Day: March 11, 2011

Look. I know it seems like there's a ton of comedy festivals happening in March 2011, and that's because there are, and you'll be reading quite a bit about SXSW on this site over the next week, and maybe you're thinking to yourself: If only we had known about submitting our own groups or stand-ups in time, we could be (insert city's comedy festival) there, too! It's OK. There are still plenty of comedy confabs happening later this year and beyond, and you still ask to be part of those. Including one in Austin, Texas. All the same BBQ and fun people, just without the craziness of SXSW. Here are a few I know about that are still accepting submissions. If I didn't include yours, please let me know and I'll add it to this list. SketchfestNYC: Their final final deadline for submissions is March 15, 2011. Shows happening at the UCB Theatre from June 9-11, 2011. FrISC 2011: Friars Club Improv + Sketch Competition: To enter, your team must submit a demo of your show to the Friars Club postmarked by May 10, 2011. The Friars Club Comedy Film Festival will select the best 5 improv and the best 5 sketch submissions to perform at the second annual FrISC event at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre in New York City on June 24 and 25. The 10 FrISC finalists...

After today's devastating 8.9-magnitude earthquake in Japan provoked an even more horrifying tsunami in the Pacific Ocean, the reverberations are being felt on both sides of the Pacific and everywhere in between. Which is where ABC talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel comes in. He was off this week vacationing in French Polynesia. On his Twitter handle @jimmykimmel, he tried to put up a brave front at first, with an initial reaction of "Suddenly, relaxing on an island in the South Pacific isn't so relaxing anymore. Good thing I brought my aqua stilts." Six hours later, he replied to one fan's query by saying he was at a "solid 7" on a scared scale of 1-10, adding: "on a small island, with no high ground." And two hours ago, he Tweeted this: In fortuitous timing, the French Polynesian capital of Papeete had just held tsunami-readiness exercises a day earlier. Updated: Kimmel has since reported that he's back at his hotel and the coast is clear, so to speak, at least for the island where he is. My thoughts go out to everyone in Japan and throughout the Pacific Rim and our own West Coast and anyone else impacted by today's earthquake and tsunami. I hope as many people make it out OK as...

Gallagher has built a lengthy career in comedy by shocking his audience, first by smashing watermelons and just about anything else he can think up with his "Sledge-O-Matic" hammer, and in more recent years, by telling shockingly offensive jokes and berating anyone who doesn't like it. Last night, however, the infamous prop comic shocked a Rochester, Minn., nightclub audience by collapsing onstage twice onstage, the second time while wielding the "Sledge-O-Matic," prompting audience members to rush to his aid. Gallagher (given name Leo Anthony Gallagher) was taken to a nearby hospital for overnight observation. His manager, Craig Marquardo, told the AP that Gallagher was in stable condition. Photos taken by witness Chris Blade and published by the Rochester Post-Bulletin show the 64-year-old Gallagher standing atop a table onstage at Whiskey Bone's Roadhouse, then after collapsing, hidden behind it as audience members attended to him. The nightclub's owner and audience members said that Gallagher had fainted earlier in the show and reported feeling numbness, but after a brief break to cool down while laying down, decided to go on with the show. No definitive medical diagnosis had been given overnight. Gallagher is supposed to be performing tonight and Saturday at the Zanies in Vernon Hills, Ill., with more dates this month and next, including an April 8 return to the Gramercy Theatre in New York City. That was the site of...