New open mic, starts THIS THURSDAY (MARCH 12TH) at 8 o'clock.
From Host Ben Long: Mad Hatter Comedy Open Mic will be Wednesday, November 8th, 9-11pm, and every Wednesday thereafter. Doing well will matter as winning comics, as determined by who gets the most votes (so bring your friends to vote for you), will get 25 and 50 dollars for 2nd and 1st. Comics can sign up starting as early as 5:30 with me, Ben, as I will be bartending from then until close and hosting the show. The Mad Hatter is on 19th and M in midtown near Dupont Circle.
Contact Ben Long at benlong10@yahoo.com for info if need be.
Get out tonight to Chief Ike's! Now with less Bukkake! Sign-up 7:30! Show starts...
(The title of this post does not include caucasion women, ages 15-65, in the Georgetown/Tenleytown and Friendship Heights area). However, for you open-mic whores, pay attention to the following message from Andy Rothwell...
Got this email today, thought it was a nice gesture on this fans part and would be appropriate to put along side the reminder that you just don't have to be a comedian to show up at Chief Ike's tonight!
Here is a tale from the comedy crypt. It is also a heartchilling warning about the true test of friendship.
I was at an open mic the other night, and one of the newer comics brought a bunch of his friends to watch him (they made up the majority of the audience). They definitely laughed long and enthusiastically at all of his jokes moreso than for anyone else who went up (though overall they were not a bad audience by any means).
However, I overheard a convo between two of his so-called "friends" in the bathroom right after his set.
It went a little something like this:
"Friend" 1: So what did you think of him?
"Friend" 2: Well...I didn't think he was very good at all.
"Friend" 1: Yeah, I know...me neither.
"Friend" 2: He was so nervous! Stand up comedians aren't supposed to be nervous!
"Friend" 1: You could do better than he did!
"Friend" 2: I really could, couldn't I? I should try it sometime. I already have an act pretty much.
Also, let it be said that peeing was occurring on behalf of both parties the whole time and they knew full well I was in there eavesdropping on them! That's really what sealed the deal of impropriety for me.
photo courtesy of Flickr and Simon Davison
Horrific. I mean I guess it was nice of them to laugh during his set, but the post-show rundown managed to undo all of their good deeds and community service.
Meanwhile I felt like the maid who heard and saw too much!
I considered outing them for two seconds, but then I realized how much unnecessary harm I would do so I finished restocking the paper towel dispensers and I hightailed it outta there.
Please share your family and friend comedy horror stories. Or don't. I understand the pain is real and retains freshness far past the tell-by date.
TONIGHT, FRIDAY APRIL 9!!
Classic American Comedy
Parker's Classic American Bistro in Bethesda, MD
10pm FREE
This is one of the greatest showcases in the country. If you are a fan of watching great comedy, or performing on great comedy shows, please check out Parker's tonight. It is a young show and as all young shows are, on a probationary period. We need to pack the room to tell the owners that stand up is as important as we the readers think it is. Do it for your country (or at least your friends.) Tonight, check out John McBride, Brandon Ivey, Nick Turner, Shotgun Tom, Andy Haynes, and Tyler Sonnichsen
TOMORROW NIGHT, SATURDAY APRIL 10!
DCC4N presents: DC Comedy Festival Showcase
DC Improv Comedy Lounge
8pm $10
Featuring the best stand-up comics in DC auditioning for spots in the DCCF '08. Line up includes: Jason Weems, Aparna Nancherla, Jay Hastings, Bryson Turner, Kojo Mante, Nick Turner, Tony Gracyk, John McBride, Tim Miller, & Hampton Yount.
Buy tickets here
WIT's F.I.S.T. Tournament FINAL ROUND w/ JACKIE
Flashpoint Theater in Chinatown
9:30pm $12
The Final Two Teams in the 2008 F.I.S.T. tournament go head to head to crown the ULTIMATE CHAMPION. The audience votes for the winner!
Buy tickets here
WORD!
Read more!
Last week at Chief Ike’s showcased many fine local comedians, but it also featured one obnoxiously drunk patron. While I don’t want to dwell on that incident for too long, I can say that I did not handle the situation well as the Host. It was just something I had not dealt with before and for one reason or another couldn’t smother that vodka fueled fire before it got out of hand. And it did.
It was a learning experience, most definitely.
I have dealt with drunk people in improv shows before. But they don’t interact so much during the show so much as they EXPLODE at the chance to throw out an suggestion at the top.
“DILDOS!! VAGINA!! DRINKING!! SARAH’S TITS!” and then proceed with the typical drunken laughter/snoring.
