The Bastion is trying out a new interview format, born of brevity, a sense of economy with the language, and necessity itself. We hope you enjoy reading this inaugural edition of "1 Question With..."
Welcome to the first edition of "1 Question With...", I am your host Jon DeWalt, and tonight I am meeting with Pat O'Brien backstage at The Second City - he has taken the time to meet with me after a rehearsal, thanks for the time - I know you are busy. Let's get right to it:
JON: Pat can be seen at iO performing with The Reckoning, Armando, Deathstorm!, This Day in History, and Weasilicious. This past year Pat took his sketch show, "Misled," to the HBO/Aspen Comedy Festival, and in this legendary building POB (as he is known by friends and some family) is a Touring Company director and an understudy to BOTH Mainstage and ETC stages - so if you are lucky, you might catch him one night. Pat is also the writer of iO's level 4 curriculum, which teaches The Harold - and teaches not only level 4 but some level 5 classes. POB is a big influence on stage and a big help in-class to many of today's improv students and comedy hopefuls - other credits include "Misled 2" which was the sequel to the aforementioned Misled and for my money - was one of the hippest sketch shows ever to be created by comedians. Both Misled shows were directed by TJ Jagodowski (TJ & Dave, Second City, Sonic Commercials, JTS Brown, PLAY, Carl & The Passions, The Ice Harvest, Armando, etc.) and were written with and co-starring Pete Grosz (The Colbert Report, Second City ETC., Carl & The Passions, PLAY, Sonic Commercials, Stranger Than Fiction, etc) - and feature Jake Schneider (The Reckoning, Improvised Shakespeare Company, ThoseGuysFilms.com, Second City BoatCo., The Deltones, etc.). Pat's sister Meagen is also a successful improvisor/comedienne, which is interesting to note. Pat's viral video credits include videos with Misled and The Reckoning as well as "Pratkour" a video he guest-starred in with ThoseGuysFilms.com (that was written by Jake Schneider - so it is all connected in the end, like a harold - which POB wrote the curriculum for - oops I did it again!). Also, Pat has told me that all three of his Misled video shorts made it into the Austin Film Festival - so obviously I am very excited to have such an esteemed guest on my inagrual edition of "1 Question With...", so let's get to it without further introduction, Pat, what is it about improvisation - and Chicago Comedy in general - that keeps you excited for all these years?
PAT O'BRIEN: The talented people, Jon.
JON: Wow. Awesome. Profound, but still understandable to the masses. This has been "1 Question with... Pat O'Brien" here at the mysterious backstage of The Second City. For TheBastion.org and comedy everywhere, I'm Jon DeWalt saying "improv = listening."
"Pratkour," by ThoseGuysFilms.com, featuring Pat O'Brien:
On the Scene: Chicago Style Comedy, Wise Fools Pub
Brendan McGowan, Mike Stanley, Victor Marinier, and Joe Kilgallon.
Last night, the Bastion pretty much lived in Lincoln Park, with dinner at Red Lion Pub, then a skip over to the Apollo Theater for the monthly Chicago Comedy Series show, and then back down south on Lincoln Ave. for the debut showcase of "Chicago Style Comedy" at Wise Fools Pub, a new room started by the Birds Nest boys and offering great promise in the world of barroom stand-up comedy. The bar has a dedicated room for live performance, roomy seating arrangement, and a well-lit stage and decent sound system, as it's used to hosting a variety of music events. Chicago Style Comedy hopes to find a home here for the next several months, and will be doing the showcase on a monthly basis, with a plan to continue on a weekly basis in the near future.
The boys packed the room with a lively audience, beginning nearly on the dot! at 8 p.m., and performed long sets, with headliner Mike Stanley, oft-seen performing on the road and always a pleasure to have back home.
Hilarious sets performed by: Brendan McGowan, Mike Stanley, and co-producers Victor Marinier and Joe Kilgallon. Scene out: Dean Carlson, Jeff Hansen (who is beginning a new comedy show at Gorilla Tango Sept. 5 -- stay tuned), Bill Cruz, Sean Rumrill, Bradley Fojas.
Lots of things on the horizon for Bastion HQ this fall. As we attempt to wrap our collective heads around it, please do watch some videos this Wednesday. More info in the days and weeks ahead!
The $$Money Kids$$ get out of control for "Girls Night":
New Don't Spit the Water commercial, directed by the formidable Steve Delahoyde:
Brooklyn-based POYKPAC comes to Wicker Park* (haha!):
*Not really, but the sentiment is pretty universal, yeah?
The Kewanee Star Courier is all abuzz. "Friday, a dart was thrown at a map by a group of aspiring young comedians in Chicago to determine where they would perform that night. Guess where it hit? The Off the Cuff Comedy Project came to Kewanee Friday, with less than one day to book, promote and perform a comedy show which will be pitched to TV networks as a new reality series. Each day they toss a dart and find out where they’re going that day."
Kewanee will be the first to tell you that it's the hog capitol of the world, and the calendar on their chamber of commerce website indicates that most important events that happen in this town are hog-related. Hell, let's face it, people in this town are probably going to be talking about this for years.
Who were those brave young comedians? A bunch of ragtag kids from the Windy Apple itself -- Chicago. Edge Comedy kids, led by Dave Odd. "The rules of the dart throwing were: we couldn't land on a big city (Rockford, Joliet, etc.). We couldn't land on a place where we already knew other comedy shows existed or I had already done Edge shows at (Bloomington, Gardner, etc.), and we couldn't land withing a 25 mile radius of the city. Fortunately, on the first try, the dart landed in the most perfect spot imaginable, Kewanee (Hog Capitol of the World). Awesomeness."
"So off we went, armed with nothing more than a sound system, a mic stand, a spotlight, 900 flyers with the venue spot blank, and a stamp with interchangeable letters. Our goal was to find a venue, promote and perform in a show by 9:00pm that night. We called it 'The Off the Cuff Comedy Experiment.' September 1st is our next one and I'm kind of hoping it will go disastrously, just so we can show some extremes in the pilot episodes we put together."
"This of course, is one of those small Midwestern towns that got a Wal-Mart not too long ago, and 75% of the businesses were shuttered, except the KFCs, Menards, McDonalds, Walgreens, CVSs, Subways, and other corporate bullshit that took over the main strip into town. Proving once again, that mainstreet communities are being destroyed by the Shaumburgization of America. On the way out of town, I got pulled over by a cop. I rolled through a stop sign I guess and he pulled me over. Dean Carlson did not stop or even slow down to make sure we weren't getting arrested -- thanks, Dean."
