Aziz Ansari has informed us that he did, indeed, perform at Pitchfork, despite a six hour flight delay from NYC.
Says Aziz: "Todd (Barry) and Eugene (Mirman) convinced me to try to do a short set at the end of Sunset Rubdown, which I was pretty sure would be a disaster, but the crowd was really awesome and I ended up doing a full set. I was glad I got to tell my R. Kelly story in Kellz hometown. The Pitchfork Festival was a blast and it was cool to hang out with everyone. I'd love to come back and check out more of the city next time."
Aziz is getting mentioned in press all over the place, has done videos out the wazoo, and is soon to be seen in School for Scoundrels with Billy Bob Thornton and Jon Heder.
Aziz and The Bastion have promised to keep in touch so we can be sure to see him next time he graces a stage here in Chicago. And it totally won't be like that time we exchanged addresses at swim camp with that girl from Bloomington and then never wrote to her. What was her name again?
We got word recently that quirky stand-up comedian Jeb Cadwell is being followed.
Followed around by Time Out Chicago’s Steve Hendershot, that is. Hendershot is writing a “week in the life of” article to showcase the more eccentric, out-of-the-way places to see comedy in Chicago. Cadwell took him on a bit of a rollercoaster this past weekend, with stops Sunday at Bad Dog (Your Sunday Best), then to the Mutiny (Open Wound Comedy), and tonight will be seen at the Annoyance Theater for class, then Gunther Murphy’s for an open mic, then over to the Mix for another open mic, and possibly Bird’s Nest, which is starting their Monday nights back up after a short hiatus. Tuesday Cadwell plans to hit the Cork Lounge and Trace.
Whew. We’re tired just writing about it.
In other stand-up comedy-related gossip/news, the Bastion was informed that Mike Bridenstine landed an emcee position with the Improv, coming off his audition showcase last Wednesday. Tonight he can be seen in Zanies' “Rising Stars” showcase. TJ Miller survived the Del Close Marathon in NYC this past weekend and will be reporting in with lots of fun tidbits soon. Robert Buscemi is gearing up for his one-man show/DVD recording September 7 at the Subterranean, and Kara Buller is set to open her four-week one-woman show at the Cornservatory this Friday.
The Bastion braved the heat and the sweaty exodus of Cubs fans after the game Saturday night to head to i.O. on North Clark for the satirical improv show "Whirled News Tonight" at 8.
As they say, "The news is real. Everything else is improvised." Pre-show, audience members are invited to pick through the day's local and national papers and clip the articles they want the improvisers to create on-the-spot funny with. Easily enough achieved when the headline suggests that President Bush's "I'm just a regular guy" schtick might be backfiring on him a little bit, but it's surely something of a challenge when so many headlines are of the tragic variety. Yet somehow, with a collective memory bank of social and cultural information, and a commitment to quick comedic collaboration, they pull it off.
"Whirled News Tonight" loses the mock stuffiness of the satirical news format in the second part of the show, where they create stories based on real-life tales shared by castmembers after being prompted for a theme by the audience.
Strengthened by a three-year history together, and collective experience with comedy of all forms throughout Chicago and elsewhere, this troupe is happy to prod humor from daily news every Saturday night in the Del Close Theater.
Thanks to Bastion reader (by way of The Apiary) and WNT castmember Arnie Niekamp for the "how do you do."
...had you been at the Metro Friday night: Aziz Ansari (who came in on a late flight but made the most of his stage time) and Eugene Mirman, being their hilarious selves. Also doing his magic at the Metro was Todd Barry.
(EDIT: F.O.B. Robert Buscemi fills us in on the Metro show: "Mirman was funny as always, and Todd Barry did great. The crowd was huge, and both comics did lots of crowd work. Barry is really good at riffing. The crowd was much more attentive than you'd expect from a huge rock crowd, in fact much more attentive than when I saw Mirman last year (or whenever that was) at the Subterranean, when people were talking over him and opening act Leo Allen, who's also a really funny comic.")
"Porn" Is a Good Career Choice: Chicago's Chuckle Sandwich Makes Inroads in NYC
This very afternoon, in an editing suite on the 27th floor at Lexington and 51st in New York City, Chicago's own TJ Miller is reviewing some very bad porn.
No, we're not criticizing TJ's sexual proclivities; this is actually a new project that's being heavily shopped in NYC this week, in conjunction with the Del Close Improv Marathon, where Chicago sketch troupe Chuckle Sandwich (featuring TJ Miller, Thomas Middleditch, Mark Raterman, and Nick Vatterott) have secured the coveted 10:30 p.m. Saturday night slot.
