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Comedy Fan Corner [+]

7th Annual Stand-Up For Animals Scheduled For March 4th, 2010

Voice for the Animals Foundation will host the 7th Annual Stand Up for Animals. The show will be an evening dedicated to Lily Tomlin, bringing together celebrities, community leaders and animal welfare advocates to honor, in the wake of their recent ban on retailing puppy mill and kitty factory cats, the City of West Hollywood. Tomlin will headline with special celebrity guests that include Rainn Wilson and Debra Skelton, formerly known as Debra Wilson. The evening will also honor Paul Jolly, Executive Director of the PETCO Foundation as well as Dick Van Patten, Founder of Natural Balance Pet Foods; City of West Hollywood and best known as the father on the series Eight is Enough. All proceeds benefit Voice for the Animals Foundation, an organization devoted to helping foreclosure animals and to creating respect and empathy for animals through education, rescue, advocacy and legislation. The show begins at the Comedy Store March 4th, 2010 at 6pm. Tickets available to the general public at www.vftafoundation.org. The Comedy Store is located at 8433 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA 90069.

Posted February 5, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy Charity for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Loni Love To Perform At The University Of North Carolina

Loni Love, a stand-up comedian will appear at the University of North Carolina Wilmington’s Burney Center on Wednesday. The performance is free. Love started her comedic career in 2003, after appearing on Star Search, reaching the finals and losing in a close competition with the winner. Love has since appeared on the Jay Leno Show and the Oprah Winfrey Show. She is also host of the Wildest TV Moments on E! and a regular guest star on Chelsea Lately. The performance at the University of North Carolina will take place on Wednesday February 24th, 2010 at the Burney Center at 7pm. Visit www.UNCW.edu/ACE for more details. Love was named Hot Comic for 2009 in Campus Activity magazine and one of the "Top 10 Comics to Watch" in both Variety and Comedy Central.

Posted February 4, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy Shows for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Bo Burnham To Tape His First Comedy Central Special

Comedian, singer and songwriter Bo Burnham will tape his first U.S. television special, Comedy Central announced Monday. I first saw Bo on a Comedy Central special about six months ago and was extremely impressed. The 19-year-old Boston native will kick off the cable TV network's House of Comedy Live from House of Blues, a monthly stand-up showcase in House of Blues venues nationwide. Prior to landing his first Comedy Central special, Burnham’s YouTube videos have received more than 52.2 million views as of October 2009. He has two CDs to his credit the 2008 EP Bo Fo Sho, released on Comedy Central Records. A full length, self-titled album was released on the same label in March of 2009. In the fall of 2009 Burnham launched his first headline tour called Fake ID. performing in several theaters and college auditoriums. Bo Burnham: Words, Words, Words is set to be taped at the House of Blues in Boston April 16. The one-hour special is to air in the fall, and will subsequently be released with extended material on DVD and CD. On January 31st, 2010 it was announced that Burnham finished #2 overall in voting in 2010's Comedy Central Stand-up Showdown.

Posted February 3, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy TV for All | No Comments | Bookmark

The 100 Greatest Stand-Up Comic Trends

• Steve Martin: New Rank 1 +
• George Carlin: New Rank 2 -
• Robert Klein: New Rank 16 +
• Jonathan Winters: New Rank 17 -
• Mort Sahl: New Rank 46 +
• Jay Leno: New Rank 47 -

Comedian Corner [+]

Comedy Central and Live Nation Partners With The House of Blues

Comedy Central and Live Nation are expected to announce the launch of Comedy Central’s House of Comedy Live from House of Blues. The series will be a monthly Comedy Central branded stand-up showcase taped live at House of Blues venues nationwide. Comedy Central will also tape two one-hour stand-up specials from House of Blues venues with the first special being taped in Boston on April 16, featuring the recent second place winner of Comedy Central‘s Stand-up Comedy Show Down Bo Burnham. “The House of Blues venues encapsulates the Comedy Central sensibility and further extends our relationship with Live Nation," said Mitch Fried, SVP, Comedy Central Live Entertainment. "With Live Nation and its House of Blues venues, we have found the perfect companions to expand our thriving touring business and grow the Comedy Central brand outwards and off channel." As part of the deal, Comedy Central will be integrated throughout the House of Blues venues including in show marketing and press, as well as within the retail shops. In addition, the network will offer its advertisers similar inclusion as the official sponsors of the series.