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Eyewitness accounts from surviving comedians:
From Dean Carlson: "The Off the Cuff Comedy Project perfectly captured the extreme highs and lows of stand-up all in one day. When we first rolled into Kewanee, IL I thought that we were in trouble. Tattooed, bearded, drunken locals came screaming out of Misty's (the first dive bar we stopped at) when they saw us filming in their parking lot. After an explanation from Dave Odd, they allowed us to film and even take the cameras inside. Luckily for our crew I'm also tattooed, bearded, and frequently drunk so I gave our group some unspoken street cred when I rolled up my sleeves, plopped down at the bar, and ordered a dollar beer. It would have been a physical impossibility for the bartender to have any more scars on her face. Welcome to the Meth Belt!"
"During the show these two gargantuan men walked in and it was obvious that they had just come from and amateur pro wrestling event (and participated). One of the dudes was still wearing his wrestling boots. At one point during my set I asked the crowd if anyone was celebrating anything tonight. Some attractive young girl shouts out that it's her birthday, I respond by saying, 'That's great you know? This young lady is celebrating her birthday... (gesturing towards the wrestlers) these two guys just won the tag-team championship, it's a good night!' The crowd roared with laughter. I thought it was a great line too until after the show I find out that they LITERALLY ARE THE TAG TEAM CHAMPIONS OF THEIR WRESTLING ORGANIZATION!! The two wrestlers were great sports and actually offered me a job as their pro wrestling manager. I'm really not kidding."
"When we were all driving out of town I followed Dave Odd, who ended up rolling the first stop sign we come to. All of sudden headlights appear out of nowhere directly behind me and the Kewanee 5-0 roll up next to me, make intimidating eye contact, then blow past me and pull over Dave. Not knowing what just happened, but also realizing that I'm not currently insured, nor have I made I a car payment in the last month and a half, I do what any normal human being would do...I got the fuck out of there. I get a call from Dave 20 minutes later asking me why I left him there to deal with Kewanee PD. What was I supposed to do? T-bone the cop in the middle of the intersection and wave Dave to safety? Nothing says sawed off shotgun blast to the chest like pulling behind a cop car and getting out to inquire why they pulled over my friend. I just expect rash, vigilante action like that in Smalltown, USA. I've seen Texas Chainsaw Massacre."
From Michael Sanchez: "Off The Cuff has been one of the weirdest anomalies I've experienced since getting into comedy. When Dave first mentioned his idea for a show I was completely skeptical. I hate reality television and even suggested recreating the same concept in a pre-written script format. Having been involved I can honestly say I only went along for the ride to see it fail. I figured where there's conflict there's a story and even if Dave's idea bombed miserably we'd have a cool one-off documentary of a failed idea. I couldn't have been more wrong. Not only was the day a complete success but it turned out to be the perfect story. In the beginning it seems as though we are destined to fail and in the end everything miraculously comes off without the slightest of hitches. I thought it would be a fiasco and instead it was a fluke."
From Ryan Budds: "I had a great time doing the Off the Cuff Comedy Project with Dave Odd and everybody. The whole day and project will stick with me for a while because as a comedian, experimenting with shows and venues is always a risk and a risk worth taking. For something as awesome as throwing a dart at a map and having a successful show by nightfall where it lands, I really didn't know if it would work or not. Promoting the show was a show in itself because the people of Kewanee, IL seemed to not be entirely familiar with the comedy format or the art of stand-up comedy. I think all we really needed to do was to tell people there was a dartboard involved and they were sold. If it was actually a setup, booked-for-months show, I don't think it would have been as successful. Everyone we bumped into was either crazy or sheltered or totally down for what we were doing, so that process was an adventure in itself. Hosting the show, I felt like I could honestly say anything about Wal-Mart or the elderly or genitals and the crowd would have loved the topics all the same. They were an awesome crowd because I think they felt like they were being treated in a way, maybe a reward for harvesting that extra husk of corn to fill the side dish section of the dinner table at the annual 'Hog Fest' that we were a week prior to experiencing in Kewanee. People there seemed genuinely happy for such an event and I'm glad I could be part of it. The day rocked and I couldn't have asked to be part of a better team of comedians and spectators."
From Bryan Berrey: "When Dave described Off the Cuff to me, it just struck me as a really brilliant stupid idea. It turned out to be just a great experience, and (more importantly) a great showcase. It went so archetypally well that if it becomes a TV pilot, people might think it was staged. As far as Kewanee itself, most of the people were incredibly friendly and supportive (although a little befuddled at first). All the staff at the Pioneer Pub & Grub did everything they could to help and make us (well, me at least) feel at home. It was a great reminder of how great small town America can be. I was a little apprehensive before the show, but any 'cultural gap' turned out to be superficial. Ryan Budds warmed up the crowd as well as any professional, and my own set went extremely well, and after the show, people from the crowd were shaking my hand and trying to get me drunk. That's always a good sign."
Moving trucks occupy expanses of alleyways throughout the city of Chicago this time of year. Fall leases expire and renters displace to new neighborhoods and different living situations. In the world of live performance, individuals have to decide whether to stay in Chicago another year to continue honing their craft, or to make the next step: moving to the coasts. Over the past year, a handful of stand-up comedians have decided that they are ready to tackle the wilds of L.A. and NYC, and following on their heels is a veritable glut of others leaving this fall. This exodus is fairly cyclical, with a three to five year turnover time -- the last great exodus of stand-up comedians was in 2002. Mike Bridenstine, one of the upper echelons to emerge in the last two years, will be giving us some thoughts about his individual experience in making the decision to move and the accompanying process. Last week he shared some preliminary words -- before the physical moving process began but after the decision had been completely solidified.
8.20 --
I have twelve days to move and I am still basically clueless as to where I'll be living or working in Los Angeles. That's not fun. But I do have a minimal amount of money saved and have some paid gigs in the next two weeks to help out. I'll be visiting my family in Iowa over Labor Day weekend and then driving to California on my own. Pretty crazy. I haven't officially told my current day job my plans yet either. So this week, I'll be hitting Craigslist pretty hard and calling any favors I can think of from the small network of people I know out there. I've talked to a handful of people about being potential roommates, so maybe if we put our heads together we can come up with something. In the meantime, I've been going through my stuff in Chicago and trying to minimize as much as possible. I'm only taking the things I can fit into my Ford Fusion. It was hard saying goodbye to my prized kegerator, but I know that it's in a good home with my cousin in Iowa City. I hope I can have a better idea of where my home will be by the end of the week.
