The other day, Dan & I were engaged in a deep discussion about Zima, the alcoholic beverage from the 90’s that I’d completely forgot about.
I thought he was talking about Orbitz, that drink with bubbles in it, remember?
Anyway, tonight’s Second City improv basically circled around Zima, the very same drink nobody had thought about for like, 15 years but that Dan & I had discussed in great length ONLY YESTERDAY!
Isn’t it weird when stuff like that happens?
How’s this for criticizing the Western trend of adopting Eastern philosophy? From Wikipedia: “This article is about the religious concept. For the American grunge band, see Nirvana (band).”
I thought writing a sketch about yoga would be easier. Maybe if I myself, achieve maksha, this process will be rendered simpler. Or moot, probably.
Blah. Back to work.
Hey blog-followers!
This is a really cool/interesting/revealing NY Times article explaining/defending what myself and most of my colleagues at Humber are getting into in terms of the alternative comedy scene & comedy nerdom.
It was written by Toronto’s king of the Comedy Nerds himself, Andrew Clark -> who also happens to be the program coordinator of Humber’s Comedy: Writing & Performance program. (How’s that for comedy nerdy?)
Take a gander:
It’s time to light the lights.
It’s time for #cliché – Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire: A Humber Comedy 2nd Year Section 02 End-of-Year Sketch Show.
We performed the first of our two-night run and, it what seemed like the blink of an eye, it came and went. An incredibly fun blink of an eye, but it seemed like it went by real fast, is what I’m getting at.
The highlight of the evening was probably the fact that le petit Steve Gignac was actually punched in the face on stage, by accident, by Robit Kyle Woolven. As they say in show biz, “it’s all fun and games until Steve’s nose is bleeding in the green room.”
We perform again tomorrow night at 7pm & you should be there. Because our show’s hilarious. Like, really really great. And if you don’t like it, we’ll sick Kyle on you.
It’s hard to believe we’re currently rehearsing for our end-of year sketch show!
It seems like just yesterday I was sitting in the audience as the second years from last year gave it their all one last time before graduating and/or moving on to the Industry Show. I’m so excited to see everyone’s sketches, the remount of some people’s plays, but most of all — I am stoked to FINALLY see our parody videos we filmed all last semester ago!
(See: Parody Shoots.)
And, I’m excited to actually put on our show, obviously. It really is going to be a good one. We’ve really extracted some of the funniest written scenes, with some of the funniest characters from over the past two years for your viewing and laughing pleasure. And everyone on the team gets a few opportunities to shine! (…)
It’s been a while since I’ve been able to perform sketch comedy, and as repetitive as I’ve been in saying it, I really miss doing it. Paige & I also get to showcase some of our dance experience in this show – in two numbers. So hey parents, all those 15 years of lessons are paying off. (Not literally. I don’t get paid for this. But maybe one day it’ll actually pay off. In this case, it’s just paying off because I’ve been cast in two scenes because I can dance and sing simultaneously.)
Maybe I’m too tired to be posting today. (Maybe that’s why everything’s in brackets.)
Maybe that five hour rehearsal for 10 minute’s worth of (terribly flawed) stage time really wiped me out.
Maybe it was working til midnight yesterday.
I’m finally caught up with Mad Men.
I need an oil change.
And to do laundry.
Zzzzz…
This past Tuesday, Humber’s Comedy program held its’ first Stand-Up Gala at Yuk Yuk’s – to be aired (perhaps) (eventually) on Sirius XM satellite radio. We had a special guest host, Levi MacDougall, who you probably recognize from all those Rogers commercials, but who you should probably learn more about because he’s a lot more impressive than the dude in those commercials. ANYWAY, it felt good to perform that night, because I hadn’t had the strongest set in our showcase the week prior, (the one in which a bunch of Humber alumni and other industry people came to evaluate,) and yet I was still asked to participate. And, I believe I had a better night on the Gala show than I did on the showcase, so Win 1 for Brie!
I’d like to say I’m over the relatively shitty feeling you get when a bunch of people you hardly know tells you what they didn’t like about your performance in the form of a numerical grade, but I’m pretty over it.
Some people had better Showcase nights. Some people had better Gala nights. There are good and bad nights & good and bad sets. I am uplifted that my Gala night went better, because it encourages me to want to go out more, to write more and to keep at it. Life doesn’t end at the showcase.
