On the eve of another sketch performance, I’ve managed to memorize my lines and I’m now left with some thoughts about group work.  Whether it be working in a group in a Poli Sci class filled with kids who aspire to run the country one day, a sports team filled with players from all levels of experience, or the ever open-to-criticism-and-to-suggestions, never-ever-passive-aggressive-or-condescending, ever-patient, always-willing-to-give-it-their-all comic writers, *cough* there is one commonality that always rings true… and that, my friends, is that GROUP WORK IS FUCKING TOUGH!

Of course it is!  And in the case of comedy writing, so should it be!  We’re assigned to a small group of people, all of which come from different walks of life and backgrounds and all of which have a very different sense of humour.  We have to mould each other into the characters we’ve created, these little made-up people who in our minds are hilarious, but to others may have no significance whatsoever, let alone any source of humour. What a concept!

I realize the reason they ask us to work together in groups is to prepare us for the “real world,” where, if we do end up working in a writers room, we will be obligated to work with people we don’t know, people we can’t stand or people with uncommon body odours.  But I can’t help but visualize perhaps a more professional environment.

The difference, to me,  seems simple and clear as daylight.  If we were working in an actual writers room, we’d be getting paid.  And if we were getting paid, we wouldn’t want to lose our jobs.  And if we didn’t want to lose our jobs, we’d make time to listen to each other’s ideas, to contribute our own thoughts in order to better our writing and eventually our performance.  We’d be willing to attend whatever writing session or rehearsal was necessary to get our project up to snuff and we’d truly be dedicated to our work.

Wait.  Hold on a minute.  Forget actually making money for the time being.

Rather, maybe that kind of devotion should be given to a project you actually paid thousands of dollars in which to participate?

Maybe.

Another week of Comedy School down.  Our performance at the Black Swan went very well.  Our troupe, “Pimprov” (pretty sure we can come up with something better, but we may be stuck in this one for a while,) were the “featured troupe” at the Swan and got to put on a 15-minute set which was, weird to say the least. But often improv is, I find.   Anyway, I’m sure we’ll go back to the Swan in the next little while because it was a really great, welcoming, comfortable place to do some improv with a bunch of other people who want to do improv.  What more can you ask for?

Well.  Money, I guess.

Which reminds me, I need a freakin’ job.  We’re quickly approaching the end of month of March, which means I have one more month until the end of school, until I move out of my current apartment to a more expensive one which I cannot afford unless I start getting paid soon.  Dear Comedy Gods: Read this blog and realize how great of a writer I am and throw me into one of your Writer’s Rooms, will ya?

My one-liner assignment went better than expected.  They’re difficult because you have very little time in which to prove you’re clever.  It normally takes me a nice lengthy anecdote to get that across.

Our next week’s Acting assignment is going to be a lot of fun.  Maybe you all can help me with something.  I need to pick a scene to perform with another person from any movie or TV show.  Comedy or anything else.  I was thinking of picking a good man and woman scene from a Woody Allen flick because I think the dialogue is great and I love the mix of neurosis and intellectualism.  Anyway, if you happen to remember any great scenes from a WA movie, comment on this post and I’ll be sure to check it out.

That being said, next week is going to be crazy busy.  We’re performing sketches on Wednesday, which requires much rehearsal and preparation and we’re putting on a clowning piece on Thursday which, on my part, will require a fair bit of choreography beforehand.  The trouble: finding somewhere to practice where people don’t mind listening to tap dancing.  Suffice it to say, my apartment’s a no go.  The downstairs neighbour will go nuts.  Not to mention scaring the crap out of the cat.  Oh well, I’ll think of something.

Before all that nonsense though, I’m pleased to be taking a brief vacation from comedy this weekend for a concert in Montreal and a reconnect with an old buddy.  I can’t wait!  Hopefully I’ll come back restored and ready for the last month of school. Also, ready to face my impending aging.  Ugh.  I’ve been dreading birthdays every year since I turned 21… last year.  *cough*

Anyway.  Bring on la belle province!