It was bound to happen for me during a stand-up show, too. Which makes me want to be more prepared for the future. How to do I handle someone like that on stage? How do I handle it as a host, booker, owner? Talking about it with a few folks, there seem to be some rules of engagement.
[Hit the jump for the rest of this "YOU SUCK!!".... post.]
1)The audiences enjoyment comes first. A heckler always undermines that, therefore your loyalty with the one patron ceases to exist.
2)You want to handle it first with grace, second with bluntness and third with a boot out the door.
3)There are different types of hecklers and some can be handled better than others.
Supposedly there are two types of hecklers. Both of them I assume are drunk. The first are those who think they are adding to the show:
“MY SISTER WENT TO GEORGE MASON!”
“Great, I didn’t ask. Shut the fuck up.”
“BUT SHE DID!”
Or the more abusive types, the ones who want to hurt you and the show:
“YOU SUCK! YOU ARE UNFUNNY!!BAHAHAHA”
“THANKS FOR COMING. Show him the door.”
Then there are those who don’t even know they are disrupting the show, the stereotypical LOUD drunks.
“I ALREADY ATE BEFORE THE SHOW!!! I DON’T WANT ANYTHING!!!!”
Do all these types of people need to be dealt with in the same way? I am really interested in what comics & improvisers have learned from their dealings with heckers. I still think it is some of the scariest shit out there. Hell, it’s St. Patrick Day. Share some drunken stories.
BONUS: Cool article on a heckler getting put in his place at a Comedians of Comedy show in NYC. COURTESY DEAD-FROG.COM
SUPER BONUS: Maria Bamford's latest episode.
Read more!
"May I recommend this for the evening, sir?" ~ Your Classy Waiter
*now with comedy
Boom, People! That's the sound of DC continuing to explode with awesome new comedy shows. Let the naysayers be damned! March 24th sees the debut of an open mic/showcase hybrid in Clarendon produced by comedians(!).
Where: O'Sullivan's Irish Pub - 3209 Washington Blvd at the intersection of Washington and Clarendon Blvds - Clarendon Metro station
When: Mondays 7:30-9:30
What: Stand up, experienced comics and newcomers welcome. We will also be having a weekly "headliner" that will perform 15mins.
E-mail: sign up via e-mail at stealthisshow@gmail.com
Hosted by: Kyle Martin and Mike Blejer
Enjoy the flyer that you can trip on, with information on next and last week's show.
"...it was pretty good. Only 3 comedians - me, Eli & Justin. I was the first one of us (non-musicians) to perform. Not really a performance, more like a "man" speaking words into a microphone that occasionally formed complete sentences and had a linear logic with a humorous twist. But the twist fucked us (the us referring to me & Eli). What we learned is that hipster folks like their irony more on their t-shirts and less when it appears as words following the set-up. Eli & I did alright considering. Justin was what Justin always is, a destroyer of audiences. He did all of two jokes he normally might throw in the mix during the set and the other 5 minutes was him using the musicians own instruments, song lyrics, attitude and perception of reality to blow them."
Mad respect for these three guys going out and representing DC Comedy. Sounds like the open mic was a huge success for the promoters and the bar.
Not sure when the next one will be, but we will let you know as soon as we do.
Ah, another interesting performance opportunity folks. Andy, a local musician from the band The Humans, is starting his own variety show open-mic beginning Tuesday the 26th @ Solly’s U Street Tavern. The show invites any musicians, jugglers, sword swallowers, solo acts, duets, singers, comedians and poets in town to come out and perform. Sounds like the making of a very interesting evening.
Sign up is done on site.
Solly’s is turning into a pretty happening spot, huh?
BY: Tyler Sonnichsen
This March will mark the two-year anniversary of the Laughing Lizard Comedy Showcase. Like every room, it took time to get going and established. To start a comedy show like it, all you need is some motivation, and a cadre of incredibly talented and supportive friends to keep the shows consistently good. Actually, you need a lot more when it comes to starting a comedy room, but I'm going to get right into a few simple points, and elaborate on exactly one of them.
1. Just fuckin' do it.
2. Run the room the way you would want a room to be run.
3. Get to know as many people at the bar/club/coffeeshop/wherever as well as you can.
4. If there is a sidewalk or visible roadway, SANDWICH BOARD SIGN!! For real.
5. Unless you're in a situation where you absolutely need to charge admission or pay anyone, don't.
6. Deal with the fact that at times, you're going to have to be an asshole.
7. Don't be too proud to bark for the show, ever.
[That last point, strangely enough, has led to some of the most interesting moments in the history of the room so far. HIT THE JUMP!]
