Come see amateur and professional comedians do battle tonight at Laughs Comedy Spot in Kirkland, where yours truly is on the lineup. Since it’s my first time doing their popular Tuesday show, I’ll be doing a tight five minutes of proven material. Admission is free, with the bar serving $2 beers and a “Starving Artist” [...]
In last week’s entry about stand-up gimmick acts, I made the following point: The uncontested master of the gimmick act is the brilliant Sacha Baron Cohen, creator of Ali G, Borat, and Bruno. At this point, Cohen isn’t just a comedian; his commitment is so total that he’s more accurately categorized as a performance artist. [...]
I’ve got a whoppin’ four minutes of new material to try out at Giggles tonight, w00t. I’m especially looking forward to trying one particular new bit that’s a full two minutes long. A less foolhardy comic might try the premise out, first, before committing to also run out its full gauntlet of tags and toppers1… [...]
A lot of things can go into a gimmick stage persona: an outlandish costume, a crazy voice, ventriloquist dummies, an insulting hand puppet, and more. They might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the audience overwhelmingly loves them, and that’s ultimately what matters. The important thing to keep in mind, for a comedian looking [...]
My friend and fellow comic Andrew J. Rivers made an interesting comment on his Twitter last night: I don’t think I’ve ever had a video that was as good as the real experience. Just a fact of life I have to accept. I’ve felt that way sometimes, too. I’ve also had the opposite reaction, where [...]
