I’m currently listening to all my past sets in an effort to categorize my jokes in an Excel document and to create notes and tips for how to better the jokes in future.
The only way to describe this process is
To the max.
“I’d really like for you to kill in your showcase set, so we can prove to the people who don’t think you’re funny that you’ve got what it takes.”
How in the name of Pete is this supposed to make me feel confident?
Another fine example of how comedians; even grown-up, adult people, do not know how to interact with others.
OK, so I haven’t done anything AS exciting as working in a TV studio this past week, but I did get a car.
(This isn’t actually my car, but it’s the same make and model… it’s been too gloomy in Toronto these days to take adequately mood-uplifting car photos, so I figured stealing someone else’s would be good enough.)
No big deal.
(It’s totally a big deal.)
Last week was Reading Week. While many students take the week as an opportunity to spend their parents money on cheap vacations down south, I believe I have spent every Reading Week I’ve ever had working. This year was no exception, except that I didn’t get paid for it. Unless you consider experience payment. And I do. So I did. I guess. Get paid. What? Gah.
What I’m trying to say is… I spent half of my reading week working/interning as a Production Assistant on a pilot for what will hopefully become a television show for the Comedy Network starring stand-up comedian Tim Steeves.
The whole experience was really quite interesting as the only experience I’ve ever had with television, apart from watching copious amounts of it as a child and teen, was going to a taping of The Ron James Show earlier this year, and taking a tour of NBC Studios when I visited New York a few years back. It was neat to get to see the inside of the CTV Masonic Temple, to see the place go from an empty stage and space, into the Tim Steeves project – an idea that’s gone as far as it possibly can before actually making it onto television.
They did teach us about the process of pitching television pilots at Humber, but there’s no doubt something more tangible about working on the real deal.
Over the week, my tasks included:
(Huzzah for Canadian talent!)
What an ultimately thrilling experience! It’s funny how even sitting and waiting are made that much more exciting when you’re in a TV studio.
This little taste of DOING TV Comedy was delicious and I hunger for more. Much much more.
Chomp chomp.
Ever been given a car, then realized because you’ve never been insured before because you’ve been taking public transit ever since you left home for university, so you’re an at-risk driver and no insurer in his or her right mind will get you a good deal on car insurance, so you worry you’re going to dig yourself into a financial hole deeper than the one you’ve already doomed yourself into when you decided to go to clown college and start paying for car insurance two months before you graduate?
Me too.
This is another post that’s several weeks in the making, but I wanted to make sure to put it out there before I go into more detail about those two days I spent working on a TV pilot for The Comedy Network because, in the end, it all goes back to one Mr. Jake Labow, Manager of Original Programming at CTV Globe Media/The Comedy Network and proprietor of shiny Nike sneakers.
Labow’s an über-successful Humber Comedy alumni who came to speak to us at one of our “Prime Time” seminars. I attended both last year and this year and the message I retain remained the same: work your ass off… and harass Rick Mercer, if necessary.
Factoid I found on the interwebs-> Labow made the decision to go into comedy while in the Amazon setting up medical clinics – he initially had wanted to become a doctor. I like hearing about these stories because they help justify the decisions made by people like me who were originally on one path and decided to make the shift into lala-land.
I’ll spare you Labow’s entire biography and instead send you to this local story that pretty much sums everything up nicely: Doctor of Comedy.
What I will say is that Jake Labow is a do-er, there’s no doubt about that. He was managing a comedy club while still studying at Humber, getting to know the ins and outs of the business hands even before graduating. That work ethic, that drive seems to be what got him to where he is today. On top!
Labow’s advice about the industry: know everything about everything.
His observations about the social atmosphere in the comedy subculture: “Everyone gets down on themselves and shits on everyone else. Why not work together?” Partnerships are key. (And they are!)