Quick entry as I sit here in the library because I didn’t have enough time to go home after apartment-viewings and appointments on campus today.  I feel busy.  I don’t even go out as often as some of my colleagues do and I feel like I’m having a hard time getting it all done.  On top of that, I really need to get a job for the summer/before the summer.

But whatever, I’m doing an improv set tonight at the Black Swan.  Hopefully I can ride on the performance-high long enough to finish writing some one-liners in time for class tomorrow.  Suffice it to say, they are not my forte.

At least improv doesn’t require such arduous preparation.

What an honour!  I finally received my clown nose.  May it be henceforth officially known that I attend clown college. We’ve actually begun practicing “clowning” in my physical comedy class.  For those of you who knew me when I was younger, you’ll know that this is, indeed, absolutely the best way to face one’s fears.  I hate clowns.  They frightened me as a child.  And soon, I WILL BE THE ONE TO FRIGHTEN THE CHILDREN!  Moohoohahahahahahaha!

But I digress…

You might also note the pencil sticking out of my glasses in this shot.  The pencil is another honorific gift meant to get us out of many sticky stand-up situations. I’d tell you more about it, but it’s top-secret.

All in all, an excellent and productive week!  If anyone is in town and would like to check out the fruits of my labours, I’ll be performing an improv set and a sketch on Monday at Comedy Bar at 7:30 & I’ll be doing some new stand-up material at Sirens on Wednesday at 8:30.

Once again, don’t forget to check out my group’s Archival Sketch Show on YouTube!

Remembering this is supposed to be a blog about happenings in Comedy School, I suppose now would be appropriate to let you, world, know what’s been going on within the padded walls of my school lately.

It took a little while, but it seems all of a sudden like everyone has a strong desire to exercise their funny bone and so spoken-about projects are now becoming reality-projects. It’s been a busy past few days.

For example, I don’t know if I’d mentioned this in previous blogs and I’m too lazy to go back and check, but my section at school had spoken about putting together a website that would sortof track the careers of all of us ambitious funny little rapscallions along our paths to comic achievement, or lack thereof.  So, we’ve had a meeting and, for the first time, murder was not attempted on any of the members which, I should mention, is quite the improvement for this group!  We talked about filming sketches and putting them onto to the web because some of the kids in the class have bought fancy cameras, some of us are experienced with fancy lighting and some of us have decided to transform our basements into greenrooms.   (Dedication, right?)  There’s talk about putting together awesome podcasts, product reviews and, a project I’m super-psyched about, a newscast similar to SNL’s Weekend Update.  An ambitious project for sure, but it seems everyone’s excited about it.  I’ll keep you all posted on our progress, especially if we post videos.

Oh, speaking of videos.  I forgot to mention to you all that someone was gracious enough to sit through our entire Archival Sketch Show from a few weeks back and the videos have been posted to YouTube.  You can watch the sketches at:  http://www.youtube.com/user/LDcomedy2012#p/u/4/WE2tbwuYZKw.   It’s long, but they’re divided into segments, so you can take your time with it.  If you’ve forgotten what I look like, let me refresh your memory, I’m the one who looks like a fat foreigner throughout a good 75% of my performance and no, I did not realize my leggings were see-through before going on stage.  Yes, I do find this to be terribly embarrassing.

Next up, Humber had made a deal with a Toronto comedy club called Comedy Bar to showcase the school’s sketch troupes on Monday evenings.  Sadly, hardly anyone ever attended, so a troupe in particular, Vest of Friends as they are known, have decided to take control of the time slot and turn it not only into a sketch performance hour, but more of like, a variety show including Stand-up comics, improv troupes and other sketch troupes.  On that front, I’ll be heavily involved in the improv portion of the performances and I’m also on board one of the sketch troupes called “The Temps” featuring a group of people who love to write and perform sketch, but who aren’t well-liked enough to be asked to be part of an actual troupe.  What? No.  That’s only kindof true.

As far as classes go, everything seems to be pretty hunky-dory lately.  I’ve written a story that one of my professors suggests I should enter into a contest hosted by the Toronto Star, so I’ll work on some editing and get that done for him.  That’s for my English class.  All is well in Stand-Up world, except I need to work on a bunch of one-liners, which I think will be very difficult because, as you can tell from this blog post, for example, I have a tendency to be somewhat verbose.

