Allow us to turn our attention today towards the unsung heroes of urban living. Those managers of the first profession, offering valuable protective services and backhanded bitchslaps. We speak, of course, of The Pimp. And how would such a noble creature perform improvisational comedy? Why, through Pimprov, of course!
But of course, let us not forget the opening act. "Obsessed" began the evening with a series of improvised scenes. Delving into the political landscape, the undertones of an impotent man with a disenfranchised wife due to George W. Bush rang true in our political landscape. Further societal inquiry attacked sexy crime scene shows. A hint, dear reader: Exhibit B was Boobies!
Yet the meat of the show was the pimps themselves. Daddy Jenkins, Hollis (Pronounced "Ho Lease"), Pimpin' Poochie, and Grand Finale (a.k.a. Count Mackula), after some "pimp posing," performed various "pimp scenes," improvised scenes as only a pimp can do. One audience suggestion led into investment advisor Mr. T, a masseuse inmate, and,
as The Bastion affectionately refers to her, Grandma Whoopass. These pimps are so committed, one pimp actually acted like it hurt when Grandma Whoopass hit him with that chair!
However, the most captivating part of the show was the audience interaction. Pimp Daddy Al was at first the usual timid, white grandfather taken from the audience at a show called Pimprov (I guess the elderly will go anywhere their Hoverounds take them!). Fortunately, after some pimp-coaching, Pimp Daddy Al pimprovised his way out of a paper bag and into some dance moves. This is, of course, all before the highlight of the night, in which each pimp grabs a hoe and gets his money/suggestions from that hoochie throughout an improvised scene. Wonderful audience participation kept everyone enthralled, and truly proved that pimprovisin' ain't easy. Or maybe summa dem bitches was just dum.
We jest! Neither we nor the fine upstanding members of Pimprov (and fellow members of the Dean Koontz Book Club, as pictured), truly condone objectifying women. For that just cause, after every show the Pimprovisers have a collection for a women's shelter. The night we attended, these outstanding citizens raised $90 for the Between Friends Battered Women's Shelter.
To support the work of such classy gentleman, or to get your giggles on for guys in pimp costumes, check out their show. It's tomorrow night, Saturday, September 29th, Donny's Skybox, 9pm. And you best have yo' pimp's money this time, beeyotch!
The Bastion has been meaning to throw some questions at former Defiant Thomas Brothers member Seth Thomas for quite awhile. As is always the case, there just wasn't enough hours in the day, and soon weeks slipped by. We finally got a chance yesterday to chat for a few minutes with Seth, who has been producing and hosting a monthly stand-up showcase at Town Hall Pub, 3340 N. Halsted. Tonight's show features Chad Briggs, Kristen Carney, Bill Cruz, Paul Sigwerth, and Dustin White with special guest DJ Cameron Esposito. It starts promptly at 9:30 p.m., right after a set from improv troupe Dirty Water.
How has the audience been these last few months? I haven't been to the show in awhile. The audience is always awesome. There is always a lot of love in the room. Number wise – it’s a steady 25+.
Have you been feeling the room becoming a regular go-to place for comedy? Sure. The Town Hall Pub hosts all kinds of stuff from bands to improv and I just happen to have the comedy night. It’s great for them and it’s great for me.
Does the audience change, or are they a set of loyal Fourth Fridays fans? Both. Fourth Friday’s has a loyal fan base of friends and friends of friends. And every show, we get walk-ins or people who read about the show on line.
What's the future of Fourth Fridays? Just to keep it going as long as we can and keep providing a cool place for folks to tell jokes.
Will you remain at Town Hall indefinitely, or are you considering a move? I am definitely staying at the Town Hall Pub. My relationship with the management has resulted in cheap cover and beer money for the comics regardless of who comes to see them. Besides that, it’s an awesome place. I love the vibe, the price of drinks, the staff, everything.
K-Rock of the Bastion, who is regularly quoted in your press releases, wants to know: when will the Southside come back to play at Fourth Fridays? I don't remember them ever coming unless Reynald is from the southside. That first show in January seemed to be more colorful, but I believe they were all a part of the “Northside rotation” with the exception of Karen Williams who came in from Cleveland...I've been running this show by word of mouth. So, maybe I need to shout louder so the Southside comics will hear me.