Obviously.
It ends at the Industry Show.
No. Not really.
That being said, we are currently hard at work on our end-of-year Sketch show, which has been TREMENDOUS fun! Our director, Gary Pearson, is so profesh, organized & on the ball. I’d aim for an attitude like his if I was ever to be back working in a sketch troupe. And I am SO stoked that two of my sketches, one black-out and an improv-come-sketch (with help from the very funny Brandon Trainor,) were selected to be part of our show.
There’s something about the collaborative nature of sketch comedy that makes upcoming performances more exciting than the nerve wracking excitation of stand-up. It’s probably because you have others to play with and fall back on. It’ll also be a moment to take in because it’ll be the last time us 02s work together as a collective. Unless we’re all chosen for the Industry Show. (Fingers crossed.)
Maybe it’s the cough syrup talking sentimental, but I’m sure gonna miss thing gang when clown college’s is all over. 😦
I missed Mad Men so I could do home work today, on Easter.
I just want it to go down in the records that I’m that dedicated. OK?
It’s been another one of those crazy-busy weeks where I haven’t had time to post too often, but last night – Friday – I was at Comedy Bar, where I’d been invited to read a monologue as “Thinking Woman” The Panel Show, a monthly show put on by (a bunch) of the guys from the awesome sketch troupe Shoeless. (Seriously – any chance to see one of this troupe’s shows – leap!) – followed by a delicious tasty gelato with my best pal from the olden days Dina & her sister Jess.
Another big deal of the week was that I was hired to start working at The Second City as a host – which is a totally huge deal. I know in the past I’ve been like – meehhh, I don’t know if I want a job in the evenings because it’ll interrupt with my abilities to go out and do comedy. Yeah, ok BUT… working in a comedy club – not just any comedy club, the fucking Second City, seems like a pretty smart move, I’d say. So many big comics got their start at the Second City. And, I heard through the grapevine that if you work at SC, you can get discounts on improv classes, which is great, because I was planning on taking the A-E levels after completing my program at Humber. Anyhoo – I start on Monday and am totally and completely stoked.
I also interviewed for and was asked to help out as an intern on a new show soon to be shot for the Oprah Winfrey Network. I don’t know that I’m allowed to talk about what it is or whatever, but they were looking for interns and a pal and I from Humber went on down to the Corus Entertainment building down by the lake on Tuesday morning and got ourselves some good old-fashioned unpaid internships!
In addition to that, we met with and pitched sketches to our director, Gary Pearson, for our end of year Sketch show, taking place at the Comedy Bar mid-April. I’m happy to say two of my sketches were selected to be put into the show – so hooray for that. Consequently, Gary is the first person to make a comment about the high-concentration of sex-themed pieces the people in my class write. No big surprise there. But he’s the only person in this two year program to say: “Uh, enough. Talk about something else!!” There go my next three sketch pitches.
Tuesday was Round One of 2nd years’ Stand-Up Showcase at Yuk Yuk’s and HOLY COW was it a great show! Solid 4-minute sets put on by half the people in my year, in front of alumni, other comics and a few big wigs. It was great to see some people who don’t go out too often – sometimes they really surprise you. You think, jeez! Where have you been all this time? Why haven’t you been doing this more? My hope is that Round Two goes just as well, if not BETTER… because that’s the show I’ll be on, and it’s happening on my Birthday, so if it doesn’t go well, somebody’s going to be drinking away her sorrows instead of celebrating that night.
Also – and nothing really do to with comedy school, Wednesday was “jab Brie in the arm day” at the doctor’s office. Apparently my veins are difficult to find when I’m dehydrated due to mandatory fasting. This was the result. Bask in my pain.
Back to Comedy -> Saturday was the culmination of a project some of my school colleagues have been working on for the past little while. They were to transform their 10-minute plays into radio plays with help from a pro from the CBC. After much learning, editing, re-writing and other stuff, they finally recorded the pieces yesterday at Humber’s sound booth. I still got to play one of the dogs in Ashley’s Dog Wedding: Rated Radio so what better way to spend a Saturday than trapped in a soundproof extremely warm booth? No, but seriously, it was a lot of fun, even though my 10-minute play didn’t get picked to go on the radio. Totally not bitter about that. It’s really not a big deal. Nope. Not even a little bit. It’s cool. I’m cool. Everything’s good.
