Welcome to Your Comedy Layover...

Washington D.C. may not be a city that embraces comedy with open arms, but you knew that already. That is why you found us. Here you can get information, interviews and insights on the best local stand-up, improv and sketch comedy this city has to offer... 4 Now. You can reach us at dccomedy4now(at)gmail.com. LET'S DO THIS, DC!

Monday, June 30, 2008

What A Girl Wants...

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!


Dear dccomedy4now.com:

My girlfriends and I are huge fans of open-mic comedy though it seems we never get a chance to see any of it as we are on the road most days supporting the Brett Michaels and Gene Simmons’s summer tour: “Poisoned Tongue” as groupies/accountants/onsite-tutors and nurses (by the way, rockers are sooo boring! Where are all the smart men?...and women).

We are all Ivy League educated and in our spare time enjoying contributing to medical journals, doing Larry Flint’s bidding, online/video gaming, and most of all, listening to and talking comedy. Luckily tonight, we are passing through DC and have the night off, so all 34 of us single (though it wouldn’t matter anyway) gals between the ages of 18-24 , who are going to compete in the Post-Graduate Spelling Bee at the Kennedy Center on Friday, are going to be looking to get drunk and listen to 13-15 (hopefully more) comics do their best stuff tonight at Chief Ike’s. We like intelligent poignant comedy that is relatable to the masses but also makes you think—plus jokes about dicks and poop! Anyway, good luck and look forward to seeing you there! “Amanda” (Can not publish my real name because of a contract stipulation with the porn company I work for--but you can find me under this name at Scores on Friday's and Saturday nights in New York too.).
So come on out, should be a wholesome time.
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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Monday Mourning

The “Christopher Walken Impression” passed away at an open-mic on the outskirts of Bangkok, Thailand early Saturday morning. The "Walken", which insiders say reached its peak in popularity last month when it was used as an interrogation method at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba-- had recently been reported to be very tired and over-all just run down from being exhaustively used by the better part of the Western World.

The “Walken Impression” was born around 1993-1994 on the late night sketch show, Saturday Night Live during “The Christopher Walken” skit created by comedian Jay Mohr. It was adored for its originality and the overall accuracy at which Mohr was able to execute it. But most say that it was the timing of this impression that really contributed to its popularity because it came along just as Christopher Walken, the human actor, was starting to gain popularity in mainstream American film. Some critics too, point that it's conception came at a time when American comedy needed something to take the torch from the “Jack Nicholson” impersonation. And while the “Nicholson” (even the “Cosby”) is still done today, it is used more in the same vein as a card trick or in lieu of a balloon animal, and is never taken or even passed off as “original” comedic material.

The “Walken” suffered the worst fate of all impressions as it came along during the advent of the Internet and World Wide Web. The dawn of the Information Age put the “Walken” in very high demand; and some would say, overworked at a very early age. It was clear that the “Walken” was starting to veer off in the wrong direction when it started showing up at bars and nightclubs on a regular basis with “Chuck Norris Facts”. It was during this “Hey-Day” that the “Walken” never fully regained its footing. As it took to the nightlife, the “Walken” crossed into the dark side, prostituting itself to anyone with two lips and a working larynx.

Early Saturday morning, the Impression found its way into the outskirts of Bangkok in an area that is known to support the fledgling Thai stand-up comedy community. A comedian only known as “Ratsami” took the stage a little after midnight. Four minutes into his set, Ratsami went to the “Walken” which he had never tested except for one time with his mother. Witnesses say the Impression “wasn’t bad” but it was the fact that the majority of the audience mistook it to be a “dying dog” that ultimately took the “Walken” to its demise.

Now, just a few months after it arrived in Thailand, it is dead at the age of 15 or 16. The “Walken” leaves behind a “Joan Rivers” Impression, and two small “Robert Dineros”. Funeral services will be held on Monday by a dead-on “Ross Perot”.

