Hey kids, it's been a while hasn't it? I've been busy trying to find a new job, figuring out school for the fall, moving and just generally trying to get back into reality.
I finally got back onstage on Wednesday night at Jitter's and at Grumpy's. It was the first time in about a month and a half that I'd done comedy. I don't know what happened exactly that made me stop doing it for so long - maybe it was being on vacation and then not getting up on a Monday or two and then having a concert to go to (Patti Smith) and then a party and then not getting up again. Either way, it had been much too long. I did a fairly decent job - I should've done more new jokes, but I was nervous about going on again and remembering my old ones so I didn't take my chances. Except that comedy is all about chances. Oh well - next time.
I also got a new job at Caribou in downtown. One of the 12 Caribous within 5 miles. The guy just offered me the job right there in the interview. I thought that was weird. I'll be working the morning shift, so 5:30-1ish which means I'll have to plan accordingly for the evenings. I doubt I'll be going out much this fall on account of a.) the new job and b.) the fact that I'll be taking both Chemistry and Biology in the same semester. Also, I need to save money like hella whoa on account of my dreams to go traveling, take a paramedic class and pay for school. I guess wanting a life in the future means not having a life now. Bummer.
In anycase, I'll be emceeing at the Joke Joint this Sunday I believe - it may be tentative, we'll see.
-C.Blo out
Friday, August 17, 2007
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Swallow My Pride
I'm transferring from the U of M to MCTC this fall. It's cheaper, it's smaller and the nursing program is better. Lined up this coming semester are: Biology, Chemistry and a Nursing Assistant training course. In all, this is 14 credits. 
14 terribly difficult credits. I'm not a math person by any stretch of the imagination so taking chemistry and biology in the same semester is a death sentence for me. The plan so far is to stay at home as much as humanly possible in order to pass these classes with nothing but flying colors.
Since I'll be finished with my nursing pre-reqs by January, I'll have free reign over my schedule for spring semester. I don't know what I'm going to do quite yet. I could get a certificate in Native American history in one semester, but what good is that? I could study abroad, which would be fantastic. There are no French study abroad options, only Spanish which is fine but I'd really like to continue with my French somehow. There's a Spanish study abroad option in the spring to go to Costa Rica for 6 months. I'll look into it if I have the cash. Or, I could get back into theater and get a theater arts certificate in one semester.
I love theater, I always have. Since the age of four, I've said I was going to be an actress someday. Being a comic is acting, sure, but it's definitely not the same as a constructed, thought-out play. I was involved in high school theater all four years and I adored it.
I got to the U, tried to get involved there but I constantly felt alienated because I wasn't doing it for a career, I was doing it because it's a hobby of mine. The theater kids at the U didn't take me seriously because I'm a nursing student, not an artsy kind of student. That deterred me the entire time I was at the U. MCTC is a fresh start on all levels.
Another thing that's kept me away from it is the fact that the theater crowd in Minneapolis is extremely tight knit. I had done tech for a little theater production company called "Theory/Chaos" a few years in a row for the Fringe Festival. About 2 years ago, I stage managed 2 shows for the Emigrant Theater Company and it was the worst experience of my life. The director never liked me - if I had an idea for a scene she was struggling with, she'd snap at me, yelling "I'm the director for this play, you're the stage manager - shut your mouth and take notes!" Without mincing words, she was a condescending bitch to me and took nearly every opportunity to make me feel both ostracized and neglected. Looking at their website, I'm not even mentioned as the stage manager for either play that I worked with while other plays listed have the SM right up there with the director and the assistant director. I'm offended, really. Granted, I wasn't the absolute best SM, but I tried my damndest to make it a decent production. My duties included but weren't limited to operating lights and sound, lugging a ton (literally) of sand on and off a set, digging through the trash for props and keeping my mouth shut. I fucked up my cues a number of times and I regret that, but they really shouldn't have given me lights and sound at the same time - they should have relegated one of the two to someone else. It's hard enough to memorize cues for lights let alone for sound as well.
In anycase, my point is that the theater community here in Minneapolis is tight knit and since I fucked up royally with this Emigrant play I've most likely been bad mouthed throughout the city as a shitty SM and someone not to be hired or associated with in terms of theater. It makes me sad, guilty, angry and ashamed of myself really. My options are thus: I could either let the theater world go forever or I could clean up my name and become someone worth working with again.
Swallowing your pride is a very difficult thing to do, but starting this Fall I'm going to try to get back into it without caring too much what the Emigrant Theater Company or any of the other theater snobs think.
14 terribly difficult credits. I'm not a math person by any stretch of the imagination so taking chemistry and biology in the same semester is a death sentence for me. The plan so far is to stay at home as much as humanly possible in order to pass these classes with nothing but flying colors. Since I'll be finished with my nursing pre-reqs by January, I'll have free reign over my schedule for spring semester. I don't know what I'm going to do quite yet. I could get a certificate in Native American history in one semester, but what good is that? I could study abroad, which would be fantastic. There are no French study abroad options, only Spanish which is fine but I'd really like to continue with my French somehow. There's a Spanish study abroad option in the spring to go to Costa Rica for 6 months. I'll look into it if I have the cash. Or, I could get back into theater and get a theater arts certificate in one semester.
I love theater, I always have. Since the age of four, I've said I was going to be an actress someday. Being a comic is acting, sure, but it's definitely not the same as a constructed, thought-out play. I was involved in high school theater all four years and I adored it.
I got to the U, tried to get involved there but I constantly felt alienated because I wasn't doing it for a career, I was doing it because it's a hobby of mine. The theater kids at the U didn't take me seriously because I'm a nursing student, not an artsy kind of student. That deterred me the entire time I was at the U. MCTC is a fresh start on all levels. Another thing that's kept me away from it is the fact that the theater crowd in Minneapolis is extremely tight knit. I had done tech for a little theater production company called "Theory/Chaos" a few years in a row for the Fringe Festival. About 2 years ago, I stage managed 2 shows for the Emigrant Theater Company and it was the worst experience of my life. The director never liked me - if I had an idea for a scene she was struggling with, she'd snap at me, yelling "I'm the director for this play, you're the stage manager - shut your mouth and take notes!" Without mincing words, she was a condescending bitch to me and took nearly every opportunity to make me feel both ostracized and neglected. Looking at their website, I'm not even mentioned as the stage manager for either play that I worked with while other plays listed have the SM right up there with the director and the assistant director. I'm offended, really. Granted, I wasn't the absolute best SM, but I tried my damndest to make it a decent production. My duties included but weren't limited to operating lights and sound, lugging a ton (literally) of sand on and off a set, digging through the trash for props and keeping my mouth shut. I fucked up my cues a number of times and I regret that, but they really shouldn't have given me lights and sound at the same time - they should have relegated one of the two to someone else. It's hard enough to memorize cues for lights let alone for sound as well.
In anycase, my point is that the theater community here in Minneapolis is tight knit and since I fucked up royally with this Emigrant play I've most likely been bad mouthed throughout the city as a shitty SM and someone not to be hired or associated with in terms of theater. It makes me sad, guilty, angry and ashamed of myself really. My options are thus: I could either let the theater world go forever or I could clean up my name and become someone worth working with again.
Swallowing your pride is a very difficult thing to do, but starting this Fall I'm going to try to get back into it without caring too much what the Emigrant Theater Company or any of the other theater snobs think.
Monday, July 16, 2007
I just got back from a family vacation to Park Rapids, MN on Saturday. (<--- there's the view from our cabin.)We were there for a week, which is just long enough I think. Any longer and I'd go nuts. I can only handle so much time with the folks. I'm so used to living on my own and having my own space that when I'm crammed into a little cabin with 5 other people, I get a little touchy. I had a headache nearly the entire time and I don't know if it's from the meds I'm on or not being able to get away from people or the crappy bed or what I was eating. I still have an excruciating headache now - the kind where light makes you keel over in pain and Ibuprofen doesn't help. Maybe I should go to the doctor.In comedy news, or lack thereof, I haven't been doing it at all for the past 3 weeks or so. I couldn't do it last week, being up North and the week before I just wasn't into it. I got really down on myself and couldn't decide if I really wanted to pursue it anymore or not. That was mostly due to the fact that I haven't written anything in a long time. And by "long time" I mean about a month. I won my contest and now I'm coming down from that, trying to find something to look forward to with comedy. I was spending my time perfecting my timing and stage presence and all that and not concentrating on writing.
In an effort to increase my creativity I started making jewelry up at the lake. I bought a bunch of crap beads from the Ben Franklin and started making earrings. They're actually pretty nice. I gave a few pairs away and the recipients seemed to like them. It's fun, but it hurts the back and eyes when done for over 2 hours at a time. It's really refreshing to be doing something artistic again.