So as not to end on a (totally not) bitter note, last night I had somewhat of a high school reunion. It’s fun to just hang out with people you’ve known from a simpler time – good ol’ Welland high school/cadet friend days. Except…instead of MT Bellies, now we meet at Okrutny’s upscale downtown condo on Queens Quay and eat baked Brie. Consequently, that is also my DJ name.
Cheers all! Bring on next week!
I’d like to thank everyone who participated in and supported “Standin’ Up To Cancer: A Stand-Up Comedy Show in support of Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto”
Because of your generous support our little-comedy-show-that-could raised $500 for Gilda’s Club – Greater Toronto last night at the John Candy Box Theatre.
This was our first attempt at organizing a comedy fundraiser and we’d like to thank each and every one of you for making it such a fantastic success!
HUGE thanks to every single person in the audience for your warmth, your generosity, and for your laughter.
To each and every performer last night, thank you. You were all wonderfully entertaining and I cannot wait to perform alongside each and every one of you in the future. You’re all hugely talented!
Thanks to Sarah White for helping us with tickets and to Paige Turner for designing such an awesome poster – (and to your Dad for letting us print them for free!)
Thanks to everyone who donated gifts and prizes for the raffle. I don’t think anyone went home empty-handed last night! (I know I don’t have a degree in Commerce from Humber College, but my mug says I do!)
Most of all, thank you all for your compassion and support for an organization that provides so much help and empowerment to all people impacted by cancer. For more information about the services offered at Gilda’s Club, or to make an additional donation, please check out: http://www.gildasclubtoronto.org/
Thank you all so very much!
Brie Watson
& Nola Cooks
They say life is cyclical and History repeats itself. In pop culture; music & fashion, we see it all the time (why I’m wearing fluorescent spandex and a scrunchy as I type this message!) With the surge in popularity of podcasts, younger generations are starting to get an understanding, even though they might not realize it, of what was so dang nifty about the radio.
Last Monday, some students in my year at Humber put on a Live Radio Show at Comedy Bar. It seems weird to say that because we weren’t actually live on the radio. We were performing live in front of a (sparsely attended) audience and simultaneously being recorded for a program that will hopefully be aired on Sirius XM Satellite radio, eventually.
The whole idea for the event was that of my sketch teacher, Robin Duke. It was both an assignment on learning about the history of comedy and its origins on the radio (Air Farce started on the radio. Did you know that?) as well as learning how to write sketch for a medium other than stage or video.
I thought it was a lot of fun. It allowed for my characters to survive a nuclear holocaust! This is something I would NOT have been able to afford to recreate effectively either on stage or on video. But alas, my awesome cast (Ashley, Brandon, Paige & Wheatgrass) performed wonderfully and over all, I believe the sketch was well-received. Go us! 🙂 (Including Bruce & Lance for the tips!)
On the other hand, the whole radio play ordeal showed me a lot about the importance of adaptability. Some of you may know that I work part time at the Career Centre at Humber College, helping people better their resumes in order to try to land a decent job… or at least, an interview. Adaptability is a skill that is almost always sought by employers, and a really good skill to have at work, or in life.
Here we are: the scripts have been selected for the performance, the date has been chosen and all that’s left are edits and rehearsals. And lo, the teacher catches pneumonia and has to take a few days off work. As a result, communications get a little more complicated and people begin to panic. “I don’t know when to be where. I didn’t get an e-mail about this or that. I don’t know what to do for this. I didn’t bother editing this because I didn’t hear about that.” Mass chaos.
In the midst of all the confusion, Robin Duke receives an e-mail from Bob Derkach, the musical director for our radio show and long time musical director at the Second City in Toronto. He was to accompany our pieces on the keyboard and with sound effects. The e-mail read simply: “Digging the confusion.”
What an amazing way to look at the situation! I feel like there are two routes you can go. You can get frustrated and pissed off and complain about how much of a mess you think everything is, OR you can just go with it, accept that life isn’t always carefully planned out and make the best out of the situation.
Which one do you suppose is most helpful and beneficial to the project at hand?
***
Now… if only people had COME to the show…
Brie Watson 