His tips on how to make it in the biz: Be funny. (Makes sense.) Keep working at it and make it your focus. “You can’t have any distractions.” (Now here’s where, in the past – people have been known to tell us not to get involved in romantic relationships (because God forbid any comedian should find happiness in any ‘normal’ social convention! Labow’s clarification: If you are involved, your partner will have to realize that this is what you WANT and still be cool with it – with the lifestyle it breeds.)
Here are some of Labow’s tips on how to get more work:
By April, he suggests we all:
Why am I still blogging? I should be out right now! (No wait, it’s Saturday morning… I can just keep writing.)
Some of us had the added treat of getting to meet with Labow for a one-on-one after the presentation – He’s ambitious as he is encouraging. When discussing my future prospects, my goals for a career in comedy, he took what I said and kicked it up a notch:
“Why not try for the Daily Show? You know the head writer for the Daily Show is Canadian, right?”
Touché Jake. Goal = set.
It’s February and it’s reading week. Over the past two days, my apartment has become a completely different entity; no longer the disastrous shit-pit it was only a week ago. There’s now a functional bed (ie. one that won’t collapse just resting my school bag on it,) the futon has returned to an upright couch-like position and I feel like I have room to breathe again.
So naturally, I’m writing this blog post at Starbucks.
I felt it might be a good idea to ride the wave of positive feedback after a pretty good set at Yuk Yuk’s to more creative things. Normally, I just let that happy feeling drain away as I embark on the one hour journey back home on the 501 streetcar. And, although this location will be closed in 20 minutes, I intend to find somewhere else nearby to help me work out a few more pieces including a radio play I need to edit, which we will be performing at Comedy Bar on Monday March 5th (Mark your calendars.)
Many of us second years are currently working hard trying to shape our showcase sets for our end-of-year stand-up performances taking place the last Tuesday of March & the first Tuesday of April. These are the shows Mark Breslin, industry professionals and Humber alum will be present to evaluate our performances. Basically everything we’ve managed to pull together over the past two years of stand-up comedy classes, on display for everyone to judge.
Nah, I’ll save you the trip. That’s my birthday. (Mark your calendars.)
It seemed like it would be a pretty stressful night to begin with before I knew it was going to be on my birthday. Most people probably think, “Meh, it’s a day like any other. What’s the big deal?” But I don’t know. I just feel like a lot’s riding on this because if I bomb, not only will I have made a fool of myself in front of my peers and potential future employers, but I’ll have done so on my BIRTHDAY! The day of my birth!
That being said, if my showcase gets the response my set received tonight, I think I’ll be OK. One thing’s for certain one way or the other -> The booze’ll be flowing big time the night of April 3rd.
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STAY TUNED as my next post will hopefully have something to do with BRIE’S FIRST ADVENTURE IN TELEVISION.
It’s OK to be curious.
I had the privilege of working Front of House for the very talented first year comedy students’ Archival Show over the past few nights. While they seemed anxious, excited, proud & stoked – I felt calm and reflective. It reminded me of the simpler times – of my own first year…
Well, that was fun. Now. Back to the present.
I wish I’d taken home each of the programs so I could have pointed out which of the performances stood out to me, but I’m forgetful and I didn’t do that. I guess I can point out some points I noticed overall about the performances – I’ll do it in order of how I saw them:
1) Team Melody: What I would have given to be in this performance! An ode to vaudeville with great little snippets & bits all throughout, each just as fun as the last. Lots of individual stage-time for many people in the cast, lots of singing AND a LOT of great parts & focus for the LADY performers! It flowed so nicely. And Monty Python’s Penis Song was in there. Hilarious. I left singing that Eva Tanguay song for hours upon hours after both nights Melody’s group was performing, which I suppose is good and bad. OMG the Bored Room sketch. Too much. SO good. And the Lie Detector sketch. LOVE Mr. Show.