8.23 --
About a week until the big move. Things are about to get interesting. Every time someone asks me about my move, they ask where I'm living and/or what I'm doing for a job. When I tell them that I don't know, they look at me like I'm crazy. Maybe I am. But I want this move to be an adventure. Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer to have everything laid out in front of me and figured out, but it's gonna have to be the way, so be it. When I moved to Chicago four years ago, I didn't know anybody or anything anyway, so fuck it. I'm a world fucking champion, Bastion. I've got this.
Oh, I'm quitting my day job tomorrow. I've worked for the company for almost four years. That's gonna be weird, saying goodbyes and stuff. But I need to take a week to work on moving, getting an apartment and getting a job and stuff. You know, the boring stuff that'll help me not be a vagrant and have my first big break be on Bum Fights. And I also figured out that I don't have to drive all the way to California by myself now. Mike Holmes, who is also moving at the same time as me, is going to drive out there with me caravan-style. The last time we took a long road trip together we wrote that goddamned Eminem parody, so it could be a great time.
My current feelings about the whole thing are positive. A friend of mine wrote me an email when I said I was stressing out over the move. Basically the gist of it is that I can stay in Chicago if I want. Chicago is nice and safe and I know what I like here. I mean, if I really want I can just cancel the whole thing and keep doing what I'm doing. I can also put a gun in my mouth when I'm 35 knowing that it was all worth it just to do the same shit I'm comfortable with year after year after year.
On the other hand, I can leave, suffer again as a newbie like I did in here four years ago and do it all over but on a bigger scale. I'm prepared for some of the move to suck. But it has to suck to make me better. You get material from that. I'm looking forward to that. Blerds has a monthly show at UCB out there. My management is out there. I have a few things I can do because of that. There are a couple web-based pilots we'll be working on pretty soon. I have a decent network of comedy pals out there, which is nice. And my special lady friend is out there. It just means I have to work twice as hard and hustle twice as much. But I think I'll get some things done. And I will keep you updated.
According to a recent press release, the tour "will be made into a feature-length concert film that will showcase the comics' on-stage performances and shine a spotlight on their lives, announced Dave Chappelle, the project's executive producer." Chappelle said this show is "one of the funniest and most important comedy shows in America today. These guys are pioneers in the world of Muslim comedy and I am proud to be attached to this project."
The Bastion snagged a little Q&A with Chicago's own Azhar Usman about how he left a career in law to make people laugh, why he loves his home city of Chicago, the Chappelle-produced film project, and more.
You're about 32 (?), and you're a lawyer-turned stand-up comedian? How did that transition come about, and have you left the law behind for good?
I am actually 31. I am not quite sure how the transition came about --- it just sort of happened. I was practicing law (badly), and I was doing standup for fun (also badly). Eventually, I began to get better at standup and even worse at practicing law, so it made sense at some point to quit the law. The moment I saw that I could make a living as a comic, I knew I would give up the law altogether. I stopped practicing law full-time in early 2004 and never really looked back. However, I am always amazed at how much of my legal training I end up using as I continue to build my career as a professional entertainer. It’s partly why I don’t feel the need to have a manager or an agent (so far), because so much of the value-add of such handlers is because most entertainers don’t know anything about law or business. My background in both law and business has helped me tremendously, I believe, and continues to be a source of ongoing benefit.
Where and how did you get involved in comedy in Chicago? What prompted you to want to start, and had you always had an interest in comedy?
I had always loved comedy, even as a kid. I was inspired by standup comedians. I did a fair amount of improv and sketch type of comedy, even as a kid, at summer camps and school and whatnot, but I was always super-intimidated by standup. It just seemed so daunting --- a guy with a mic just standing there in front of a room full of strangers, sharing his own ideas and making everyone laugh. Wow, even just writing that down right now sends shivers up my spine. I think standup is tough, and standup comedians don’t really get the respect they deserve in the entertainment business, in my opinion.
As for how I got started, it’s the same story as just about any other Chicago comic: open mics. After years of wanting to try it, I finally got up the courage to go to an open mic. It was a really crappy one held inside of a Barnes & Noble (coffee shop area) on the south side. I was living in Hyde Park at the time, and it seemed like a good idea. I did well at my first open mic, actually, which shocked me. I had been writing jokes for nearly 9 months at that point, so I guess I had a decent amount of material relative to your average first time open micer. In any case, I then started to get more interested in the local scene and that’s when I started asking around and I heard about the (now legendary) Lyon’s Den. I went. I watched. I watched comics get murdered on stage, and I watch some (only a few) comics kill up there. I wanted so badly to try it, but it took me several months of periodic visits to finally work up the courage to get up there. When I finally did, I actually did okay, which, I think, caused some of the more senior comics on the local scene to actually take notice of my act and give me encouragement. About that time I also signed up for the Chichahahago message board and began posting regularly and trading jabs with fellow comics. That was all the encouragement I needed to keep at it.
What rooms did you start off in, and who are the people you learned from and came up with on the scene here?
I started at around the same time (within months) of some of the guys who have already moved on from Chicago or are now considered the rising stars, people like Pete Holmes, Kyle Kinane, Kumail Nanjiani, Robert Buscemi, TJ Miller, and tons of others. I did Dave Odd rooms and contests. I even did a couple of shows with the (infamous?) Andy Lurie, which I actually fondly recall. I made several appearances at The Lincoln Lodge, and Mark Geary was always supportive and friendly. At the same time that I was continuing to do Chicago rooms, open mics and showcases, I was getting actual paid work to perform my brand of standup at Muslim-sponsored events --- places like conventions, conferences, parochial school programs, mosque fundraisers, professional association meetings, private parties, etc. It was really great because, in retrospect, I realize now that I was basically getting paid to learn how to do standup. I was getting up regularly in front of friendly (and forgiving) crowds, being given 30 and 40 minutes on stage, and getting paid to show up. It was unbelievable. I could never have developed as a comedian, I think, as quickly as I believe I did, had it not been for all that stage time. And even then, I know that I have a LONG way to go in my development as a comedian.
I read that you grew up an Indian Muslim kid in a mostly Jewish neighborhood. How has Chicago's cultural diversity shaped you as a person?