Let me add that I believe that the show has been very diverse in styles. I have chosen to focus more on gender than race and have committed to keeping women in the line-up. The unfortunate truth is the pool of women comics in town is smaller than the pool of men and so over the course of the year, they will play the room more often.
How has your experience with the Defiant Thomas Brothers informed your stand-up? Going to Aspen [U.S. Comedy Arts Festival] and seeing the stand-ups there gave me a more realistic look at what it takes to be a successful comic in the states. Doing the Fringe in Edinburgh gave me perspective on what it is to be a comic from the states in Europe.
What other comedic experiences has Seth Thomas taken part in? Second City Conservatory, a large amount of student shows there, a Bud Select voiceover, a marriage, a divorce, a new ladyfriend, and Windsor Pilates.
What is going on right now with Seth's music, and what exactly is the deal with that? I am currently writing new songs and planning to go to the studio. I want to have a new album or at least an EP done by March. The deal? My buddy and I have always made music together and I still love to do it. We call our music Patna Music cause we do it for our friends who like the sound.
You're an MC, right? I am an emcee, yes. A mixmaster? No. A regulator? And no.
What are your plans for 2008? Music – new album for the homies. Comedy – just try to do as much work as possible local and abroad and everywhere in between.
Were you able to guesstimate how many beers I had already had by the time I ran into you at Lollapalooza? My money is on five beers because I was on six.
How freaking cool was Iggy and the Stooges? MY GOD! May I have the balls to rock out like Iggy when I’m old as hell.
Submit Questions For The Bastion's Matt Besser Interview
Hey kids, The Bastion just got in contact with Matt Besser, and we're going to do an interview with him shortly. We thought it would be fun to allow you to ask him some questions, so please hit the comments section with your suggestions for questions for one of the original Upright Citizens himself, whose recent relationship with the Lakeshore Theater has so many of you improv and sketch fans screaming like little girls at a Backstreet Boys concert, circa 1996. (And when we say "so many of you," we mean "so many of you...and us.")
Want to pick the brain of a genius comedy master, who, just like you, hiked up the stairs at iO to do crazy stuff in the Del Close Theater (but who, unlike you, went on to found his own theaters, have a kickass tv show on Comedy Central, and do lots of other cool stuff)? Channel us. We'll ask him things you'd like to know. Do it now, because we'll be speaking to him in the next few days.
EDIT: And I'll put your name and a link to your website, blog, or whatever in the body of the interview if I use your question. I mean "we." The editorial "we." So get crackin'!
Tony Sam and Nick Morgan's hilarious Money Machine wraps up its four week run tonight at 8 PM at the Apollo. The show is a great mix of stand-up, two-man improv, sketch and video shorts, hosted by Tony Sam and Nick Morgan.
Like making fun of stupid money making seminars, nostalgic pop culture and unquenchable human greed using the latest and greatest multi-media magic? So do they!
The Bastion saw the show two weeks ago, and, let's just say Nick Morgan's decision to drive all the way from Cleveland was a good one. Hop the El to the Fullerton stop to the Apollo Studio Theater (2540 N. Lincoln). You'll be glad you did.
First Blerds Monthly Showcase This Friday at Lakeshore Theater
The Lakeshore Theater will host the first monthly Blerds showcase this Friday night at 10 PM. Tickets are $10 and fun is guaranteed (although not in a legally binding sort of way). Sure, a handful of Blerds have split for the coasts in recent weeks, but there's no question that, like just like Playboy, home for the Blerds will always be in Chicago. Friday night's lineup includes Jared Logan, Sean Flannery, CJ Sullivan, Mike Olsen, and Prescott Tolk.
While we're talking Blerds, why don't we do a community public service and vote for Jared Logan in HBO's Lucky 21 comedy contest? He'll get some sweet explosure and a trip to Las Vegas to perform in front of Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock if he wins, and let's face it, the kid is hilarious. Go here, vote, and then immediately e-mail Jared to confirm that you've voted, and that therefore he owes you a keg of your favorite import. (That's the deal he made with us, anyway, we assume that goes for everyone.)
The cool thing is, other Chicago comedians are in the contest, too, including Mike Palascak and John Roy, and you can vote more than once, so go right now and vote, vote, vote!!
