Fairwinds Winery in Port Townsend is set to host a group of touring comedians with an unusual theme on Fri., May 31, as the five-person “Nerd Comedy Tour” comes to town.

Portland-based standup Todd Basil is teaming up with four fellow comedic Oregon performers to provide what he touted as “just the right amount of eye-contact avoidance, social anxiety and eager tangential rants at a great outdoor event space.”

Basil, who also works as a college calculus instructor, cited as his inspiration high school history teacher Don Gavitte’s “Teacher Show,” a comedy showcase in Oregon and Washington that gives audiences a taste of the classroom from the stage.

“That show has been a great opportunity to connect and commiserate with other teachers,” Basil said. “During those shows, I've leaned into my teaching, math-nerd and germaphobe tendencies. I wanted to create a show where I could dive in even more as a nerd.”

Basil hopes audiences will connect with him and his fellow nerds to discover, celebrate and share “their nerdy selves.” They do that by recreating the “nerd-forward atmosphere” he’s experienced in venues like roleplaying and tabletop board gaming halls, which he credited fellow “Nerd Comedy Tour” participants Naomi Fitter and Sarah Hagen with cultivating in their “Naughty but Nerdy” shows in Oregon.

Basil claims he can make math funny, but promised he won't make audiences do any math. He headlined at the New South Comedy Festival in South Carolina, performed at the Treefort Music Festival in Boise, and was featured on National Public Radio’s “Weekend Edition” as part of the touring “Teacher Show.”

Fitter escaped from Ohio at the age of 22 to open for Bil Dwyer, Laurie Kilmartin and Whitney Cummings, and has performed in the All Jane Comedy Festival. When she's not telling jokes, she spends her time studying robots.

Eugene-based Hagen's comedic range runs from more traditional standup to more esoteric storytelling and even musical comedy. Her noteworthy performances have included appearances at the Ha Ha Harvest Festival, the Northwest Women's Comedy Festival and the Savage Henry Comedy Festival.

Like Basil, Marietje Hauprich is a standup based in Portland, but she grew up in rural upstate New York, and draws from life experiences that include serving as “a dedicated helicopter mom” to four cats. She’s a regular at the Helium Comedy Club, and has performed at the Limestone, Upper Left and All Jane Comedy Festivals.

Rounding out the quintet is another Portland-based standup, David Kildal, who was born in southern Oregon, but raised in Dayton, Ohio, and is well-versed in “making light of unexciting situations.” He performed at the Last Best Comedy Fest in Bozeman, Montana, and the Button Bridge Comedy Festival in Hood River, Oregon.

“We nerds aim to create a welcoming experience for the audience,” Basil said. “The comedy is free of toxic masculinity and hate speech, and the number of laughs is exceeded only by the strength of the performers’ collective eyeglass prescriptions.”

FairWinds Winery is located at 1984 Hastings Ave. W. in Port Townsend.