Tag: humour

I’ve been down a bit lately with regards to our sketch troupe falling apart.  I had all these ideas for sketches.  Even when I didn’t have any ideas, I knew that if there was a show coming, I could sit in front of my computer and come up with something funny for the show.

But now, without a sketch troupe with which to perform, I’ve decided to turn my sketch ideas into short stories.  The first one I’m working on is Christmas-themed, which is good because there’s no way I’d be able to stage it on time before Christmas.  Once we start school up again, people will have moved on from the whole Holiday thing. (Ah, How fleeting is our time?…)

I don’t know if the humour I wish to depict on stage via sketch performers will translate as well onto the page.  Maybe it’ll be more difficult when it’s not possible to see the reactions on the actors’ faces.

Hopefully readers’ imaginations are still capable of visualizing such emotional responses in their minds…, if the piece is written well enough!

Ooooh.  New challenges!

Extremely Short Story

What a week!

We’re in the midst of rehearsing for two days of 3-camera shoots (a la SNL) of parody sketches we’ve written.   We’re filming next week.  I can’t wait to see my Star Trek sketch come to fruition on screen.  I’m a bit nervous about playing a prostitute, primarily for the protection of my own self-esteem.  Perhaps I should consider forgetting the concept of self-esteem entirely for the rest of my second year at Humber and just go with the flow, as qotsa would say. Perhaps I should give up eating.

I performed a stand-up set as a dog sweater in class.  It went over terribly, although I still stand by my jokes.  Particularly this one:

“I’m not saying you have to be dumb to buy a sweater for your dog, I’m just saying I’m sorry your barren.” 

Another big development – the sketch troupe I’d been performing in, LaughDraft, dissolved this past week, for several reasons.  It’s too bad because we actually experienced some modest success at our shows, ie: people came to them.  We got ahead pretty quick in the game, what with our entry into this year’s Sketchfest – and we were starting to be asked to perform with other Toronto troupes around town, but I guess, ultimately, it was not meant to be.

I hope it doesn’t take too long before I find people to sketch with.

Oh November – getting dark at 4:30 does not do good things for one’s personal motivation or morale.   Good thing I already put up my Christmas lights!  #livingalonerules #imsimultaneouslylonely

The current project we’re working on at school is a 3-walled shoot of a sketch parody we’ve written.   I’m excited to say that my parody was selected as one of the sketches to be filmed.  However, the upcoming rehearsal schedule is a little daunting; especially considering I still have to go in to work, I also have three additional assignments due this week and LaughDraft is performing at the Hard Luck on Tuesday.  This is going to be nuts.

I wonder if anyone else is feeling the pressure of this impending week of parody doom?

Well, my gig as one of the “Humber Interns” at the 2011 Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival is over, and what a ride it has been!

If my calculations are correct, I performed in 1 show with my sketch troupe, LaughDraft; I saw 12 shows, during which I was able to check out 23 sketch troupes; and I attended 3 workshops – 2 free and 1 that was supposed to be paid, but because of my “intern” status, I was able to check out for free. (Thank you to whoever made that possible, by the way – it was great to meet/work with other amazingly talented people from various other sketch and improv troupes.)

It helped that I was working on the Troupe and Video of the Day posts leading up to the festival, because I was able to get to know some of the troupes before I saw them perform.

Working with the producers with the fest, the other staff members and alongside the many volunteers has been such a fun experience.  I met and worked with so many great people.  What a treat!

Also, I’m not surprised but very happy for my buddies Vest of Friends, as well as for Falcon Powder and Peter n’ Chris for the awards they picked up.  All extremely well merited, if you ask me.  They all really did stand out this year!

I’d give honourable mention to CBC’s This is That & Two Kids One Hall for really knocking my socks off.  These two shows, part of the headliner series, even though I had to watch them on the sidelines, were so great, they were inspirational!  Scott & Kevin from the Kids in the Hall are icons in Canadian comedy.  To see them continue to work their stuff and that it’s funnier than ever says great things about comedy in Canada, I think.  That it exists?  That it’s here to stay?  Whether you like it or not.  (I don’t know?)

