Not a lot of comedy blogging going on these days, huh, Chicago comedians? Need we remind you that if you blog it, and it's funny and interesting, we might talk about it here? Or if you or someone you know is writing a blog about Chicago comedy that we're not linking to over there on the right, let us know, we're always happy to add to the blogroll.
This one gets filed in our head in the same folder as "Lost": everyone's talking about it, but we haven't bent yet. Should we watch "The Wire?" Your Sunday Best at Schubas producer and comic James Fritz is mourning the cancellation of the show. "Without hyperbole, it is the greatest television show ever made. If you haven't been watching, get the DVDs and start at Season 1: Episode 1."
iO's Jason Chin has some thoughts about lazy, shock value improv, and why rape, abortion, and racism as comedy topics are a little boring at this point. "My point is that in improv no one can make you/your character a victim without your permission. Be strong and fight back and use your wits to create an interesting scene. Just shouting 'no' won’t help, but adding some emotion and power will always help. Conversely, I have found that most scenes are present and good within four lines… profanity, racism, words for shock value are the first refuge of the incompetent improviser. Certainly, those things can and should be part of our lexicon but in their place and context, not thrown out for a 'free' laugh. If that’s all you got, you’re not fun to watch."
Give a peek at Punchline editor Dylan Gadino's open letter to the Helium Comedy Club, AKA "What's Wrong With Comedy These Days." Apparently it was a comedy nightmare for the stand-ups, and the club let patrons run around like drunk gorillas.
"I just returned from the 10:30 p.m. show and have never, in my entire life, seen a comedy club’s showroom so devastatingly out of control. Through the two hours of comedy you presented tonight, there were no less than five pockets of audience members that did almost nothing but taunt comics; they yelled out idiotic utterances, stupidly answered rhetorical questions from the comics and held conversations at their tables at volumes usually reserved for roadwork foremen relaying orders to jackhammer operators."
Why wouldn't a club do something to corral such a rowdy and disruptive audience? And if you're going to talk over the comedians and act like a drunk moron, why don't you just go to a sports bar and yell over the ball game like all of your idiot friends?
Comedians, have you had a heckling experience you'd like to share? Any insight into why people do this sort of thing in the first place? Let it out in the comments section. There, there, let it all out.
Remember our interview with Gary Rudoren and Eric Hoffman, the guys who wrote Comedy By Numbers? Chicago megablogger Claire Zulkey also interviewed them. What did she get out of them that we didn't? A little tidbit about the unique origins of Gary's last name:
"Well, about a year after we got married, my wife and I decided to do this weird thing where we melded parts of both of our names into a single family name. An odd, but egalitarian approach. My wife’s a journalist, so she had a byline, I had kind of a name too with my theater and architecture work– it was a big move for both us, but we’ve embraced it. In January 2006, Gary Ruderman and Jodi Wilgoren became Gary & Jodi Rudoren."
Crappy Media, MySpace Popularity Contest, "Reader" Takes All
--Tonight at iO, show up at 10 PM for the much-anticipated "Crappy Media Screening" in the Cabaret. "Were you in a cringe-worthy commercial? An abysmal corporate video? A sucktastic short film? No need to be embarrassed...we've all been there. And now we all have the opportunity to let others view our misery...we'll screen videos from several members of the iO community. Come mock and sympathize while enjoying drink specials and free food."
--Chicago comedian Dean Carlson's MySpace is battling it out for kudos from the RedEye in the MySpace Popularity Contest. Go here to cast a vote and declare for all to hear that his HTML is better than that of some blonde radio-related chick named Jen.
--Schadenfreude's Rent Party on Friday night was a good chuckle. Andy Ross did some stand-up, Jet and Holly performed, followed by Mike and Duane, and of course hangers-on Alderman Ed Bus and Judy Barr Topinka showed up as well (maybe for the free beef sandwiches and $2 beers?).
But the best part of the evening was watching members of Chicago's alternative media engage in verbal death matchs, one bloodthirsty pairing after another, ripping on everything from prose style to the tendency to refer to oneself in third person, with a little "yo mama" type stuff thrown in for extra giggles. Gapers Block ripped on Time Out, who gave as good as they got, and in the final and very heated match, we have to admit we were pulling for the kids at Chicagoist, who were in the "online underdog" spot, but in the end, the crowd gave more of a hoot for the insult-hurlers from the Chicago Reader. Hope they're happy with themselves, and their "published since 1971, circulation of approximately 119,606." Big shots.
Since we're on the subject, here's that bit again from a Rent Party last December, wherein (former) Chicagoist editor Scott Smith read aloud from some hilarious correspondence he exchanged with bitter rocker has-been (and local boy) Richard Marx, who took some issue with Chicagoist's portrayal of his current career status. It got ugly - "living in your parents' basement" ugly.
The always entertaining and informative i.O. blogs are celebrating their one year blogiversary. They enjoyed a little shout out on the Comedy Central Insider blog, which mentions this post by Baz, who offers a nice summary of his favorite posts from his fellow improv bloggers over the past year.
While we're talking about i.O., let's check in with Crago's careful instructions on how to handle a tipsy Cubs fan who's stumbled into the Del Close theater looking for...whatever it is they're looking for: "When a drunk Cub fan finds their way into the theatre. Don’t approach them. Treat them like a sleepwalking victim, because in most instances, that’s what they are. They’re so loaded up on Jagerbombs and Old Style, that they walk in a haze. Just let them come into the theatre and eventually they’ll figure out that Dane Cook isn’t in there doing standup."
Bill Arnett offers a special memorial blog post to author Kurt Vonnegut, who passed away this week. He recalls how Vonnegut's “Breakfast of Champions” taught him about an author's control of the story, and how to manage the "what next" question that improv deals with on its feet: "In improv the question 'what next' can be absolutely paralyzing. You just finished the first beat of a Harold. You have three story lines, six characters and innumerable themes. What do you do now? It’s easy to feel that you have an obligation to some story that’s slowly developing. It’s easy to let your characters become driven by the plot instead of letting them drive the action. Take a page from Kurt Vonnegut (page 14, please) and do something really stupid. Try to ruin your show. Try really hard to ruin what your doing. You’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that you can’t."
Baz also offers a tip of the hat to Vonnegut, by posting a picture of something the cantankerous genius apparently scribbled to a fan a few years ago, answering the question "Where do you get your ideas from?" Vonnegut explained: "I was goofing around like everyone else in Indiana, and all of a sudden stuff came gushing out. It was disgust with civilization." Why did this man never try stand-up comedy?
Not a lot of comedy blogging going on these days, huh, Chicago comedians? Need we remind you that if you blog it, and it's funny and interesting, we might talk about it here? Or if you or someone you know is writing a blog about Chicago comedy that we're not linking to over there on the right, let us know, we're always happy to add to the blogroll. 
Give a peek at Punchline editor Dylan Gadino's 
Remember our interview with 