Jared Logan's "Complete Breakfast":
Several months ago there was a comedy showcase at Pressure Cafe on a Saturday night. The bill had Jeff Hansen, Bradley Fojas and Prescott Tolk. Jeff had brought a contingent of his friends from whatever suburb he comes from and one of them started heckling Prescott. Prescott started a standard heckler rebuttal about this guy's mom and suddenly the room is doubling over in laughter. Prescott wants to know the joke so the kid says "My mom's in jail and she has cancer." The kid tells this story about how his dad ran out and left his mom taking care of three kids (including one who is disabled) and when her household falls apart because she is working three jobs she gets sent to jail for criminal neglect. Following this is a long silence.
Prescott says "You just totally ruined my closer. I had ten minutes all about how life is fair."
So naturally I was excited when I got the opportunity to go see "Everybody Kills," the new comedy showcase at the Gorilla Tango Theater from comedian/producer Jeff Hansen, especially when the aforementioned kid with the mom in prison was ushering me to my seat. It looked and felt as if Jeff was trying to run an honest to goodness comedy show, except his people are doing everything they can to ruin it. For example, the first act was this scientist guy trying to tell these jokes that were terrible, and when nobody would laugh he would start insulting the audience. Jeff gives the cue to bring up the music and when he approaches the scientist to shake his hand, the lab coat guy goes crazy and punches Jeff square in the mouth (and i was sitting 10 feet away, square in the mouth.) The stage erupts in chaos with seven people all suddenly struggling with the scientist (played by Ed Hansen), and Jeff introducing Bradley Fojas to do ten minutes of Fojas-a-riffic comedy.
So it is a comedy show, but it's also a soap opera/sitcom with all of Jeff's friends playing characters in this ongoing saga addressing such themes as love, anger, betrayal plus great performances by awesome Chicago comedians including Robert Buscemi and Tony Sam. There's only one more show this season and it is tonight, Wednesday, September 26 at the Gorilla Tango theater on Milwaukee in Chicago. The show starts at 9:30. I hear there's going to be a season two later this winter so be ready the next time this comes around.
-Tony Blanco
Local woman Nailah Franklin, a friend of our friend, SpitFire girl Hattie Snider, has been missing for a week now. Nailah's sister Marina Franklin is also a comic in New York, as it happens, and aside from all of that, she's a Chicago woman who has possibly encountered some danger, and her family and loved ones would appreciate the public's help in looking for her.
According to Chicagoist, Nailah, who lives in University Village, "filed a police report last week stating that she was receiving threatening phone calls from an acquaintance." Her car has been found in Hammond, Indiana, but still, there is no sign of Nailah.
Click here for a big poster with more info, and contact the Chicago Police Department if you have any information about where Nailah might be.
Dylan Gadino, Editor in Chief of Punchline Magazine, delighted several Bastion readers a few weeks ago by awarding them free tickets to the Todd Barry show at the Lakeshore Theater, and further delighted the Bastion by offering us tickets as well, and talking shop with us at the show. Punchline and the Lakeshore seem to have established a nice working relationship, and we decided to ask Dylan a few questions about all of this comedy business and see what kind of awesome swag we can hope to mooch from them in the future.
What's Punchline Magazine all about, and how did it get started?
Punchline Magazine was started by myself and Bill Bergmann, who’s a childhood friend. We grew up on the same street. He does all the design and infrastructure. He’s the reason it looks the way it does. I run all the editorial components of the magazine. I came up with idea years ago but only really started to try to make it work within the last three years. It officially launched September 15, 2005.
We’re covering stand-up comedy the way other forms of art and entertainment has been covered for years. We launched it in response to the severe lack of comedy coverage in print or online. There’s a few great comedy blogs online as well as a few great message board comedy communities and they’re excellent resources. But there’s really no one-stop shopping place online where the national stand-up comedy scene is covered the way we’re doing it.
We operate like a traditional consumer magazine with artist interviews, features, profiles as well as CD, DVD and live reviews. And at the same time we have other elements that web surfers enjoy, like a blog and message board and videos.
The other thing. We don’t play favorites. We’re a magazine— not a blog or a fan site. That means we’re happy to interview Larry the Cable guy as well as comics like Louis CK, David Cross, Marc Maron, Dane Cook, Carlos Mencia, etc…
What are your favorite dumb comments or questions you get when people hear that you work for a comedy magazine?