And This is That, I’d never heard the broadcast before, but the mere concept, to me, was hilarious.  And believe me, I will be listening from now on.  They were fantastic!  A CBC faux-broadcast taken completely seriously in all of deadpan’s splendor!   I’m still in stitches!

****

Other moments or troupes that seem to stand out during the fest to me were:

Charles were so funny, so witty, so smart!  The reference-levels and knowledge they possess is quite impressive.  And that they demonstrated this knowledge in their sketches is something to aspire to.  I’ve made a note of that for my own future-sketch writing.

Fratwurst‘s sketches were super clever, but their Barbershop Quartet song really set them apart! (And the post-balloon make-out sess.  Way hot!)

Ninja Sex Party‘s video about the couple hooking up at a party.  Holy crap that was funny! And unexpected!  Bam!

Inside Joke Film‘s energy was out of this world! Seriously, they must be some kind of crazy-energy-robots.

Punch in the Box took physical comedy to a whole new level performing an entire scene topless, using their hands to cover their boobs.  Grown women, people.  This was hilarious!  (Don’t worry Mom, I don’t intend to try this out in any of my sketches any time soon.)

The Queer Comedy Collective’s “Dyke Moments in History” about the Invention of the Purse was ridiculously funny!

She Said What’s Napoleon sketch was probably the funniest sketch in the entire festival.  There, I said it.

Shoeless‘s banana bandana and celery cap have still got me laughing spontaneously on the bus, making other TTC riders uncomfortable.  And their Twilight scene?  Oh man.  Too much!!!

The National Theatre of the World, their professionalism and their chemistry was truly phenomenal.  I want to see EVERY show they do from now until the end of time.

****

That wasn’t it though.  So many sketch troupes.  So much hilarity.  This list could go on for days!

What I’m getting at, I think, is that it was such a great experience to be a part of this festival, both in the role of intern and performer.

The only thing left to say, I think, Thank you Julianne & Paul (and Andrew).  And bring on TOsketchfest 2012!

Here’s a silly piece I’m working on in stand-up.  (It’s not really stand-up comedy — it’s an exercise in writing for radio.)  Probably one of the most bizarre parodies I’ve written.  It’s short because it’s supposed to fit into a 30 second time-slot.

Borkin – Cash For Bunnies

Daughter:        Mom, what’s wrong?

Mom:       I just have all this silly gold lying around and I don’t know what to do with it!

Daughter:      Duh Mom!  Just take it to Borkin!

Mom:                  Who?

Daughter:      Jeez Mom, don’t you watch the TV?  Borkin!  He’ll give you the most bunnies for your old gold, jewelry, diamonds, and used sports equipment!

Mom:      What about my collection of novelty Clark Gable busts?

Daughter:      Borkin will sell those on consignment for even more bunnies!

Mom:      What’s consignment? Oh well, I love bunnies!

Daughter:      I told you Borkin’s the best!

VO:      Located in the back alley behind your nephew’s drug dealer’s parking garage.

OH… for those of you who live outside the GTA… it’s a parody of this terrible commercial:  Oren

 

 

 

Great news!  I get to do more than perform for the Toronto Sketch Comedy Fest, I’m also now officially one of their 3 Humber student-interns.  I’ll be working on some social media updates, some organizing, some helping out here and there, and other exciting interny things!

Like the Comedy Awards, I’m glad Humber sets us up with these neat ways to meet & work with the big shots and little shots in the community! 😀

Check back often to see how this new adventure turns out!

Yay!

"Don't point that gun at him. He's an unpaid intern."

I’m excited about all this stuff happening for LaughDraft and I’m simultaneously frustrated.

There’s lots to be excited about.  For one, there’s the upcoming Halloween show at Comedy Bar:

 

This is exciting because:

  • Its’ the first time we perform at Comedy Bar;
  • It’s the first time Humber contributes to our troupe (Free Food, anybody?);
  • We’re performing ALL NEW sketches;
  • It’s Halloween!
  • One of my sketches got in;
  • We might make some money if enough people come, which will help us with future projects, etc.

We were also selected as the one troupe from Humber to be submitted into the Toronto Sketch Comedy Festival (which my class friends and colleagues are quick to point out is only due to the fact that we are currently the only performing-sketch troupe in the program so far this year.  To which I say: Default performance in SketchFest is better than no performance at all.)