Old Town Alexandria is full of all types around 9-10 pm on any given Saturday evening: locals, tourists, old people, young people, different races, languages, religions, and the most otherworldly of the species, Bachelorette Parties. Old Town dwellers are indeed a diverse crowd sometimes, but most of them all have one thing in common- they are terrified of free comedy.
What terrifies people of free comedy so much? They're afraid that the comics are just going to make fun of them. After all, a free comedy show can't be THAT good, can it? My roommate's girlfriend admitted to me that she'd had a similar concern until they finally came out to a show last summer, and they watched Justin Schlegel bring the house down. I appreciated her admitting that to me, and that she's reformed her ways. That prejudice has been the bane of some of the best comedy shows. Honestly, a group of twenty-something barhoppers knows what they're getting into by crossing the street and heading into the Rock It Grill. Sure, hearing someone karaoke-ing out shitty Live songs from 1994 isn't nearly as much fun as going to a standup show full of people you have never heard of, but these people don't know that. Plus, at other places, they can drunkenly shout at each other over the music.
So, the next best thing to prepare for a show and make an event out of it is to assemble in front of the venue, as many comics do before shows, and announce it with an appropriate amount of enthusiasm to potential audience members.
Many of our on-the-street techniques have gained attention. Take, for example, Aparna Nancherla and John McBride doing their best capoeira-style fighting. Sure, it has nothing to do with comedy, but it amuses us.
We often get those jackasses who say, "Oh, are you guys comedians?? Tell us a joke!" We just use that 'in' to say that they need to come in, grab a cheap drink, and pay no cover to watch us do it.
If you're Tyler Richardson, gently imply that someone's racist if they ignore you and don't come to the show.
A couple of times we get people who claim they're funnier than any of the comedians, such as one woman last November, who, as Doug Powell commented, looked like Rod Stewart came in her hair. (That makes perfect sense if you saw her). These people are nearly shoe-ins to be hecklers, but everyone deserves a chance, since an audience member is an audience member is an audience member. And people do surprise you and settle down a lot once they sit down.
The amount of people who came in expecting nothing and wound up amazed is one of the greatest assets to running a comedy room. Like my friend Jake Young, who just started the successful first installment of the Awesome Room in Silver Spring, so frequently says, we need to do what we can to awaken the sleeper cells of DC comedy fans out there who don't realize yet what a gold mine of entertainment they're sitting on. And as friend and DCC4N founder Nick Turner says so much that it's starting to lose its meaning, "Let's Do This, DC!"
Read more!
Well folks, there seems to be a widening, mack-truck sized hole with which to park that open mic or showcase you've been dreaming about starting.
Taglines open mic which I believe only started a couple of weeks ago, is a victim of the closing of it's host restaurant, the Fire Rock Grill. The Bistro Europa has also closed, leading to the cancellation of the long-running Sunday open mic headed by Lance Smith.
We here at DCC4N have been doing our best to compile a list of possible show locations if you are contemplating the jump to producer. If you have any suggestions for places in the District that would be great for hosting shows, please let us know in the comments or drop us some gmail.
Why produce your next show in the District and not on the outskirts?
(read on to find out why!!)
More shows in the District will help aide the cohesiveness of the comedy scene. Chicago doesn’t have a thriving comedy community because of all of the great shows in Aurora the same way New York isn’t a destination because of the industry in Westchester. When people come to visit DC and want to check out what our fair city has in the way of comedy, they shouldn’t have to go to Woodbridge or Shirlington or other places that people have made up in an effort to fool me into thinking that there are shows that I am missing out on there.
At this point, not only do a majority of the area's comedy shows happen outside of the city, but I can only think of 4 currently running that actually happen inside of it. And that's bad news for any comic without a vehicle because that makes it pretty damn hard to fill your calendar. This is a town where you certainly don't need a car and the result is a city full of people who rely on metro on their nights out. Producing in the city will aide in your ability to secure quality comics and quality audience.
Maybe I'm over-analyzing it, but I think a more centralized scene would go a long way to change the national perception of the DC comedy scene. If you look at the facts, there are small rural areas that produce more local comedy than DC, a city of 600,000 people. If there is one thing I can say for absolutely sure is that DC is filled to brim with ridiculously talented comedians that are ready to plucked into stardom, we just need to make the "AVAILABLE" sign a little bigger and a little brighter.
Read more!
This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post. Read more!