I don’t really get too many dumb comments or questions. But the overriding assumption from non comedians is that the comics we interview are really funny off stage, which, during the course of an interview, is rarely the case. And then some comics I’ve interviewed have made comments like, “oh, man… your job must be hell.” Which I think is hilarious because they’re admitting that comics are a bunch of psychos. So somewhere between comics being happy go lucky clowns and psychos, the truth lies I suppose.
Can you give us a brief history of your personal comedy fandom?
The first comedy I saw was Bill Cosby Himself. When I watch it today, it’s still one of the best pieces of stand-up I’ve ever seen. From there I got really into george carlin in 7th and 8th grade. During that time I dabbled in Kinison, Dice, Bob Nelson and eventually when I got a little older Brian Regan. I think Regan’s the one that made me start seeking out new comics so I started taping Comedy Central Presents episodes: I’ve since lost it, but I had a killer collection with some of my favorites: Greg Giraldo, Nick Swardson, Zach Galifianakis. Now I’m into all kinds of stuff.
What are some of your favorite misspellings of your last name? Has anyone ever been so dumb as to go for "Paladino?" ::wink::
Don’t feel bad. ABCNews online spelled it Gaudino. And for some reason, people love sticking an “r” before the “d.”
How did Punchline meet the Lakeshore Theater? Was it like a romantic comedy "meet cute?" How did you decide what sort of partnership to strike up, and what's the future hold for the two of you?
Well a few months ago, Ritter and Scott got in touch with me and said they really liked what punchline magazine was doing and who we were covering. They wanted to know how they could work with us. So I suggested that Punchline Magazine could sponsor some Lakeshore Shows. They suggested the (at the time) upcoming Todd Barry show and I thought that was a great fit. We’re in the process right now of trying find another well-fit show for Punchline Magazine to sponsor.
We met some of you Punchline kids when you were at the Lakeshore for the Todd Barry show. What do you do to get the most out Chicago when you're here for less than 24 hours, and how often do you plan to come back?
For the Todd Barry show we were here 21 hours. I walked around the art fair, ate at two of your diners. And by the way, I grew up and live in the diner capital of the country (North Jersey) I gotta say, Chicago’s got some tasty friggin' diners— or two at least. I took a cab to another part of town—I don’t know much about Chicago. I suppose it was more of the business district. I had a lunch meeting there. I guess I didn’t do anything too exciting. I’m hoping to get back early next year but at the same time, I’ve heard horror stories about your winters.
Common misperception. Actually, Chicago winters average about 75 degrees, and are always delightfully sunny. And candy falls off the trees in mid-March, which is pretty swell. Beat that, sophisticated coastal cities! Anyway, what else does Punchline do around the States? Do you visit other cities as well? Tell us the truth, we're your favorites, right?
We’re working on getting out to some other cities. I can’t mention them, else I’d have to kill you. But yes, Chicago’s my favorite, besides New York, of course…and maybe San Francisco. You’re for sure top three! Honestly, from what I saw Chicago’s pretty awesome.
You helped us make several Bastion readers happy with free Todd Barry tickets not long ago. Can our readers hope to grab more great swag from you in the future?
Bastion Viewing Party for TJ Miller's "Carpoolers" Oct 2 at Goodbar
Never let it be said that the Bastion doesn't have an eye for the up-and-comers. Remember our very first interview subject, TJ Miller? Yeah, well, he's doing giant budget movies and starring in ABC sitcoms and stuff now, and we're throwing a party to celebrate.
At Goodbar, a week from tonight - Tuesday, October 2 - the Bastion is hosting a viewing party of the premiere of TJ's ABC show "Carpoolers." The party is from 6-9, but the show starts at 7:30, and there's no TiVO involved, so if you really want to see the show, be there by then. Then hang around to enjoy the awesome vibe of a comedy scene that just keeps getting cooler and cooler.
David Angelo's "Your Ideas Suck" at the Apollo Studio Theater
Communication = Persuasion
So sayeth David Angelo in his one-man opus, "Your Ideas Suck." The show, opened by the always hilarious Jason Fever (complete with dodgeball to visualize his period jokes) promises from the beginning to be simultaneously pretentious, philosophical, pun-filled, and even pugilistic (we couldn't resist the alliteration). Somehow, it accomplishes all of the above.
