FunnyThings in Vegas- Comedy Clubs FREE to Everyone

Okay, maybe not the club at Harrah's, but from the guy who founded the World Famous Improv Comedy Clubs, Budd Friedman, comes a website that allows EVERYONE to visit comedians, talk about comedy, and learn about the shows that are coming up at the clubs in cities across the country. It's called IJoke.tv, and features video snippets from everyone including Old School favorites, to the newest star on Last Comic Standing. Budd Friedman is also available to answer questions about the comedy world, and will do so with a tongue as sharp as his mind.
Have you ever wondered what it was like to have a quiet moment with Robin Williams? How about sitting down with Roseanne and talking about cookie recipes? Did you ever just want to laugh for no particular reason and needed a great place to visit. This is the purpose of iJoke.tv. Paul Lander, a television producer and comedy expert in his own right, has produced specials for HBO, and networks for everyone. He is the voice of iJoke.tv, partnered with Budd, and bringing the best comedians from around the world to the site simply to amuse the visitors.

It's also a site of education. Have you thought about writing for screen? Have you wondered what it would be like to pitch a television show? What about podcasts? Do you know about improvisation, or would you consider trying stand-up if you just knew where to start? IJoke.tv is the website that gives real-life, experienced voices to the answers. Recent forum discussions include- "What do I need for touring?" "What can do to make my work stand out?" and "What does a video do for me?" All are answered by people who are not only comedians, but club owners, marketing experts, Hollywood big-wigs, and even those who are fans of the art.

If you are a fan of people like Erma Bombeck, Mark Twain, or Dave Barry, you have found a place to make your own humor writing known. When you sign up for an account at IJoke.tv, you are given a blog space- which is a great way to test out humor writing before submitting it to competitions, periodicals, or agents. You will get valuable feedback from people who have been on the judging panels, or who may have one competitions, such as the Bombeck event that happens each year. Join in the discussions and get your own page by clicking here.

Not sure about going to comedy clubs anymore because you wonder if all the material out there is just beyond blue? Visit the website to learn about the headliners at your local clubs, and see their work on display. You may discover people like MaryEllen Hooper, the Aspen Comedy Festival Winner, and Shane Mauss, whose appearances on Conan are now legendary. Or you may find that an old favorite, John Caponera, or Dennis Blair is now part of the community chatting with others about life on the road after MTV.

Nothing is quite like sitting before a stage, and seeing a comedian up close. You feel the infectious laughter of others spill onto your funny bone. You get inside jokes about events happening just there, just then, and just with you in mind. But, IJoke.tv does its best to bring that same idea to the net-surfing public. And it's free. It doesn't get much better than that. Read more!

Funny Thing In Vegas-What is Hack?

In a few weeks, Caesars Palace becomes home to the annual Las Vegas Comedy Festival, sponsored by TBS. Ellen Degeneres, Jerry Seinfeld, and dozens of others who are household names appear on the stages here, and even The Kids in The Hall make an appearance. The magic of the festival is the ability to see the new comedians, unknown to Agents nor to sitcoms, and the disgrace of the festival is the same comedians who appear to borrow material from others.

Most comedy today has been done to bits..and the words "sarah palin" are so intrinsic to the comedy stage, it's already too done to say them. But, the thing that bugs me on the comedy stages are the people who claim they are doing 'clean comedy' but are just redoing Bob Newhart, Rossi and Allen, and even older Alan King bits, and calling them original. It makes me upset because that is the essence of all things HACK. And, they get away with it because people who are supposed to know better actually hire them, and use them in clubs. Or promote them in contests. Either way, they're stealing and shouldn't be rewarded.

When I hear an insurance bit I think back to Alan King. When I think of bits about teaching, I think about Dennis Wolfberg, whose bug eyed delivery always made the bit better than it was. When I think of a white jewish girl pretending to be a big black man, it's Karen Haber. And, when I think of the Wizard of Oz, it's Lois Bromfeld. My personal heroes- Phyllis Diller and Moms Mabley did the "I'm ugly" bit long before others did. And, they did them right. The first time.

