Highlights from the 2011 Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival

Want to see some of the comedians who performed at the 2011 Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival? I talked to them about what makes Mirman’s festival so special, and asked them to read their bios that Mirman had written for them in the festival program. Fun times. You’ll learn a fun fact or two about Mirman, too!

Oh. And did I mention that I brought a crew from My Damn Channel along to film it? So this is my first chance to introduce you to My My Damn Channel Channel. Hot damn! Roll the clip!

There were other highlights from the fest, to be sure. To the pretty blonde woman who sat near me on the Awkward Party Bus: Hi!

Also:

  • Yes, that was This American Life host Ira Glass on his stomach arm-wrestling Leo Allen in a “beer” costume. Part of The Talent Show presents The Drunk Show, which Glass’s wife produced. And during which Glass drank so much he blacked out and proved himself to be an adorable drunk. Phew. Glass talked a little bit about the experience two nights later on a live WTF podcast with Marc Maron, and he blogged about it, too. Before things got messy, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow made two drinks for the assembled panel, which also included John Hodgman — he did not get drunk, however, as he had to catch an early-morning flight to Los Angeles to attend the Emmy Awards.
  • Alan Alda was a surprise guest on the opening night’s event, “An Evening of Science featuring StarTalk Live.” You can listen to all of it, broken up into two episodes: Episode 1; Episode 2. Eugene Mirman, Kristen Schaal, Scott Adsit and Alda all were in top form riffing on the things going on in outer space with host Neil deGrasse Tyson.
  • At the Archer Variety Hour and Panel, Aisha Tyler showed off her impersonations, while Jessica Walter and Chris Parnell decided their talent was reading Craigslist ads. You can watch a fan video of that segment below:

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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