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 Will Act For Food is putting on a play and collecting resources for the hungry at the same time.
"We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!", written by Dario Fo, is going on at Stage Left Theatre (3408 N. Sheffield) Tuesdays and Wednesdays,October 2- November 7 at 8 pm. Tickets are $15, or $10 for students and seniors, $1 for each nonperishable food item (up to $5 off).
The play is described by translator Ron Jenkins as “a comedy of hunger.” It peeks into the lives of two sets of poor couples and their struggles with both literal and figurative hunger. A starving mob steals food and and when family members begin to hide food from each other, a comedy of stashed goods, fake pregnancies, and spousal deception ensues.
Wednesday, October 31st is designated as Cans for Cash night for the play - patrons can pay their entire $30 special admission with nonperishable food items, or with any combination of cans and cash. After the show, patrons are invited to join the cast and crew, at Uncommon Ground (3800 N.Clark), for a Halloween party with food,spirits,and live music.
All food raised will benefit The Lakeview Pantry, Will Act For Food’s partner in community service. E-mail Melissa or call 773-279-9832 for more information.
- Elizabeth McQuern
 The Heartland Animal Shelter will benefit from a stand-up showcase that's coming up this Saturday, May 19, at the Footlik Theater in Des Plaines. "Barks, Purrs, and Laughs" will feature some of Chicago's favorite comedians, including Lauren Bishop, Josh Cheney, Nick Lullo, and "The World's Most Dangerous Comic" Mark Faje, who has been on Letterman and Comedy Central.
There's a fun interview with some of the Shrek 3 girls (including Chicago comedy vets Amy Sedaris and Amy Poehler) at the Washington Post. It's an excellent example of how hard it can be to get a straight answer out of a bunch of comedians. From the article: "The correspondent, in a lame attempt to keep his job, tries to steer this sinking ship toward one question posed pre-interview by his editor. To wit: So, you were all funny girls growing up? And, we mean, was that hard? You know?..."
After many fun shows and countless cupcakes, The Spectacular Show will run for the final time tonight, May 16th, at 9:30 at the Gorilla Tango Theater. Tonight's show "(the funeral - please wear black)" includes Andy Ross, Dan Polydoris and many more special guests.
- Elizabeth McQuern
 --Jena Friedman netted an amazing $7800 with the fundraiser she threw this week in connection with her upcoming musical spoof, Refugee Girls. As she said on her grateful MySpace bulletin, "That's equivalent to a years' worth of food for a family of six in Bolivia...or a couple nights of space at a dope ass theater in Chicago." Anyone who thinks Chicago comedy doesn't have a big generous heart hasn't seen the phrase "$15 all-you-can-drink open bar" in their inbox lately. (Edit: the $7800 was a joke, which we were a bit too thick and optimistic to get. See here.)
--In an exciting new scientific development reported by Discovery News, the formula for successful stand-up comedy has been broken down into a Unified Field Theory of all that makes us go "ha ha ha."
 "Stand-up comedy routines, which often only involve a lone comedian on a stage with a microphone, appear to be simple performances, but a new study reveals many acts follow a complex formula strengthened by multiple linguistic techniques. If done incorrectly or with malice, such routines can lead to serious problems, as recently illustrated by comics Don Imus and Michael Richards. The techniques, however, also help to explain the success of entertainers like Robin Williams, Richard Pryor, Dave Chappelle and Eddie Izzard, two of whose routines were analyzed for the study."
--On a related note, according to late author Robert Benchley, "Defining and analyzing humor is a pastime of humorless people." Chew on that one for awhile.
 --Comic Vince Averill recently blew through town, hitting the comedy stages at the Lincoln Lodge and Chicago Underground Comedy, and enjoying a little Windy City culture as well. He leaves us with a postcard of sorts:
"Hey Chicago,
Just wanted to write a quick thank you note to an entire metropolitan area. You guys really poured it on heavy and made it my best first week of April ever. It wasn't all eating burgers at Muskie's, buying limited sneakers at St. Alfred's, and snatching up puffy stickers and whoopie cushions at Uncle Fun, but thanks to my tour guide Dave for that.
Tuesday brought the underground show. Tony and his co-producer Tony "the puppet" run a cool room, sorry if there are other producers but Tony booked me and the puppet handed out drink tickets so.... Anytime a venue has a monitor I can prop a foot up on and cock my elbow so as to feel like Glenn Danzig, the laughs become a bonus.