These bits are all on you-tube, and other websites, and are readily available. If you see them, you can see who is doing the exact routines. Mark Pitta, for instance, does one of the best Robert DeNiro imitations ever...because he LOOKS like DeNiro when he's not doing it. When I saw some kid imitating Pitta doing DeNiro, it just didn't ring true. He was imitating Pitta doing DeNiro and it was just not correct. It was mimicry at best, and falsely inflated ego at worst.

The fact is, there are thousands of us with ADD. There are thousands of us bringing note cards up on stage, and using THAT as part of the bit. The general colloquialisms that permeate our language, (all the izzle's inclusive), are not new. Bill Hicks did Bill's material, Denis did Denis's material, but the performances were so extremely similar no one can dispute them. Parallel thought is part of the world of comedy- parallel parking on an exact phrase, exact delivery, and exact timed piece is just plain hack.

The ones who bother me are the ones who assume that no one else studies comedy the way they do. That bothers me because I am one who would go to clubs EVERY night whether I was on stage, or not, and LEARN about comedy by watching everyone I possibly could. I sat transfixed to Lenny Clarke, Richard Jeni, and Roseanne with the same aplomb. (love that word) They were up there, headlining, and getting people to pay attention to them, and I wanted to know WHY- not what they were saying that I could improve on, or plainly steal, as so many seem to do now. When I saw someone doing a Bobcat imitation on a TV show supposedly designed to find "new" comedy, I nearly lost it- it wasn't anyone behaving as a comic and being funny, it was someone PERFORMING without WRITING anything new- and it was just theivery. It's the problem Fred Travelena and Rich Little have with those who imitate THEM, when in fact, they've written bits specifically to match their impressions. Other impressionists stealing bits from Fred and Rich are just telling the audience, "screw you, you don't know any better." That's just the wrong song to be playing in the Intel Age.

The online video sites are there for anyone to learn about what stand up is, and what it isn't. It's there for people to see "Oh yeah, Jeneane Garafalo had a good few years before she was on TV doing stand-up", "Patton Oswalt wasn't always killing when he first started.", "Oh yeah, look at Bernie Mac doing TV for the first time, wow, he was so much like Redd Foxx in his timing." It's for people to understand character motions, like those done by Buster Keaton, Mark Blankfield, and Jim Carrey. It's there for anyone to watch good comedians when they were not-so-good, and see them grow. It's there for people to see Ritch Shydner, and Mitch Hedberg and not just wonder who they were on the stage. It's there for the wisdom gained by Piper and Tupper, and Bobby Slayton, and Margaret Cho. Some continued on to be huge names, others great headliners and others, just footnotes in the comedy history books- but they're not up there so people can STOP writing.

Writing is what comedy is about. In Vegas, we have some terrific writers- Don Barnhart, Brandon Muller, Tanyalee Davis, Kathleen Dunbar for example. All are at different stages of their careers. We have terrific shows- the Short Bus Comics inclusive- where those who are more like Tim and Eric or even Terry Fator- can be alongside those who are college headliners, and longtime veteran champions of comedy everywhere. But people are writing constantly. It's what makes the stages come alive here. Diaz Mackie to Jeremy Flores, you'll find gems if you look.

So no, there isn't a reason to assume your audience isn't aware of comedy and the history of stand-up. (And before you start to mumble it, yes the Ass of U and Me line..done to death, thanks.) Assume that someone in your audience is also aware of Jim Norton and Jen Kober. Assume that someone in your audience has seen Carlin or Cosby, maybe even the same nights, and have played their albums for as long as they could. Assume that someone in your audience gets that Ernie Kovacs and Norm Crosby knew what they were doing. Assume this because if you don't, you are going to be disappointed when it comes time to talk to that person who DOES know these people and GETS that you are 'borrowing' material.

Everyone has their own views of something . I will write about a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in a different way, based on my own experiences and language than Grace Fraga. I will write my way, she will write her way. I will present my way. She will present her way. But I will WRITE and she will WRITE. When you're up there and talking about George and Gracie's version of the peanut butter and jelly sandwich, it will be obvious to others that you're just "playing comedian" and not actually being one. If you want to do the acting thing, that's great, but you don't get a pass to not write your own stuff. Check out Michael Keaton's stand-up and see if you can't find Johnny Dangerously in it. Learn the craft. Learn to write.

And then be the comedian you want to be- don't pretend you are someone else. You WILL be discovered, as a hack if you do. You WILL be discovered as talent if you WRITE. Read more!