The Bastion has been fond of Claire Zulkey's Funny Ha-Ha shows since we attended our first one back in July of 2006, when it was so swelteringly hot that we hung out in front of the big freezer door at the back of the room to keep from fainting. (Hence the shaky and distant footage of the goings-on.)
This Thursday, March 6, from 6-8 at the Hideout (1354 W Wabansia Ave) is the next installment of Funny Ha-Ha, this one featuring readings and performances by Chicago Tribune blogger and columnist Eric Zorn, "Perfect From Now On" author John Sellers, sketch group Schadenfreude, columnist and "Interview Show" host Mark Bazer (clip of "Interview Show" here), as well as films by Steve Delahoyde. Your host, of course, is author, blogger, LA Times tv critic, and very creative person Claire Zulkey.
There is a $5 suggested donation, with proceeds to benefit the Neighborhood Writing Alliance.
Breaking news, just for Bastion readers: David Sedaris is funny. You heard it here first, people. Kicking off Steppenwolf's 2008 Traffic Series, the Grammy Award-nominated humorist and NPR contributor extraordinaire takes to the stage with new material, proving just how hilarious bunions and chafed butt cheeks can be (as if we didn't know that already).
Treating audiences to a hearty helping of selections from his upcoming book, Indefinite Leave to Remain (June 2008), Sedaris describes in guffaw-inducing detail his adventures in Tokyo and his recent experience with kicking the nicotine habit, recalling stays in motel smoking rooms permeated by a smell reminiscent of a "burning mummy."
The post-show Q&A delivered as many laughs as the performance, with Sedaris sharing some of his favorite tricks for beating writers' block, such as dutifully working through the brain-numbingly banal homework exercises following the essays--sometimes his own--in college literature textbooks. "Using examples from the reading to support your argument, discuss how Sedaris effectively blah blah..." Yes--who could forget those fun little creativity springboards?
Not surprisingly, the January 8-13 performance run is sold out, but if you're brazen enough to wrestle a ticket away from some poor, hapless theatergoer, you shan't be disappointed. If not, you'll just have to wait for the new collection of essays to find out which body part Sedaris describes as his "rusted coin slot." (If you simply can't wait, substantial cash bribes are being accepted Monday through Friday during regular business hours.)
Head to the Hideout the first Friday of every month for the always-something-different offerings of the minds behind The Dollar Store.
What is it, exactly? It's "an evening of readings and performances given by some of Chicago's top literary talents, monologists, performers, and drunks." It's fresh creativity every time, because it springs from a story spun about random items from the Dollar Store presented to a different set of writers, comedians, and improvisers for each event.
The Sun-Times says "some of the best young writers in town" show up, and the show has earned raves from NewCity, the Reader, and flavorpill as well.
Past participants have included short story writers, radio personalities, talk show hosts, fiction magazine editors, dancer/choreographers, improv vets, a few Neo-Futurarians, and your mama.
The Dollar Store is co-hosted by Jonathan Messinger, mastermind of This Is Grand, and Jeremy Sosenko of i.O.'s Late Night Late Show.
It's a testament to the quality of funny that Claire Zulkey and friends packed into the Hideout last night that so many Chicagoans were willing to hang out in such a hot space. Nobody left until John Green was done reading the last excerpt from his books, including An Abundance of Katherines and the soon-to-be-movie Looking For Alaska. (And when we say "hot," we mean "shamelessly jockeying for space by the walk-in fridge" hot, and "the ice in the bottom of the cup of what used to be your pop is melting so fast you can take a sip of water every ten seconds" hot.)
The Bastion was late to arrive and therefore missed Schadenfreude, and well as Eric Spitznagel's phoned-in reading from his novel Fast Forward: Confessions of a Porn Screenwriter, about which Amy Sedaris said: "Like most pornography, I found Fast Forward to be a relentless and indecent assault on the traditional family values that Americans find most sacred. Makes a great stocking stuffer." Oh, and by "phoned-in," we don't mean lazy or uninspired, we mean Eric was unable to be at the event, and participated by way of telephone.
After that, Schadenfreude's Justin Kaufmann performed his frenetic "Perry Farrell's life story in sixty seconds" bit, as a warmup to the troupe's upcoming shows at Lollapalooza (more on Chicago comedy's involvement with Lollapalooza coming soon), and filmmaker Steve Delahoyde entertained with several of his sharp and twisted short films.
And last but not least, The Bastion was glad to have a chance to tell Chicago blogger and author Mimi Smartypants that as much as we've enjoyed her in print, we found her even more hilarious onstage. As Sir Laurence Olivier told The Birmingham Repertory company in 1926, there is no mocking of Nicolas Cage and Elisabeth Shue that can't be made funnier with handpuppets:
(As opposed to "Funny Weird"?) Fart jokes are all well and good, but how about we mix it up with a little literary humor? You know, stuff that looks as pretty on paper as it sounds coming out of your mouth.
Next Tuesday, August 1, at 7, Chicago blogging royalty Claire Zulkey will host the latest of Funny Ha-Ha, the literary humor reading series.
The Bastion has been fond of Claire Zulkey's Funny Ha-Ha shows since we attended our first one back in July of 2006, when it was so swelteringly hot that we hung out in front of the big freezer door at the back of the room to keep from fainting. (Hence the shaky and distant footage of the goings-on.)
Breaking news, just for Bastion readers: 
Head to the Hideout the first Friday of every month for the always-something-different offerings of the minds behind 
It's a testament to the quality of funny that 
(As opposed to "Funny Weird"?) Fart jokes are all well and good, but how about we mix it up with a little literary humor? You know, stuff that looks as pretty on paper as it sounds coming out of your mouth.
