Hastings was Toasted and Roasted

To all that came out to the DC Improv Lounge last night:"thank-you". And to all the comics: you guys really delivered. Hopefully we will have more time to recap and if anyone wants to submit a summary of the experience and/or photos please feel free to send them to us. Thank-you Kyle Martin for organizing the event and thanks to all the comics who really brought down the hammer on Mr. Hastings, fellow comics and well...just know, Aparna and Hampton, that you are loved.

Joke of the night goes to Andy Kline's
"Less Than suit" regarding Travis Irvine's work with Matthew Lesko, with Justin Schlegal's "Breast Milk" finisher right next to it. Please feel free to submit other favorites.

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FISTful of PAIN!

It's finally here! Washington Improv Theater's Annual Fighting Improv Smackdown Tournament! I KNOW!

For the next 5 weeks starting today, yes, TODAY, 40 overqualified teams will battle it out for champion status and bragging rights as well as Facebook photo tagging rights.

Check out the teams with many familiar names and faces, the bracket, and buy tickets here!

It's going to be a world of crushing defeat and good, ol'-fashioned fun! Both at the same time.

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Did Wednesdays Really Need to Get Hotter People?

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS JUST GOT EVEN HOTTER
THE ALL NEW COMEDY & LADIES NIGHT EACH & EVERY WEDNESDAY!

@

WoW C AFÉ &

WINGERY

800 E. Shoppers Way

Largo, MD. 20774

301-324-4969

(@ THE BLVD NEXT TO THE MAGIC JOHNSON THEATRE)

FEATURING

ALYCIA COOPER AND FRIENDS such as Queen Aishah, Stacey Carver, Eddie Bryant, Mike Brooks, Lawrence Owens, to name a few!

Featured Comic on "BET's Comic View," NBC's "Last Comic Standing", Comedy Central's "Wanda Does It," Byron Allen's Comics Unleashed, several E! Entertainment, and VH-1 clips shows, as well as BET's "Oh Drama." Jamie Foxx's Sirius Satellite Radio Channel, The Foxxhole. She has written for The Steve Harvey Morning Show, Russell Simmons One World Music Beat, and UPN's hit sitcom, "The Parker's," She holds the title of the "first female audience "warm-up" person for several sitcoms; including "The Parker's," "Girlfriends," "Wanda at Large," and "The Tyra Banks Show."

In May of 2004, Alycia was featured in "Essence Magazine" as one to watch!

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The Forever Burning Bush

Hexagon 2009: What So Proudly We Bailed

We are musical, we are satirical, we are theatrical. We are Hexagon.

Event Info

Host:	Hexagon
Type:	Music/Arts - Performance
Network:	Global

Time and Place

Start Time:	Friday, March 6, 2009 at 8:00pm
End Time:	Saturday, April 4, 2009 at 10:30pm
Location:	The Burke Theatre inside the Naval Heritage Center at The Navy Memorial
Street:	701 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
City/Town:	Washington, DC

Description

Hexagon presents their 2009 show, Hexagon 2009: What So Proudly We Bailed, March 6 - April 4.

All proceeds from this year's show go to Rebuilding Together, a nonprofit group that makes free home repairs for low-income homeowners in Washington, DC.

For more information and to order tickets, visit http://www.hexagon. org.

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Monday Open Mic

On mondays at 9, Tony Woods runs an open mic at the jazzy Takoma Station Tavern. Checked it out last night. There were people there, comics and non. That plus Tony Woods is real funny n' all.

Sign up was around 8:45.

Takoma Station Tavern
6914 4th St NW
Washington, DC 20012

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Jay. Hastings. Roast.

Thanks to Kyle Martin, this friday Jay Hastings (soon to be swapping DC for Seattle) will recieve a comedic scorching from the following artists:

Mikael Johnson
Michael Foody
Jason Weems
Jon Mumma
Jake Young
Larry Poon
Ryan Conner
Doug Powell
John McBride
Tim Miller
Mike Way

...just to name eleven. He will be set ablaze by a brutal figurative roasting...so bring some metaphorical marshmallows...

?


D.C. Improv Lounge.
Friday February 27th.
Free, and starts at 8.

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Palace of Wonders tonight

Tonight at 8, Robb Loving's open mic at the Palace of Wonders is re-kickin' off. It will be roughly every other week, if you'd like to sign-up or get on the mailing list to know exactly when shows are, email Robb at robbloving@gmail.com.

These have been fun. There's more of a crowd than you'd think for a Sunday, and Robb's "no light, everyone gets 10 minutes" system works way better than it should. Also Robb is always in a warm and cordial mood, but hides it under a veneer of gruffness and endearing alcoholism. Just come hug him, guys. It's a good open mic.

1210 H St. NE Washington, DC 20002



p.s. i love you robb

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Mike Blejer Has Been Committed

Check it out here on the podcast from the Comedy Nerds

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"MAN, YOU ARE METAMUCIL!"

By Tyler Sonnichsen

If someone told me that the Wayans family was their biggest comedic influence, I'd either immediately suspect their comedic prowess, or, if I were having a more compassionate day, ask if they'd been in a coma since 1994. I know that Keenan, Damon, Marlon, and to a much lesser degree Shawn and Kim have enjoyed some success since then (critical or otherwise), but nothing they've done since then has been nearly as influential as their sketch comedy work on "In Living Color."

(click for more)

I practically grew up watching reruns of the show on FX every night at 10 and 10:30 during high school. "Oh, so THIS was the show that Jim Carrey used to be on!" I thought as I got home in time from the 7:15 screening of 'Liar Liar' to catch scenes of him chopping off his fingers and blowing up family homes as Fire Marshall Bill.