I am a child of this city. I LOVE Chicago. To me, it is really the heart of America –- a HUGE, cosmopolitan megacity with down home Midwestern personality, the perfect balance. I actually grew up in Skokie, which I really enjoyed. Sure, I was among a religious and ethnic minority, but my schools were fairly diverse, both grade school and high school. And even most of the white kids were children of open-minded liberals, maybe even former hippies, so there was very little overt racism or discrimination growing up. Of course, there was always enough to remind you that this was still America, but it was never really horrible as in, like, civil rights era horrible. I went to college at the UIC Honors College and I lived with roommates on the west side of campus off Taylor Street, so that was really a great time in my life. I wish I would have enjoyed the city even more back then, but I spent most of college asleep. No, seriously, I was literally asleep for most of that part of my life. Nonetheless, the cultural diversity of the city definitely shaped me as a person. I would sometimes have dreams in foreign languages.
The show came together in about 2004, what's the story of how that came to be? How did all the comedians meet, and what was the overall common goal you wanted to aim for?
Preacher Moss, who is the founder of the “Allah Made Me Funny—Official Muslim Comedy Tour” had been doing standup for nearly 20 years at that time. He had been a Muslim for nearly as long. He had this idea to put together a touring showcase of Muslim standup comedians. As he started poking around the Muslim community and the functions of Muslim organizations to see if there were any comedians working in that “circuit,” he kept hearing my name. Eventually, someone gave him my number and my website. He checked me out and I guess he saw some potential. He called me and introduced himself. I had actually heard of him and I told him that. I was flattered that he would call me to invite me onto Allah Made Me Funny. It just so happened that Preach was going to be in Chicago a couple of days later so we agreed to meet. We totally hit it off and the rest, as they say, is history. We later brought on a brother called Azeem Muhammad who toured with AMMF until the summer of 2006, and when Azeem left we brought on the newest member of AMMF, Mohammed Amer, in the fall of 2006. Preach and I met Mohammed in basically the same way, through the mainstream comedy club circuit as well as the emerging alternative “Muslim circuit.”
The overall common goal of our show is very simple: to make people laugh. The bottom line about any comedy project is that it has to be funny. And because funny is funny is funny, people will turn up if you can consistently deliver quality comedy. In the final analysis, I think that’s what AMMF is all about. However, if we are able to make people not just laugh, but also think, then I would say that we come out two steps ahead of the pack. And that’s certainly a goal as well. Ironically, though he is considered so controversial, it was actually Lenny Bruce who said that a comedian who can consistently make audiences laugh has mastered his craft, but if he can also simultaneously raise the morals of his community, then he is a skilled craftsmen. I find that incredibly inspiring.
You'll be shooting in LA on August 24 and 25. How will you decide what material you've developed with the tour will go into the concert film?
Actually, we’ve already begun filming. We shot four smaller club dates in Washington DC on August 17 and 18, as well as lots of goofy B-roll footage of the comics going on various excursions around the city. The camera crew is also flying around the country getting some good background footage on each comedian since the film will ultimately be a concert-documentary film --- that is, it will feature predominantly standup footage from the LA show on August 25th, but it will also have some interstitial footage of the comedians and their backstories.
As for material, that’s a tough one. I am keenly aware of the fact that I already have a core audience, one that is mostly Muslim, so I don’t want to alienate or lose that crowd, but I also want to include mostly material that is accessible to people who are not Muslim and therefore may not have that shared experience or understanding, or set of cultural assumptions. So keeping the material “mainstream” (for lack of a better word) is of paramount concern. Additionally, I believe that the film may ultimately find a global audience, so I want to be sensitive to that as well. We have been extremely blessed to perform all over the world, in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, Australia, and in every major city of the US and Canada. I am trying to make sure to include material that will not just be understood by people all over the world but will actually resonate with them. It’s a tall order, I know. That’s why I can’t sleep right now.
How did Dave Chappelle get involved, and what's his level of interaction with you comedians?
Preacher Moss is an old Washington DC cat, and so is Dave Chappelle. They basically came up the exact same circuit, at almost the exact same time, and they know so many of the same people --- it’s really a wonder to me that they didn’t cross paths much sooner. Anyway, the story is that we were trying to connect with Dave throughout 2005 because we had heard through the grapevine that he had said some nice things about our show. These were rumors of course, and we were skeptical, but we wanted to talk to Dave ourselves to be sure. Finally, in late 2005, Preach and Dave met up at the DC Improv, where Dave was performing and Preach was a regular staple. They really connected and later Preach introduced me to Dave when he was in Chicago performing at Zanies in early 2006. Since then, Dave has been a very dear friend, an insightful mentor, and most importantly, a soulful brother. He is just as down-to-earth and un-Hollywood as he comes across on TV. Anyway, as we got to know one another, Dave offered to help us out with the film project since he has always felt that “Allah Made Me Funny” is doing something that is important and socially conscious.
What do you hope to get out of the concert film experience, and what would you like to be doing, say, five years from now?
My goals for the film are modest, though I would not be surprised if it took on a life of its own. Everything since we started “Allah Made Me Funny” has been blessed and inspired. I am not so arrogant as to think it has anything at all to do with me, but it has been incredibly fulfilling and rewarding to be along for the ride. Truthfully, being involved in the concert film experience --- as both performer and producer --- I am really using this as a learning experience. I am learning what goes into film production and distribution. I am learning about the business of filmmaking. I am learning about the creative process required to pull off such an ambitious project. As for the future, I see myself continuing to perform live standup for a while, continuing to build the “Allah Made Me Funny” brand into new markets, developing a TV show idea of my own (already in development with a production team in NYC), and hopefully continuing to produce film and TV projects that present fresh perspectives and tell captivating stories.
In fact, I have already begun getting into producing a bit, and I am proud to be involved with my friend Julius Onah’s short film entitled “The Boundary,” which is in pre-production in NYC right now. I am one of the executive producers along with my friend, Zarqa Nawaz, who is the creator of that Muslim-themed sitcom in Canada, “Little Mosque on the Prairie,” and we are proud to announce that Alexander Siddig (Syriana, Kingdom of Heaven, 24) is attached to star in the lead role. So be on the lookout for that!
And as for “Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert!” … it is (hopefully) coming in 2008, to a theater (or at least a DVD player … or computer?) near you!
The Bastion loves an opportunity to make some fast cash so we ran to see "Man 1 Bank 0" at the Lakeshore Theater. It closed after a 3 day run on 8/18 but it will be back for another run in November, 11/5-17. You HAVE TO FREAKIN’ SEE IT… if you are as poor as we are.