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Fluff it...Its Friday

Jim froze in the door way when he noticed Maggie, and her 44 EE rack seated next her, already in the break room—“Jesus H. Chrizzitty Christ”, he thought to himself. Every time, without fail, that he got up from his desk to get a cup of coffee there she was—usually making love to dry handfuls of Lucky Charms. “Jim! Guess, what?!”, Maggie yelped as a couple of green clovers and yellow moons bailed out from the side of her mouth like a pair of Airborne Rangers (a lone purple horseshoe stayed behind clinging with fear to the side of her lip).

“I don’t know Maggie…its F-ing Friday?” Jim answered with Belichick enthusiasm.

Maggie is starting to grow on me, so in honor of Maggie and her two milk trucks, we’re again fluff’n up the content with a comedy that is good on its own but one that grew on me too—not like “meteor shit” though. “3 O’clock High”.
As a kid, this didn’t scream comedy. It was about 15 holiday marathons later (you should be able to find this movie on during Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Years Day) that I begun to see where the humor was. Buddy Revell tells Jerry Mitchell that they are going to fight at 3 O'clock in the parking lot after school. Jerry spends the rest of the movie having a mental crap in his pants as a result. Yet, you take total stock in what happens at the end of the movie, it’s actually a very successful day, the fight aside.
For the longest time I thought Jerry (Casey Siemasko) was Bill Crystal Jr. And Buddy (Richard Tyson) I never forgot and would always remember him in other films, he must be a friend of the Farrelly Brothers, because he’s in quite a few of their projects. The whole flick has a great tone that everyone has experienced at some time in their school career: 3 O’clock is coming and your ass is somebody else’s—all the while you too have to suffer the bullshit that was the school day.

Great scenes you can find on Youtube.
1.) His effort to get detention in English class
2.) The Fight
3.) Jeffery Tambor and Hired Thug Gone Awry--I love Tambor's idea of what to do with the thief. And the "Thug Gone Awry", is the only scene that I know of that is hilarious, despite a disturbingly bloodied face to end it.
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Friday, June 27, 2008

The Secret Is Out

You may only be able to find this event listed on a Facebook invite, so if thats the case, crash the sucker in the name of "supporting live and local comedy".

Who: Mike Eltringham, Lafayette Wright, Eric Patrick and Courtney Fearrington
What: $10 tickets, Comedy Showcase When: TONIGHT@ 8pm Where: DC Improv Comedy Lounge 1140 Connecticut Ave. NW Washington, DC Why: To make you laugh, and for the comics, a possible chance at appeasing that nagging feeling that nobody likes them and they belong in a sewer.





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LOGO Standup taping, Interview w/ Vidur Kapur


Tomorrow, Saturday June 28th, Elvira Kurt headlines a show at GW's Marvin Betts Theater with Vidur Kapur, Trevor Boris and Jackie Monahan. The show is also a special being taped for air on the
LOGO network.

All the info you need to know you can find here. Tickets are $25 and you can get them here for 7pm or 10pm


We were lucky enough to get a quick interview in with Vidur Kapur about the upcoming special.

Is this your first time performing in Washington, DC? If not, where did
you perform and if so, what have you heard about DC audiences?

Yes it is my first time performing in Washington D.C. before. I have performed in Maryland but this is the first show in D.C. I would expect D.C. audiences to be pretty intelligent, diverse and fun to work with.

What is the difference in performing for a television special vs. a
regular live show?
The biggest difference is the lights and the cameras...everyone is aware that they are there!! Its the elephant in the room that no one addresses. Its actually pretty much the same, when i perform for a television special I just forget and just get down to relating to the audience, because they are alive and are the one who really matter.


More interview after the jump!!



What has LOGO meant for Gay/Lesbian performers?

LOGO has been a gret platform for gay and lesbian performers and has greatly helped bring attention to their talents and diversity. I love watching LOGO because they focus on original and cutting edge programming that truly embraces diversity in the queer community and makes it accessible to everyone. For me personally LOGO has done a lot to make my comedy more accessible to LGBT audiences, and this has helped me as I perform for mainstream audiences and Asian and South Asian audiences. Its great for South Asians to know that one of their kind is being represented on a network that is focused on showcasing the top LGBT talent. Its also very political as they cannot deny that there are LGBT people witin the South Asian community. Im grateful to LOGO for the work they are doing to further this, and doing it in an entertaining manner.