Why this is exiting:

  • Two of the Kids in the Hall are performing in this festival. OMG!;
  • Other AMAZING sketch troupes are performing in this festival;
  • Our program coordinator at Humber, Andrew Clark, likes us enough to recommend us to the organizers;
  • We get to showcase 15 minutes of our best material to date (none of which was written by me… sigh.);
  • We get unlimited access to see all the shows in the festival;
  • Vest of Friends got to do it last year, and this year they might make it to Just For Laughs… just saying…;
  • Etc.

For everything there is to be excited about, it’s difficult because there are always some people ready to downplay the achievement, however meager it may be in our just-beginning careers and for what purpose?  I simply do not understand.  Are they still in that “it’s cool to be apathetic” stage?  Do they simply not want to be a part of this but feel obligated to stay on?  But again, for what reason?  I just don’t get it.

I wonder if it’s to do with the fact that I’m older.  Or  that apathy has naver been in my nature. I crave DOING.  I crave things to give a shit about!  Maybe it’s relative to what you put in.  I put a lot into LaughDraft, creatively and professionally.  I do a lot of the organizational aspects of it, I try to keep our meetings on track.  I often meet with Andrew to discuss Humber’s involvement and have done since the very beginning.  Because of that, I expect the same enthusiasm from all the others.  Here’s the problem.  It’s not them. It’s me.  Maybe I just have unrealistically high expectations. When something excites me, I expect it to excite the others in the group.  And it does some.  And others not.

And who cares, at the end of the day?  It’s no big deal.  But I do.  That’s the problem.

Here’s an insight into one of my most terrible jokes:

  • “The worst thing about attending a cancer party, is that you can’t complain about the food.  Sure you’re chicken may be rubbery, but that guy’s dying of fucking cancer!”

I don’t mean to mock anyone’s struggle with cancer.  It’s just that sometimes, it’s so hard to not to be able to do or say anything helpful or comforting, that just saying anything, even if it’s the opposite of comforting, helps me deal with such a heavy reality.

Last night’s Yuk’s was a ball!  Sadly, I’m stuck at home this evening memorizing a monologue & writing topical jokes, or I’d be out telling more jokes tonight.  This semester’s been busy.  I can tell this not only because of the amount of work I have due, but more visually, because my apartment is in an almost constant state of disorder.  In university, I used to clean my room as  a means of procrastinating.  Maybe I should get back into that habit, (instead of blogging to procrastinate.)

Yuk Yuk’s Humber Night – October 19 2011

This is how I get called up:

      “Your next comedian is, um… Brie Watson.”

Technically, she got it right. Yes I was next, and that is in fact my name.  But how about a little oomph please?  I walk up on stage to that and the crowd already thinks I’m going to bore them to death.

But I get up on stage and couldn’t be happier about the fact that the three people in the front row, off to the side, look like celebrities.  More specifically, they look like a blonde Justin Bieber, the bearded-guy from Modern Family (but not a red-head) and a less-coked-out Courtney Love.  Bringing this information to the audience was one of those moments I’ve heard Larry refer to as: “A gift from the comedy gods.”   Just a moment when something comes up and you just KNOW it’s going to be good and it’s going to resonate well with the crowd.  And it DID.  Which is GREAT! Because I was going up with all new material and I was worried the set would be garbage!

But this guy was blonde.

God!  I just re-listened to it.  I HATE re-listening to my sets.  The second half of it WAS garbage, I stumbled so many times.  Gotta tighten it up, that’s all.  Tighten it up.  I wonder what Larry thought of it.  I LONG FOR HIS APPROVAL.

AND for Andrew Clark’s.  That’s why I talk so freakin’ much in his class. LOVE ME, ANDREW!  Get me a gig with Breslin when I graduate this place!! Don’t send me back to Ottawa, I don’t want to go back there! I can’t do it!  I just can’t!! (Unless it’s to do gigs at Yuk Yuk’s! In which case, SEND ME BACK TO OTTAWA!! PLEASE!)

The gay dude from Modern Family!!

I think I’m starting to crack under all this pressure.

No not really.

Havin' a good day.