At his broke-est, Patrick Combs received a $95,000 junk check in the mail. He endorsed it with a smiley face to make the teller laugh. A joke. The check, however, cleared and the rest is history. Patrick admits at the top of the show that he is not an actor or comedian, just a man with a story to tell and that story freakin’ changed our lives.
Patrick’s own life was threatened, his bank account was frozen, his family thought he should give the check back, he even made the talk show circuit. It’s a riveting story and the details are the star of the show. The catch is the check met nine requirements of being a valid check even though it said not negotiable on it… he quips that 40 million were sent out. We’re dying to know if we threw one away. But you can guarantee we’ll be looking hard at every gag check we get from now on.
The courage to take on the big money banking business left us awestruck. The little guy freakin’ won and we freakin’ love that. We’re naturally suspicious of shows with a million good reviews, but we’ll be darned if they weren’t all right. Zany, energy packed, hilarious, up lifting, and well, just freakin’ good. We can’t say enough. We’re converts. Since we saw it we’ve been telling everyone about the show and to go see the show and to check your junk mail before you toss it.
Patrick Combs in "Man 1 Bank 0"
November 15-17th
The Lakeshore Theater
3175 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL 60657
Box Office 773-472-3492
- Rachael Mason
The Edge Comedy Club Grandstravaganza Opening This Saturday
Edge Comedy, headed by producer and comic Dave Odd, is opening a full time stand-up club at the Chicago Center for the Performing Arts (777 N. Green Street.) This Saturday night at 9:30 PM, doors will open at the Edge Comedy Club for a big show featuring headliner Mark "The Knife" Faje (America's Got Talent), along with host Dave Odd, and performers Mike Cody, Adam Burke, Kumail, John Markham, and Matt Wayne. A Chicago funk outfit called Big Kitchen will provide the groove.
Odd is excited about the new series of shows. "I just booked Greg Fitzsimmons for the opening weekend late show. He's was a writer on Lucky Louie, been on Letterman, The Tonight Show, Comedy Central, and is all over Best Week Ever."
The club in the Sevens Cabaret will officially start Sept. 5. Wednesdays will be an open mic at 8:30. Thursdays will be a $500 comedy competition at 8:30. Fridays and Saturdays will be a host, feature, headliner format showcase at 8:15 and 10:30. All shows are ages 16 and up, and Odd says that as a general rule 8:15 shows will be PG13 and 10:30 shows will be unrestricted. There is, however, a full bar, so you can get your drink on while explaining the dirty jokes to your nephew.
Where else are you going to go this Saturday night where the headlining act's signature works include "balancing a running lawnmower on his face, kicking a flaming bowling ball inserted with knives into the side of his head, juggling a buzz-saw and a flaming chainsaw, and performing card tricks with a live scorpion?" Besides St. Gertrude's Bingo Night?
Punchline Giving Away Todd Barry Lakeshore Tickets
Our friends at Punchline Magazine are giving away tickets to the upcoming Todd Barry show at the Lakeshore Theater. Barry, as many cartoon geeks may know, has done voice work for "Aqua Teen Hunger Force," "Freak Show," "Squidbillies," "Home Movies," and "Dr. Katz," in addition to his considerable contributions to stand-up comedy.
Picture yourself in a seat at the Lakeshore on September 8, do a magical clicky-clicky, and make your comedy dream a reality. Barry's opening act that night is Illinois native Natasha Leggero. Five pairs of tickets are up for grabs, so get a move on!
Robert Buscemi's (t)wit!, Now Available for Your Viewing Pleasure
Robert Buscemi's much-anticipated stand-up DVD, filmed in September 2006 by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, was released a few weeks ago to two sold-out shows at the Annoyance Theater. We finally got a chance to screen it and get a few words from the star and what he thinks of final product:
I think the best thing about Jordan's film is that it never shows reaction shots of the audience. And the laughter is actually fairly distant and low-volume.
But you can tell the laughter's for real and there the whole time.
But not having the laughs super-loud and not showing the audience ever gives the whole thing a sort of lunar, remote feel that I LOVE.
I really am kind of off in my own planet on the thing, which totally works for my character and material.
And the encore character appearance as Mrs. Garrett is just surreal and hilarious, I think.
I mean Jordan totally captured my brain floating around in space, I feel like. It's quite mad.
It was Jordan's idea to open with the words "One night in September...," which I LOVE, since it's so nonspecific but specific at the same time.
He really outdid himself, and once it was in my hands he made me watch it over with a fine-tooth comb and tell him if I found any glitches. He really was an absolute champ.
And I paid his sorry ass too.
I'm just really proud of the thing. I honestly do feel like we really, actually made a film. It's weird, but people could watch this thing for years to come, you know?
BUSCEMI
Want one for yourself? You're in luck, because they're still available. Snatch this up sooner rather than later; it's a one-of-a-kind work that is only limitedly available. Visit his Web site and buy it securely, online, through PayPal! Yay Internets!
The Air + Water Show Descends on Chicago this Weekend!
And to celebrate, we're giving you Pat Brice's Air and Building Crumbling Show. You're welcome, comedy fans.
As an aside, there will soon be a Blerds video related to this bit, filmed ON SITE at the Air and Water Show two summers ago. We are literally 'watering' at the mouth for it.
Sorry so short; off to see Craig on his Sea-Doo now!
Just how good can a rock musical be that was written in a week with a necromantic main character? Infinitely better than it sounds.
"Love is Dead" centers around a small-town mortician, Orin (played by writer James Asmus), who thinks the jig is up when a forensic analyst comes to town to investigate a string of murders. Things get interesting when a real live woman, Julie (Brooke Bagnall) shows interest in Orin.
The two dead characters Jane Doe and TK Nichols (Lyndsay Hailey and Mort Burke), who only Orin can talk to of course, both have great comedic timing and singing ability; and Megan Johns does well as the kooky forensic analyst Dana Strand. The favorite duo in the play, however, would have to be the Sheriff (Daniel Jessup) and Deputy Don (Nick Vatterott) - complete with Vatterott's version of the bumbling police officer, reminiscent of the classic Bernard P. Fife.
The musical numbers were written by Second City veteran Julie Nichols, with Asmus writing the lyrics. The songs are witty and catchy, "Dead Girls Make Better Lovers" in particular. Director Andrew Hobgood utilizes the small stage well, and despite seeing a "preview", the show looked ready for opening night.