With his unique multimedia stylings (garnering him the title of "3rd Most Innovative Comedian" at the Chicago Comedy Awards), David Angelo goes on a journey through time, space, and logic. The show ranges from a flashback to his youth, a 200 year dead Native American Chief, and a diatribe on toasters and Israel, stopping only for a solid 20 minutes of puns and the occasional board-breaking karate chop. Yeah, we weren't surprised that it sold out, either.
Unfortunately, David Angelo is another in this current exodus of Chicago comedians. Fortunately, his fellow soon-to-be-expatriates Kumail Nanjiani and Becky Garcia attended, along with other Chicago heavyweights such as Prescott Tolk and Dave Odd. Even more fortunately (is that a thing now?), you have one last chance to catch David's show before he escapes for NYC; next Saturday, Sept. 29th, 10:30pm at the Apollo Studio Theater. If you want to know how Israel is like a drunk girl at a bar, we highly recommend you attend.
The Bastion checked out The Chicago Improv Rebellion at iO this past Monday. CIR features tunes from house band Death By Thunder, and improv from the team Hodge Podge, with a different headlining guest each week. Here are the vitals: 5 dollars if you’re a civilian, 0 dollars if you are an iO student, starts at 10:30, in the cabaret, every Monday. PBR was on special for $ 2.50 and there was vodka lemonade for $3.
Here’s why PBR was on special: CIR is all about mixing punk music with improv comedy. Death by Thunder opened the show with archetypal pop-punk- they covered both the Ramones and Green Day, and played an original composition with an extremely rude title about Karl Rove.
Then the improv team Hodge Podge created a Harold off of the suggestion of “soup.” They were good at keeping the scenes moving quickly and created some very funny characters. (Hodge Podge's Warren blogged a little about Chicago Improv Rebellion here.)
Pimprov closed out the evening with meta-improv: they improvised two characters self-consciously performing improv. Hearing a pimp brag about his ho-leasing abilities and then critique his castmember’s performance with a Del Close maxim was pretty delicious.
The headlining improv team changes every week, so if you made a habit of going to CIR you would get a quick and easy course in Chicago’s improv scene. And you could listen to the Ramones and swill PBR on a Monday night like the carefree punk kids you wanted to be back in high school. Time to live the dream!
It's week eight already? Yes, it is. Tonight is the big concluding shebang and the tension is mounting. For the grand finale of Impress These Apes, the final showdown, the contestants are free to choose their own talent, so who knows what might transpire on that stage?
Just like last season, Professor Scoresboard is getting less and less tolerant of the unceasing abuse he's taken from the great and cruel apes, Gameshow Host is losing more and more of his mind with each insane talent competition, and the top contestants are in a nail-biting race for the finish. I mean, sure, humanity is probably doomed anyway, but it's good to be entertained as we hurtle toward oblivion!
Be there at the Del Close Theater at iO at 8 pm tonight to watch the sparks fly, the bananas get mashed, and humanity strain to dazzle those mean monkeys but good.
Last week's talent, "sideshow," featured genuinely unnerving stuff like Kristen Studard doing this:
The Bastion's Second City/Columbia College Comedy Studies Program cub reporters are back with another update on their exploits at clown college. Benjamin Vigeant and Greg Guiliano are settling nicely into their academic routine, learning a lot, and getting to know their classmates better, in a "Jets and Sharks" sort of way.
Benjamin Vigeant: We are now in the third week of Comedy Studies, and we're past the sort of awkward "sitting around and talking about what we're going to do while strangers from across the country look at each other phase," and we're down to the nuts and bolts. To begin, I will share a fun anecdote that will make Greg mad, because I'm getting to it first. For our writing class, our group had to write scenes based on of a combination of a character that we created and one that someone else did. In order to inform the scene and give it some sort of structure, we had to give the characters an objective. The most common objective in group 1's writing class? Someone who is trying very hard to make a friend.
Greg Guiliano: Whether that says a lot about us as people or just about the situation is hard to say, and yes, I am mad at Ben. Aside from the classes, a few of the students have already tried to organize routine events, such as Thai Tuesday or Taco Newsday, though the two don't compete. There is a slight schism between the two sections of students. We're getting the same lessons and classes, just that we don't really see the other section that much, so we're not becoming an ensemble with them. Not to say that we dislike them, we just don't have as much class time with them. Except for the outside rehearsals some of us have thrown together so we can practice what improv we've each learned from our various outside influences in addition to what we're learning in class. Seeing the different rules/names applied to games is kind of interesting as we'll have the same game just known by a different name...sort of an East Coast/West Coast thing, but less rap.