Thursday and Friday found me at the Lincoln Lodge. I had a really great time both nights. The show is managed so well, and features massive beers that don't seem to get warm, that being the catch 22 of the huge beer, a warming effect...ok, back on track.
Anyhew, I got the chance to meet, watch, and or reconnect with many funny folks. Funny, and for the most part decent folks, some were just funny, and some were just good people.
Chicago loves celery salt!
Bury my heart at Navy Pier,
Vince Averill"
 The Soothe Your Senses Day Spa in Edgewater (6260 N. Broadway) is throwing a Pink Fling Street Fair Fundraiser on Saturday, October 14 from noon to 6:00 p.m. All proceeds to go the National Breast Cancer Foundation.
Stop in and enjoy a mint julep hand treatment, comedy (including boob jokes, if you're lucky) from the SpitFire girls, live music, fun children's activities, snacks from Blue Elephant and Taste of Peru, something called "She Drumming," and much more.
 Tonight at 8 at The Mix (2843 N. Halsted), join Brady Novak (i.O.), Becky Garcia (Spitfire), Josh Cheney (The Demon Who Never Appeared), Steve O. Harvey (Lincoln Lodge), Leon Rogers (The Destined), and lovely and talented host Allison Leber for the Comics For Change Benefit Party for New Orleans Common Ground Collective. Loosen your wallets and help raise enough money to send a busload of volunteers to the Big Easy to help with reconstruction efforts. Call 773-505-1198 for more information.
(Pictured at right are Dwayne Kennedy and Allison Leber at last month's Comics For Change benefit.)
 Lundquist Entertainment (with roots in Chicago) is crossing the border for some shows in Toronto this week. Catch Caleb Hodgekiss before he gets superfamous and and starts dating Lindsay Lohan.
Chicago-based comic Matt Wayne recently shared his thoughts with Shecky Magazine about How Not To Talk To a Comic. Among his tips? Don't assume everything that comes out of a comic's mouth is intended to be funny. Sometimes he is actually just asking for you to pass the salt.
The New Q101 Morning Show has kicked off. Check out the interview with Chicago comedy alum Stephen Colbert (MP3 here).
Chicago stand-up Brady Novak finally stopped dragging his feet on this whole "internet fad" and got a damned MySpace page. Yeah, MySpace...well, it's better than nothing.
After a "business meeting" (i.e. a few Stoli and sodas, a taco wrap, and much merriment and discussion about comedy, the business thereof, and a slew of related projects) with Jeremy Smith, project manager of the Star and Garter Burlesque Extravaganza (to be previewed very soon right here), the Bastion and Mr. Smith made their way to Comics for Change, a new comedic entity in Chicago, with the stacked line-up of Mr. Bill Cruz, the Miss Renee Gauthier, Sir Mike Olson, as-seen-every-damn-place-on-TV Dwayne Kennedy, and host Queen Allison Leber.
The inaugural showcase made the Midwest Workers Association almost $500, between ticket sales and $2 Finlandia shots (sold by the bubbly and adorable Becky Garcia). An impromptu dance party broke out after the show, with Josh Cheney spinning hip hop hits and pumping up the jam. The group hopes to continue monthly showcases for different non-profits every month, and if the Mix continues its gracious donation of hosted bar, we think the future of this endeavor looks to be very bright indeed.
Pictures of the performers here, taken by Krystle Gemnich.
 Don't Spit the Water is heading for the 2006 New York International Fringe Festival and will be throwing themselves a little comedy show benefit to get there.
There will be a raffle with prizes including the ultimate goodie bag: the chance to hog the spotlight and perform in an upcoming show.
Be there for the "unplugged" performances of show regulars, including Robert Buscemi, Jared Logan, and Tony Sam. Show up at 7:30 on Thursday, July 27 at the Town Hall Pub at 3340 N. Halsted, or risk being spat upon.
 (With apologies to New Kids on the Block, of course.) The Apollo Theater will host a stand-up comedy show tonight (July 24) to benefit Children's Memorial Hospital. The show will feature Ricky Carmona, Sapna Kumar, Hannibal Buress, Joselyn Hughes, and Bill Cruz. Call 773- 935-6100.
From our friends at Gapers Block:
On Sunday, July 23, the Neo-Futurists are staging a special performance of Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind (at 7), and throwing an all-day benefit for WLUW FM, a progressive radio station "committed to social justice and independent thought and expression and to giving a voice to those who too often go unheard."
There will be live jazz and instrumental bands, and you can spend $15 to hang out all day, or pay the regular price for the Too Much Light performance. Call 773-275-5255.
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