So even if you hate musicals (as I do - "Little Shop of Horrors" being the exception) or didn't like "Six Feet Under" (this is funny! Not gory!), go see "Love is Dead." Never has "I'm sorry for your loss" been funnier.
"Love is Dead" officially opens at the Annoyance theater TONIGHT at 8pm, and runs every Friday through October 26th - late enough to see it one last time before Halloween.
Second City E.T.C.'s 30th Revue - 'Pratfall of Civilization"
This article will be a review of a Second City show for people who have seen Second City shows before, and are at least a little familiar with the theater. If you have never seen a Second City show before this article might help you a little, because I will say to you now, "Go see a Second City show. Yes, you should get out of your studio apartment with the air mattress and go." But for those of you who are around the theater, let's talk about the E.T.C. stages' current show, "Pratfall of Civilization."
This show is exciting to me, and very interesting. Next door on the Mainstage, Second City is currently running a perfect example of the formulaic Second City show. It is very funny, very political and very current - it is a flawless execution of a Second City show - the only downside to that is that there are little-to-no-risks taken. It has to be scary to take a risk in such an established and successful theater, what happens if you deviate from the formula and fail? Well you would probably be out of a career. Right when I walked into the ETC theater I saw something new - something I haven't seen in the 14 years I have been seeing comedy in that cold room; I saw a video screen that was displaying a live feed of the lobby. Here are the thoughts that flashed in my head: modern, 2007, YouTube, digital short, Andy Samberg, update, moving with the times, trying something new, video! This is exciting! In the comedy community here I have heard people talk about whether or not SC would ever use video in one of its staged shows or if it should. Would it be appropriate? Would it still have the feel of The Second City? Would it work? Something else that is very exciting about this show is that the cast from the last show has been kept in-tact, which usually means there will be a lot of cohesion and chemistry. This was proven to be true, the cast writes well together and is excited to be playing with each other.
The show starts with a very brief opening credit-esque screen on the video-screen and the entire audiences head turns to the right, then lights come up and the heads turn back to the stage. The show opens up in a group song which tells me okay we are still in a Second City show. "Pratfall" has all the usual suspects; the sometimes ham-fisted political commentary disguised as a "scene", the songs with comical rhymes, the blackouts, the relationship scenes - everything is there. Except now a photo is shown on the video-screen that usually shows the environment that the current scene is taking place in - which adds a very nice touch! We see a photo of a messy garage while we watch a great scene showing Alex Fendrich and Niki Lindgren as Andy St. Clair's parents who use their sons method of rebelling, music, to get through to him. The best scene in act I is a father/daughter scene where Andy St. Clair is a worried father leaving his daughter behind at her new dorm, Rob Janas has a hysterical Al Gore impression as the former Vice President mirrors a cult leader and starts having everyone kill themselves by drinking the punch. There is a really smart song that shows a completely normal school girl (Amanda Blake Davis) who is surrounded by un-normal kids, which makes her wish she had a mother who left her, or was a test-tube baby - anything to fit in with her class! Some scenes are better than others as some feel forced or too political/boring/fake, and some scenes are wonderfully hilarious and honest and even surprising. Another fun element about this cast that deviates from the safe formula is that they love to play with their musical director, Chad Krueger. Chad gets up with the male cast members in an audience-participation musical scene that starts on-stage and ends in the crowd with the amigos talking to and trying to sing about audience members. When Chad gets up on stage a few audience members next to me said, "Who's that guy?", which added to my enjoyment - Chad's first line in that scene is hilarious and completely wins the crowd over. The very top of act II features my ALL-TIME favorite audience participation bit, that is also my favorite silent scene! It is so beautiful and funny and the audience member looks so happy by the end of it. It is a huge pop at the top of act II to get things back in gear, and I hope to see that little piece touring for years to come.
So after acting as a slide-show / lobby-camera for the entire show, there is finally a very dangerous - very new scene with Niki Lindgren and Nicky Margolis called "ICE". It features the ladies running through the audience as Immigration police with hand-held flashlights that are VERY bright and also have tiny wireless cameras in them - the video screen puts up the live feed to the flashlight-cam. The house is dark except for the flashlights and the two cast members cover the entire audience talking to people, shoving the bright light in their face and asking them the question, "What about you makes you an American?" I am told that the scene is to end with the girls talking to an African-American audience member, but on this particular night there was none! ZERO! I was in a room full of white people and one Asian, who was performing. So the ladies had to improvise and talk to a tan white person because he was "close enough". This scene is all of the following: dangerous, groundbreaking, fun (it is so fun to watch the audience members turn their heads between the live action and the video screen), loud, opinionated, and funny. This scene is the show. There is something about having people, white and black, prove they are American and seeing the audience members struggle to come up with one shred of American identity that makes an important point to me. Important. Old Second City shows used to feature Scott Adsit cutting up Blockbuster cards because he was angry and had an important point to make. That was dangerous then - this is dangerous now. That feeling was back! The feeling of what I want Second City as a theater, company, comedy insitution, etc. to be. That's what that theater means to me and it was so inspiring and relieving to have that moment back in the show. For YEARS the shows have been hilarious and fun to me, but it has not been important in a long time. "Pratfall" is an important show, and uses comedy to teach you something about yourself.
The E.T.C. theater was originally made to be different from Mainstage, to be a little edgier and to take more risks. Well that feeling is back, the Second City E.T.C. is the pissed off teenager in the family again. While this is by no means a perfect show, there are some boring scenes and some scenes with forced politics, overall what this show does is fantastic - and there are certainly enough "funny" moments to entertain your family from the suburbs. This show merges pieces of the traditional and safe SC formula with some use of photo/video, a lot of audience fun participation, an acting Musical Director, and a question that challenges you to discover about yourself what it means to be an American right now. The E.T.C. stage is the E.T.C. stage again - and there isn't a more fun and thought provoking show to see in Chicago right now.
"Pratfall Of Our Civilization" is written/performed by Amanda Blake Davis, Alex Fendrich, Rob Janas, Niki Lindgren, Nicky Margolis, and Andy St. Clair with musical direction by Chad Krueger. It is fantastically directed by Marc Warzecha whom I can't give enough credit to. Marc has found some sort of balance between the traditional sketch comedy show, while still trying new things and doing what he and the cast want. The show runs Thursdays - Sundays at The Second City E.T.C stage.