Is there a difference between performing for audiences that are mostly straight vs. mostly gay?

Yes usually I will feel more free to use edgier humor with mostly gay audiences as they kind of expect it. WIth mostly straight audiences I like to bring them along so that they understand where I am coming from. Mostly gay audiences have more of an understanding. For me, however, even with a mostly gay audience I still have to do some hand holding and bring them along as far as the racial stuff is concerned. Its great because with eithter audience i cannot take it for granted that they will understand me and really have to work at it. It keeps my comedy alive and in the moment.

Do you focus a lot on gay humor? Do you feel pressure to use more gay humor in your special for LOGO than you would normally?

I try not to focus too much on gay humor but to talk about things that are funny and important to me and refect my point of view and personality. Since I am gay, and have always been, the gay part of it should come across without me trying to hard. So whether im talking about politics, my life, my experiences in the corporate world or dating and relationships the gay part of it will come through. SO the short answer is that I usually dont pressurize myself to use mor gay material but to let the humor flow naturally and authentically.


How did you guys get together? Were you all friends who've performed together before or were cast for the LOGO special?
We were cast by LOGO for the special. But I have performed before with Trevor and Elvira for the Ha!ifax Comedy Festival in Canada and have had Jackie perform in one of my headliner shows at Gotham Comedy Club. So I do personally know all of them.

Let's say I have $25 dollars and I live in the District. What should I do with it?
Spend it to come see "One Night Stand Up"....you will have the best evening and remember it for a long time.

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Thursday, June 26, 2008

Oy! The DC Comedy Fest, Always Updating! Enough With The Updates Already...

Of course, we kid...we love you DC Comedy Fest, now come on over here and give your Uncle Leo a kiss.

Greetings!
The fun keeps coming:
-New sponsorhip partners Myspace Comedy & The Onion!-The Washington Post shouts out the Comedy Screenplay/TV pilot/Shorts contest!
-Industry hotel rate price deadline!-New Headliners!
Up next week: DCCF Performer spotlight, Why politics is funny, and more!

Log onto http://www.dccomedyfest.com/ for up to the minute news and updates.





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There's A New Kid In Town

I promise, I will never quote Don Henley again. The Bethesda Comedy Club opens it's doors tommorow night with comedian Joey Vega, no relation to Vincent or Vick. Show tomorrow is at 7pm, you can contact bethesdacomedyclub@gmail for more information. Plus check out the website at http://www.bethesdacomedy.com/ .





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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

An Anonymous Mother Dropped Off The Cutest Little Baby...

A *thank-you is going out to whoever posted the anonymous link for the Fox 5 news coverage of George Carlin’s death that included some footage and interviews of some our DC comedians. The story was shot over at Chief Ike’s and includes, Nick Turner, Jay Hastings, Travis Irvine and Eddie Murphy.

*For those of you that have a communications degree, like me, a severe head injury, or debilitating learning disability, please follow the "thank-you" link at the top that will take you to the news link.



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Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, Your F-ing Shows...

Got a show, we wanna know! Stand-up, improv, play, two guys making love to a cantaloupe on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial, if its funny, give us the 4-1-1 and we'll post it--we might even give you a number to give to the two fruit fornicators.




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Washington Improv Theater's Summer Brew

From light to dark, lager to stout, WIT's got a refreshing summer taste that'll quench your improv thirst in whatever way your palate desires.

With sixteen different offerings on tap, you can peruse the menu for an old favorite or just play spin the bottle. Any way you drink it, you won't go away unsatisfied.
If you come on down to our beer garden (Flashpoint) and get a skunk, just belly up to the bar at the end of the night and ask for another one on the house... we'll get you a fresh round of shows or tear up your tab. That's the WIT Summer Brew Quality Guarantee - if you don't like it, the show is free!
So come on down and enjoy a tall one. Nothing says summer like an ice-cold brew.



