’s early days

Another film is set for two screenings early next week at Northern Stage in White River Junction and the Quechee Club.

Vermont filmmaker Jay Craven’s new historical drama “Lost Nation” examines themes of freeodom and land ownership through the parallel lives of Vermont’s storied founder, Ethan Allen, and Lucy Terry Prince, an African American poet who relocated to Guilford, Vt., after being enslaved in western Massachusetts at 3 years old.

“I wanted to get back to a very sharp focus on Vermont,” said Craven, who’s directed nine other feature films, many of them centering around Vermont history.

Filmed in 52 locations in Vermont and Massachusetts, “Lost Nation” stars Kenyan actress Eva Ndachi as Prince, and Irish actor Kevin Ryan, who appeared in the BBC America’s historical fiction series “Copper,” as Ethan Allen.

The film’s score, a combination of trumpet, strings and “otherworldly vocalization,” was developed by Mazz Swift, a Julliard-trained musician and lead violinist in Yo Yo Ma’s Silk Road Ensemble.

Craven will hold a Q&A session after both screenings.

A screening of “Lost Nation” is slated for 7 p.m. on Tuesday, June 10 at Northern Stage in White River Junction. For tickets ($13-$25) and more information, visit northernstage.org.

The Quechee Club screening will take place at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, June 11. For tickets ($15), go to catamountarts.org.

Marion Umpleby can be reached at mumpleby@vnews.com or 603-727-3306.