The Bastion needed a drink Sunday night so we hit The Annoyance. We’re big fans of their stocked top shelf of single malt scotches AND shows so we bellied up and then we saw Brooke Bagnall’s Idiot: A Love Story in Pieces. Written by Bagnall and directed by Siren’s Megan Grano, Idiot is a twisted tail. The Reader highly recommended the show, though they said it lacked “polish.” Polish? We have no idea what they were talking about, unless it’s sausage and that means we’re pronouncing Polish wrong.
The show is in fact SUPER sharp as well as snappy, cutting, solid, and hilarious. Bagnall ferociously delivers her characters and braids their stories together to prove what we think her thesis is: Love, of any kind, for a spouse, parent, child, and yes, significant other makes you an idiot… but it’s nice when other idiots are around.
There are only 4 more weeks to see the show before it closes September 9th. Go see it. As an added bonus you can stick around after Idiot for the screening of Annoyance producer Mick Napier’s reality television debut in The Second City’s Next Comedy Legend. Mick has the honor of judging the comedians and will help in deciding which one of them will land a prime tour co. job… in Canada. Mazel tov.
Idiot: A love story in Pieces, Sun 9:30 PM, Annoyance Theatre, 4840 N. Broadway, 773-561-4665, $8.
Happy Monday! Here's some stuff for you to read/do/see:
Tonight is the Apollo Theater's first comedy showcase, Summer Extravalanche Spectacular. Featured will be acts from the theater's current run shows, including Jared Logan and Kumail of The Chicago Comedy Series, Rachel Lewis, Headcheese Fatboss, Flambango, Team Submarine, and headliners Baby Wants Candy, hosted by the Blu Mic's Nick Lullo. 7:30 p.m., only $10! Visit the theater's Web site to buy tix right this minute!
After you get your tix for tonight's show, surf over to Comedy Central's Open Mic Fight and vote for the Central region Wild Card, Hannibal Buress, once a day all this week!
We also received this message from film starlet/comedian Lauren Bishop: "I was in this short film, it’s part of Samsung’s Fresh Films project, which is this great opportunity for teens around the country to be a part of making a movie. It’s called The End of the World and is up at www.fresh-films.com under the comedy section, and we need as many votes as possible to win. If it wins the Chicago teens get to go to the LA premiere of the film, which is dope for them." Go vote for the kids, now!
Oh, and MySpacers: there's a new show at Gorilla Tango debuting September 5, and the producer, Jeff Hansen, has been begging for friendships. Please go befriend Everyone Kills so he'll cease in flooding the bulletin board (just kidding, it's really only about one a day. But that's bulletin space that could be better served by survey memes or spambots).
And finally, watch some vids! Week Two's Impress These Apes clips are online.
What are you up to this weekend? No plans? Lame. Some suggestions:
Think Tank is staging "Time Clock," a new sketch comedy revue at Donny’s Skybox Fridays at midnight August 17 through September 14th. The show features a collection of sketches literally timed to the second, and is performed by Brent J. Bridwell, Kevin Carroll, and Paul Robinson, who among them have experience at The Apollo Theatre Chicago, Chicago Sketchfest, and The Manhattan Comedy Collective.
At 10:30 on Fridays in the Del Close Theater at iO, This Day in History. Featuring more O'Briens than you can possibly keep track of, it's been praised thusly by TimeOut Chicago: ""As intelligent as it is funny...Pat O’Brien and Meagan (O'Brien) Flanigan (brother-sister duo) nimbly take us through historical events that happened on the day of each show. It’s a mix of loose improv, obscure factoids and hearty laughs."
Friday and Saturday nights at 11:00 and 12:30, head to the Stage Left Theater and catch a pH mainstage show including the improvised sitcom "pHreedom pHalls," the improvised one act play "pHamily," and the improvised reality-game-show-spoof "pHrenzy." The Bastion caught their production of "Jerkology" not long ago and had a pretty swell time.
Friday nights at 8:00 and 10:30, catch Edge Comedy's stand-up at Kitty Moon (6237 N. Clark) and toddle across the street to Pressure (6318 N. Clark) Saturday nights at 8:30 and 11:00 for the Stand-Up Squeeze.
Are you an actor as well as a hilarious funnyperson? We got word from our Big Poppa the Apiary that auditions will be held tomorrow afternoon in Oak Park for a short film with a family comedy theme. Details after the jump.
What: A 15-minute USC MFA short film being shot in Chicago from Aug 15-21.
Title: First Bass (director - Phil Hodges, USC MFA '09, Harvard '04)
Tagline: Listen to your children.
Genre: Family Comedy
Synopsis: The afternoon before an audition that can land 12-year-old upright bassist Abbey Jacobs a spot in the elite Belleharp Music Boarding School, Abbey tricks her Mom into thinking she's practicing and sneaks out to Wrigley Field with the boy down the block. Although she gets caught, she learns a truth about her divorced parents that changes her relationship with her mother and her instrument, forever.
DAD, 35-45, MALE LEAD, a handyman and fun-loving boy at heart, the only thing he's ever been on time for is the McDonald's breakfast menu cut off time.
MOM, 35-45, FEMALE LEAD, an artsy poser-intellectual, trying to forget her past.
REDHEAD DAD, 30-50, MALE SUPPORTING ACTOR, suburbia's favorite dad.
PRINCIPAL PAPALSCHMECK, 40-60, MALE SUPPORTING ACTOR, the headmaster of an elite music school for child prodigies, a pompous prick with a four year old son just as pompous as he is.
Audition Details: Saturday, August 11th, 2007.
1038 N. Grove Avenue,
Oak Park, IL 60302.
contact: Phil.Hodges@gmail.com
iO's Charna Halpern is proud that yet another of her alumni are going on to work their comedy magic on the boob tube. "Pete Hulnes is the lead in a new show starting in July on Comedy Central. Its called American Body Shop and from what I heard, it’s going to be hilarious."
James Fritz encourages Chicago comedy fans to come out for the new and improved (but still free) Bad Dog open mic on Sunday nights. "Prescott Tolk's gonna start helping out with the Bad Dog Sunday show. I'm tits ahoy about this. He's f*cking great and seems to be genuinely excited about getting more asses in seats/stools/hanging out by the bathrooms. And he's been on the Tee Vee. Fucking A. Start coming out to Bad Dog, people. It's free. What more do you want?"
