Homegrown Comedy

NOVEMBER 7th

The DC Improv proudly presents "Homegrown Comedy", the monthly comedy series featuring the rising talent of local comedians in Washington, DC. Over the past five years, the Improv has supported local comedy with local talent showcases and comedy competitions. In the spirit of those shows, "Homegrown Comedy" will feature some of the best amateurs and local professional comics Washington, DC has to offer.

Homegrown Comedy is a way for the DC Improv to showcase its local talent and for local talent to be seen by the DC Improv. Each show will feature seven comedians performing tight 8 minute sets. It's a great opportunity for people to come check out Washington's next comedy stars and more importantly, laugh! November 7th Line-Up:

Hosted by: Mike Way

Kojo Mante, Mike Eltringham, Matt Sapsford, Keith Irvin, Lisa Fine, Tim Miller, and Brian Parise

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SOLLY'S FEST! Aug. 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th!!!

August 5th - DC COMEDY FEST PREVIEW SHOW8:30-10:30 Free The best of DC. Appearing:

Aparna Nancherla, Jon Mumma, Hampton Yount, Kojo Mante, Bryson Turner, Jason Weems, Jay Hastings, John McBride And hosted by Nick Turner

August 7th, 8th & 9th - DC COMEDY FEST PRESENTS "TOP SHELF" 7:00-10:30 $5

The best comedians in the country are coming to DC!

Almost four hours of hilarity each night!

Hosted by Nick Turner and Jay Hastings with additional help from: Eddie Brill, Rory Scovel, Jared Logan, Kumail, Lisa Fine, Will Hessler, TJ Miller, Brooke Van Poppelen, Sean Crespo, Mike Blejer, Kyle Martin, Jared Stern, Michael Foody, Cassidy Hennehan, Neil Stastny, Mark Normand, Zachary Sims, Seaton Smith, Elon James White, Reese Waters, Brady Novak, Jason Saenz, Rob Maher, Travis Irvine, Eli Sairs, Andy Kline, Myq Kaplan, Tyler Sonnichson, Matt McCarthy, Joselyn Hughes, Brent Sullivan, Baron Vaughn, and many more...

Solly's Tavern is located at 11th & U sts. NW

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Guaranteed to Score with These Shows!

If you are going to do anything other than watch NCAA basketball this weekend (forget them, you know your bracket is already fucked up) then head out to these above-the-rim comedy shows.

The Awesome Room
Tonight is The Awesome Room @ McGinty's Pub in Silver Spring, MD. This week's show crosses over and hits the paint with music, comedy, musical comedy and comedy about music.

9pm $4

Starting Lineup:
Tyler Sonnichsen
Bryson Turner
Kojo Mante
Jason Saenz
...and DC funk/fusion powerhouse The Champions!


Washington Improv Theater's F.I.S.T.
Also tonight thru Saturday is the final bracket of WIT's F.I.S.T. tourney @ The Flashpoint Theater. It is teams of 3-on-3 competing for YOUR vote. Shows have been selling out. There is only going to be more madness in March as we approach the final matches.


Tonight:
Yocko Cronkite vs. MimeHunters @ 8pm

Friday:
Blue Cop Town vs. The Achievers @ 9:30pm

Saturday:
Pay Attention To Us vs. Grandma Molly's Wayback Machine @ 8pm

Winner of Thursday's Match vs. Polygamy @ 9:30pm

Buy tickets here.

Note: Basketball puns are like comedy swishes!

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Laughter Benefits Charities and You

More comedians are giving back. A few weeks ago, Jay posted about the "Purpose Driven Comedy Show" in an effort to shame the rest of us. Well, we were shamed, but that probably isn't the reason we are seeing more charity shows produced by local comedians in the area. Personally, I don't like to give, I like to take, but that shouldn't stop you from laughing at these important causes.

"Cry Laughing" Comedy Benefit
Supporting the Sintia Mesa Foundation

Four DCC4N favorites, Kojo Mante, Mike Way, Erin Jackson and Jason Weems come together for a night of great fun and big laughs at the DC Improv, on Saturday, April 26, 2008. Two shows in the DC Improv Lounge at 8 PM and 10:30PM. Tickets go on sale Tuesday, March 25, 2008 for $25. Tickets must be purchased in advance. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 202-296-7008 or visit the DC Improv website.

