The Definitive Guide to Comedy
Did Andy Kindler make any self-deprecating comments during his State of the Industry at Montreal’s Just For Laughs festival? Did I need to include a year in that previous sentence? Rhetorical questions aside, Kindler’s annual rhetorical roast of the year in comedy and show business again delighted and amused the …
If you were expecting Colin Quinn to deliver a speech for his keynote address to Montreal’s Just For Laughs ComedyPro conference this year, then you needed to adjust your expectations. Quinn said Andy Kindler had approached him the day beforehand, advising him to memorize his speech. To which Quinn retorted: …
The following is a petition founded by stand-up comedian Judah Friedlander, whom you have seen on TV (30 Rock), in movies, and live in a comedy club near you. Welcome to DontDropTheChecksDuringTheShow.org This is The World Champion Judah Friedlander. I’m a comedian. I love comedy clubs. But I hate “The …
“I look forward to this speech every year. The State of the Industry — some of you have seen this, some of you are new — this is the best moment of the festival. This is where Andy Kindler goes through everything in comedy this year and tears it apart, …
Tom Papa‘s new one-hour stand-up special, Tom Papa: Freaked Out, premieres tonight on EPIX HD (check your cable listings or go online to watch). While many Americans and others around the world might feel freaked out due to the global economy, national politics or local issues, Papa seems cool, calm …
If the atmosphere at the New Faces Characters showcase at Montreal’s Just For Laughs feels a bit more heightened than in years past, it’s likely because the opportunities for actors and actresses to break out in sketch comedy roles is that much obvious to both the performers and the industry. With …
Dwayne Perkins returned last night for another performance on Conan. Perkins said smartphones and Facebook have made us dumber. Just go onto Facebook “and type in almonds” and see what happens. That’s one of his suggestions. He also has ideas for the future of videogames, based on where we’ve come …
From my friends at Slacktory, here’s a new supercut of old Saturday Night Live sketches in which one or more of the actors break character, live on TV, on Saturday night! About two dozen scenes represented here. It’s 4:20 somewhere. It’s 4 minutes and 20 seconds right here, right now, …
We make a big deal in the comedy industry about “New Faces” in Montreal because the comedy industry makes a big deal about it. TV credits are nice, but “getting Montreal” still feels like the prize aspiring comedians are reaching for, whether or not the development deals (six figures or …
Is 2013 the year that every famous comedian decided to get back into stand-up, or does it just seem that way? There’s definitely something in the water enticing them all to wade back into the scene. Just in the past couple of weeks, we’ve heard word of the first stand-up …