The kids in KevINda have been nominated for a fistful of awards. "Blaxploitation 2: You Know How We Deux, written by Inda Craig-Galván, Kevin Douglas and Carla Stillwell, has received 10 Black Theater Alliance Nominations. One is for Best Writing. Yay, kevINda. And Carla. Maybe we should call ourselves kevINdaCaRLaohneverminD."
iO's Barry Hite is very disappointed in the guy who stole his debit card, more for the particular bar the thief chose to spend $200 of Hite's money in: "But then I looked at what you bought with my $200. You went to a bar I know called Hi Tops. It’s a pretty awful bar. It’s where assholes go to drink. Guys that get their hair cut every two weeks. Guys who use Mystic tan because tanning lotion is too messy. Guys who stare at themselves in the mirror when they lift weights. Not looking in the mirror to check their form but looking in the mirror because 'Sweet Broseph, I am RIPPED right now.' And you went there. Willingly. When you had the option of going anywhere and drinking for free. You chose Hi Tops. A place where you’ll get called a faggot for ordering an Amstel."
Night Moves Cologne: The New Fragrance from Bob Seger - Mike Burns, Brad Steuernagel:
Featuring the voices of Chicago comics Dean Carlson, Joe Kilgallon, and Victor Marinier:
Dave Odd as Captain Murder, the July Globe Gong Idol:
Two new stand-up clips from Tony Sam:
Listeners of the Visitors Locker Room were treated to an over-the-stop storytelling session a week or so ago, focusing on ex-VLR member Adam Kroshus. Well, Kro has responded:
The fourth installment of the Mockumentals, Escape from Chopstick Forest, was just released, starring Jason Fever, John Springsteen, Emily D, Jena Friedman, Dan Kaufman, and Marco Velazquez.
Last night's Globe Gong Idol was possibly the most raucous one yet (a near impossible feat you might think if you've been to past Gongs), where three dozen performers took the stage in a whirlwind affair, attempting to spit, crush, sing, and swivel before a wall-to-all audience had the chance to smother their attempts with deafening BOOS and calls for the GONG. In the middle of a near-riot while Prescott Tolk was getting over some jokes, the whole she-bang was interrupted by a dozen Mama Truth followers, chanting and drumming their way through the bewildered crowd, who had thought the show couldn't reach further absurdity. Mama and her crew took their chance on stage, but the audience had an intuition they were interloping, promptly hissing for them to leave so they could get back to booing their own people.
The myriad of performers included Adam Kozlowski, Jared Logan, Robert Buscemi, Brady Novak, Brian Berry (who took home the winning prize of the evening for best performance), Dave Odd, Sarah King as Mama Truth, Mike Sheehan, Jason Fever, John Springsteen, Steve Carrier, Aretha Franklin, Cameron Esposito, Echo, Hannibal Buress, "Twister Man", "Optimus Prime", Carrie Long, Robin Kemp, Ken Barnard, Adam Burke, Prescott Tolk, Kyle Parris, special guest from NYC, Liam McEneaney, host Tony Blanco, and judges Kumail Nanjiani, Hannah Gansen, and Benny Harris, all with impeccably timed zingers waiting at the end of each performer's hustle. Spotted in the crowd was Bradley Fojas, Tony Sam, Dustin White, Mark Geary, Brian Potrafka, and current hobo-n-drifter Landon Kirksey; he's back in town for the week to play some gigs with his band Devin and the Straights after cooling for a bit in Ft. Worth, TX, where he's been doing work in an improv theatre and getting some commercial spots under his belt.
The Bastion is trying out a new interview format, born of brevity, a sense of economy with the language, and necessity itself. We hope you enjoy reading this inaugural edition of "1 Question With..."
"
The Bastion snagged a little Q&A with Chicago's own Azhar Usman about how he left a career in law to make people laugh, why he loves his home city of Chicago, the Chappelle-produced film project, and more.
The Bastion loves an opportunity to make some fast cash so we ran to see "
Edge Comedy, headed by producer and comic Dave Odd, is opening a full time stand-up club at the 
Our friends at Punchline Magazine are 
Just how good can a rock musical be that was written in a week with a necromantic main character? Infinitely better than it sounds.
This article will be a review of a Second City show for people who have seen Second City shows before, and are at least a little familiar with the theater. If you have never seen a Second City show before this article might help you a little, because I will say to you now, "Go see a Second City show. Yes, you should get out of your studio apartment with the air mattress and go." But for those of you who are around the theater, let's talk about the E.T.C. stages' current show, "
The show starts with a very brief opening credit-esque screen on the video-screen and the entire audiences head turns to the right, then lights come up and the heads turn back to the stage. The show opens up in a group song which tells me okay we are still in a Second City show. "Pratfall" has all the usual suspects; the sometimes ham-fisted political commentary disguised as a "scene", the songs with comical rhymes, the blackouts, the relationship scenes - everything is there. Except now a photo is shown on the video-screen that usually shows the environment that the current scene is taking place in - which adds a very nice touch! We see a photo of a messy garage while we watch a great scene showing Alex Fendrich and Niki Lindgren as Andy St. Clair's parents who use their sons method of rebelling, music, to get through to him. The best scene in act I is a father/daughter scene where Andy St. Clair is a worried father leaving his daughter behind at her new dorm, Rob Janas has a hysterical Al Gore impression as the former Vice President mirrors a cult leader and starts having everyone kill themselves by drinking the punch. There is a really smart song that shows a completely normal school girl (Amanda Blake Davis) who is surrounded by un-normal kids, which makes her wish she had a mother who left her, or was a test-tube baby - anything to fit in with her class! Some scenes are better than others as some feel forced or too political/boring/fake, and some scenes are wonderfully hilarious and honest and even surprising. Another fun element about this cast that deviates from the safe formula is that they love to play with their musical director, Chad Krueger. Chad gets up with the male cast members in an audience-participation musical scene that starts on-stage and ends in the crowd with the amigos talking to and trying to sing about audience members. When Chad gets up on stage a few audience members next to me said, "Who's that guy?", which added to my enjoyment - Chad's first line in that scene is hilarious and completely wins the crowd over. The very top of act II features my ALL-TIME favorite audience participation bit, that is also my favorite silent scene! It is so beautiful and funny and the audience member looks so happy by the end of it. It is a huge pop at the top of act II to get things back in gear, and I hope to see that little piece touring for years to come.
The Bastion needed a drink Sunday night so we hit 
Are you an actor as well as a hilarious funnyperson? We got word from our Big Poppa the Apiary that auditions will be held tomorrow afternoon in Oak Park for a short film with a family comedy theme. Details after the jump.
iO's 