To top things off, we heard that Thomas Middleditch received a call from Brillstein & Grey (production company behind Mr. Show, among others) just yesterday afternoon, offering him a deal after seeing him a few weeks ago at I.O.
The Chicago crew was also seen hobnobbing at Bungalow 8 Wednesday night, having a few drinks and chatting with several people including an Esquire and GQ writer, a prominent media mogul, and a columnist from the New York Post.
The Bastion has been promised a full report when TJ gets back to town next weekend; in the meantime, he can be seen all over NYC doing stand-up, and from what we know of TJ's schedule when he's home in Chicago, we're positive he'll be in at least five different places every night this coming week.
Gaper's Block and the Trib have been discussing whether the skull that enjoys a place of respect in the office of Goodman Theater artistic director Robert Falls is really that of Chicago improv legend Del Close, who supposedly willed his cranium to the theater to be used as a prop in Hamlet.
Loyola University paleopathologists have examined it and said "eh."
Friends also tend to think it isn't really Close's skull, but love the spirit behind the darkly eccentric gesture.
(As opposed to "Funny Weird"?) Fart jokes are all well and good, but how about we mix it up with a little literary humor? You know, stuff that looks as pretty on paper as it sounds coming out of your mouth.
Next Tuesday, August 1, at 7, Chicago blogging royalty Claire Zulkey will host the latest of Funny Ha-Ha, the literary humor reading series.
The 7:30 show will kick off with Charna Halpern speaking, followed by the screening of eighteen short films, including I.O.'s short film, narrated by "serious guy" Bill Kurtis, who investigates I.O. as a murderous cult - written by Adam McKay and featuring Tina Fey.
At the 9:30 show, eighteen more shorts will follow, including George Eckart of Battery Media's animated short, "Pony," written by the Colbert Report's Mike Brumm, and voiced by TJ Jagodowski and Susan Chiara.
Zanies Gives Chicago Stand-Ups a Boost With New "Rising Stars" Showcase
The Bastion was just informed that Zanies Comedy Club is set to feature "ten to fifteen up-and-coming new comedians" in a newly instituted "Rising Stars" showcase, beginning Monday, July 31, at 8:30 p.m.
Does this new night at Zanies have anything to do with the Chicago Talent series beginning tonight over at the brand-new Improv in Schaumburg? Hmm...
At any rate, we've got a call into general manager and booking agent Bert Haas to get the dilly-o on the featured acts of the showcase, but we have a sneaking suspicion that those "rising stars" are the underground superstars of right now.
But don't forget! You've still gotta get yer two drink minimum on. Tell your support group, "comedy made me do it." They'll totally understand.
The Bastion is young, but ambitious. We hope to someday say that we know everything going on in Chicago comedy. Every show, every party, every review, every media mention. Imagine our humble surprise, then, when an undiscovered nugget of fun almost slipped through our very own inbox.
It was a Saturday night. Chicago was teeming with energy and shows and parties and excitement. The Bastion was at home on the internet. Right.
Anyhow, moving on. We were tidying up e-mails, including the weekly subscription to Chicago Magazine's Marquee. It's interesting and useful, but unfortunately, we often get behind on it, and thus it gets relegated to the "delete without reading" folder.
That night, however, we opened it, for a lark, hoping to stave off sleepy time. The first thing we noticed was the name "Nick Vattesot". The Bastion said to itself, "Boy howdy, that sure is similar to 'Nick Vatterott.' Who's this very similarly named individual?" We quickly scrolled.
And lo, five of Chicago's top alternative stand-up comedians were quoted, and the article wrapped up with recommendations of the top three places to see alternative comedy in Chicago. Read the full article here. Select jokes after the jump.
(Now, if we could just warn Nick Vatterott about this imposter who's out on the scene.)
Jared Logan: “The Etch-a-Sketch is the toy for drawing that makes drawing almost completely impossible. The Etch-a-Sketch simulates what drawing would be like if you had crippling arthritis.”
Nick Vattesot [sic]: “People back home ask me what my apartment in Chicago is like. I tell them to picture the most dreary, depressing place they’ve ever been. Then subtract chairs.”
Kumail Nanjiani: “I’ve always wanted to have a unit of measurement name after me because all the cool scientists have them—Joule, Newton . . . Mr. Kilometer. But I want something cool, like, ‘turn the torpedoes up to five Kumails!’
‘Five Kumails? That’s way too much power! Most people can’t handle one Kumail.’”