Posted February 4, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy TV for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Comedy Classes Are Everywhere Including At Glendale Community College

As Comedy continues to the next Boom, the number of classes is increasing. And the classes at colleges are becoming more common. At Glendale Community College, Jonathan Gotsick shares strategies on how to handle everything from the microphone, to hecklers, to a tough crowd. Funny, I always thought hecklers and a tough crowd were the same thing. Gotsick is a regular at The Comedy Store in Hollywood and also performs frequently at The Comedy Store in San Diego, where he first started out. He has appeared in numerous independent films, including The Summer House, Allergic to Life and American Shopper. The first week of class, an Intro to Stand-Up Comedy, is devoted to comedy terms and terminology of comedy. Other lessons involve how to lessen stage fright, structuring a set and what to do when things go wrong. The final part of his course deals with the often overlooked business end of stand-up comedy. In order for Gotsick’s students to immediately use what they learn, each student is given an opportunity to perform during the latter part of the two-hour class. And while each performance may not go well every night, Gotsick said, he teaches his students that they’ll have many opportunities to learn from their mistakes, in what he hopes is a learning process. I know some comics don't believe in classes but $59 is exceptionally cheap for any comedy related class.

Posted February 3, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy Classes for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Check Out The Interview With Bert Haas Owner Of Zanies In Chicago Now

In 1999 I was privileged to play Zanies in Chicago. It was a special show called the Thinker that featured myself, Jimmy Brogan, former head writer for the Tonight Show, Will Durst, an amazing political comic and Margret Smith, a female incarnation of Steven Wright with the most impeccable timing you can imagine in comedy. That show was an amazing experience as was playing the Windy City. There’s nothing like being a guest in a major American city with the biggest names in up-and-coming comedy at the time. Patton Oswalt was there before anyone knew who he was. I probably met him that year and never realized it. I recently saw an interview with the Vice President of Zanies Chicago, Bert Haas which appears in Chicago Now. Haas credits three things for the longevity of the club. The first reason is the intimate feel of the club. The second is that, according to Haas, was that Zanies has always brought in the kind of comics people really want to see. He also believes that the exclusive focus on comedy have kept the club going strong. Another key to the success of Zanies may be its location. His boss, the owner of the building, realized with Second City only a block away, the neighborhood was ripe for the stand-up comedy market. You can read the full interview with Haas here at the Chicago Now Blog.

Posted February 2, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy Clubs for All | No Comments | Bookmark

Upcoming Stand-Up Comedy Seminars

• Kurtis Mathews: San Francisco, CA on 02/17/2010 6pm / FREE / Visit The Class Website
• Greg Dean: Los Angeles, CA on 02/22/2010 7pm / FREE / Visit The Class Website

Recent Articles For Comedians [+]

New Article: Ten Pervasive Myths About Stand-Up Comedy

ONE: The first myth is that doing open mics every night makes you a better comedian. Contrary to what you may believe, going up that often, without being prepared, can also reinforce bad habits. I learned more by watching Charles Fleisher one time than I learned at ten open mics in a row, I learned more because I watched Fleisher do more things right that night than I had done right all week. TWO: The second myth is that bringer shows are all bad. If you can draw an audience, you can play most anywhere you want. I’m not downplaying the club’s responsibility to draw in an audience. But you also have a real obligation to promote yourself. THREE: The third myth is th... [Read Entire Article]

Posted December 30, 2009 by Shayne Michael under Performing

Recent Biographies [+]

Ron White, also known for the nickname, Tater Salad, was born on December 18th, 1956 in Fritch, Texas. He Graduated from Deer Park High School, near Houston in 1976. Today however, he is best known as a member of the Blue Comedy Collar Tour, which also featured Bill Engvalls, Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy. The myth around the Fritch, TX, is that his nickname was related to a flippant remark made to an arresting police officer. According to rumor, White told the officer that he had once before broken the law under the sinister alias of Tater Salad. The officer believed him and it forever became a part of White’s arrest record. However, White later admitted that the he picked up the nickname in the Navy. A fellow sailor, Hoskins, was supposed to relieve him of his post during a picnic. White hollered down to Hoskins, "Hey Hoskins, get up here and relieve me before some... [Read Entire Bio]

Posted 03/11/10 by Shayne Michael under stand-up comic

New DVD Releases, Rankings & Reviews [+]

Other Recent DVDs/ Films Ranked or Reviewed

                          

Site Changes/ New Features [+]

Shayne-Michael.COM's Gift To Comedy Teachers

I have been working on this for a while. Comedy teachers were always listed at this site. But I wanted a feature that would allow those teachers to promote upcoming seminars. It would be as simple as choosing a date and a price. This site would do the rest of the work for the instructor. Well the basic feature is online now. The comedy class page now allows registered users who teach a comedy class to post details of one upcoming comedy seminar including the date and the price. I just used it to list one of Greg Dean’s seminars and one of Kurtis Matthews. Once the date passes, the seminar will be erased for you. I’ll be adding a lot more bells and whistles in the days to come. I want to make it possible to promote the seminars on every page, allow for posting multiple seminars and give a little more details about what will be covered there. Teachers who aren’t listed on the Comedy Class page can easily add their class here. Registering a site-wide account with the same email as that class will give you control over all the details of the class and allow you to post upcoming seminars.

I also altered the comedy class page, so having a class listed will promote any book or CD related developing as a stand-up comic that the teacher has released.

Posted January 16, 2010 by Shayne Michael under Comedy Classes for All | No Comments | Bookmark

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