I also picked up the guitar again. I hadn't played in maybe a year. Not with conviction, at least. I used to play all the time,
I wanted to be like Nancy Wilson from Heart. (there's my guitar --->) Then I got to college and all of my priorities were forced to shift over to school and whoever I was dating at the time. I realise now that you (I) should never give up something I enjoy for someone I'm dating or anyone, really. It leaves you feeling empty and insecure. So now I'm playing again, remembering old songs and writing new ones. Nothing serious, just dicking around for now.Also, since getting back from the lake, I've made a concerted effort to do things I generally wouldn't have done before going up North - ie: not going to ACME on Saturday night and instead going to a party by myself thrown by a friend I hadn't seen in almost a year with whom I thought I had a falling out but apparently not. It was just a misunderstanding I guess, at least that's what I'll leave it at. It was a dance party and it was awesome. Also, I went to my ex's little sister's 18th birthday party yesterday. Bow and I dated for about a year 3 years ago and we've stayed relatively close since. His sister came to my contest night and really enjoyed it. His other sister lives in San Francisco and comes back twice a year or so and she wanted to see me too. Bow's going through kind of a rough time and I hadn't seen him a while either. I'm going to keep doing things I normally wouldn't and see where it takes me. Both of the aforementioned shindigs were things that I didn't see myself having a good time at. I thought I'd be uncomfortable and awkward, but I had a really good at time at both of them and they were way better than sitting around on the computer or napping all day.
So life is taking all sorts of turns and I'm trying to just go along with them without struggling or forcing it. It's a lot easier said than done, but I'm making an effort and that's better than most, right?
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Contest, Spade, Joke Joint
Hey folks! The contest was this past Thursday and I must say... I kicked some major ass, I won't lie. 20 or more people I know came to see me. I had never performed in front of that many people I know and I was incredibly nervous beforehand. About 2 minutes before I was supposed to go on, I got this incredibly feeling of calm and I knew it'd be okay. I went on and rocked the mic for 3 minutes or so and I most definitely got an applause break. Huttah! The headliner, Costaki Economopolous, almost did a callback to one of my jokes but then another contestant did it first. I consider that a huge compliment when 2 comics want to do a callback to your joke.
It was very weird to have all my friends and family surround me after the show. I finally feel like I can do something right, I know that sounds emo and all but this is the first thing I can really say I'm genuinely good at and mean it. It feels good. Too bad comedy doesn't really pay, at least right now it doesn't.
Last night I saw David Spade in Hinckley, MN. I had never been there before, but I have to say that it's absolutely everything I expected. Boring and somewhat trashy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy old women with oxygen tanks and cigarettes as much as everyone else does, but this place was just disconcerting. I don't like gambling much anyway. It was weird to have people smoking indoors. That's not the point, though. David Spade is the point. I have a crush on him and that made the show that much more amazing. I really wish I could've actually met him but he disappeared into the abyss pretty much immediately after the show. Todd Glass opened for him which was pleasant surprise. Overall, it was a really great show.
Tonight, I'm performing at the Joke Joint in Bloomington, MN. Matt Fugate is the headliner and Bill Young is the feature, so it's a show well-worth coming out to. I have no idea how much tickets are, but I can't imagine they're that expensive. Come on out and see some comedy tonight, it's better than television and probably more entertaining than watching your drunk friends walk into tables and fall off couches all night.
Peace
It was very weird to have all my friends and family surround me after the show. I finally feel like I can do something right, I know that sounds emo and all but this is the first thing I can really say I'm genuinely good at and mean it. It feels good. Too bad comedy doesn't really pay, at least right now it doesn't.
Last night I saw David Spade in Hinckley, MN. I had never been there before, but I have to say that it's absolutely everything I expected. Boring and somewhat trashy. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy old women with oxygen tanks and cigarettes as much as everyone else does, but this place was just disconcerting. I don't like gambling much anyway. It was weird to have people smoking indoors. That's not the point, though. David Spade is the point. I have a crush on him and that made the show that much more amazing. I really wish I could've actually met him but he disappeared into the abyss pretty much immediately after the show. Todd Glass opened for him which was pleasant surprise. Overall, it was a really great show.
Tonight, I'm performing at the Joke Joint in Bloomington, MN. Matt Fugate is the headliner and Bill Young is the feature, so it's a show well-worth coming out to. I have no idea how much tickets are, but I can't imagine they're that expensive. Come on out and see some comedy tonight, it's better than television and probably more entertaining than watching your drunk friends walk into tables and fall off couches all night.
Peace
Monday, June 18, 2007
Unpaid gigs
Hey there, kids. I've been making the rounds with the open mics around town lately in order to prepare for Thursday's show. I went to the Joke Joint in Bloomington and did about 5 minutes worth of material. The owner of the club, Ken Reed, agreed to let me emcee on Saturday night for their two shows. Matt Fugate is headlining and Bill Young is featuring. There'll be two shows, 7:30 and 10:00. I would do Friday night too, but I'm going to see David Spade up in Hinckley that night and there's no way I'm skipping that in order to emcee for a show I'm not getting paid for. I'm not getting any cash because a.) the Joke Joint doesn't have the funds yet, they're still pretty new and b.) it's against the Funniest Person in the Twin Cities Contest rules to get paid. Also, I need the experience in case I work my way up to ACME level emceeing. It should be fun if not humbling.
Here's the info:
Saturday June 23rd
7:30pm and 10:00pm
the Joke Joint Comedy Club
2300 American Blvd
Bloomington, MN
I have no idea how much it costs, but I think it's relatively cheap. The Joke Joint is located in the old Thunderbird Hotel which is now a Ramada Inn across the street from the Mall of America.
Come see me do stuff!
Here's the info:
Saturday June 23rd
7:30pm and 10:00pm
the Joke Joint Comedy Club
2300 American Blvd
Bloomington, MN
I have no idea how much it costs, but I think it's relatively cheap. The Joke Joint is located in the old Thunderbird Hotel which is now a Ramada Inn across the street from the Mall of America.
Come see me do stuff!
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
The red light means stop!
There's a big red light right in front of you at ACME when you're onstage and when it goes on for the first time, it means you have 30 seconds left, so wrap it up. When it starts blinking, you have 10 seconds. If you keep talking, your mic gets turned down. Embarrassing. We all laugh at the folks who get turned down on Mondays, but this past Monday... it happened to me. I was so frustrated and embarrassed and mad at myself. I don't know what the fuck I was doing,but I saw the redlight and thought I had enough time. Guess not. I had about 5 words left of the joke when I got turned down and Cliff, the announcer, was like, "sorry Carolyn..." Naturally, I ran away with my tail stuck between my legs, avoiding all the scrutiny and harrassment from the other comics. Ever since I started way back in September, I've heard nothing but "if you go over, you're fucked." "If you get turned down, you'll be 86'd from ACME for life!" So of course I was traumatized and saw my comedy career go down the toilet and yes, I wept a bit. I'm just taking me crying over it to mean that comedy really is incredibly important to me and it's something I want to continue doing. They even gave me 25 extra seconds! I was at 3:25 and I still wasn't done with my joke, I'm retarded. The other comics wouldn't stop saying "just don't go over, you don't go over!" which is like, "thanks, I know!" Pointless. It just made me feel like an even bigger moron.Anyway, so I went back inside and sat in the theater for the rest of the show, to prove that I wasn't some dumbass who got turned down and ran away. Afterward, I went up to the manager and told him I was really sorry and I just wasn't paying attention and I'm so mad at myself. For a few minutes, he played it off like I was totally screwed and I should just give up now, but then he said "pfft, it's ok - just don't do it again - this is your get out of jail free one time pass." What a relief, eh?
So yesterday, I timed out my contest set and without a lot of laughter breaks and going a bit swiftly, I was at 2:30. I'm gonna try it out tonight at Jitter's to see how it might possibly go next Thursday.
They finally put the bios up on the ACME website! Here's mine:
Carolyn Blomberg:
Favorite Comedian: Maria Bamford (great choice!)
As a comedy purist, Carolyn chose the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory vs the Johnny Depp version and Joe Rogan over Carlos Mencia. Now, if she could only apply that good taste to her boyfriends (jk/tr). Creative writing and a strong inner voice makes this comedian one to watch.
Woo woo! I don't know what a "strong inner voice" is, but I'll take it.
Come see me perform, guys!
Thursday June 21st 8pm
ACME Comedy Company
708 N First St
Mpls, MN 55401
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Laughing or Crying - which one?!
'Sup kids. Two stories to tell, neither very interesting:
Story one:
On Wednesday I went to Grumpy's on Washington for some open mic hilarity. I was the very last comic to go up for the night and I. fuckin. bombed. It was the worst set of my life. I went up there without really thinking about my set and I tried out some half baked jokes that didn't work at all. After sets like that, I generally run away with my tail behind my legs. And that's pretty much what I did. I went home and on the drive home I suddenly got very lonely and insecure about some things. I got to thinking that comedy is the only thing I consider myself pretty decent at and having blown donkey ass that night, I started thinking that maybe comedy isn't my forte. Then I got really depressed and starting wondering what really is my forte in life. What the hell am I supposed to do in 70 years? I know I'm only 21, but I feel like I don't have much time left to figure things out and get going. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time watching tv or googling my name online. I want to do comedy full time and not have a "real" job. I don't want to get up everyday at 8am and take the lightrail downtown where I see shells of people walking down Nicollet to their crappy office jobs. More importantly, I don't want to become one of those sorry souls. 9-5 jobs are not for me, nor are 8-4, 7-3 or 6-2 jobs. I want to be my own boss. I'm sick of not doing anything right for micromanagers in a company that means absolutely nothing to me. The point of this story is, I felt like shit that night and I was forced to consider my life and where it's going which is a very scary thing to consider.