Brady Novak: “When I’m at a water park, kids ask me why I’m wearing a T-shirt. I tell them it makes me go down the slide faster, but deep down they know I’m wearing it to hide my fat.”
T.J. Miller: “I have a friend who answered the question—Which do you like better, sex or food?—with ‘food.’ So at his bachelor party, instead of a stripper who comes out of a cake, we got him a cake that comes out of a stripper. It was messy, but worth it.”
The venerable comedy club and dinner theater known as the Improv opened doors in Schaumburg's Woodfield Mall the first week of June this year. The club seats 450 and the Skybar seats 50 more, which may qualify it as the largest stand-up comedy club in the nation.
There was skepticism, and some rumblings and giggles among Chicago's stand-ups when the news first broke, but tonight, Wednesday, July 26, the Improv will see several prominent Chicago stand-up comedians trying for an emcee or feature slot on their stage in the coming months.
If a chance to enjoy the seemingly non-compatible activities of stuffing your yaw with Chicken Tequila Pasta while laughing isn't enticing enough to convince you to visit the new Chicago Improv, how about this? Upcoming special perfomer Bob Saget. Yeah. Bob Friggin' Saget. Bob "unexpectedly filthiest possible version of the Aristocrats joke" Saget. Mary-Kate Olsen must be spinning in her grave. (Oh, wait, she's not dead. Never mind.)
Thanks to Dave Odd for catching the Bastion up to speed on this one.
"Get a bunch of immature men in tight pants together and it's sure to come up."
Apparently sitting around in extremely tight polyester pants has an...effect on the uhh, special male area.
The Bastion and F.O.B. Krystle were invited to sit in on the Blerds photo shoot this past Sunday afternoon. Before the gaggle headed downtown to Lakeshore Athletic Club, they readied at Casa de BridenHolmes, mocking each others too-tight polyester pants, short shorts, and white cardigans tied WASPily over the shoulders. After a quick beer, the posse ambled down Irving Park Road to the train, with puzzled passersby not only gawking but seemingly afraid of the pastel-clad crew.
Forest Casey, photog extraordinaire, snapped away on the train as the boys took over the back half of a CTA car, and on the trek down Grand Avenue to the athletic facility where the main group of photos would be shot.
Surprisingly, only one observer asked what all the fuss was about. The Bastion wasn't sure, but thinks it might have something to do with the showcase being held this Friday at the Cornservatory (featuring Michael Holmes, Kumail, Sean Flannery, Pat Brice, Mike Bridenstine, CJ Sullivan, and Nate Craig), a Time Out Chicago article dropping tomorrow about the Blerds site, and a crop of new videos from Jordan Vogt-Roberts.
Or maybe they just needed an excuse to play dress-up for the day. Who knows?
On July 15, a who’s-who of Chicago stand-ups descended upon Lincoln Lodge co-founder Mark Geary’s backyard. The occasion: a sloppy meat-and-alcohol-filled celebration of the Lodge’s recently completed sixth season.
It was a scene reminiscent of the Fresh Prince video “Summertime,” only with a lot less dancing and an overabundance of white people. Early on, Lodge favorite Ken Bernard and perennial Lodge emcee, Bill Cruz, were spotted noshing on burgers whilst discussing the finer points of Robert Downey Jr.’s performance in Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Moments later, popular Lodge “Man-On-The-Street” correspondent Tony Sam rallied the troops for a spirited session of bocce.
Meanwhile, one of the Lodge’s most requested acts, Kumail, worked off his meal by shooting some hoops. As the evening progressed, Mikes Holmes and Olson swished their Midwestern charm around while having a chit-chat over frosted beverages.
Lodge stalwart Sean Flannery, endearingly eccentric comic Robert Buscemi, and the sardonic laugh factory that is Allison Leber arrived just in time to take in a screening of the Found Footage Festival. Some of the more crowd-pleasing moments from the screening included footage of a glowing Corey Haim describing his ideal mate in a diary-like confessional and Traci Lords pushin her' her hammys to the limit in a workout video. Lodge co-founder Tom Lawler also made a late evening appearance exchanging “thank-yous” and “you’re-welcomes” with attendees.
There will be a raffle with prizes including the ultimate goodie bag: the chance to hog the spotlight and perform in an upcoming show.
Be there for the "unplugged" performances of show regulars, including Robert Buscemi, Jared Logan, and Tony Sam. Show up at 7:30 on Thursday, July 27 at the Town Hall Pub at 3340 N. Halsted, or risk being spat upon.
