So blogspot is getting the best of me these days, disallowing any of my neat interview podcasts to post. So I have to resort to a lame "Where did this comedy idea come from?" post. Well, fine blogspot, you may have won the battle, but I still have an army behind me of graphic designers that are going to rip your insides out and make them pretty for all to see---bwah-ha-ha-ha!! (Whoops! Halloween was last month!)
So how did this idea of comedy get into my head? To be honest, this memory didn't resurface until a conversation on the phone yesterday with a dear high school friend. For some odd reason, I blocked out this memory per chance because it was too painful.
Grabs your high chairs kids, gather around the fire, because momma's going to take you back... waaaayyy back to kindergarten, with Mrs. Johnson. Yes, I said it, Mrs. Johnson. Generic name, right? I'm not making this one up.
Mrs. Johnson lead the first grade class (whoops, already my memory is jumping years) in an annual Christmas school play. Each class had to perform their own version of whatever twisted zombie reindeer rendition to impress the parents. But because there were so many of us little 'uns, they threw in some ancillary characters: A Mother and Father Christmas tree. Enter yours truly: I was "Mother Christmas Tree". And Papa Christmas Tree and I, during all that time in Spelling and Grammar when we were supposed to be memorizing lines, we opted for doodling of dirty pictures, and making sure each was properly labeled--Butt, BOO-bies, and whatever that thing is below the belt. Vag-enis or was it Pen-gina?
Anyway, when it came time to bring the house down, Mr. Christmas and myself felt adequate. We sorta knew our lines. "Pen-gina." I remember during rehearsal that my cue was to speak after he did. I speak after he does. What it was exactly I should be saying still hadn't settled into my easily distracted and precocious brain. I just knew he spoke first.
Fast forward to School Play Day: The audience had been filled with anxious parents and restless kids. All the other classmates had not only memorized their lines, but they had done them so well, that people laughed after each bit. Genius, I tell you! I watched off stage in amazement. I took careful note of the cadence. Line. Line. Laughter. Line. Line. Laughter.
I found myself on stage with my green turtleneck on to blend in with my very carefully designed costume. I bore a sharp resemblance to a North American White Spruce. Meanwhile, Mr. Christmas Tree had become petrified. He somehow had allowed stage fright to set in. I didn't know where this was going, but I sensed all together downhill. Everyone else had gotten their laughs. It was Mr. Christmas's turn and he was bombing--big time. He just kept repeating the same two words in hopes that the other eight would magically fall out of his mouth. I knew it was now or never. I had to get that bit of laughter for him---for my partner in pervvy crime.
So what would a faithful Christmas tree wife do? Make silly faces to the audience. And just like I had anticipated, the laughter followed. It came in waves. I was overwhelmed by them. Unfortunately, so was Mr. Christmas. He thought they were laughing at his incompetence, failing to memorize a simple few lines. The audience finished laughing, yet Mr. Christmas hadn't quite finished crying.
I glanced offstage to meet a look of disappointment by Mrs. Johnson. What did she know? She wouldn't know good comedy if it shed pine needles on her front lawn. Make room on the couch, Letterman. A star was born! But only after I paid my dues in the "Timeout chair". (Sigh)
*+*+*+* If you cringed as much as I did reading this story, which should have remained in my maladjusted head, never to be unearthed, there are many more twisted stories to follow. GET FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL or RSS.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
The Idiotic Notion that got me started in comedy, Part 1
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Comedy Hero: Greg Proops
[Click the hyperlink, if you're wondering whether or not GREG PROOPS IS GAY. ]
As I was driving last night, I came across a radio program (do people even listen to those anymore?) on CBC called, The Debaters. The reception wasn't amazing, but I did hear a familiar voice as one of the debating guests. You may know him from the popular TV show, Whose Line Is is Anyway?. He appeared on both the American and the original British version. (Don't we Americans have any original TV show ideas of our own? We always bite off of the Mother country--the British.)
Today, this post is on, American comedian Greg Proops.
Gregory Everett Proops first started his career in Improv and even studied it at university. He eventually graduated to stand-up comedy. He seems to have his feet in both worlds of Improv and Stand-up and does both very well. If you've seen Whose Line is it.., you know he still exercises his improv muscles quite often.
He still performs stand-up and according to Comedy Central.com, "...[he's] toured the UK four times, sold out Edinburgh Fringe Festival seven years running and has kicked it live in Montreal, Aspen, Ireland, Paris, Norway and the United Arab Emirates." Whew! Aren't you tired, Greg? I sure am after reading that! He also has a very successful career providing voices for characters like, Bob, in a British TV series called Bob the Builder for the four seasons of "Project Build-It".
In his appearance, he reminds me of a strange cross between Eddie Izzard and Elvis Costello. Maybe it's the close connection to England. Although, his actual performance reminds me of a more watered down, more easily digestible version of Dennis Miller. Where Dennis Miller is heady and obscure, Proops is friendly and relatable.
Well, let me stop babbling and you can witness him yourself:
I do enjoy Mr. Proops' act. It's often hard to distinguish his stand-up from his improv. They are so closely linked in style, one sort of bleeds into the other. I find him entertaining to watch and I love to anticipate what whacky long-winded descriptor will come out of his mouth next. I'm a word geek and if you have a strong command of English language, higher than most, and can be funny with it, I'm buttah...perhaps even puddin'... in your hands.
Awwww yeah, $240 worth of pudding.
[ Official Greg Proops Website |
Greg Proops on Wikipedia | Greg Proops Comedy Central profile ]
*+*+*+* I'm still wondering, much like Greg Proops is, why you haven't signed up for the FREE updates by EMAIL or RSS because it's just so EZ! So Sign-up!!!
Thursday, October 4, 2007
Tina Fey and Jerry Seinfeld--Improv and Stand-up Collide...!
Two TITANS will clash tonight on NBC!!
That's right--Fey and Seinfeld!
Two schools of thought (on comedy) become one tonight on television. And I'm going to be right there, glued to my seat. My two favorite people in comedy on TV, on one channel. (I don't even have to flip back and forth between stations to catch all the comedy goodness!)
One Rock... Two Rock... 30 Rock...
Ok..ok... maybe I'm over-hyping it. But they're both awesome in their own right. They both have cool, "before they made it" stories.
Tina Fey has her background in Second City in Chicago. She was so motivated and ready for the Improv and Sketch world that she up and left Pennsylvania for the big city.
Seinfeld didn't to travel too far for his training ground--just a hop, skip, and jump over the Long Island Expressway.
Another cool celebrity factoid: Seinfeld and Alec Baldwin, a main character on 30 Rock, both grew up in the same town. (Man, Hollywood is small!!!) They weren't exactly friends, however Seinfeld did know Baldwin's father who was a football coach at Seinfeld's high school.
So let's review: What happens at 8:30pm (EST) tonight on NBC?
Answer: Two powerhouse comedians go head to head.
Tonight 30 Rock Premiere
Spoiler warning: If you really can't wait until 8:30 tonight, then I can offer you this link, but don't say I didn't warn you!
And Jerry has even a shameless plug for his new movie, Bee Movie. And I can only respond, in Seinfeld's own voice, we get it,we get it already!
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