Story two:
Tonight I went to the Joke Joint in Bloomington and did their first ever open mic night. It was pretty fun. I'd like to say I hate the set of the night, but that's relative and debatable. Either way, I think I did a kickass job and I'm pretty sure that was God's way of telling me "y'know what, kid, sometimes you need to suck in order to know that you're not really that awesome - here's a killer night, though - enjoy!" and then He patted on me the shoulder, turned around and starting walking away, turned back momentarily, threw me a baseball and kept walking into the sunset. The owner of the club, Ken, told me he was looking for emcees but he couldn't afford to pay right now. Kind of a bummer, but I'll take all the experience I can get right now. The point of *this* story is that I think comedy really is what I want to do for a career.
I went to the hospital today to visit a friend's friend who got into a really bad bike accident and I realized that I don't really like hospitals all that much... I was planning on being a nurse, but I've wanted to be a comic for much longer. The only reason I chose nursing was because my mom's a nurse, my aunt's a nurse, my great aunt's a nurse and so on and so forth. I would have a totally steady job with benefits and all the praise for being a good person a girl could want. Part of me is still somewhat interested in it, but I just can't see how nursing and comedy could work together - timewise, at least. The trip to the hospital was such a downer and I just can't see how I could go from such a sad environment to a comedy environment without going absolutely psycho somewhere down the line. Now is the time to decide, though. I'm on the brink of paying thousands of dollars to get a degree that I don't even know if I want. I'm having a really hard time figuring it all out.
I went to the Nick Swardson show last night at the State Theater downtown which kicked ass. I had heard most if not all of the jokes he told, but it was still really really cool seeing him perform in front of 1k+ fans. All I could think while he was up there was "holy crap, I want that!" The sound of hundreds of people cheering and clapping and most importantly, laughing must be such a high. Hell, I got high from the residual laughter, it was great. After the show, we all went to the Chamber's Hotel down the street and partied it up with Swardson and the guys who opened for him: Owen Benjamin, David Huntsberger and Patrick Keane. All nice guys, except for maybe Owen who wound up being a douchebag by attacking my religion and other very personal aspects of my life. I know he was drunker than friggin Lindsay Lohan, but it still stung a lot. Not a fan of Owen Benjamin, that's all. David Huntsberger, however, is one of the nicest and coolest comics I've met yet. He just recently started doing comedy full time and he's travelling all over the states doing it - how awesome, eh? He's featuring at ACME this week with Doug Benson - not a show to be missed, my friends.
Alright, this blog is too long - hope you read it all and didn't shove a pen in your eye in the process
Peace
Story one:
On Wednesday I went to Grumpy's on Washington for some open mic hilarity. I was the very last comic to go up for the night and I. fuckin. bombed. It was the worst set of my life. I went up there without really thinking about my set and I tried out some half baked jokes that didn't work at all. After sets like that, I generally run away with my tail behind my legs. And that's pretty much what I did. I went home and on the drive home I suddenly got very lonely and insecure about some things. I got to thinking that comedy is the only thing I consider myself pretty decent at and having blown donkey ass that night, I started thinking that maybe comedy isn't my forte. Then I got really depressed and starting wondering what really is my forte in life. What the hell am I supposed to do in 70 years? I know I'm only 21, but I feel like I don't have much time left to figure things out and get going. I feel like I've wasted a lot of time watching tv or googling my name online. I want to do comedy full time and not have a "real" job. I don't want to get up everyday at 8am and take the lightrail downtown where I see shells of people walking down Nicollet to their crappy office jobs. More importantly, I don't want to become one of those sorry souls. 9-5 jobs are not for me, nor are 8-4, 7-3 or 6-2 jobs. I want to be my own boss. I'm sick of not doing anything right for micromanagers in a company that means absolutely nothing to me. The point of this story is, I felt like shit that night and I was forced to consider my life and where it's going which is a very scary thing to consider.
Story two:
Tonight I went to the Joke Joint in Bloomington and did their first ever open mic night. It was pretty fun. I'd like to say I hate the set of the night, but that's relative and debatable. Either way, I think I did a kickass job and I'm pretty sure that was God's way of telling me "y'know what, kid, sometimes you need to suck in order to know that you're not really that awesome - here's a killer night, though - enjoy!" and then He patted on me the shoulder, turned around and starting walking away, turned back momentarily, threw me a baseball and kept walking into the sunset. The owner of the club, Ken, told me he was looking for emcees but he couldn't afford to pay right now. Kind of a bummer, but I'll take all the experience I can get right now. The point of *this* story is that I think comedy really is what I want to do for a career.
I went to the hospital today to visit a friend's friend who got into a really bad bike accident and I realized that I don't really like hospitals all that much... I was planning on being a nurse, but I've wanted to be a comic for much longer. The only reason I chose nursing was because my mom's a nurse, my aunt's a nurse, my great aunt's a nurse and so on and so forth. I would have a totally steady job with benefits and all the praise for being a good person a girl could want. Part of me is still somewhat interested in it, but I just can't see how nursing and comedy could work together - timewise, at least. The trip to the hospital was such a downer and I just can't see how I could go from such a sad environment to a comedy environment without going absolutely psycho somewhere down the line. Now is the time to decide, though. I'm on the brink of paying thousands of dollars to get a degree that I don't even know if I want. I'm having a really hard time figuring it all out.
I went to the Nick Swardson show last night at the State Theater downtown which kicked ass. I had heard most if not all of the jokes he told, but it was still really really cool seeing him perform in front of 1k+ fans. All I could think while he was up there was "holy crap, I want that!" The sound of hundreds of people cheering and clapping and most importantly, laughing must be such a high. Hell, I got high from the residual laughter, it was great. After the show, we all went to the Chamber's Hotel down the street and partied it up with Swardson and the guys who opened for him: Owen Benjamin, David Huntsberger and Patrick Keane. All nice guys, except for maybe Owen who wound up being a douchebag by attacking my religion and other very personal aspects of my life. I know he was drunker than friggin Lindsay Lohan, but it still stung a lot. Not a fan of Owen Benjamin, that's all. David Huntsberger, however, is one of the nicest and coolest comics I've met yet. He just recently started doing comedy full time and he's travelling all over the states doing it - how awesome, eh? He's featuring at ACME this week with Doug Benson - not a show to be missed, my friends.
Alright, this blog is too long - hope you read it all and didn't shove a pen in your eye in the process
Peace
Monday, June 4, 2007
The Old Thunderbird and the Ramada Inn
Last night I went to the Joke Joint Comedy Club in Bloomington. It's only been around for 5 weeks and the audience was pretty lame. I did a guest set for Bruce Baum (apparently he's been on the Simpsons as himself 4 times...). The audience was made up of all men except for 2 women and I was incredibly worried that my material 
wouldn't go over as well if there weren't more women in the crowd. Like I said, it was a weird audience and I ended on "faxmachine" which *always* gets some kind of response but last night - nothin. Awkward. I'd say one of my strengths is covering myself pretty well if a joke bombs, but last night was just too much. The room looks like a lounge singer's bedroom and the crowd looked like a bunch of hunting Republicans. It was comforting to see that in the bar they had the Democratic debates on, though.
The Joke Joint is located in the Ramada Inn across the street from the Mall of America. Any club located in a Ramada Inn is doomed. I honestly hope this one isn't though. Minneapolis needs more genuine comedy clubs around other than just ACME
where a lot of comics don't feel welcome. There was a club called Knucke Heads in the Mall of America, but they were shut down for some reason. Now all of the comics who were doing really well there and making a name for themselves have nowhere to go really. According to some comics, there are two groups of comedians: the road dogs and the ACME comics. I ran into a few guys at the Corner Bar on Friday night and they asked me where I performed the most. I said ACME. They groaned. I don't know what the process is at ACME for who gets on and who doesn't. All first timers automatically get on (fair enough), all comics who work at ACME as either emcees, features or headliners automatically get on (also fair), the in-betweeners who Louis Lee (the owner of the club) is looking at to possibly hire in the future get on regularly too (again, fair). But there are a few who get on every time they sign up or call in and they're neither first timers, in-betweeners nor employees at ACME. I don't know why they get on. To me, they're not very funny and they rarely come up with new material. Oh well, not my place to judge or decide.
Back to the Joke Joint. As I said, it's located in the Ramada Inn near the MOA. It used to be the Thunderbird Hotel, a historical landmark in the Twin Cities apparently. I couldn't decide whether or not I was offended by this place. There were all sorts of Native American memorabilia on the walls, the floor, the ceiling and in the bar. Sacred designs, taxidermied animals, totem polls. It felt like a casino, but worse almost. I'm incredibly interested in Native American culture and traditions and I'd like to say I know a little about it - enough to determine what's offensive and what's not, at least. There was not one Native American present last night - that I could tell. Mind you, I don't know much about the Thunderbird and whether or not it was established by Native Americans or some white guys who thought it would be a cool tourist trap, but it seemed to me that it
was definitely the latter. I would assume that a full blooded Lakota person would be offended by the "Shoshone Suite" or the "Anishinabe Suite". It was just odd, is all. Tommy thought I was overreacting by saying I was offended. He said "you're not even Native American." Do I really need to be a certain race to be offended by something like this? Oh well, that's a discussion for a more serious blogger, not I. Not here, at least.