Caveat
SA 6.21 FR 6.27 SA 7.5 TH 7.10 FR 7.11
"Taste the golden spray..."[ more ]

Jackie's The Fly
FR 6.20 FR 6.27 SA 6.28 FR 7.11 SA 7.12
"Slow-brewed, immediate buzz..."[ more ]

JINX's Close Quarters
SA 6.21 SA 6.28 SA 7.5 SA 7.12
"Strong enough to make you forget all your troubles..."[ more ]

onesixtyone
FR 6.20 SA 6.21 SA 6.28 TH 7.3 SA 7.5
"A volatile blend of ingredients that might taste sweet now, but will likely turn on you..."[ more ]

Season Six
FR 6.20 SA 6.21 FR 6.27 FR 7.11
"A Season Six pack of refreshment..."[ more ]

Polygamy
FR 6.27
"The perfect marriage between hops, barley, and wheat - equally. Voted #1 family beer..."[ more ]

Superbest
FR 6.20 SA 6.28
"The one to have when you're pownding more than one..."[ more ]

Improv Jam
SA 6.21 SA 6.28 SA 7.5 SA 7.12
"A wicked homebrew with crisp, unexpected blend of flavors..."[ more ]

Vic Speedboat
TH 6.19 SA 6.28 SA 7.12
"Cheap, but we get the job done..." [ more ]

Anything to Declare
SA 6.21 TH 6.26
"After a night with us, you'll be speaking a different language..."[ more ]

Deuce
TH 6.19 SA 7.5 FR 7.11
"Heady empty calories guaranteed to knock you on your ass and bring you back for more..."[ more ]

Donna Martin Graduates
SA 7.5 TH 7.10
"A reliable light domestic that's best enjoyed out of a brown bag in the faculty parking lot after school..."[ more ]

The Lodge
TH 6.19 TH 7.10
"A suspiciously dark brew, starts off smooth but leaves a bitter after taste... of conspiracy..."[ more ]

The Quest Explores the Secrets of the Universe
TH 6.26 TH 7.3
"Heady and frothy..."[ more ]

Rehaberwocky
"TH 6.26 TH 7.3
"A non-alcoholic brew that still has a sense of humor..."[ more ]

Guest Troupe: Tongue & Groove
SA 7.12
"The crisp, real taste of truth..."[ more ]

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Worlds Within Worlds

I visited a few different planets in a completely different solar system over the later part of the week via a gig with Nike 6.0 producing and hosting web content for the AST Mountain Dew Tour. It was a mission that came via the wire through the head WIT operative at station Flashpoint. I sent a transmission to the host of the assignment, saying that while I was interested in the execution of described target, I would need more info. There was a brief meeting where I met the entire 6.0 unit to go over the task at hand. I took it. I honestly wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into, but I was feeling the call of the Force, and I took the assignment because of the tactical expertise needed and the possible generous bounty. But I knew what I was in for; I was headed for the Floating Palaces of Charm City, home territory, to the Archfiend Overlord, Peter Angelos.

My operation was to do character work for website propaganda under the veil of "promotional content via coverage of said event". I loaded up appropriate disguises, recording devices, bartering and monetary pieces, and headed into my black Pod Stormer last Friday at approximately 8 hours before sundown. I headed North-east for what I trusted to be a grueling execution of inconspicuous adaptation under highly capricious and extremely foreign conditions. As I left the District Galaxy and headed through the ever turbulent Asteroid Beltway into the Floating Palaces of Charm City (Baltimore, Maryland in the Hitchhiker’s Guide), Garmin, my trusty but often mischievous smart-Alec navigator brought me safely into my destination module at M&T Bank Stadium (where I learned that around the beginning of autumn, intergalactic fugitives fight on the customary day of rest for their penance and pardons in the fickle space courts of public opinion).