Stand-Up for Obama Fundraiser Show
Supporting Barack Hussein Obama

Pulling double duty in the charity olympics, Erin Jackson joins Tim Miller, Jimmy Meritt and Jermaine Fowler in raising money to support one of the presidential candidates. One show only: Friday, April 18 at 7:30pm at the Comedy Spot. Tickets are $15. For more information and to purchase tickets, please call 703-294-5233 or visit the Comedy Spot website. Read more!

A San Francisco Treat

On January 20th I embarked on a great comedy journey with three other fine DC comedians. Our destination was San Francisco. I was joined by Kojo Mante, Jason Weems, and Mike Way. This was to be our vision quest to see if indeed the grass was greener on the other side of the fence/country. It turns out that San Francisco doesn't have a lot of grass (unless it's medicinal! That was a pot joke.)

Our week was full of comedy performances and the most stereotypical touristy type bullshit. And I loved it. From performing at open mics and local showcases, to the 3 times we drove down Lombard Street, San Francisco treated us well. We were outsiders that were embraced like kindly, even though our hotel room constantly tried to vomit us out of the room. It was very tiny. If you slipped in the shower, you'd have fallen in the toilet. Plus, after my traveling mates ate 8 meals from Burger King, the room started to smell. Anyway, here is the break down of the comedy shows that we performed on. Click the link and enjoy!

Sunday night was our first show and we performed at an Italian restaurant called Figaro's. The "show room" was actually outside in covered tent area. It was by far the worst show that we did. The show itself I was told had potential, but with the conference championship football game one TV, the crowd was a little lite. The best part of the show was when the host of the show performed. It was 8 mins of a amazing. He brought a toy plane and a toy sheep on stage, and the rest is burned into my brain. Also, there was a very creepy old guy in the crowd who sketched all the comics on the show. I think he was one of those old gay guys who've watched Titanic too many times.

Monday was supposed to be a "showcase" show at Club Deluxe. But, when we arrived at the venue it turned out to be "Ladies Night", and I didn't pack my vagina so I didn't perform. However, we stuck around for the open mic that followed the show and we all did well.

Tuesday was the best show of the entire trip. The four of us split headlining time, and did about 15-20 mins each. The show was on the campus of Stanford University at a place called The 750 Pub. The booker of the show Mahlan Parker, was the nicest guy in the world and extremely kind to give us that amount of time without ever seeing us perform. We didn't let him down. I'd say there was close to a 100 students jammed into the place and we crushed. Everyone did so fucking great. It was awesome to get to a longer set in front of a really smart, young crowd.

Wednesday we went to Sunnyvale and performed at the comedy club Rooster T. Feathers. It was also a lite crowd, but I had a lot of fun on stage. There was a table full of cows sitting right up front and who loved to talk. As soon as I touched on the subject that one of them HAD to have been in an abusive relationship...well, I could clearly see I had hit close to home, much like their relationships. The black guy who went right before Kojo was awesomely bad. In the words of words of Jason Weems, "Kojo, you're gonna have to save the reputation of Black Comedy." Funny.

Thursday we went to the SF Punchline and saw Bill Burr. He actually remembered all of our faces (or so he lied) from the Improv in DC. He had an entire NEW HOUR of material. What a fucking machine. I had only heard one joke and that was his closer. The guy is so amazing at handling a crowd. I can't imagine how hard it is to carry around that credit of "being that comic who yelled at those retards in Philly" cause that seems to be what the ignorant masses want from him. And it's a fucking shame because he's so much more. He could make the reading of a Will funny. He handled 3 cunts properly, without yelling and giving them what they wanted. I think it should be acceptable to hit your woman in a comedy show if she can't get it through her thick skull, that no one gives a shit if she adopts puppies from the pound. THWACK!

The trip was a huge success in my book and really sparked a flame of interest in seeing more of America's comedy scenes. While we probably weren't performing in the best rooms, with the best comics, and the best crowds...we did get to share our comedy with a new town, and they welcomed us with loud laughter and that's the best feeling in the world. More importantly I made some great memories and took some amazing photographs with 3 of my good friends. The trip was good.

Quote of the Trip from a homeless hippie woman to a black guy with an afro: "Hey, man that's a great haircut man...that is awesome. I really dig your hair man...can I have your bagel?"
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