Longtime Second City musical director Ruby Streak has put together sixteen podcasts so far, which are yours to enjoy free online.
Streak invites special guests to sit down with her weekly to discuss "life, politics and other absurdities."
She has recently chatted with TJ Jagodowski about his teaching experiences at both Second City and I.O., and with Second City alum and MadTV performer Frank Caeti about life on the boob tube.
Colbert Prompts Florida Congressman To (Jokingly) Declare Love For Cocaine, Prostitutes on TV
Okay, so maybe these pols don't have the whole "we're making fun of you and want to trick you into saying ridiculous things" down so well after all. The AP reported one hour ago that Rep. Robert Wexler was backed into a jokey corner by Stephen Colbert during a taping for the Colbert Report, and turned to the camera and said: ""I enjoy cocaine because it's a fun thing to do."
Not quite done smothering his own credibility and career, he continued: "I enjoy the company of prostitutes for the following reasons: because it's a fun thing to do. If you combine the two together, it's probably even more fun."
All we can say is "wow." Also, "The Bastion loves cocaine and prostitutes, too, but we're too smart to declare that in a public forum." Oops!
Second City and I.O. alumna Tina Fey has announced that after six seasons as head writer and anchor of Weekend Update, she will be leaving the show to focus her energy on 30 Rock, her new NBC prime time show, which stars Alec Baldwin and is about a late-night comedy show. Whatever will she draw on to make the show feel genuine? Maybe she'll hire some talented writers to help her fluff out the details of that world.
(Update: our Big Poppa in New York, The Apiary, is reporting that Rachel Dratch is also leaving the show, and that Studio 8H is experiencing a "core meltdown" as Lorne Michaels makes announcements that, though scouting for new talent, he plans to simply keep the cast smaller this season.)
This One's For the Children - at the Apollo Theater
(With apologies to New Kids on the Block, of course.) The Apollo Theater will host a stand-up comedy show tonight (July 24) to benefit Children's Memorial Hospital. The show will feature Ricky Carmona, Sapna Kumar, Hannibal Buress, Joselyn Hughes, and Bill Cruz. Call 773- 935-6100.
We're like Schrodinger's cat, sort of. Last Friday, July 22, The Bastion managed to be in two places at once, seeing several acts, and chatting up lots of fun Chicago comedy folks. And if you can believe it, both events had something else in common as well - burlesque. How did that happen? Beats us. Let's just say that Michelle L'Amour bills herself as "The Ass That Goes Pow," and she's branded herself well.
One half of us was at the Spitfire girls' second show, the SpitFire Comedy Power Hour, at the Cornservatory on Lincoln, where there were laughs a'plenty in between the enticing kinetic offerings of Michelle L'Amour's students, the Star and Garter Burlesque Dancers. (Comedy pix here, and burlesque pix here.)
Host Renee Gauthier inspired chuckles when she mirrored the audience's gawking expressions after the gyrations of the first Star and Garter booty shaker. Hannah Gansen and her Yamaha keyboard took the audience on a musical journey with her absurd ballads of toenail disgust and lost love. Allison Leber amused with her intimate narrative of camel toe, and roller skating misadventures. Kara Buller kept up the pace with her portrayal of 'sex-aholic, rage-aholic, pick-up truck-aholic' JT Munson, and Joselyn Hughes stunned with her hilarious self-shot comedy videos. Can't wait to see what other surprises are in store from this coterie of hilarity and feminine fabulosity.
The other half of us was at the Gallery Cabaret for Schadenfreude's July Rent Party. We finally got to say hello to Marz and the Pimprov boys, who provided a visual delight as we approached the club. There's just something really beautiful about five guys kitted out in full-on pimp gear hanging out on a corner in preppy Bucktown. Call us mischievous, but we were sort of hoping that passersby with no knowledge of that night's show would innocently wander by, just so we could see the looks on their faces.
We also got to chat with stand-up Andy Ross, who has stuck to his challenging summertime commitment to his facial hair, and is not, in fact, sporting the "I just drank milk out of a barrel" look. He and Claire Zulkey, the big-time Chicago blogger and writer who performed a monologue that night, encouraged us to come out to the FunnyHaHa show on August 1. Also onstage was Deb Downing-Grosz, creating a bit of comedy magic with her guitar.
There was also time for a "how do you do" with The Pajama Men, also known as longtime friends and collaborators Shenoah Allen and Marc Chavez, who won the 2005 Edinburgh Fringe Festival Double Act Award, and got snagged by a scout from Second City to come to Chicago and do their unique magic at the Steppenwolf Garage Theater. We bugged them with questions about their hard-to-describe act (not quite stand-up, not quite sketch), and made them promise to e-mail us so we could interview them good 'n' proper.