On that note, I’m going to log off.  I hope you all check out the sketch performance vids because we had such a great time putting on that show!

In the meantime, if you’re in Toronto, stay dry. If you’re elsewhere, I don’t know your current weather conditions, so… stay awesome.

There’s something internally challenging about having a socially-conscious mind in an institution in which it is encouraged, or at least not discouraged to take light the most serious issues that affect our species.  As a result, I occasionally take leave from the all-encompassing social world of comedy on occasion to take something that makes me so morbidly depressed I have to remind myself why it’s so damned important to laugh sometimes.

Although, I’m not entirely positive that’s the approach my colleagues take, nor am I certain it’s the most healthy approach to take.

Regardless, tonight, comedy was put on hold so that I might see Javier Bardem’s Oscar nominated Biutiful.  I went in with minimal knowledge of the film’s subject – ‘OK – this guy’s got cancer and it’s going to be sad.’  I had no idea the film would dive into the Spanish/European social divide, metaphysics, psychological disabilities and illegal immigration to name a few.  Needless to say, the film was pretty heavy.

It was the kind of movie that makes you feel guilty to live in a society so-filled with excess, we grant diplomas to people who, for example, dream to get rich through the act of ridiculing those whose struggles they know absolutely nothing about.  The comic in me understands the ease with which people believe they can take race, religion, gender etc., lightly – they’re such powerfully touchy subjects that it is easy to relieve the tension built up about it through stereotype-induced laughter.  However, the political scientist in me believes that, one cannot truly appreciate the humour in a situation without first completely understanding that situation; its history, development and significance.

To me, it’s the difference between prejudice and intelligence, or if not intelligence, just… accurate information.

So my advice, as usual:  Read a book, for fuck’s sake.

 

Back to Toronto and back to Sirens – the most easygoing, welcoming and awesome room in town… and I’m not just saying that because I’m slightly tipsy and I want the Vests to keep putting me on their Best Of shows…

For those of you who know me well, I told my bike accident story today and it was well-received.  Well, as well-received as such a story COULD be received.  It was met with quite a few “Ewwwwwwws” and “Ahhhhhhhhhs,” which, I suppose, is what I should have expected.  For those of you who don’t know the story, I’d go into detail and explain it to you, but instead, I’m going to make you wait a few years until I show up to do a set in your hometown and you, your friends and family will have to pay me to tell it to you.  Moohoohahahaha. (Comedy incites evil laughter, apparently.)

Or, you can come see me tell bits of it tomorrow at the Best of Sirens show at the Blue Lagoon.  That’s another option.  Another free option.

OK everyone.  I’m rolling up the rim right now… right now… will I win something… will I??? Will I???  Please Play Again?!  Fuck.

That was Rrroll Up the Rim, in Rrreal time.  How’d’ya like that?

I’m going to bed.

Here’s a pic of my buddy V & I in our Archival Sketch Show:

 

 

We were performing this sketch from SCTV.  You can sortof guess which character we played based on the costumes and facial expressions.  It was fun sooo much fun!  Andrea Martin, I salute you!

The week of four performances in a row is over.  I’ve had the weekend to recover and I’m home for a few days for Reading Week. I was going to put this off, but I read another kid in my program’s blog and it inspired me to get this in.

I want to be in a sketch troupe.

I want to write things with clever people and perform them.  The Archival Sketch Show was so exhilarating it had many of us in the class talking about how the next logical step is to get together with some folks, write and get some performances done.  Shit, the college has set up a sketch performance night at Comedy Bar every Monday, which apparently is going to go under if students don’t start showing up.  The problem?   I need a sketch troupe.  My general anxiety about what people think of me prevents me from flat out asking people to get together to do some writing and my inner (very powerful) critic is worried about being too harsh about who I want to and, particularly, who I do NOT want to write with.

I want to be in an improv troupe.