Benjamin Vigeant: Last year, (to my enlightened understanding) Comedy Studies operated as one big jolly group of twenty or so people. The problem that arose from this is that each person got less time to have as their own. The problem with this method, though it's probably better, is that now there are two groups who are friendly and social with each other, but definitely aren't an ensemble with each other. I don't even think there's a sense of competition between the two as much as it's, "well, people in group 1 spend more time with people in group 1." The positives are that this does lead to much tighter ensemble within the groups, and more equal time, or at least equal opportunities for everyone to prove themselves.
Greg Guiliano: On to what we've actually been being taught in classes...well, we've got 6 classes. A Context for Comedy class, which is kind of like Current Events but with an emphasis on "how do we make fun of it?" Then we have Comedy Writing, History of Modern Comedy, Improvisation, and an Acting Through Improvisation class. History of Modern Comedy has, so far, consisted of us talking about old comedians and how they developed and performed what they did. Currently, we're on Vaudeville and the classes just put up our own Vaudeville shows. We had a pretty wide variety, everything from a mentalist to a juggler. Sadly, due to the Section split, we didn't get a chance to see section 2's.
Benjamin Vigeant: One of the more fun things we've done, and Greg mentioned it, was doing the vaudeville acts for the comedy history class. One of the best parts about this vaudeville project was that none of the acts were similar. Where one would assume that we'd lazily just take the stereotypical lousy pun patter and call it a day, every act was uniquely different. Greg and I did a juggling act, another group did clog dancing, another did a "magic" show (most of the magic tricks failed), and so on and so forth. The group of us at Comedy Studies, I'm sure the other group included, don't lack anything of variety.
TJ Miller got swimmer's ear in Jerry O'Connell and Rebecca Romijn's pool, not a bad tradeoff for waking up in the home of a supermodel. This is not to suggest that every Chicago comedian who moves to LA can expect to be roomies with X-Men megahotties, but you never know.
Your Sunday Best stand-up showcase and open mic moves to Schubas from its original home at Bad Dog Tavern, with shows beginning this Sunday, September 23. We are told that the showcase will be followed by an open mic with a limited number of slots, but fear not, cheap beer will flow as plentifully as it did at the old place.
Chicago stand-up Hannibal, who was featured at last year's Montreal Comedy Festival, will perform on the on the Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson September 26. Tune in!
A recent news clip ofAzhar Usman, whose talked to us about his Dave Chappelle-produced comedy concert film "Allah Made Me Funny-The Official Muslim Comedy Tour":
This Tuesday (that's tomorrow night) will be the final Chicago Underground Comedy show for both Kumail and Becky Garcia. Becky is heading to Los Angeles while Kumail is packing up for New York. Be there for the fun at the Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont, at 9:30. Also taking the stage will be Jared Logan, Mike & Duane, CJ Sullivan, Jim Fath, and, visiting from New York, Ross Hyzer.
Kumail will also knock out a few more shows with Mike Sheehan at the Edge Comedy Club at 777 N. Green Street this Friday and Saturday, at both the 8:15 and 10:30 shows. Be there so when he's huge and famous you can pretend like you and he were BFF's. That's our plan.
A promo video for Kumail's one-man show at the Lakeshore Theater, "Unpronounceable," which he will hopefully be finding a home for on a New York stage sometime in the near future:
On the Scene: Baby Wants Candy, the Apollo Theater
This past Friday, The Bastion was thrilled to attend the inaugural performance of Baby Wants Candy at their new home on Apollo Theater's mainstage. The rotating cast of pros once again did not disappoint, with their rousing take on the theme, "Rehab". Adorable McPretty and Co. danced, sang, fellated, and screamed their way through a completely improvised musical, on its opening, and sadly, closing night. Don't worry, though: there will be a totally new musical, and possibly even a new cast of performers, every Friday from here on out, 10:30 p.m. at the Apollo Theater.
Can a baby really be ten years old? This one is. Baby Wants Candy, founded in 1997, has performed improvised musicals to sold-out crowds from Singapore to Edinburgh, and is moving to the Apollo Theater Main Stage ( 2540 N. Lincoln Ave) for late night shows beginning TONIGHT, Friday, September 14th, at 10:30 PM.