And, of course, there was the usual inspired ridiculousness of Schadenfreude, including a one-man rendition of Perry Farrell's life in three minutes, inspired by the troupe's upcoming appearance at Lollapalooza.
It was, need we say, a fabulous Friday night for comedy in Chicago.
On Sunday, July 23, the Neo-Futurists are staging a special performance of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (at 7), and throwing an all-day benefit for WLUW FM, a progressive radio station "committed to social justice and independent thought and expression and to giving a voice to those who too often go unheard."
There will be live jazz and instrumental bands, and you can spend $15 to hang out all day, or pay the regular price for the Too Much Light performance. Call 773-275-5255.
Charna Halpern founded i.O. in 1981, with assistance from the late Del Close beginning in 1984. Since then the i.O. Theater has thrived as a comedy training center and performance venue, and shaped generations of talent that now populate the airwaves and movie screens. Some of Charna's best known former students include Vince Vaughn, Jon Favreau, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Mike Myers, the late Chris Farley, Rachel Dratch, Tim Meadows, and Seth Meyers. Charna believes that "the funniest people in the world come from Chicago," and thinks there's something special about Chicago that allows comedy to blossom here. In her interview with The Bastion, Charna catches us up on new media and festival developments at i.O., explains how improv concepts can open even non-professionals up to more of life's possibilities, and tells us that she literally saved Del Close's life not once, not twice, but several times.
i.O. is a respectable 25 years old, yet is still vital and fresh. What's new and exciting at i.O. this season? We hear there are all kinds of cool new media projects evolving there.
Wow, word gets around quickly. Yes, lots of cool things are happening. First, our DVD from the 25th Anniversary Show at The Chicago Theater is being released by New Wave Media this August. i.O. just started a podcast that features our top talent. We are developing some TV shows and have come under the wing of Brillstein-Grey, who are some wonderful people. They recognize the amount of talent here and have been very receptive to our ideas. We are also working on getting more film shorts on our website so that it becomes even more of a fun place to visit. And, I have written a movie about me and Del that some of my very talented friends are doing a second draft on.
The iO West Improv Festival is really growing. The fourth one was last month in LA - can you share some impressions of that experience?
I am extremely proud of this festival, and much of the credit has to go to my i.O. West producer, James Grace. It has grown to the point where we may have to add another theater next year for some of it, including the closing night. The entertainment industry has recognized this fest as the place to be. One of my favorite things about the festival is that we are able to give awards to those who we feel have helped open doors for improvisation and made the world see that this is an art form to take seriously. The fact that these successful stars show up and are actually honored to receive The Del Close Award from i.O. because they respect what i.O. has done and what the award represents is what touches me the most. The first year we honored Curb Your Enthusiasm. After that it was Shelley Berman, then Fred Willard. This year we honored Harry Shearer, and the award was presented to him, on our behalf, by Eric Idle. It blew me away to have Eric Idle talking about i.O. and improvisation in his speech - not to mention watching him hang out in the green room. So, my impression is that this fest is bringing artists of all levels together. And at the risk of making this too long of an answer, I am also touched when so many students in L.A. tell me how they love i.O. and are so grateful to me for bringing this type of community out there.
Almost everyone we're getting to know in the comedy scene here tells us that the best show going is "The Armando Diaz Experience." Can you explain its appeal?
“The Armando Diaz Theatrical Experience and Hootenanny” is actually the full name of this show, but few people know that, for some reason. Another detail few people know is how the show came to be. They think Armando Diaz created it and that's not true at all. Adam McKay (writer and director of Anchorman and the soon-to-be-released Talladega Nights), Del, David Koechner and I came up with the show concept - that we have a show that is led by one person instead of a whole team. The original concept was, can one monologist inspire and even lead the piece? This monologist is to have the power to replay a scene, narrate a different take on the scene, and do whatever he wanted to the players in the show. And he/she would have the responsibility to pull it together at the end to bring a moral to the show - to pull together the ideas and explain the point of view these scenes were leading up to. It was the opposite of a Harold, where it was the group responsibility, rather one person's responsibility to say - "so here is what we are saying.” And since so many people were working for Second City as well, we would have the show on Monday so all of our buddies could come back and play with us. In trying to decide on a name, Adam had the idea to name it after his friend, Armando Diaz, and to let him do the monologues for awhile. I asked Adam why he wanted to do that, as Armando wasn't even performing here and he replied, "Let's see if we can make this show so popular that Armando becomes a household name because of the show title." It was part joke and part experiment. We all agreed, and the rest is history. As to your question, which I bet you think I've forgotten by now, I think the appeal in Chicago is still the fact that folks who are now working at Second City and other venues, including TV, miss playing here because they don't really get to improvise in the way we do at i.O. If they are writing for TV, they come home on breaks because they miss the whole scene and are pretty much "jonesing.” The audience knows that all these folks are getting together once a week to have fun, and they don't want to miss it. And I think it's the same in L.A. and even at UCB. In L.A., the top performers can't be on teams anymore as they are working - so they come to reunite in an Armando. The i.O. alumni in New York want to play and get in touch with that side of their abilities and the audience wants to see that. (They call it A.S.S.C.A.T. at UCB, but they aren't fooling anyone.)
