Bea Arthur- 1922-2009

She took being the punchline as well as she could deliver the deadpan

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Special Edition Show, May 1 - The First 100 DAZE

Join Planet Washington at The Westin City Center, 1400 M Street NW 20036 The Monticello Ballroom, 8 PM - 9:30 PM Friday!
$20. Group Rates Available. (Show scheduled for WNDC for this date cancelled)

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Ted Alexandro at DC Improv 4/24-4/26

Click here to buy tickets

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Interview with: Hip-Hop Basement's Mr. Mark

We caught up with Mr. Mark from Hip-Hop's basement for a short interview. You can catch Mr. Mark's contributor, Mark Pagan, with Washington Improv Theater's group, "Caveat".

You have been in the DC area for how long, past and present? Like, I grew up around here and all. But I was away for about 9 years. That's sounds all mysterious and shit. I didn't get locked up or nothing. I almost got caught for putting a C&C Music Factory single in my jansport back in the day at Sam Goody. But, there is a real problem with incarceration in this country. We tend to think of our society as holistic, but it's all a facade and shit. I'm jonesin' to meet Howard Zinn one of these days to talk about Eldridge Cleaver's Primeval Mitosis theory. Could you like hook a brother up with like a way to do some sort of roundtable discussion?

Other than all that, I been back in DC for three years, son.

Word. You know, I'm sort out of the Howard Zinn-Noam Chomsky loop, but I think I could possibly get you a talk with Ward Churchill, he's dying for someone to listen to him these days. If you could hold another sort of round-table right now? What might be the topic and who would you have at the table? Right now, my mom. I need some intervention. She like found condoms in my room and she doesn't believe that i was holding them for my friend Charlie. Now, I can't use the car and she won't let me hang out with Charlie. She thinks he's a bad influence. The same thing argument happened at my 30th birthday party. She left Buca de Beppo in a huff, man. Besides her, I'd like to talk with Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian to see what he's up to. Oh, and Robert McNamara over the state of military occupation in foreign territories. And shit.

Man, you are heavy into the world scene and bring the knowledge--for someone that is living with their mother? Which is all good, hey we all have to make sacrifices right now, especially artists, but your mom is giving you the business for finding condoms in your room? Your 30 years old, why you letting her play you like that? I don't know. Maybe, I just feel bad because her cooking gives a lot of people indigestion. We go out a lot to eat and all. It's tough on her psyche. Moms have a hard time with that stuff....cooking being good and all. I tell her how good her food is, but she doesn't believe it. She can hook up some mac and cheese.

Word, word, word, that clears up some things. So whats this current project all about? What was the impetus? Is this just a solo operation? What would you like to see possibly come from it?

Well, to be honest, it was a garage sale that set all this off. Like, I was having to get rid of mad stuff after years of being all around. I laid up at mom's crip and found all this old stuff that I forgot about. So, yeah, it's a one person operation. I decided to make a diary of sorts about my life, Mark's life (Mark Pagan), you know, like our life (everyone)...mxing it up with hip hop and other elements of nostalgia. Just tryin' to figure out who we is...I mean, "are." No let's stick with "is." I hope that doesn't sound too elitist or nothing. You tell me, ok? 'Cause I'm just like you. You know, I feel really bad about mentioning that theft earlier. I'm not tryin' to validate petty crime in our youth. I'd just like people to be entertained and spread the word. Hopefully people like it enough to share it and share with each other. I like peoples.

Mr. Mark, I have had the privilege of having some solid conversations with you in the past, could you tell the people about some of the wild buys and steals that you have brought back from your travels? Any other stories you would like to share? I don't want to incriminate myself, dog. Look, I'm not trying to condone criminality in any form. But, I can't lie...I've walked the line. See, I been going down to South America quite often to bring back merchandise. Know what I'm sayin'? Tired of hidin' it. Whenever I'm in Lima I hit up some "markets" in Miraflores. Fresh stuff, man. Really hot. I hooked up 2 seasons of Charles in Charge, the best of El Chavo del 8, the complete Father Dowling Mysteries, and all ten parts of Krzysztof Kieslowski's religious parable, The Decalogue, for $15! All on DVD. Well, one disc accidentally has a few episodes of Nightline on it for some reason. But that's when you hit up your distributor. I have a number and all but my mom won't let me make long distance phone calls here. But I don't mind the Nightline too much. It's pretty informative and balanced.