Well, tonight is Monday and I've got my three minutes down I think - I need to time it and see.
Bye bye bye
wouldn't go over as well if there weren't more women in the crowd. Like I said, it was a weird audience and I ended on "faxmachine" which *always* gets some kind of response but last night - nothin. Awkward. I'd say one of my strengths is covering myself pretty well if a joke bombs, but last night was just too much. The room looks like a lounge singer's bedroom and the crowd looked like a bunch of hunting Republicans. It was comforting to see that in the bar they had the Democratic debates on, though.The Joke Joint is located in the Ramada Inn across the street from the Mall of America. Any club located in a Ramada Inn is doomed. I honestly hope this one isn't though. Minneapolis needs more genuine comedy clubs around other than just ACME
where a lot of comics don't feel welcome. There was a club called Knucke Heads in the Mall of America, but they were shut down for some reason. Now all of the comics who were doing really well there and making a name for themselves have nowhere to go really. According to some comics, there are two groups of comedians: the road dogs and the ACME comics. I ran into a few guys at the Corner Bar on Friday night and they asked me where I performed the most. I said ACME. They groaned. I don't know what the process is at ACME for who gets on and who doesn't. All first timers automatically get on (fair enough), all comics who work at ACME as either emcees, features or headliners automatically get on (also fair), the in-betweeners who Louis Lee (the owner of the club) is looking at to possibly hire in the future get on regularly too (again, fair). But there are a few who get on every time they sign up or call in and they're neither first timers, in-betweeners nor employees at ACME. I don't know why they get on. To me, they're not very funny and they rarely come up with new material. Oh well, not my place to judge or decide.Back to the Joke Joint. As I said, it's located in the Ramada Inn near the MOA. It used to be the Thunderbird Hotel, a historical landmark in the Twin Cities apparently. I couldn't decide whether or not I was offended by this place. There were all sorts of Native American memorabilia on the walls, the floor, the ceiling and in the bar. Sacred designs, taxidermied animals, totem polls. It felt like a casino, but worse almost. I'm incredibly interested in Native American culture and traditions and I'd like to say I know a little about it - enough to determine what's offensive and what's not, at least. There was not one Native American present last night - that I could tell. Mind you, I don't know much about the Thunderbird and whether or not it was established by Native Americans or some white guys who thought it would be a cool tourist trap, but it seemed to me that it
was definitely the latter. I would assume that a full blooded Lakota person would be offended by the "Shoshone Suite" or the "Anishinabe Suite". It was just odd, is all. Tommy thought I was overreacting by saying I was offended. He said "you're not even Native American." Do I really need to be a certain race to be offended by something like this? Oh well, that's a discussion for a more serious blogger, not I. Not here, at least.
Well, tonight is Monday and I've got my three minutes down I think - I need to time it and see.
Bye bye bye
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Ch-ch-changes
I've tried writing this blog at least 3 times and everytime something has gone wrong and the entry has been deleted or effed up hardcore. Hopefully this time will work
out.
Since Monday was Memorial Day there was no ACME, so I went to an awkward barbeque instead and almost passed out - possibly due to the questionable meat being cooked there. It was a comedy free weekend - however, tonight I'm going to Jitter's 99 Cent Comedy Hour and Grumpy's Death Comedy Jam on Washington to try out my three condensed minutes of comedy genius for the contest.
Speaking of the contest, it's coming up right fast. Next week, in fact, is the first night of the competition. Wednesday night, 5 comics will go head to head to see who really is the "funniest person in the Twin Cities." I got my date for the contest - Thursday June 21st at 8pm so mark your calendars! I'm getting a little nervous just typing about it, but I really shouldn't worry. A.) half of these comics have never actually been onstage before and B.) it's not the end of the world if I don't win the contest much less the night (every night, one comic wins and gets some rinky dink prize - Tommy got an Xtra Large Rolling Rock t-shirt on his night).
It'll be really cool to perform in front of a paying audience. Apparently the weekday audiences are much different than Monday's. Some other comics have said that weekday audiences expect less than Monday audiences, which is weird to me because weekday audiences pay and Monday audiences just drink. Maybe it's because the Monday crowds are generally the same folks who come out weekly or twice a month or so to check out the new comers and the weekday audiences are folks who've never seen standup live or are just there for a bachelorette party. Hopefully they'll be easier to please - we shall see.
Alright, that's it for now - C.Blo out.
out.Since Monday was Memorial Day there was no ACME, so I went to an awkward barbeque instead and almost passed out - possibly due to the questionable meat being cooked there. It was a comedy free weekend - however, tonight I'm going to Jitter's 99 Cent Comedy Hour and Grumpy's Death Comedy Jam on Washington to try out my three condensed minutes of comedy genius for the contest.
Speaking of the contest, it's coming up right fast. Next week, in fact, is the first night of the competition. Wednesday night, 5 comics will go head to head to see who really is the "funniest person in the Twin Cities." I got my date for the contest - Thursday June 21st at 8pm so mark your calendars! I'm getting a little nervous just typing about it, but I really shouldn't worry. A.) half of these comics have never actually been onstage before and B.) it's not the end of the world if I don't win the contest much less the night (every night, one comic wins and gets some rinky dink prize - Tommy got an Xtra Large Rolling Rock t-shirt on his night).
It'll be really cool to perform in front of a paying audience. Apparently the weekday audiences are much different than Monday's. Some other comics have said that weekday audiences expect less than Monday audiences, which is weird to me because weekday audiences pay and Monday audiences just drink. Maybe it's because the Monday crowds are generally the same folks who come out weekly or twice a month or so to check out the new comers and the weekday audiences are folks who've never seen standup live or are just there for a bachelorette party. Hopefully they'll be easier to please - we shall see.
Alright, that's it for now - C.Blo out.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Chi-town and the Bammer
Tommy and I went down to Chicago this past weekend to see Maria Bamford and Jackie Kashian do a show at the Lake Shore Theater. It was simply awesome. It had been a while since I had actually sat in the midst of a crowd during a show but this time, we sat 4th row center. I chose those seats because Maria Bamford does a lot with her
face during her shows and I wanted to see how she did it - to learn, if you will. I've gotten ahead of myself, let's start from the beginning, shall we?
We left Minneapolis at around 7:30am Friday and arrived in the Chicago area at 2:30pm. We stayed in a skeezy Days Inn motel - a motel, really? We couldn't poney up and go for vertical lodging? It was cheap but clean and we were only staying for a night, no big deal. We went to Target, because that's what you do when you go on a trip - go to a place that's exactly like the one in your home town. And it was. Targets don't change from state to state from what I've noticed. We walked back to the motel, I took a shower and Tommy took a nap and then we headed to the theater. Mapquest claimed that the drive to the theater would take approximately 10 minutes. It was 8 miles or so from the hotel, but due to the horrendous Friday night rush hour, one lane roads, lack of parking, one ways and asshole drivers not to mention the homeless people who have the balls to actually walk INTO traffic to ask for money, the trip in total took a half hour to 45 minutes. Thankfully, we left early enough that we didn't miss anything and we still got there early. We did, however, have to pay 15 dollars for 4 hours of parking... ridiculous.
Since we know the incomparable Jackie Kashian from ACME, she was kind enough to put us on the comp list for the night - we saved 50 bucks just from that. Before the
show, Tommy and I were walking around the neighborhood looking for a coffee joint (driving for 7+ hours wears you out pretty fast - granted, I was the passenger for the entire trip so I really have nothing to complain about) and we saw Maria Bamford walking down the street, looking very determined and very much not like what I thought she would look like. Seeing her on teh webzorz and on tv, etc I thought she was much shorter than she is. Granted, she was wearing a pair of black heels that made her maybe 2-3 inches taller, but still - apparently she's 5'6". Interesting. Anyway, the show started and was opened by the artistic director of the theater who is not a comic and was very nervous to introduce Jackie and Maria. Not much to say about the actual show other than it was amazing - I'll get to my thoughts on Maria in a second.
After the show, we awkwardly stood around waiting for Jackie and Maria to tend to their adoring fans. We weren't sure if it was kosher to ask them to go out for a drink or not, but they ended up asking us to go out for coffee with them which I'm right glad about considering booze + nerves = vomit and subsequent embarrassment. Then again, caffeine + nerves = not much better. There were six of us total, Jackie and her brother, Maria and some guy she went to highschool with and Tommy and I. We went to this posh little cafe called Argo where the drinks were surprisingly cheap. I paid for Jackie, her brother, Tommy and I but Maria insisted on paying for herself, saying that she had just gotten paid but thank you for the kind offer. It wasn't long before the shop closed and we had to part ways, but talking to Maria about comedy was eye opening and wonderful. I shook her hand and she said "us women gotta stick together in the comedy business" and I was like, "f'real, shiiiiii(t)" and she laughed, saying that she hopes to come to Mpls for a couple days to do a show and an open mic. She hates coming for weeklong shows because of the radio, she says it depresses her.
To wrap it up, we went back to the motel, passed out on the bed, woke up at around 8ish, had our free continental breakfast, explored Chicago for a bit going to the
pier and the Field Museum and then made the journey back home, getting back at around 10:30pm. All in all, it was a decent trip but I wish we could have stayed longer or hung out with Maria and Jackie for a little longer.