Is it gratifying to know that lots of people who have studied at i.O. have gone on to big things - Amy Poehler and Tina Fey behind the desk of SNL's "Weekend Update," for example?
It's more than just gratifying...how can I describe it? I have seen these folks working their tails off for years and honing their craft. They would go to classes, rehearsals, shows. They'd audition, they'd coach, they'd teach, they'd write shows. They loved i.O. and believed in our ideals. They struggled, they shopped at thrift stores for clothes - they never complained. They loved the work. It's all they ever wanted to do. After years of struggling, their talents were finally appreciated and they were given career opportunities to do the only thing they ever wanted to do. I go through a range of emotions when my people are successful. I feel grateful to be able to help them get to where they are and pride that they are showing the incredible talents they have honed here. I feel relief because I know they are going to be ok and that they have found their way. And I feel incredible love because every one of them gives back and makes sure people know of this special place where people cherish each other to succeed on stage. And last but not least, it is confirmation that I am definitely doing something right. Not only have my people become writers and performers on SNL, MadTV, The Daily Show, The Colbert Report and Late Night With Conan O'Brien - they are also writing and directing movies - Jon Favreau, Adam McKay, Mike Myers, Tina Fey,Andy Dick, and The UCB, who made Martin & Orloff, which I enjoyed. And they all say they use everything they have learned here in their work.
At the same time, countless people who have learned improv with you take those skills and concepts back into totally different kinds of work. What are some of the valuable things that people who don't enter a career in comedy learn from improv and use to enhance their lives?
Those that are not going into the entertainment field are definitely learning valuable skills for their own use. I always say we are saving our corner of the world here because folks are learning the art of agreement. They have learned that life is more interesting when you say "yes." They have learned how to take these skills to work to create more collaborative work environments and they themselves have developed deeper listening skills and spontaneity. They are braver, and as Chris Farley said in my first book, “they can run their fastest and jump their highest."
What do you think is unique about Chicago's culture that has allowed improv to thrive here?
What is unique about our culture? Well first, I think Chicagoans are unique. They are very supportive audiences and they are proud of the fact that the funniest people in the world come from Chicago. They are eager to come out of their comfortable homes to support the stars of tomorrow. The weathermen can warn us on TV that it will be 40 degrees below with the wind chill factor and that folks should not go out unless they have to, and we will still have a full house at i.O. You can't tell Chicagoans that they can't go out. And because traditionally, the funniest people have come from Chicago, funny people from other cities who want to do this kind of work, flock here to "make the scene" as Del would say. So the culture grows and thrives. Most importantly, in Chicago, we take the time to get good. It has been thought of as "the laboratory" for a long time. In L.A. I have been told by casting agents that they will be more interested in an actor if they were trained at i.O. in Chicago because they know that person really worked to get good.
Truth in Comedy, the 1994 book you wrote with Del Close, is thought of as the "improv bible." MattBesser has referred to Del Close as the "Jesus of improv." Lots of people call i.O. a "mecca." Would you like to go on record as claiming a religious figure for yourself? Perhaps Durga, the Hindu warrior mother goddess?
Oh, I love that title you suggested. Del used to call me "The Goddess" as well. But that's because I saved his life numerous times. After months of arguing, I convinced him to move out of the filthy apartment he had lived in for years across the street from Second City. I found him a new place by my house and moved him out. The week after he moved, the boiler underneath his old apartment blew up and the whole place burned down. He would have been killed - or at least his cats would have died. And all of his first edition books, which were quite a valuable collection, would have been destroyed. A year later, I decided that instead of working straight through to our next class session, I would give Del a night off, and the two of us would take in a movie. I canceled class. When we came home that night, the entire block was filled with fire trucks. The building burned down and the fire started outside our door, which was the only exit. We would have all been killed had we been in class. There were other times I saved him as well, so I was definitely considered by Del to be a Goddess. So I will accept that title with pride. And it does take a Mother Warrior to keep up the fight for all in this community. ONWARD AND UPWARD, FELLOW WARRIORS.