The late night Baby Wants Candy shows will include a stand-up comedian opening the show and several special guests sitting in with both the (full, live) band and the cast. Each month Baby Wants Candy will also tantalize their audience with contests, starting with a chance to win a grand prize of two round trip tickets to New York City, two tickets to see the taping of the Colbert Report, and two tickets to see Baby Wants Candy NYC (that's right, BWC in NYC!).
Baby Wants Candy has featured several notable performers, including Rachel Dratch and Seth Meyers of "Saturday Night Live," and Stephnie Weir and Nicole Parker of "MadTV."
Time Out Chicago's Funniest Person in Chicago Contest is still underway, and you still have time to dazzle them with your hilarity and take your shot at being officially known as the Funniest Person in Chicago. You'll also get a chance to perform live at a show in late October, details TBA.
Send them your funniest 1-2 minute comedy video (stand-up, sketch, what have you) for a chance at some rad prizes and a live performance. Have your entry in by 5:00 PM September 20 for your chance to legitimately add the credit "Funniest Person in Chicago" to your comedy resume. Seriously. Do it.
Kyle Kinane on "Last Call with Carson Daly"...Last Night
Chicago comedy alum Kyle Kinane, who was in town and enjoyed a guest spot at Chicago Underground Comedy a few weeks ago, was on "Last Call With Carson Daly" last night on NBC. (Yes, we thought it was tonight, otherwise we would have posted this yesterday. Sorry, Kyle.)
A few days ago Kyle shared some details with us about his national boob tube debut, and the unlucky popcorn-headed photo that will help introduce him to the American public.
that picture was taken at ravens on my birthday after someone dumped popcorn on my head. that's what they're using for my u.s. television debut. pride and shame are co-mingling awkwardly within my family these days.
salicious details exclusive to the bastion:
-i may wear a hat.
-i will attempt to call mila kunis "baby cheesecakes" on the air.
-my ego's not too big to take the nbc limo (plus if i drive myself i can listen to pegboy and get all nuts about it...that and the studio is five minutes from my house and i wouldn't want some random limo driver thinking i was a prick for making him pick me up down the street, because those kinds of emotions are palpable and can totally throw me off my game. i might have him drive me home though.)
-i'll see if frank caliendo can do an impression "of this right here" and i'll grab my crotch and be all like, "eh?" and "hey ha ha oh-no!"
-i'm doing a cooking segment where i reveal my recipe for breakfast chili.
-i'm doing some sit-ups to get ready and it shows.
Sounds like the Chicago Tribune is as enamored of those damn dirty apes as we are. Nina Metz describes the Thursday night "Impress These Apes" shows as "daffy and spot-on." Metz goes further, naming Hollywood Ape as her favorite judge. "But it is Hollywood Ape (Tyler Lansdown), as a faux-cool L.A. hipster, who offers the sharpest observations. If you're going to do a music video literal to the lyrics, he informed one competitor, the song should be about sex."
Elsewhere in the Blewt-iverse, "Don't Spit the Water" will be performing in the beautiful Metropolis Theater in Arlington Heights on Saturday nights at 10pm, beginning September 22nd, and ending November 10th.
And, DSTW is launching a spinoff into North Carolina's Dirty South Improv Theater, where DSTW will take on a southern accent. (Well, not literally.)
The red hot stand-up girls of SpitFire Comedy have a new home at the Apollo Theater, and will be celebrating their first show there tonight, Tuesday, September 11, at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.). Greg Mills will host and Team Submarine will also be performing. This show is also sort of a going-away party for Becky Garcia and Hannah Gansen, who are moving to Los Angeles in the very near future. But don't show up unless you want to be gigantically famous - cameras will be there gathering footage for some short film segments.
$10. 8 p.m. Doors at 7. Apollo Theater Studio, 2540 N. Lincoln Ave.
The Bastion has recruited two students who are lucky enough to be attending the Second City/Columbia College Comedy Studies Program this semester (and getting full college credit for their efforts, can you believe that?) to offer us a little running commentary on their experiences there. Benjamin Vigeant and Greg Guiliano enjoyed their first week of classes at clown college, and find that as unique and special a program as they're in, it still involves all the usual stuff of any first week of college. You know, hitting the bookstore for rubber chickens and cream pies, and then trying to establish their charm and hilarity among fellow students. Stay tuned for more updates as the semester goes by!