When you think of a “hero”, you probably think: Firefighters, Cops, Military Men and Women, Doctors, and Teachers. Not me. My definition of “hero” is much looser and doesn’t play by Webster’s rules. That is why I have selected Curt Shackelford as my HERO of the DECADE (Curt, I’m available on January 30th for a set at Dr. Dremos)! A hero is someone who produces a product that leaves our society better off then how they found it. What has Curt Shakelford produced, you nay-sayers may ask? Curt is responsible for 87% of the laughter generated in Bethesda, MD on Saturday evenings. He would have 100% of the laughter, but there is a trick shot golfer who really hams it up for the country club types. But, that’s not really important….FORE!!!
To read more about this GREAT man...click the motherfuckin' link!
Curt has also produced some of the greatest comics that have ever come out of DC. (Curt, I’m also available to feature at the Hyatt on Feb 9th) No, he did not create Dave Chappelle, Lewis Black, Wanda Sikes, or Martin Lawrence. He’s not god. However, he is very clean which is super close to godly. But, who cares about Dave Chappelle, when you’ve got Rory Scovel, Ryan Conner, Justin Schlegel, Jon Mumma, Danny Rouhier, and Dawn McClear. That’s right…HE CREATED THEM!!! (Curt, I can’t do FEB 16th because I’ll be performing at the DC Improv that night) Curt’s natural ability to recognize raw talent (without it hitting him in the face) is second to few. When Rory wrote a fantastic joke…Curt was there. When Ryan gave his personal insight to a social issue…Curt was there. When Danny made a funny voice...actually, that was Curt. Anyway, the point being is that without Curt, where would the DC Comedy Scene be? (Curt, I’m also available as of now, the entire month of March) I don’t want to think about where this scene would be without the likes of Mr. Greg Estrada.
The venues that Curt created helped advanced the “chosen” talent very, very, very quickly. Dr. Dremo’s on Wednesday and Topaz on Thursday night; the Big 3 were there; practicing and getting better. New comics also flourished, as long as their friends didn’t have to work late. You got to hand it to old Curt…Dr. Dremo’s was the best open mic in America for as long as I remember. That’s right…AMERICA. Can anyone else tell me where you’ll regularly find over 100 people at an open mic? (Seriously, my March is WIDE open Curt. You do know that I am actually funny, right? I’m not Dave George funny…but I’m trying.)
So, for all the ups and downs we’ve had along the way we all really do owe Curt a great big, “Thank You”. No matter if you’re a Rory Scovel, Hampton Yount, or some horrible, piece of shit new comic who doesn’t deserve any stage time, or if you’re a veteran who has put in their time, argued and fought with Curt, kissed made up, and still NEVER get booked….we still all owe him at least a “thank you”. So, THANK YOU CURT! (Also, the entire month of April is wide fucking open for a Hyatt show.)
In closing I would just like to say that without Curt Shakelford I would not have had the fast start to my comedy career in DC. He put me up often and allowed me to perform in great rooms like Dr. Dremos. I’m very sad to see that place go. It’s where I cut my teeth. It’s where I shed my fear of the stage and it’s where I smoked a lot of pot and drank a lot of beers. I’m sad I won’t be performing there again, but when God closes a window, he always leaves a door unlocked for a sexual predator.
Thanks Curt.
***Sorry it took me so long to write this blog, but I wrote the entire thing backhanded.***
Read more!
Due to the overwhelming demand of comics who show support for the 4 Now: Open Mic @ Chief Ike's it has been decided that the best course of action will be to officially move to a pre-show sign up process by email. This is to assure that we A) keep the show tight and not wear out the nice Chief Ike's crowd and B) continue to allow new comics a chance to perform.
If you wish to perform at Chief Ike's you must email us @ dccomedy4now[at]gmail.com.
Thanks, DC!
Third new show announcement in three days, people! I just read in a fictional version of Variety that Hollywood was thinking of moving here to capitalize on DC's ambition. They are going to clean us out faster than they cleaned the phosphate out of The Republic of Nauru!(Where my This American Life listeners at!)
This announcement comes courtesy of Steve Henry and concerns a new open mic in Fredericksburg, which might make it a bit difficult for car-less District-dwellers(like the DCC4N staff) to make it out, but a show is a show is great for everyone and three cheers are in order. Perhaps someone wants to start a carpool? Any questions can be sent to Steve at skhenry@whmo.mil and here are the details:
When: Every Tuesday, 9pm, starting on Feb. 5th
Where: Bogey's Sports Bar in Fredericksburg, VA
Why: Because only the best people create rooms
Who: Me, you and the world
What: A place where dreams come true/Open Mic comedy show