Okay, back to the real question now. You have written a new book, "Art by Committee: A Guide to Advanced Improvisation." The accompanying DVD features performed examples of the exercises and instructions from the text, as well as performances and interviews by some of your best-known alumni, including the Upright Citizens Brigade, Tina Fey, Rachel Dratch, Stephnie Weir, Tim Meadows, and Andy Dick. Does the book expound on things you've observed and learned since writing the first one?
The new book takes things further. I insisted that I would not rewrite anything from my first book, so it's important to read Truth In Comedy first. There were so many things that have come up since that book was written. I have had questions about so many things, like what advice do I give to woman in improvisation, etc. And I have noticed over the years,that although I dealt with the importance of agreement, many folks were confused by what that meant. Many advanced people would come to i.O. from Second City and think that agreement meant they had to say YES to everything. They didn't understand that agreement was between the actors - not the characters. Whenever I would explain away the confusion, they were always amazed and relieved because they were continually sacrificing their integrity on stage. I thought it would be a good idea to expound on some of these ideas and help to strengthen the concepts we built long ago regarding team work. Also, I have received so many calls over the years from folks who still couldn't figure out long form because they hadn't ever seen a Harold. I did a book signing at the Chicago improv festival this year, and 70 people in a row thanked me for putting a DVD in the book. "FINALLY," they all said. "Now we can show this to our troupes so they can see what the hell this is supposed to look like." That was a major part of the reason for doing this book.
Scrappy upstarts Doppelganger are putting on "V is For Vacation" at midnight Friday in Donny's Skybox at Second City. Tense tales of Chicago vacation woes, in funny form.
Whirled News Tonight's show "Newspeak" is on at IO on Saturday at 8 in the Del Close Theater. Much mockery of modern newsmedia is forecast.
Schadenfreude's Rent Party is tonight at 9 at the Gallery Cabaret. Brilliant comedy not enough of a draw for you? One word: burlesque. One phrase: "The Ass That Goes Pow."
The Edge Comedy Showcase will be at Pressure Cafe at 8:30 on Saturday. Stand-up! Espresso! Billiards?
Don't Spit the Water will splash you good Saturday at 10:30 at the Playground Theater. Splash you good, we say!
The Spitfire Coalition of (all-female) sizzlin' stand-up sillies is throwing their second show, the Spitfire Comedy Power Hour, tonight at 8 at the Cornservatory. Also featured will be the Star and Garter burlesque gals. Burlesque? Are we seeing a pattern here?
If you find yourself sitting around this weekend and whining that there's nothing fun to do, well, just remember, it's not The Bastion's fault.
Chicagoist always finds the good stuff: "On Sunday morning, someone walking along North Park Avenue in Old Town noticed something suspicious. Sitting outside a trash container was a bunch of wood pieces, resembling broom sticks, taped together with electrical tape. The passerby, believing the object was a bomb, contacted the police office, who referred the incident to Bomb & Arson. The mysterious object turned out to be a discarded Second City theater prop."
Holy cow, that must have been a really EXPLOSIVE performance. Yuck yuck yuck. (Ohhh. That was bad.)
We at The Bastion are thinking it would be a good idea to host an easy, accessible calendar listing all of the comedy events being offered across the city. There is so much going on, and so much we want to see, but it's hard to keep track of all the crossover of "this troupe performs with that troupe, but only on Wednesdays, and then on Fridays they are at this theater," etc.
We're testing out a Google version that would let us add and edit entries and let all of you view it, and offer suggestions for inclusion. We know there are some tech-heads in our readership out there. Anyone have any thoughts or recommendations?
Eminem Defended From Chicago Comics By Fans Who Spell Poorly and Cuss a Lot
Which popular Chicago stand-up comedian, Blerds staff writer, and one half of the Greatest Rap Duo Ever to Exist Ever, a.k.a. the Sugar Powdered Donuts, is getting death threats over at MySpace video? We don't really understand it, either. I mean, the man has a Kegerator, for gosh sake. Apparently, however, parody really is dead. Like yo ass gonna be!