BEN: Comedy Studies is a college program run at the Second City Training Center through Columbia College. The net worth of the whole thing for the students is a whopping 16 credits. Enrolled this semester is a group of some more than twenty students, from all over the US, randomly split into two groups taking the same classes at the same time. I'm one of the students in the program, Benjamin Vigeant, and my primary comedy background comes from classes at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in New York City.
GREG: I'm Greg Guiliano and I attend Columbia College, the school through which Second City runs Comedy Studies. Outside students are, effectively, students of Columbia while they're enrolled in the program. We also count as Second City students for the duration of the semester, which has it's own bevy of benefits. My background is more so in conventional theater than it is in sketch or improv, but I do have a decent experience with comedy as I stage manage several shows in Chicago and am taking a Second City class outside of Comedy Studies itself.
BEN: Since this last week of classes was dedicated more towards orientation of the classes, this will be relatively short, and will instead be dedicated more towards impressions. The classes in the program are: "Creating Scenes Through Improvisation", "Acting III: Sketch and Theatrical Comedy", "History and Analysis of Modern Comedy", "Writing Comic Scenes", "Context for Comedy" ( i.e. news satire), and "Physical and Vocal Training For Comedy". Given my experience with NYC's comedy scene, the first difference that I can point out, is wow everyone is way older here . That would follow, since the underground comedy scene, at least the long form improvisational one, seems to be relatively new, whereas there's a massive amount of comedic history here in Chicago in places like the Second City and the iO. So, one of the more interesting classes being presented is "History and Analysis" which is probably one of the only places I've ever had access to where the teachers (Sheldon Patinkin and Ann Libera) would specifically talk about people I've only seen in movies (Fred Willard, Bill Murray, etc).
GREG: Ben's comment about people "only seen in movies," is right. Not only are we hearing little stories about these people, but they're just spoken of with such casualness that, if you disassociated the name from any sort of fame, you'd think our teachers were only telling stories about old friends and not top bill actors and actresses. One nice thing that I'm noticing that's different in the Comedy Studies program than in other classes or comedy circles I've moved in during my first year in Chicago, is that I don't feel like any of us are being treated as "just another student/improviser." Feels like we're actually getting much more personal attention. Of course, this is only my initial impression and we'll have to see how things go, but with how we've been received thus far I see that trend continuing.
BEN: One of the sort of intimidating things to me, and I think to everyone else, is being in a program which is meant for comedians. Which is to say, most of the people in the program are used to being the funniest person in the room, their group, class, whatever. Now, we're tossed in a group with people who all have had that status as well. Does it cause any friction? Absolutely not, everyone is remarkably friendly, but at least in my case (I can't speak for anyone else) I feel like I need to really prove myself as an absolutely hilarious person.
GREG: Not alone in that. All that sort of freshman-esque, pack status, jockeying for position stuff that happened when we were first and second years is kind of happening again. At least in my head. No one is doing it out of maliciousness, it's just the kind of thing that happens. An intense drive to prove to the others as well as yourself that you deserve to be there.. No one is being at all rude, and even the teachers are telling us not to worry about being funny right out of the gate. None the less that drive to beat our comedy chest and roar proudly is there.
TJ Miller was recently interviewed in the Chicago Sun-Times. His sitcom, "Carpoolers," will be hitting the airwaves on ABC in a few weeks. "I want (the show) to do so well that in four years people are yelling, 'Hey, Marmaduke, I don't recognize you with your pants on!' And then they throw underwear at me."
Lincoln Lodge producer Mark Geary is quoted as saying "I don't think there's anybody in comedy who came into contact with TJ Miller and didn't instantly go, 'This guy's going all the way to the top.' "
Miller's iO and Second City co-hort Seth Weitberg (who writes the very entertaining "Easy Writer" blog for Second City) also observed: "I think he understands that no one is sitting at a desk figuring out how to make you famous all day. Well, maybe they are now, but for a long time they weren't...there is a vast ocean between Chicago and the coast when it comes to the media. You have to build up a certain amount of potential energy to make that leap, and TJ's the kind of guy who is able to do it."
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