If Mr. Mark could collaborate on any sort of artistic project, who would you collaborate with past or present? What would it be? And what would be the title of the collaboration? That's really tough to say. I wouldn't want to bring anybody back from the dead because they might be all comfortable up there. I can't really afford the kind of amenities that the afterlife provides. What if you can have all you can eat grapes there? I mean, that's a huge catering expense, dog. Especially if they were already celebrities down here. Yo, they gonna come back to earth super spoiled.
If I had to do it, I'd get John Ritter, he seemed pretty nice and he did die a little too early. Um, some old Memphis horn players, like one's who were studio musicians for Stax Records 'cause they were probably underpaid and need some credit. MC Trouble because she died too early too and she had a nice smile. Uhh, Franz Kafka 'cause he probably has a lot to say. John Cassavetes because we need a visual alcoholic. And Julia Child to hook up catering. Wait, Bob Ross too...album cover or art for the performance. Oh yeah, Cesar Chavez and Angela Davis as promotion. I guess it would be a soulful musical about the industrial revolution. Something called "Aren't We There Yet?" Wait, can I come up with a few more ideas? This has got me thinking. Would Gene Wilder be ok as security?

Answered beautifully...well, this about closes things up for us, as always a pleasure Mr. Mark. Anything you would like to leave our readers with? Any plugs or upcoming events? Just thanks and all. Take a look at the site, hiphopmomsbasement.com and keep it close 'cause there's gonna be lots of stuff going on real soon. Oh yeah, artomatic. I'll be there this year. Again, sorry about talking about stealing. I don't want that promoted.

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Planet Washington (Set You Free)

Come into your planet soul:

PLANET WASHINGTON with Ken Rynne

wicked funny parodies, improv, sing along
The Westin
1400 M St NW
Saturday 4/18, 8 pm
$20 Tix: Neil 202 333 3599

...and Ken's mentor Mark Russell is coming this Saturday ... so laugh it up!!!

Next Public Show, May 1,
Women's National Democratic Club
www.PlanetWashington.com

From Ken:

Nothing much for a satirist to laugh at or sing about tomorrow night. Taxes. Tea. Tea Bags. Tea Bagging (heard it once or twice). Pirates on the high seas. NY Governor (D- Emperor's Club) Love Client No 9's Big Come Back. Double Entendres. Single Entendres. Alaska Governor Tells All (you mean there's MORE?). TX Governor talks Secession. OIl man sells wind mills. POTUS runs with foreign dog - Bo Obama - The Drama. Is Castro Convertible? Talent show contestant winning hearts with heart-winning solo from Les Mis entitled "Win Their Hearts." Outcry over Release of Torture Memos - but not over Memos or Torture. And wat else.....oh, Tea Bagging.

For the latest up to the twitter
musical political satire,

Yours in jest,
Planet Washington

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We Just Sold-Out...

Now where's the gold. Where's the gold Mikey!? Yeah, Mikey where's the gold!?

We are going to be receiving some clips here and there from the guys at Salient Media (clip in upper-left-hand corner and below), please feel free to weigh-in with your vote or leave a comment here or send it to me via email and I'll post it. I'm curious on thoughts from both comics and non-comics on the somewhat-mission statement/caption for the series "Comics Without Boarders":



"Comics Without Borders brings you the best comics from around the world who aren't afraid to push the boundaries. A showcase of multi-cultural stand-up comedians hosted by Russell Peters."

They are looking for feedback...

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Check It

Sent from WIT's Mark Pagan: I'm promoting a blog by a friend, "Mr. Mark." He has put together a bit of a fun side project during this recessional time. Here are his reasons why you should look at it:

1. It's a blog with pictahs and videos. It's supposed to be like a diary and shit. 30 years of skeletal history, all closeted and coming out. But like straight. I'm sorry if I offended you with that remark.
2. There will only be 10 episodes of this videodiaryblog thing. It's like limited time only and all that.
3. I'm giving the whole thing like six months 'cause that's the way I roll.
4. I'm like exposing my soul, my thoughts to all of you.
5. If you like it, could you like show other people? It would be very validating to have that happen.

Here is the link for the first two episodes- http://hiphopmomsbasement.blogspot.com/search/label/Episodes

and the blog itself- hiphopmomsbasement.com

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Auditions!

From Comedy Sportz Website in Ballston:

ComedySportz & the Blue Show are the in-house improv troupes of the Comedy Spot. Both are shortform, audience focused comedy improv shows. (Yes, similar to TV's "Whose Line Is It Anyway?")

COMEDYSPORTZ = clean comedy (PG) with regular weekly performances Fridays 8pm, Saturdays 7:30pm, frequent Saturday matinees for kids, and private shows upon request.

THE BLUE SHOW = "adult" comedy (R) with regular weekly performances Fridays & Saturdays at 10:00pm.

TO SIGN UP. . .
Email us at info@comedyindc.com.
Please be sure to send us your name, email & best phone number to reach you.

PLEASE BRING . . .
Any sort of headshot and resume you may have. Even a casual photograph is fine; we just want a face to put to your name.
(We don't need a professional quality photo: you can even just bring in a digital printout of a picture of you. You will be given paper on which to write down your previous stage and training experience if you don't have a resume.)
Please dress comfortably so that your clothing won't restrict your movement.