My classes at ITC are going well.  Today, I was a stealth cow.  I didn’t think twice about entering the scene on my hands and knees. I feel like if this had been the beginning of the semester, I might have been more hesitant.  I feel completely refreshed to know that my social censor is fading and that I’m opening up to the possibilities involved with creating imaginary environments and situations. Luckily, if I stick with ITC, I can audition to be in a student troupe.  At school, well, it’s the same process as the sketch thing, isn’t it?

In one week, all of these desires to work with others and perform have been overwhelming.  This week, I’d also been given the opportunity to work and perform with some students from a section other than my own.   That, as well, was exciting.   There’s so much talent in this program.  So many connections that could be made if I could just know others were as serious and as dedicated about doing this as I am.

But I get mixed messages.  Always mixed messages.  And at the end of the day, I sit alone on a couch in my parent’s basement musing self-interested bullshit instead of collaborating genius ideas with those I fear cannot stand me.

Insecurity, defined.

Happy Reading Week!

First of all, milk in coffee is not nearly as good as cream.  But despite the pleasant weather, I don’t want to get dressed yet and go to the store to buy cream, so milk will have to suffice, at least for the duration of this post.

This is the morning after my class’ first Archival Show performance.  I would have liked to have posted last night immediately after the performance, but I decided instead that having a drink might be a better way to celebrate a job well done than to sit at home alone at my computer and blog.  Any dedicated followers might disagree with my decision, but at the end of the day, I think I made the right choice.

Let me explain to you a bit more in detail what the deal is with this Archival Show.  Then, if you’re in Toronto, maybe it’ll motivate you to get out and see the performance.  Or, if you’re in Ottawa, you might decide to leave work early to do the same.

The Humber Comedy program is a two-year diploma college program.  At the beginning of the year, there were approximately 60 students in the first year of the program.  The first year students are divided up into three groups of about 20 students per group.  I belong to section 01, to help clarify.  As part of our second semester, each class has been assigned to a director, (three of the program’s faculty have been selected as directors.)  The teacher thus becomes the director and the class of students becomes the cast.  The cast of what, you ask?  The cast of our Archival Sketch Show.

Basically, we’ve combined a collection of sketches from SNL, SCTV, KITH and other acronyms representing great sketch comedy shows and put them together.  Each student is assigned a certain amount of roles in the sketches.  After two weeks of rehearsing, we, the students, perform the show in front of a real live audience at a real theatre in downtown Toronto, in this case, the Factory Theatre at Bathurst & Adelaide.

The idea is that we take what we’ve learned in our sketch classes, acting classes, physical comedy classes, history of comedy classes, improv classes… ok, basically each of our classes and use that knowledge to put on a professional sketch comedy show as a means of demonstrating the skills we have learned (and of justifying the program’s existence to the government?)  No, but seriously, the proceeds from the ticket money all go to a charitable cause, which is great as it allows for us to give back to the community and develop a sense of social justice, or something like that.

Last night was the culmination of all this learning and rehearsing as we took to the stage and performed the first of our two shows.  Tonight, we go again at 7:30 p.m.  The energy was high, the spirits were excited, friendly and encouraging and the atmosphere was really just spectacular.  And did I mention fun?  Did I forget to mention how much fun it is to put on a sketch comedy show?  Even though we’ve rehearsed the stuff so often, many of the jokes are no longer funny to us.  We’ve become immune, until the audience starts to laugh and laugh and laugh and it sparks again – oh right – this stuff is hilarious… now bite your tongue and don’t break character!

As I’ve mentioned, my section’s got another show lined up tonight.  For more information, you can check out: http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages#!/event.php?eid=187385044615456&index=1.

Or just, you know, send me a txt or leave a message on the blog about a) how to get tickets or b) how apologetic you are about the fact you can’t come and how you intend to make it up to me with gifts or something similar.

Either way, I think it’s important for me to note how great of an experience it has been to put this show together and how much I’ve enjoyed working on it with the other great folks in my class.  Top notch people.  Top. Notch.

NOW.  Come get your laugh on TONIGHT at 7:30!!!

See you there!!