My thoughts on Maria Bamford: I think she's wonderful. She has such off the wall ideas that the only way I can think of even thinking of those types of ideas is to imagine crawling deep inside my brain and pulling things out at random without censoring myself. I wish I could do that, but I'm really not confident enough yet. It was interesting to hear her thoughts on her own comedy. She said she was worried that she was doing too much material on her family and she was afraid people would get bored with it or it would pigeon hole her into some genre of comedy. It's so cool to hear a successful comic like that whom most fellow comedians consider to be a 'genius' not be confident in some of her material. Also, I realized that her voice onstage isn't really her voice offstage. She has a relatively high, squeeky-ish voice onstage and I think she does that to enhance her other voices, make them seem even more different than her real one... if that makes sense. When I got back to Mpls, I wrote her an awkward Myspace message saying that is was nice to meet her and I hoped the Saturday night show went as well as Friday's show. She wrote back and pretty much said "ditto, hope to see you in MN or LA!" - sweet.
Anyway, this entry has gone on far too long - ACME is tonight and I need to brainstorm.
Holla!
-- C.Blo
face during her shows and I wanted to see how she did it - to learn, if you will. I've gotten ahead of myself, let's start from the beginning, shall we?We left Minneapolis at around 7:30am Friday and arrived in the Chicago area at 2:30pm. We stayed in a skeezy Days Inn motel - a motel, really? We couldn't poney up and go for vertical lodging? It was cheap but clean and we were only staying for a night, no big deal. We went to Target, because that's what you do when you go on a trip - go to a place that's exactly like the one in your home town. And it was. Targets don't change from state to state from what I've noticed. We walked back to the motel, I took a shower and Tommy took a nap and then we headed to the theater. Mapquest claimed that the drive to the theater would take approximately 10 minutes. It was 8 miles or so from the hotel, but due to the horrendous Friday night rush hour, one lane roads, lack of parking, one ways and asshole drivers not to mention the homeless people who have the balls to actually walk INTO traffic to ask for money, the trip in total took a half hour to 45 minutes. Thankfully, we left early enough that we didn't miss anything and we still got there early. We did, however, have to pay 15 dollars for 4 hours of parking... ridiculous.
Since we know the incomparable Jackie Kashian from ACME, she was kind enough to put us on the comp list for the night - we saved 50 bucks just from that. Before the
show, Tommy and I were walking around the neighborhood looking for a coffee joint (driving for 7+ hours wears you out pretty fast - granted, I was the passenger for the entire trip so I really have nothing to complain about) and we saw Maria Bamford walking down the street, looking very determined and very much not like what I thought she would look like. Seeing her on teh webzorz and on tv, etc I thought she was much shorter than she is. Granted, she was wearing a pair of black heels that made her maybe 2-3 inches taller, but still - apparently she's 5'6". Interesting. Anyway, the show started and was opened by the artistic director of the theater who is not a comic and was very nervous to introduce Jackie and Maria. Not much to say about the actual show other than it was amazing - I'll get to my thoughts on Maria in a second.After the show, we awkwardly stood around waiting for Jackie and Maria to tend to their adoring fans. We weren't sure if it was kosher to ask them to go out for a drink or not, but they ended up asking us to go out for coffee with them which I'm right glad about considering booze + nerves = vomit and subsequent embarrassment. Then again, caffeine + nerves = not much better. There were six of us total, Jackie and her brother, Maria and some guy she went to highschool with and Tommy and I. We went to this posh little cafe called Argo where the drinks were surprisingly cheap. I paid for Jackie, her brother, Tommy and I but Maria insisted on paying for herself, saying that she had just gotten paid but thank you for the kind offer. It wasn't long before the shop closed and we had to part ways, but talking to Maria about comedy was eye opening and wonderful. I shook her hand and she said "us women gotta stick together in the comedy business" and I was like, "f'real, shiiiiii(t)" and she laughed, saying that she hopes to come to Mpls for a couple days to do a show and an open mic. She hates coming for weeklong shows because of the radio, she says it depresses her.
To wrap it up, we went back to the motel, passed out on the bed, woke up at around 8ish, had our free continental breakfast, explored Chicago for a bit going to the
pier and the Field Museum and then made the journey back home, getting back at around 10:30pm. All in all, it was a decent trip but I wish we could have stayed longer or hung out with Maria and Jackie for a little longer.My thoughts on Maria Bamford: I think she's wonderful. She has such off the wall ideas that the only way I can think of even thinking of those types of ideas is to imagine crawling deep inside my brain and pulling things out at random without censoring myself. I wish I could do that, but I'm really not confident enough yet. It was interesting to hear her thoughts on her own comedy. She said she was worried that she was doing too much material on her family and she was afraid people would get bored with it or it would pigeon hole her into some genre of comedy. It's so cool to hear a successful comic like that whom most fellow comedians consider to be a 'genius' not be confident in some of her material. Also, I realized that her voice onstage isn't really her voice offstage. She has a relatively high, squeeky-ish voice onstage and I think she does that to enhance her other voices, make them seem even more different than her real one... if that makes sense. When I got back to Mpls, I wrote her an awkward Myspace message saying that is was nice to meet her and I hoped the Saturday night show went as well as Friday's show. She wrote back and pretty much said "ditto, hope to see you in MN or LA!" - sweet.
Anyway, this entry has gone on far too long - ACME is tonight and I need to brainstorm.
Holla!
-- C.Blo
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
The Bammer
I didn't get on at ACME on Monday which sucks because 3 of my friends came to see me. They still had a fairly decent time watching the show, though. 
I think they got angry with me for spending more time with the comics than with them, but the thing is - I don't go to ACME on Mondays to get wasted and watch comedy, I go to try out new stuff, to meet new comics, and to "talk shop" with them about different techniques and things. 2 of my friends got shitfaced *and* high as kites... if anything, it was embarrassing for me. I don't like to associate myself with people who do anything in excess. I steered clear from them on Monday because I prefer their company when they're not under the influence, they're just annoying when they're high and drunk - especially at the same time.
Anyway... I'm going to Chicago this weekend to see Maria Bamford. That is, if I can scrape enough cash together by Friday. I just checked the old bank account and it turns out my landlord is a jerk. Apparently one of his favorite past times is to sit on checks for 2-3 weeks before cashing them, just enough time for his tenants to forget they even wrote him a check...
I tried posting a video with all of Maria Bamford's "TV episodes" from her mom's attic, but Blogspot doesn't approve... here's a link:
The Maria Bamford Show!
Please do check it out, it's quite awesome.
Also, for anyone who's on myspace, I changed my page from a regular one to a comedy page - how exciting! I wasn't sure if it was kosher for me to do that yet or not having not actually been paid for doing comedy yet... but I figure it's been approximately 9 months since I started doing it and about 10 years of wanting to do it - whatever. Here's the link:
My new Myspace page!
Until next time,
The Atomic Car Blomb... yeah, maybe not the best nickname...
I think they got angry with me for spending more time with the comics than with them, but the thing is - I don't go to ACME on Mondays to get wasted and watch comedy, I go to try out new stuff, to meet new comics, and to "talk shop" with them about different techniques and things. 2 of my friends got shitfaced *and* high as kites... if anything, it was embarrassing for me. I don't like to associate myself with people who do anything in excess. I steered clear from them on Monday because I prefer their company when they're not under the influence, they're just annoying when they're high and drunk - especially at the same time.Anyway... I'm going to Chicago this weekend to see Maria Bamford. That is, if I can scrape enough cash together by Friday. I just checked the old bank account and it turns out my landlord is a jerk. Apparently one of his favorite past times is to sit on checks for 2-3 weeks before cashing them, just enough time for his tenants to forget they even wrote him a check...I tried posting a video with all of Maria Bamford's "TV episodes" from her mom's attic, but Blogspot doesn't approve... here's a link:
The Maria Bamford Show!
Please do check it out, it's quite awesome.
Also, for anyone who's on myspace, I changed my page from a regular one to a comedy page - how exciting! I wasn't sure if it was kosher for me to do that yet or not having not actually been paid for doing comedy yet... but I figure it's been approximately 9 months since I started doing it and about 10 years of wanting to do it - whatever. Here's the link:
My new Myspace page!
Until next time,
The Atomic Car Blomb... yeah, maybe not the best nickname...
Monday, May 7, 2007
Poop and Hitler - what a beautiful combination...?