I found Charm City to hospitable, despite its reputation for a history of sexual pandemics, an uber-Soma like narcotic “heroin”, and the well known interstellar fact that it is the home of Archfiend Overlord Peter Angelos. He is the evil litigious ruler who has enslaved the very popular and peaceful Oriole populace, a birdlike people who have inhabited the land since their initial pilgrimage from St. Louis in 1955. The Oriole people were welcomed with open arms and have enjoyed a very symbiotic relationship with the citizenry of Charm City until Angelos made his way into the nesting grounds. At first he came promising hope and delivered during a short period of time before his internal urges finally took over—now his primary concern is to take in the profits of the Bird people while having sex with them and anyone who is associated with the populace. It is rumored that sexual intercourse through the anal canal is the only way that he can stay sexually stimulated.

The Arch Angelos wooed the people of Charm City in a triumphant battle over the black entity Asbestos, gaining their trust, only to use it against them. He easily crushed a small locally organized phalanx with his powerful whale-sized jowls during, what is now known as, “The Great Face Plant of ‘93” (this event originated the term “face plant” and Angleos has since erected the “Power Plant” on the Harbor its honor). This was the kind of scouting report that early on in my comedic mercenary career that would have had me passing on the offer. Further heightening the stakes was the fact that I would be landing in the very athletic combine owned by Arch Angelos, the Camden Yards Sports Complex. If my reconnaissance was correct, as soon as I would exit my transport Pod Stormer, I would be hounded by Angelo’s grifters and cunning sirens who would try to lure me in with promises of fulfilling fantastical lurid fantasies, only to find myself later enslaved in a giant crotch-less bird suit bent over inside an Angelos skybox, face pressed up against the glass for the better part of 7 innings while being mounted and mocked by Angelos and his demented silk suited minions. The thought alone, prompted me to bring along cyanide capsules just in case I was overpowered in the parking lot.

Upon exiting the Pod Stormer, I took heed of other reports I received about the area and despite his protests, I hid Garmin on the floorboard underneath his protective sheath and out of the view of possible nomadic thieves. But I noticed right off hand that there were some incongruities in my recon from Intel. I was not met by con-artists or narcotic induced sex workers, but instead by helpful attendants, pleasant “hellos” along the skywalk from a multiple of species, and I had an intuitive sense that security was working for the event and not for Angelos. I was surprised by this benevolence and hospitable attitude of the people of Bird land. Yet, I kept a healthy air of caution as I trusted that those Jumbotron screens set about the area were more likely two-sided mirrors with Angelos on just the other-side.

Though I felt far from home, I could always be comforted by what other Merc-colleagues would call a “Death Blossom” of corporate logos from my home planet. It was the Mountain Dew tour but apparently there is some sort of collective enterprise going on with the people of Wendys, Panasonic, Playstation and X-Balm (an extreme lip moisturizer, I think for the intergalactic voyager that expects to be doing most of their footwork on the surface of the sun). Even the communication network NBC, a supposed benevolent system in mainstream attitudes throughout many galaxies, but one that I still hold suspect, they seemed to be flaunting the fact that the very action that was taking place, they owned the rights to; it was very Angelosonian. Our paths, NBC and my own, would collide later on, in an event that put my internal alert status into “Operation Critical”.

However, he was not to be outdone on his own turf, Angelos’ puppet network, MASN, was covering the event as well. However, I think most of their “work” was a façade acting as an extension for his secret police to contain the boarders of Bird Land so that their citizens could not use the cover of the event as a means of escape. It really gave me a sense of what it must be like to travail across the dessert moon rock that is North Korea.

It was a bit disgruntling at times, as sometimes these assignments can act as a vacation away from my home territory but everywhere I walked and surveyed, it was carnival of sorts for these vast commercial enterprises, but I really couldn’t say much, as I was a hired gun for one of the biggest corporate assault teams going and my job was just getting started…
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Tuesday, June 24, 2008

There's No Business Like Show Business Unless You Consider the Dirty Business of Friendship

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.

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