Tonight marks the beginning of the eighth season of the Lincoln Lodge, Chicago’s longest running stand-up and variety comedy show. Mark Geary, executive producer, came to Chicago in 1996 from small town England, after graduating university and pursuing his interest in motorcycle racing. Growing up, Mark had always been interested in comedy, and went on to publish several articles in national magazines abroad. When he came to Chicago, he began revisiting that passion as a stand-up comedian. As for the Lincoln Lodge, Mark says he “got frustrated with the appalling production values and haphazard nature of a lot of the shows, drifted more towards the producing side because my HUGE ego told me I needed to fix the problems, and then finally this guy called Tom Lawler comes up to me with the idea for a new type of show in a cool location.....and so we come to be here!”

We are gearing up for Season Eight of the Lincoln Lodge. What new things can audiences expect from this cycle?

Well, virtually a whole new cast for starters! They are all currently hidden under a tarp in my garage until opening Fezz-tivities. I'm hoping with the new guys and gals in tow we're going to be able spread a wider net through the variety community to get those unique, eclectic acts that are our hallmark. With the stand-up side we really want to coax a lot more new material and invention out of our established acts.

Did you plan to last this long when you first devised the show?

I didn't really plan a 'shelf-life' so to speak but I guess I always gravitate towards, and have huge respect for, endeavours with longevity and prolonged reputations for quality so that would be my subconscious aim, too.

Can you give a brief history of the genesis of the show, and what is your "five year goal" for the Lodge (either from here on out or from the very beginning)?
The Lodge was the brainchild of Tom Lawler and he approached me with the idea of using his marketing/PR talent and my production skills to create a show that would be a novel concept but would excel as a production. Over the years, Tom always brought the production discipline and innovative nature to the show and really has never received the credit for that part from the comedy community. The immediate goal was to establish a show that supported the comics within a framework of resources to which they would hopefully respond with commitment and enthusiasm. That didn't work out so well initially but after we tweaked the model a little it really took off. Aside from smaller tactical goals (increase audience size, web presence, corporate sponsorship) the main goal is still there: to support comics and enable them to grow professionally and personally.

If you had to explain to my mom exactly what the Lodge is, how would you do so? Mind you, she's from small town America and has only seen a handful of live performances in her life, most of them involving Reba McIntyre (no offense to either my mother or Reba intended).

I'd say, "Mrs. Mangel, it's like the Carol Burnett show except instead of Carol and Harvey Korman we have Allison Leber and Robert Buscemi."

You've been involved with stand-up comedy in Chicago for quite some time. Recently there was an exodus of talent from the underground scene who left for both L.A. and NYC. Is this a trend that happens cyclically from what you've witnessed, is this particular exodus unique unto itself, and can you comment either generally or very specifically on the Chicago comedy scene, especially the present incarnation?

Yes, this is entirely cyclical. The vacuum opens up, the vacuum fills, the vacuum opens up. It’s happened before and it will happen again. The only difference this time is the magnitude of the exodus but in the long term it won't make no nevermind. Sorry you newly ensconced coastal kids - but there you go!

I was very down on the scene for quite awhile but the response to the casting call for the Lodge has renewed me a little. Ask me again in January 2008!

At one time there was an established comedy festival in Chicago that you were instrumental in forming. Is there any chance that the city will see something like that again, in your estimation? What other methods should be sought in coaxing industry people out our way on a more regular basis?

Oh yeah, I forgot about the festival - or maybe I blanked it deliberately. Anybody can create a festival. ANYBODY. The question is, can you create a good one? A festival to me should be a special event, not just, "here's the same folks you can see every week - but this week it's a festival!" To that end you need to get in national, maybe even international talent and that is a huge undertaking loaded with logistical and financial risk which very few people have the resource and inclination to tackle. It would need that rarest combination of somebody who really knows comedy and also knows somebody with a huge stack of money to re-create the Chicago Comedy Festival and make it work this time and I don't see anybody around like that right now. To get industry in a room is a very simple equation – give them what they want, not what you perceive they should want!

Is the Internet truly going to be the answer for this next generation of talent?

No - hard work is and always will be the answer. There is no panacea.

Do you have any thoughts on the lack of industry in Chicago, and what this might mean for the talent that is being cultivated here?

I like it that way - it keeps the carpetbaggers out and allows folks to stay focused on developing their material.

Who are some of your favorite performers to watch?

The usual suspects - Kinane, Buscemi, Kumail, Teej, O'Connell... No wait, scrub that. I like everybody! So please don't email me.

Who did you grow up watching, and do you credit them with forming your present sensibilities in comedy?

The two giants for me were Spike Milligan and Rik Mayall. Milligan basically 'invented' all that is good and great about modern comedy and when 'alternative' comedy first hit England in the late 70's/early 80's Mayall was its crowned prince. From the U.S. it would have to be all things Woody Allen and, of course, Bill Hicks.

How would you describe your sense of humor?

The only things that get me laugh are things that I couldn't have thought up myself - so it's generally surreal stuff or really, REALLY witty dialogue like Steve Coogan characters.

What do you look for when considering performers for the Lodge?

Because there is a lot of good talent out there, I personally look for additional facets like commitment and some business savvy to keep the synergy with what the Lodge as a business is trying to achieve. The Lodge booking process is collaborative between all Lodge cast members so there are other factors too, making our talent roster a gestalt of tastes instead of just one outlook.

We recently saw the television pilot Flocked, starring Pete Grosz, at the Chicago Short Comedy Video and Film Festival 2007. What is the status of this project?

We have an agent at ICM who has shopped it around to a few places but no takers thus far. We are meant to be pitching to Comedy Central at some point but the phone call was never returned….ahhh, Hollywood! I would like to have made a second episode just for the heck of it but the whole outcome of the festival judging left a bitter taste in my mouth (Read: crybaby).

What are some other projects in the works?

I’m restoring a ’57 NSU Scooter – sweet!

Do you have any sage "swear by" advice for newer comics just getting started?

Think about what it is you want to get out of being a comic (a plan), then try to define very clearly the timeframe you want to do it in, the process, and some interim milestones it will take to get there. Once you have that, hold yourself accountable for executing the plan. Always try to stay focused on what it is you are doing, as that is the only thing you can control.

or veteran comics looking to take their work to the next level?
See above.

Visit the Lodge tonight and tomorrow for the opening Fezz-tivities, which will include sets by Matt Dwyer and Mike O'Connell, with cast members Allison Leber, Steve O. Harvey, and Ken Barnard. Tickets can be gotten here. The Lodge is located in the back of the Lincoln Restaurant, 4008 N. Lincoln.

--Kristy Mangel