I, being the moron that I can be at times, forgot that signup at ACME ends at 7pm. Thinking it ended at 7:30, I left my apt at 6:45... I ran in just as John (the manager) was taking the list away to make The List for the night and I plead with him to let me sign up. Pathetic, I know, but apparently it worked because I got on.My set tonight was awkward at best. For me anyway. I got a fair amount of compliments on it, but I've been so hard on myself lately it's just natural that it seeped into comedy. I fucked up my very first joke but I recovered well. Then I did a poop joke. A poop joke! Who does a poop joke at ACME?? I felt like a first timer again. But it went well and it was the best joke of my set with a decent punchline. And rather than a one-liner type joke like I've been doing lately, it was a story. I also can't believe that I followed a poop joke with a Hitler joke... *geesh* They went over pretty well and it was a decent set but I always get embarrassed right afterward and I tend to run to the bar area rather that sit back down with the other comics. I got paranoid when I was onstage that the comics in the back weren't laughing at my jokes but directly at me, like they do for the first timers. It didn't exactly help that I mentioned being nervous before going up and a few comics said "don't worry, you'll suck - everyone'll hate you - you'll never get on here again - have fun!" Assholes... That could be the reason I was so weird tonight. That and the fact that I didn't really prepare and I haven't been writing much and I generally don't practice my set outloud until I actually get onstage. I wait to vomit something good up. Running it through my head over and over before going up makes me more nervous and it makes for rehearsed comedy - comedy should not be rehearsed. It shouldn't *sound* rehearsed at least.
I got offered a few opportunities tonight, too. One is a "women's festival" type of thing - I don't know if it's like a women of comedy showcase or what, but Mary Mack (see to the left of the page for a link) told me about it. She also informed me that there will be a standup contest in Burnseville this summer. She didn't give me details, she just mentioned them and said she'd email me about them later on. I hope it works out, I need more places to go than just ACME. Also, it'd be good practice for the ACME Funniest Person in the Twins Cities contest. I need to perfect my three minutes.
Also, I've been a little saddened by the fact that only 1 person has seen me perform. I've had a lot of people say they'd come and then not show up. I know Mondays are a weird night to hang out, but c'mon - it's free! Maybe it's for the best. I'm planning on inviting a ton of people for when I do the contest - that way they'll see me for the first time and therefore (hopefully) think I'm funny, thereby giving me more laughs. I'll let you all know.
I've been really down lately. I mean *really* down. God knows why. It makes for shitty comedy writing. I said I was "wired wrong" to my friend the other day and he said "no, you're just wired *differently*" - either way, it's no fun. I want to have an excellent summer filled with comedy, concerts, camping, tanning, swimming, drinking (but not to excess) and moving back home where I'm happy and comfortable in my little cocoon with my puppy and free internet, food and rent. It's heaven I tells ya.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
The Voices in My Head
So, I'm sitting here on this gorgeous Saturday afternoon doing nothing. I tanned, I went to PetSmart and looked at the gerbils and hamsters and I ate leftover pasta from last night's dinner.... I *should* be doing homework or studying what with finals coming up in a week, buuuut that's the least amount of fun someone can have on a Saturday night. Instead, I'm trying to figure out how to incorporate my faces and voices into my act. I can't figure out a way to mesh them in there and figure out stories for characters and things. Character/voice comics are pretty rare - the only ones I can think of doing standup today are Maria Bamford and a kid named Cy who goes up at ACME. Voices and faces and different characters are my forte, I think. I've been doing them since I was a kid - the kids in jr high used to call me the female Jim Carrey - shazzam! Granted, there's a fine line between clever and stupid to quote Spinal Tap - character comics can either be geniuses or total losers. I don't know what divides the two yet.
I've also been thinking about how me dating another comic is influencing my act and how other comics see me. One sage old comic (he's not that old, maybe 50) told me that being with another comic might be a hinderance to my "career." I don't think I can really call it a career right now - not until I'm getting paid enough to not have a second job - that'll be a while. Either way, I don't know what to think of being a comic's girlfriend as well as a comic. It gets in the way sometimes - we argue a lot. I mean a lot a lot. Rather than be supportive of my comedy he sometimes either gets jealous or mad or confused as to why I'm doing it too. It doesn't help that I started after we started dating. Like I said in a previous entry, I've been wanting to do this since 7th grade - finally, my dream of doing standup is coming to fruition and it's being bogged down by some other comic. How sad. I can't let that happen if I really want to continue with comedy. I think I might have to decide in the very near future between comedy or the comic.
so yeah, more to come - this blog has taken approximately 5 hours to write. I'm currently a little blasted and way too distracted to finish this properly... lataz!
I've also been thinking about how me dating another comic is influencing my act and how other comics see me. One sage old comic (he's not that old, maybe 50) told me that being with another comic might be a hinderance to my "career." I don't think I can really call it a career right now - not until I'm getting paid enough to not have a second job - that'll be a while. Either way, I don't know what to think of being a comic's girlfriend as well as a comic. It gets in the way sometimes - we argue a lot. I mean a lot a lot. Rather than be supportive of my comedy he sometimes either gets jealous or mad or confused as to why I'm doing it too. It doesn't help that I started after we started dating. Like I said in a previous entry, I've been wanting to do this since 7th grade - finally, my dream of doing standup is coming to fruition and it's being bogged down by some other comic. How sad. I can't let that happen if I really want to continue with comedy. I think I might have to decide in the very near future between comedy or the comic.
so yeah, more to come - this blog has taken approximately 5 hours to write. I'm currently a little blasted and way too distracted to finish this properly... lataz!
Monday, April 23, 2007
Knut, der Eisbarbaby!
Hello kiddies, a new week, a new blog. Today is Monday and tonight is ACME. I've written some new material, so if I get on I won't be ashamed of doing the same stuff over again. I'm thinking if I get on, I'll do all new stuff, just to try it out. Dangerous territory.
I've noticed something in comedy, a lot of comedians write their bits like their audience is stupid. They explain everything, they don't let the crowd do any work. I'm a fan of comics who let the audience take it and get it for themselves rather than explaining everything to them, why it's funny especially. I think a lot of comics could trim the fat on their pieces and they'd be a lot funnier. That's just me, though. Every style is different and to quote Ms. Bamford "well... comedy is subjective..."
Some of you may know that I'm sort of obsessed with Knut, the polar bear cub in Berlin. Here's a treat for you, I won't be offended if you stop in the middle because it's too cute.
I've noticed something in comedy, a lot of comedians write their bits like their audience is stupid. They explain everything, they don't let the crowd do any work. I'm a fan of comics who let the audience take it and get it for themselves rather than explaining everything to them, why it's funny especially. I think a lot of comics could trim the fat on their pieces and they'd be a lot funnier. That's just me, though. Every style is different and to quote Ms. Bamford "well... comedy is subjective..."
Some of you may know that I'm sort of obsessed with Knut, the polar bear cub in Berlin. Here's a treat for you, I won't be offended if you stop in the middle because it's too cute.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Ah, mucho mas mejor
Things are much better at the moment. I'm way happier and I'm feeling pretty creative. I've got ideas flowing again, which is a good feeling.
I got up at ACME on Monday. I was nervous, I hadn't done it in a few weeks and I wasn't feeling up to the task. I realized I need to write a lot more in order to keep getting up - I feel like I've already plateaued. Not the best feeling.
I worked out yesterday and then went and gave blood having not eaten a lot... don't do that if you're planning on shaving your legs later on in the evening. Now I'm sporting a sweet lump on my inner elbow that hurts when I touch it. Cool.
I've decided to go to Lollapalooza. I've pretty much decided, at least. $195, shazzam! But Patti Smith is going to be there and Pearl Jam and Muse and Iggy and the Stooges and Amy Winehouse and Regina Spektor and tons and tons more. Juliette and the Licks'll be there too - that's Juliette Lewis' band, it's actually really good. Me gusta mucho.
Wanna come too?
Before Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake there was Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry:
I got up at ACME on Monday. I was nervous, I hadn't done it in a few weeks and I wasn't feeling up to the task. I realized I need to write a lot more in order to keep getting up - I feel like I've already plateaued. Not the best feeling.
I worked out yesterday and then went and gave blood having not eaten a lot... don't do that if you're planning on shaving your legs later on in the evening. Now I'm sporting a sweet lump on my inner elbow that hurts when I touch it. Cool.
I've decided to go to Lollapalooza. I've pretty much decided, at least. $195, shazzam! But Patti Smith is going to be there and Pearl Jam and Muse and Iggy and the Stooges and Amy Winehouse and Regina Spektor and tons and tons more. Juliette and the Licks'll be there too - that's Juliette Lewis' band, it's actually really good. Me gusta mucho.
Wanna come too?
Before Andy Samberg and Justin Timberlake there was Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry:
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Watching Frasier instead of gettings things done = nothing getting better
Sorry guys, it's been a while since I've blogged - I've been pretty down lately and I really don't know why. It's a bummer, though. I went up at ACME the Monday before last. It was a cool night, there were tons of first timers and a lot of my friends got on and killed.
I haven't done comedy in a few days, not because I don't want to necessarily but because I'm so incredibly unmotivated. I haven't written a word in my notebook in weeks. It's been hard getting anything done lately including school. Mostly school, actually. Whenever I try to write a joke or get creative, my brain just shuts down completely and I all I want to do is sleep. I need a vacation. My best friend Lauren and I are tentatively planning a trip to Portland in late May/early June to visit the third lady in our trifecta of awesome, Danielle. I need a change so so badly. Everyone around me are going on trips or changing schools or getting married or having babies or moving - real exciting stuff. I really have nothing to look forward to right now. Not that I can think of at least. I'm unhappy in pretty much all aspects of my life and I wish I could fix everything in a day, but I know it'll take much longer than that.
Anyway, we're getting off topic here. Monday is tomorrow. Monday means ACME. Hopefully by then my spirits will be higher and I'll be more creative and much happier with everything going on in my life.