As popular and enduring as Carrey's characters were (female bodybuilder Vera DeMilo is timeless), my favorite character on the show, if I had to pick one, was Oswald Bates. You could tell how much fun Damon Wayans had playing a self-educated prisoner who spoke in cryptic obscenities. You could also tell how much ad-lib freedom Wayans had, compared to his other characters like Homie D Clown and Anton Jackson the legendary bum*.



What I really liked about the recurring characters that made up the foundation of ILC was that most (if not all) of them had some legitimate statement they were making. Prison work-release (Homie D Clown) and rehabilitation (Oswald) programs were ridiculous. Gossiping is bad but we all do it (Bonita Butrell) Making serious points about the struggles people faced in the ghetto while having the guts to laugh about it (Lil Magic, Lassie '90). This is a serious contrast to pretty much any of the meaningless characters in about 75% of TV sketch comedy, particularly MAD TV, which had a collection of characters so annoying and unfunny it made you want to throw your TV out the window.

So, yeah, it's easy to bash the Wayans family, but given the contributions of Keenen and Damon during the 1990's (Marlon's performance in "Requiem for a Dream" doesn't hurt, either), there's no need to flatulate your liquids or coagulate the crux of the venereal infection, ya dig?



*As a credit to Damon Wayans' Anton character, I do think the exchange at the 2 minute mark of this sketch is probably one of the funniest moments in the entire series.

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Unintentional Comedy: The Room

A friend of mine informed me about this cult phenomenon that has been happening in L.A. for the past couple years, the once-a-month midnight showing of "The Room". The more I read about the history of this film, the more fascinating it is to me. Find out more about the film here.

The person behind the film is Tommy Wisseau. He is the film's: writer, director, producer, starring character and the face on the film's press materials, most notably it's poster.

Wisseau first marketed the movie as a serious drama, "with the passion of Tennessee Williams" but after it's release changed it to a black comedy. Now the trailer says its, "a black comedy with the passion of Tennessee Williams". He's the Ed Wood of movie trailers.

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From On Tap Magazine:

Just For Laughs-Get Some from the Arlington Drafthouse

A monthly round-up of comedy in D.C. and storytelling time for adults

Photo by: Kristina Hernandez

Comedian Bryson Turner performs on a recent Thursday night at the Arlington Cinema 'n' Drafthouse.

written by

Kristina Hernandez

The Washington, D.C. metro area needs some laughs. According to Men’s Health magazine, the district ranks near the bottom of the list of the happiest cities in the country.

Sex scandals on Capitol Hill are only funny for so long.

To get some good laughs, head over to the Arlington Cinema ‘n Drafthouse for their weekly Thursday night comedy shows. For just $5, you can relax and enjoy some of the best stand-up comedians in the area. By the time the hour is up, work will be the last thing on your mind. Plus, experts say that laughter is good for your health.

The Drafthouse is easily accessible by car and there is lots of free parking. It’s a short cab ride from the Ballston or Clarendon stops and buses also run nearby.

Each 60-minute show usually feature three or four new comics who rotate every couple of months so there is new talent every week. The comics featured have a range of experience from a year or two of doing stand up comedy to more than five years.

If by some chance you think you are funny, prepare some jokes and try out at the Open Mic nights on Saturdays at the Drafthouse. If you are good enough, you could get on the rotation for the Thursday night shows.

The Drafthouse is an intimate establishment, reminiscent of a New Jersey coffeehouse, with the addition of excellent beer and tasty food. Holding about 40 people, it’s a perfect place for entertaining a small crowd and engaging them in the performance.
Will Hessler, the coordinator of the Thursday night shows and a comic himself, said D.C. is quite a tough crowd to please, compared to cities like Los Angeles, New York or Austin.

Martha Van Camp, a D.C. professional who had never been to a comedy show before, was pleasantly surprised by the comics. She said it was funny to watch the comedians get incredibly uncomfortable when no one laughed at their jokes.

“Washingtonians are probably so hard to please because it takes more than slapstick or gross comedy to make us laugh,” she said. “People are intellectual in D.C. and they want intellectual and smart jokes.”

But these comics at the Drafthouse are all funny. They won over the crowd with jokes about everything from sex and relationships to office politics to parking lot spaces at the mall. Hessler summed it up well after funnyman Bryson Turner left the stage: “Hey, let’s give it up for Bryson, who successfully spun premature ejaculation.”

So why should people come out here on a cold Thursday night? “They are definitely going to see the best comedians in the area,” said Hessler. “They are going to get their money’s worth and at least 60 minutes, sometimes more, of very funny comedians.”

Give stand up comedy a shot – you may be pleasantly surprised that five bucks in an evening are well-spent for a lot of great laughs.

Arlington Cinema ‘N’ Drafthouse: 2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington, VA. 703-486-2345. www.arlingtondrafthouse.com

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New Tuesday Open Mic is Swell

"Open-Mic Mouth" on Tuesdays at Solly's was a good time. Will Simpson runs it, and puts up both musicians and comics, pretty much operating it the same as the late "Live Humans" shows, but without the random set order. Only a handful of musicians were there, and a handful (in a smaller hand) of comics, but they were into it. The atmosphere's right for comedy, and it's gonna be cool to see where it goes once more people find out about it.

Also comedian Jackson Nortyst and his guitar sang some catchy jangles. What can't he do?!

Come on out around 8 on Tuesdays.

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Watch or Perform Comedy Tonight at...

JoJo's on U St. between 15th and 16th.

Show starts at 9.

Also, a music/comedy hybrid show is goin' down at Solly's on 11th and U, starting around 8:30.

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Mary Hicks and Dave Letterman

Thanks Jake for the link to the Letterman show this past Friday night.
Hicks' mother was pitch perfect with her appearance. She was gracious, forgiving, honest and even a bit funny at times.

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