(Bonus points for pop culture mavens who recognize that these particular fans are holding a shaky "Eminem can parody and mock Moby, Elvis, Dick Cheney, Saddam Hussein, various boy bands, and pretty much whoever else he wants, but no one else has that same right" stance.)
EDIT: The Bastion was just informed that Mike Holmes, a.k.a. the other half of the Greatest Rap Duo Ever to Exist Ever, a.k.a. the Sugar Powdered Donuts, has also been receiving threats. And these boys from Iowa thought filming on Chicago's Southside was tough! They haven't dealt with the tween contingency of MySpace yet.
The Bastion has heard rumors that a local sketch troupe might be doing a staged reading of The Big Lebowski sometime in the near future. Sound like your kind of thing?
In the meantime, a collection of delightful Lebowski mashups on YouTube (NFSW, of course), including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Rocko's Modern Life, Monsters, Inc., My Little Pony, and, our personal favorite, a zippy version with nothing but all the F-words that flew during the course of the movie that some consider John Goodman's most brilliant work.
Maybe, if we're lucky, Eugene will treat us to a few warbling ditties from the Marvelous Crooning Child, or will allow us a rare glimpse at the fabled humacorn. It could happen.
This Friday at 9 PM, Schadenfreude will be throwing their July rent party at the Gallery Cabaret. Rumor is that it will be a variety-show type extravaganza. Performers will include Chicago writer Claire Zulkey, Pajama Men, Deb Downing, and Pimprov, who are currently at IO.
Pimprov performer Marz Timms, who has performed in more festivals than you can say in one breath, shares some favorite improv festival memories:
"The thing I like most about festivals is that you're performing with the best and brightest improvisers. Everyone is on their A game, even in improv, where sometimes it can be a crap shoot.
"My favorite experience might be performing at the Del Close Marathon in New York. We were about to walk on stage, and I look back and Horatio Sanz is standing behind me. I said 'Are you coming on stage with us?' He said 'Yes, but I don't have pimp costume.' So he decided to come out and introduce us. It was a packed house, and he introduced us as his favorite improv group from Chicago. We hit the stage with our music blaring, and the audience went nuts. I was so excited that a little trickle of pee ran down my leg...just kidding."
Has Lorne Michaels been in town scouting for new talent for Saturday Night Live? The SNL casting season is underway, and The Bastion hears that this time last year Michaels was scoping out the fresh young improv talent in Chicago.
Of course, on the first day of new student orientation at Second City, they tell you straight up that you're not going to be plucked from Improv Level Two obscurity and whisked to Weekend Update fame the next week, but as we all know, giant herds of talent have migrated from the Windy City to the Big Apple to populate the stage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza.
Second City Chicago recruits of recent years include Tim Meadows, Chris Farley, David Koechner, Ana Gasteyer, Nancy Walls, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Rachel Dratch and Horatio Sanz.
Aziz Ansari has informed us that he did, indeed, perform at Pitchfork, despite a six hour flight delay from NYC. 
The Bastion braved the heat and the sweaty exodus of Cubs fans after the game Saturday night to head to 
"Whirled News Tonight" loses the mock stuffiness of the satirical news format in the second part of the show, where they create stories based on real-life tales shared by castmembers after being prompted for a theme by the audience. 
Is 
(As opposed to "Funny Weird"?) Fart jokes are all well and good, but how about we mix it up with a little literary humor? You know, stuff that looks as pretty on paper as it sounds coming out of your mouth.
Tonight, July 27, at the Music Box Theater on 3733 N. Southport, catch thirty-six short comedy films at the 
The Bastion is young, but ambitious. We hope to someday say that we know everything going on in Chicago comedy. Every show, every party, every review, every media mention. Imagine our humble surprise, then, when an undiscovered nugget of fun almost slipped through our very own inbox.
That night, however, we opened it, for a lark, hoping to stave off sleepy time. The first thing we noticed was the name "Nick Vattesot". The Bastion said to itself, "Boy howdy, that sure is similar to 'Nick Vatterott.' Who's this very similarly named individual?" We quickly scrolled. 
The venerable comedy club and dinner theater known as 
Longtime Second City musical director Ruby Streak has put together sixteen podcasts so far, which are 
Okay, so maybe these pols don't have the whole "we're making fun of you and want to trick you into saying ridiculous things" down so well after all.
We're like 
Host 
The other half of us was at the Gallery Cabaret for 
There was also time for a "how do you do" with 
And, of course, there was the usual inspired ridiculousness of Schadenfreude, including a one-man rendition of Perry Farrell's life in three minutes, inspired by the troupe's upcoming appearance at 