I haven't done comedy in a few days, not because I don't want to necessarily but because I'm so incredibly unmotivated. I haven't written a word in my notebook in weeks. It's been hard getting anything done lately including school. Mostly school, actually. Whenever I try to write a joke or get creative, my brain just shuts down completely and I all I want to do is sleep. I need a vacation. My best friend Lauren and I are tentatively planning a trip to Portland in late May/early June to visit the third lady in our trifecta of awesome, Danielle. I need a change so so badly. Everyone around me are going on trips or changing schools or getting married or having babies or moving - real exciting stuff. I really have nothing to look forward to right now. Not that I can think of at least. I'm unhappy in pretty much all aspects of my life and I wish I could fix everything in a day, but I know it'll take much longer than that.
Anyway, we're getting off topic here. Monday is tomorrow. Monday means ACME. Hopefully by then my spirits will be higher and I'll be more creative and much happier with everything going on in my life.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Last Comic Standing and other things that have happened lately...
The Last Comic Standing auditions were yesterday at ACME. I didn't try out because I only have approximately 15 minutes of material and being green doesn't act to one's advantage in a comedy contest. A lot of comedians slept overnight outside of ACME. I went to visit for a while and then left to go sleep in my warm, soft bed. I came back in the morning after my bio lab, toting a bagel and cream cheese and some hot coffee for Tommy, who had stayed up all night with the rest of the comics. As soon as I got there, I offered him my gift and he literally said "augh, no I can't eat that..." and turned away. I've been really frustrated with him lately - mostly his lack of grace and gratitude. It makes me not want to do anything for him. Anyway, that's off topic - Comedy is what we're here for, right?
At 10am yesterday morning there were about 200 people standing in line for auditions. Most of my friends were in the 20-50 range and did get to audition, but a lot of the people past 80 or so were turned down due to the time shortage and such. None of my close friends got into the showcase, step 2 to getting on to the actual show. A few acquaintances did, though - if you'll look to the left of your page, you'll see the name "Mary Mack" - she got in. Another woman named Shannan Paul got on and a guy named Joey I.L.O. I didn't go to the showcase last night, so I don't know who was picked to go to L.A. or wherever the next step is. Hopefully a few of my friends did.
Apparently Last Comic Standing is rigged like nobody's business. Certain comics with notable television or film appearances had the upper hand by getting appointments instead of having to stand in line. Others were automatically in the showcase or on the show. Some well known comics like Doug Benson and Jimmy Pardo auditioned or got on. I don't know what to think of that - these guys are making money hand over fist with television shows and specials and touring. Well, maybe not hand over fist, but they sure as hell don't *need* the opportunity to be on Last Comic Standing - if anything, I'd think it would take them back a few steps in their comedy careers. In anycase, it was fun to hang out and see all the comedians in one place for a little while. The poor comics who didn't get into the showcase were mocked or verbally beaten to a bloody pulp by that asswipe "Ant". Apparently he's trying to be the "Simon" of the show. I don't understand how or why they picked the judges they did for this season. Alonzo Bodden - a former contestant on LCS, Kathleen Madigan - again, a former contestant on LCS and a fairly decent female comedienne, and Ant - Goddamn Ant - the least funny "comedian" on the face of the planet. He was also on one of the previous seasons of LCS and he hosts "Celebrity Fitness Challenge" or whatever the hell it's called. He's got no right to tell comedians what's funny, seeing as he's not really a comedian. So I guess the only thing you get from being on LCS is to be a judge on LCS... It makes me mad how unfair it is. Comedy is unfair all around, though.
In other news, I went to the Zach Galifianakis show on Saturday night at the Pantages. Greg Fitzsimmons and Lynn Shawcroft opened the show. It was the first comedy show I've seen in a big auditorium like that, usually it's at smaller clubs. It was shorter than I expected it to be, but it was amazing all around - at least Zach was - Greg and Lynn were okay but nothing to write home about. We wound up at ACME after the show where Greg was headlining (he did 3 shows in one night, shazzam!). Mr. Galifianakis was there too. I was too nervous to say anything to him until later, but Lynn walked right up to Tommy and I and started eating our fries and talking about Mitch Hedberg. We had an awkward heart to heart with her for a few minutes while she munched on our food, she offered us drinks but we refused and then she walked away. Later that night, I was "talking shop" with Greg when Lynn rolls around, drunk as a skunk, wailing about Mitch and worrying that nobody liked him. She was having some problems that night I think. Again, later - I got Zach's autograph and joked around with him for a while but the comic I talked to the most was Greg - he even showed Tommy and I naked pictures of his wife. Awkward, but sort of flattering to think that he's comfortable enough or he likes us enough to show us that stuff.
In anycase, it was a decent week comedy-wise. I haven't done it in about 2 weeks, I should get on that. Maybe tonight or tomorrow. Definitely signing up on Monday.
This is a long long post so no funny videos or pictures today, kids, sorry.
Atomic Blom(berg)out.
At 10am yesterday morning there were about 200 people standing in line for auditions. Most of my friends were in the 20-50 range and did get to audition, but a lot of the people past 80 or so were turned down due to the time shortage and such. None of my close friends got into the showcase, step 2 to getting on to the actual show. A few acquaintances did, though - if you'll look to the left of your page, you'll see the name "Mary Mack" - she got in. Another woman named Shannan Paul got on and a guy named Joey I.L.O. I didn't go to the showcase last night, so I don't know who was picked to go to L.A. or wherever the next step is. Hopefully a few of my friends did.
Apparently Last Comic Standing is rigged like nobody's business. Certain comics with notable television or film appearances had the upper hand by getting appointments instead of having to stand in line. Others were automatically in the showcase or on the show. Some well known comics like Doug Benson and Jimmy Pardo auditioned or got on. I don't know what to think of that - these guys are making money hand over fist with television shows and specials and touring. Well, maybe not hand over fist, but they sure as hell don't *need* the opportunity to be on Last Comic Standing - if anything, I'd think it would take them back a few steps in their comedy careers. In anycase, it was fun to hang out and see all the comedians in one place for a little while. The poor comics who didn't get into the showcase were mocked or verbally beaten to a bloody pulp by that asswipe "Ant". Apparently he's trying to be the "Simon" of the show. I don't understand how or why they picked the judges they did for this season. Alonzo Bodden - a former contestant on LCS, Kathleen Madigan - again, a former contestant on LCS and a fairly decent female comedienne, and Ant - Goddamn Ant - the least funny "comedian" on the face of the planet. He was also on one of the previous seasons of LCS and he hosts "Celebrity Fitness Challenge" or whatever the hell it's called. He's got no right to tell comedians what's funny, seeing as he's not really a comedian. So I guess the only thing you get from being on LCS is to be a judge on LCS... It makes me mad how unfair it is. Comedy is unfair all around, though.
In other news, I went to the Zach Galifianakis show on Saturday night at the Pantages. Greg Fitzsimmons and Lynn Shawcroft opened the show. It was the first comedy show I've seen in a big auditorium like that, usually it's at smaller clubs. It was shorter than I expected it to be, but it was amazing all around - at least Zach was - Greg and Lynn were okay but nothing to write home about. We wound up at ACME after the show where Greg was headlining (he did 3 shows in one night, shazzam!). Mr. Galifianakis was there too. I was too nervous to say anything to him until later, but Lynn walked right up to Tommy and I and started eating our fries and talking about Mitch Hedberg. We had an awkward heart to heart with her for a few minutes while she munched on our food, she offered us drinks but we refused and then she walked away. Later that night, I was "talking shop" with Greg when Lynn rolls around, drunk as a skunk, wailing about Mitch and worrying that nobody liked him. She was having some problems that night I think. Again, later - I got Zach's autograph and joked around with him for a while but the comic I talked to the most was Greg - he even showed Tommy and I naked pictures of his wife. Awkward, but sort of flattering to think that he's comfortable enough or he likes us enough to show us that stuff.
In anycase, it was a decent week comedy-wise. I haven't done it in about 2 weeks, I should get on that. Maybe tonight or tomorrow. Definitely signing up on Monday.
This is a long long post so no funny videos or pictures today, kids, sorry.
Atomic Blom(berg)out.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Shucks
Last night was the first Monday night in a long time when it was a.) absolutely gorgeous out b.) light out when I got to ACME and c.) I brought someone to ACME to see me perform. It was also the first Monday in a while that I didn't get on. It's probably for the best considering I hadn't eaten anything all day, I had 2 cups of coffee, I had gone on a really long jog earlier, I was really tired and abnormally nervous. I was shaking like a crackhead's baby. It just sucked because I had brought Mike, my brother, along to see me. The show wasn't that great anyway, it was all older comics who do material on their families and day jobs - not funny. Not college humor. I really wanted to do my Wilford Brimley joke too...
Since my brother's an art major specializing in photography, I've asked him to take some headshots of me. Not that I need them now, but I'd just like some decent pictures of me to show off... And who knows, maybe I'll need them sometime in the future. I don't really plan on changing my appearance drastically in the next few years, so it's not that big of a deal - plus, it's either free or incredibly cheap. Why not?