2) Team Eric/Christel: Reminded me loads of our performance last year, structure-wise (which makes sense, considering the Tothmeister directed my section.) BUT… our transitions were better. I’m just kidding. But we had that weird onesie Bruno was crabwalking around in– However, this year they had an exceptionally well-choreographed Thriller transition, which was rather impressive. The Lumberjack song – a classic! It was also fun to see the Lawrence Welk song revisited – and as funny as it was to see a lanky dude in drag, I still couldn’t get the image of Camille Cote out of my head singing around and chasing bubbles. Oh, and OMG the Hunger Strike sketch is amazing. LOVE Mr. Show.
3) Team Baumander: Lewis’ group seemed more, disciplined, more sharp. Does that make sense? I don’t know. All I know is that adding the CSI intro to the Wayne & Shuster bit was a stroke of genius. And the Smothers Brothers song was super well done! The Jerry Lewis opening was FANTASTIC! Holy cow! It seems that some people were more heavily featured in this group than the others. You would see some performers a lot more than others. I’d be curious to know Lewis’ decision-making process for allocating roles. It was fun, again, to see some of the performances revisited from last year ie: the Marx Brothers one (well done!), Bronx Beat (still heard Rachel & Camille in my head the whole time) and the Hail Satan one, thought not my favorite… I just wanted to make sure I mentioned that I LOVE Mr. Show!
All in all, the performances were very well done and SO much fun to watch. First years should congratulate yourselves on a job well done – and a good chunk of dough raised for LAMP. I’m glad to have been part of the whole thing. 🙂
And now I’m filled with the desire to research and watch some classic archival sketch comedy over the reading week break!
Turns out the Vest of Friends are not performing on Friday night, so ya’ll can come on down to the last night of the first year Archival Show without any fear of Marc Hallworth hunting you down with a loaded rubber chicken.
RATHER, they are performing next at the Open Stage Sketch Night, Saturday, February 18th 2012 @ Comedy Bar. Show starts at 10pm. Tickets are $5
The Toronto comedy scene can be quite competitive. On any given night, you can be competing with several other comedy shows. I’m only in year-two on the scene and I regularly get bombarded with Facebook invites to attend multiple shows that conflict with each other time-wise.
Comedy can also be very selfish. Your buddies could be putting on the show-of-a-lifetime, but if you’ve got even the remotest chance of getting some stage-time somewhere, you’re going to bid them good luck and be on your merry way.
This can be a bit discouraging for those just starting out – it’s hard to break into a scene that’s already saturated with show after show after show of more of the same. But it warms me to know that one troupe in town will always make time for the newbies.
Humber alumni sketch troupe Vest of Friends canceled two of their regularly-scheduled weekly open-mic nights this month alone to discourage competition and encourage student and alumni attendance to both the second years’ Ten-Minute Play Festival and the first years’ ongoing Archival Show.
The Vests host an open-mic every Wednesday night at Celtes Pub in the Junction and it is, in my experience, predominantly attended by current and former Humber students. It’s a great room to try out material amidst a group of people who truly support each other.
The room continues to thrive even after the Vests have left the hallways of Humber behind them and move on to greener pastures. (Keeping my fingers crossed that they get a spot at Just for Laughs this summer.)
When I was in first year last year, I couldn’t help but be grateful every time the second year students attended our performances, knowing they didn’t really have to be there. They’d been there in their first year, knew the score and had taken it upon themselves to support the newbies. But that the Vests (and the few grads who attended the Archival Show tonight–notably Steph) attended a performance for people they rarely see and hardly know, is really awesome — I think anyway. I mean, at least they saw us in the hallway from time to time last year!
I’m going to do something that all of you in first year, and those of you in second year should do — out of respect for their support, because they canceled Sirens to see you and us, and because they’re just a damn funny sketch troupe — I’m going to go watch the Vest of Friends shows as often as I can.
Don’t forget! The first year Archival Show performances continue tomorrow and Friday night, 7pm @Alumnae Theatre on Berkeley.
Also, the Vest of Friends are performing at Comedy Bar on Friday Feb 17th – so… yeah. Remember what I said about “conflicting shows” Uh, oops.
Brie Watson 