THE AUDITION . . .
Doors to the Comedy Spot will open at 7:30pm.
The audition will begin at 8:00pm.
This will be an open audition where we will run you through a variety of games we perform in our shows.

For the audition: keep your material clean so that we know you can perform a ComedySportz show. (Our improvisers perform in both shows, not just The Blue Show.)

WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR . . .

• Confident performers who can listen and react.

• We will be looking to see how well your words and actions onstage show that you are building upon the offers made by your scene partners.

• We are looking for strong character and scenework - not forced jokes at the expense of the story. And remember, we are also looking to see that you can be entertaining, and clean.

New to improv? Not a problem. If you can play well with others onstage - we can teach you the games. Just portray confidence onstage and listen and react to the people onstage with you.

Already performing with a troupe? No worries, you are only expected to perform as often as your schedule allows. We highly encourage our improvisers to perform with as many local groups as possible.

AFTER THE AUDITION . . .
We will email everyone who auditions by 12pm Wednesday.

People who are asked back will then be put on an up to 8-week training/probation period during which new members are encouraged to come to as many practices and shows as possible.

WEEKLY PRACTICES: are every Tuesday 7:30pm @ the Comedy Spot. Read more!

What's Been Going On...?

Ben busy of late, its been hard keeping up with updates and just generally getting a feel for what has been going on...so if you would like to send in an update with anything that you have been doing, shoot it on over to me: mikaelljohnson@gmail.com

So...what I have been aware of:

• Washington Improv Theater crown's "Not Mad, Disappointed" as the champion of their 40-team F.I.S.T tournament that lasted just over a month. The team featured, Karin Hammerberg, Colin Murchie, and Michelle Guardino Swaney--who was a part of the '08 winning team as well. No one likes Michelle anymore.
• Seaton Smith (Pictured)releases the premiere of "Annoy Charlie Smith", 10-episode web-series, that was launced at Solly's Tavern.
• Aparna Nancherla produces "Desert Island Comedy" a two-show set featuring: JoyseyGirls4Ya, Superbest, Mythical Newsroom, Jsem Rad Je Jsem Tady (Mikael Johnson), and Mike Duffy
• D.M.V Comedy Competition ($$$$$), a lot of shows and a lot of dough at stake to the winner, check in with Chris Hayes for more information: doogizzle@hotmail.com
  
• New Open-Mics, check posts below this one!
• ARTOMATIC's Registration has begun!
  

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Tom-Tom's Wednesdays Open-Mic

From Dr. Love:

The new open mic at Tom Tom's is great, I love it. The cheap booze has nothing to do with it, though it don't hurt.

Comics: You're !&#$#@ing up if you don't try this show. Running two doors down is another open mic at Heaven and Hell---you can park once and knock down two open mics. This may be a first in the history of standup. I checked out the other room and it's fun, well worth doing.

Details: Tom Tom's, 2333 18th St NW
(in Adam's Morgan, between N Belmont Rd & N Kalorama Sq)
Washington, DC 20009

Shows will be EVERY WEDNESDAY @ 9 O'CLOCK (yeah, nine...that's when the crowd showed up last week).

Show up a few minutes earlyish to sign up; also, parking's a bitch, and you might want to allow for that.

ANYBODY WHO WANTS TO MC WRITE ME BACK. This goes for the Palace of Wonders show as well; next Palace show is a week from today, April 12. Time change there, too; new time for Palace of Wonders shows is 9 p.m. every other Sunday night.

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72 Film Fest and 48 Hour Film Project

While 48 Hour Film Fest has closed its team registration, the 72 Film Fest held up in Frederick, Maryland each year is just getting started, check here for details. If you missed the team registration for the 48 Hour Film Fest that is going to be held May 1st here in Washington then shoot us an email and we possibly can get you hooked up on someone's roster. These film festivals are a great way to meet folks if you are looking to produce any kind of promotional or creative shorts for yourself down the road. You meet a good camera guy, someone who can edit and few good actors it can do a lot to raise your own bar.

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Loving a New Open Mic (TONIGHT)

From Mr. Loving:
Hi kids,

I'm just back from traveling--a lot of people here couldn't reach me since my laptop broke and my phone is not smart. Sorry for the delay and I hope this answers the new people's questions.

First---no more Thursday night Peyote Cafe. The guy loved it too much and wanted it at a different bar. So as of this morning THE NEW OPEN MIC IS WEDNESDAYS, 8 O'CLOCK, AT TOM TOM'S IN ADAMS MORGAN (2333 18th St NW, Washington, DC 20009). It's a better venue for what we do and will be a lot of fun, so I hope you can make it.

Second---no more Peyote Cafe (for now, see above).

Third---New people: Some of you asked about details. They're few. Mainly "don't go over ten" and "be funny." Added points if you drink--I love alcoholics. If you have any other questions email me.

A'ight, see you there,

robb 703-399-5398

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