I was planning on doing comedy every night of the week this week seeing as it's Spring Break and I have no obligations, but that's already been dashed - Sunday was Grumpy's in Coon Rapids, but like I said, it's smokey and not that pleasant there. Monday was ACME and I didn't get on and Tonight (Tues), there really isn't anywhere to perform. I've still got Wed-Sat to do my thing and I plan on doing the crap out of my thing. So come see me at Grumpy's on Washington on Wed, the Corner Bar on Thurs and Fri and shit... there isn't anywhere to go on Saturday... well, come see me Wed-Fri then.
Since my brother's an art major specializing in photography, I've asked him to take some headshots of me. Not that I need them now, but I'd just like some decent pictures of me to show off... And who knows, maybe I'll need them sometime in the future. I don't really plan on changing my appearance drastically in the next few years, so it's not that big of a deal - plus, it's either free or incredibly cheap. Why not?
I was planning on doing comedy every night of the week this week seeing as it's Spring Break and I have no obligations, but that's already been dashed - Sunday was Grumpy's in Coon Rapids, but like I said, it's smokey and not that pleasant there. Monday was ACME and I didn't get on and Tonight (Tues), there really isn't anywhere to perform. I've still got Wed-Sat to do my thing and I plan on doing the crap out of my thing. So come see me at Grumpy's on Washington on Wed, the Corner Bar on Thurs and Fri and shit... there isn't anywhere to go on Saturday... well, come see me Wed-Fri then.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Good Advices...?
It's amazing the "advice" you get offstage. I've had people tell me what to add, what to take out, to do something entirely different, how to position my body correctly, how to "rap" with the audience... I don't know if I should take it or not. Like all suggestions, I'm taking them with a grain of salt, but I don't know how I look onstage so I don't know if I'm doing anything wrong necessarily. I'll take a good tag if you've got one or maybe a suggestion on not swaying so much, but when you tell me to take an entire chunk out of my act? That's a little much I think. Isn't comedy a form of art where the performer him/herself gets to decide what's comfortable and what's not? There's no director, no stage manager, no producer - you do what you want and if it feels right, you do it again. I had someone come up to me right after I got offstage and say "you stickin' around? I wanna talk to you about your set, what you can do to make it better." Thanks but no thanks. At this point in my comedy, I want criticism but I also want to figure it out for myself - that's part of the journey, isn't it?
Anyway, come see me tonight at the Corner Bar in Minneapolis - 10pm, free!
Here's some hilariously adorable entertainment:
Anyway, come see me tonight at the Corner Bar in Minneapolis - 10pm, free!
Here's some hilariously adorable entertainment:
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
What a fickle mistress
Comedy is such a weird thing. It's the only emotion you go somewhere to try to get it. You don't go to a live show to watch one person standing on stage to get sad or to get scared or to get angry. You go to get happy and to laugh. It's an even weirder thing to be the person trying to make the audience laugh. It's one thing to be the class clown or the funny one in your group of friends, but to get onstage in front of 200 some odd people, most of whom you've never met and never will meet, is very very strange.
The psychology of comedy is interesting as hell. I don't know all the fancy words and text book facts on it, but from what I've observed, the audience is one living, breathing entity that seemingly thinks alike. It's not 200 separate people, it's one body and if it doesn't think something is funny, it doesn't laugh. It's weird how one joke works wonders on one group of people and the same joke falls flat on it's face in front of another group. I like to watch the audience from the back of the theater and see what makes them tick - how their faces react to a certain joke or how their body language changes when they laugh. Comedy isn't just theater, it's psychology too. Then again, theater isn't just theater, it's also psychology.
I'm happy to say that my comedy has grown a lot since the first time I went onstage way back in September. Last night at ACME, I got more laughs than I ever have. I was comfortable and I talked to the audience and I ad libbed. It was great. I was surprised it went so smoothly because I wasn't prepared, I didn't even go over my material before going on, I hadn't written anything new in a few weeks and I wasn't feeling too well yesterday. I love how when you get onstage, even if you're sicker than a dog, as soon as the spotlight hits you the sickness vanishes. You don't feel your body anymore - maybe you should, it's important in stage presence. That's one thing I need to brush up on is stage presence. I sway sometimes and I do weird things with my hands apparently. I need to be more aware of my body and my movements.
I don't have a video for you today, kids, but I have a suggestion: go out and see some live comedy - it's ten times better than the stuff on tv or the radio.
The psychology of comedy is interesting as hell. I don't know all the fancy words and text book facts on it, but from what I've observed, the audience is one living, breathing entity that seemingly thinks alike. It's not 200 separate people, it's one body and if it doesn't think something is funny, it doesn't laugh. It's weird how one joke works wonders on one group of people and the same joke falls flat on it's face in front of another group. I like to watch the audience from the back of the theater and see what makes them tick - how their faces react to a certain joke or how their body language changes when they laugh. Comedy isn't just theater, it's psychology too. Then again, theater isn't just theater, it's also psychology.
I'm happy to say that my comedy has grown a lot since the first time I went onstage way back in September. Last night at ACME, I got more laughs than I ever have. I was comfortable and I talked to the audience and I ad libbed. It was great. I was surprised it went so smoothly because I wasn't prepared, I didn't even go over my material before going on, I hadn't written anything new in a few weeks and I wasn't feeling too well yesterday. I love how when you get onstage, even if you're sicker than a dog, as soon as the spotlight hits you the sickness vanishes. You don't feel your body anymore - maybe you should, it's important in stage presence. That's one thing I need to brush up on is stage presence. I sway sometimes and I do weird things with my hands apparently. I need to be more aware of my body and my movements.
I don't have a video for you today, kids, but I have a suggestion: go out and see some live comedy - it's ten times better than the stuff on tv or the radio.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
Sunday Sunday
Sunday nights at Grumpy's in Coon Rapids, there's free comedy. I haven't gone up there yet, but I'm strongly considering it. The reason I'm hesitant is because A.) there's really no "stage" to speak of - it's a clearing to the side of the bar - the comedian is literally face to face with the audience. B.) it's in Coon Rapids and they allow smoking there which isn't a huge deal, but it's annoying enough to prevent me from going and C.) I work at 8am tomorrow and the show starts at 10pm. A buddy of mine works in the prison up there and she sees a lot of "former clients" at the bar which is also a bit of a deterrent.
The perks, on the other hand, are that A.) it's another place to do comedy and brush up on my act, B.) all performers get a free drink and since Sunday nighs are 2 for 1s, they get 2 free drinks (sweet) and C.) it's a chance to catch up with other comedians and have one last hurrah for the weekend before a long and arduous week of school, work and comedy - wait, scratch that last one.
So here's a sketch from the hilarious comedy troupe The Label which includes but is not limited to Tommy Ryman, Bill Young, Eric Nigg, Mitch Hansen, Amber Preston and Matt Olson. This one's called "I Have a Girlfriend" - tell me what you think!
The perks, on the other hand, are that A.) it's another place to do comedy and brush up on my act, B.) all performers get a free drink and since Sunday nighs are 2 for 1s, they get 2 free drinks (sweet) and C.) it's a chance to catch up with other comedians and have one last hurrah for the weekend before a long and arduous week of school, work and comedy - wait, scratch that last one.
So here's a sketch from the hilarious comedy troupe The Label which includes but is not limited to Tommy Ryman, Bill Young, Eric Nigg, Mitch Hansen, Amber Preston and Matt Olson. This one's called "I Have a Girlfriend" - tell me what you think!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Inaugural Blog
This inaugural post is brought to you by the letter H for "hooray" and the letter P for "Procrastination"! Hooray for Procrastination!!
In an effort to help you get to know me better, I've compiled a list of things I like and dislike - other than the one in my description section:
Now that you have a better understanding of who I am, I'm going to explain to you why exactly I started this blog:
And now for some entertainment - watch and learn, ladies and gentlemen, watch and learn:
In an effort to help you get to know me better, I've compiled a list of things I like and dislike - other than the one in my description section:
Likes:
- frogs
- Gene Wilder
- coffee
- paper
- napping
- shenanigans (not the restaurant)
- music (I'm sure I'll expound on this later)
- high places
- clean counters
- the feeling of clean sheets against a freshly washed body (preferably my own)
- ranch dressing
- emo kids
- wearing shoes
- being awake
- freezer burn
- Celine Dion
- the Family Circus
- organic peanut butter
Now that you have a better understanding of who I am, I'm going to explain to you why exactly I started this blog:
Life is full of letdowns and douchebags. I'm here to lighten to mood a bit by rambling about my endeavor of becoming a standup comedienne. For years (since 7th grade), I've wanted to be something. A real somebody. And up until a few months ago (September), I was just a little girl in a big world with nothing to do but pick the fuzz of off my sweater and dream of something bigger. Well, my friends, the day finally came one Monday evening in September of the year 20 aught 6 at a little place I like to call the ACME Comedy Club. Sure, I had no experience doing comedy and yeah, I was a puny little thing with about 3 jokes to tell, but I got up there Goddamnit and I did my best. And I kept getting on and I kept writing jokes and I kept makin' 'em laugh. Today, I stand before you a weathered woman of confidence who's had good sets and bad sets but has always had a set. Tomorrow, I may stand before you defeated and embarrassed but I'll be standing, by God I'll be standing...
And now for some entertainment - watch and learn, ladies and gentlemen, watch and learn:
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