A couple of weeks ago I presented at a business conference on the subject of “Stress Relief Through Comedy”.  Within that presentation I made some suggestions on how to bring comedy (well: how to bring “humour”) into the attendees’ workplaces.  One such suggestion was something that I do everyday and that’s to read a couple of thought-provoking, funny, or inspiring blogs every morning.  By using an RSS reader these posts are sent directly to you and (in most cases) are waiting for you when you first to get to work.  (In my case: when I wake up and get to the computer.)

The specific example which I gave during the presentation was a blog called “Garfield Minus Garfield“.  Every couple of days there is a new post made on this site with a very simple concept: remove the character Garfield from the comic strip Garfield and leave Jon Arbuckle there on his lonesome.  It’s an existentialist’s dream… I haven’t seen a disappointing cartoon yet, and don’t suspect that I will.

In the weeks that followed this presentation, a friend of mine, Ryan Pilling, launched his own daily blog that I am getting a big kick out of.  It’s funny, quirky, and does a good job of getting the creative juices flowing for me.  It’s called “LSNED: Learn Something New Every Day“ and lives up to its name: every day you will discover some new (and quite interesting) fact presented in a fun way.  Actually: it would be a great method to train for a trivia type game show.

I say that is gets my creativity going because of the sheer randomness of the facts that are presented.  It’s impossible to anticipate one day to the next and, as such, is a great way to jar my brain out of patterns (and I think we all have such patterns).  I do hope you will either check out the LSNED website or Facebook page to get your daily does of interesting facts!  (I’ll also be including this site in my future “Stress Relief Through Comedy” presentations because I truly do believe that it is a great way to start the day.)

There’s good news and more good news: One of the hottest comedy rooms in Calgary is opening back up AND I’ll be making an appearance on the grand re-opening shows this Friday and Saturday night. Daryl Makk’s Comedy Detour is returning to its original location now known as Fat Jacks (formerly Kit’s Pub). The room has the same great intimate feel and still pulls in great comics.

This Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25 will be the first shows back in the room with Daryl Makk himself as the headliner and James Moore as the MC.  I’ll be in the middle spot for both shows and relish the opportunity to work with these two gentlemen again.  (It’s been a while since I’ve shared a stage with either of them.)

So, if you’re looking to escape the heat (the room is underground), I would pick up some tickets by clicking here.  Show time is 8:00PM, but I would arrive early enough to grab a drink and a bite to eat.  Fat Jacks is located near SAIT on 16th Avenue.  The exact address is: 720 16th Ave NW, and you can click here for a map.

Daryl is working hard to make this a regular comedy room so I’ll be pulling out all the stops to give my best show possible.  (To be fair: I always give the best show possible… I’m now just now making that a publicly stated goal.) If I don’t see you this weekend, I should have some more public shows coming up this fall… stay tuned to this blog for more information.

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UPDATE (July 23, 2009): Daryl just sent me a spiffy flyer for the opening.  (How can you not attend now?)

Open mic nights are the birth place of new comedians.  It is where comedians step on the stage for their very first time, make their first mistakes, and learn a LOT in just five minutes (or less).  The truth is, that even professional comics need a stage to practice their new material or stay sharp in between paid shows.  While you’ll often see professional comics on stage at amateur open mics (making it more a pro/am experience), many open mics have decided to go “pro only” to better cater to the needs of the full-time comedian.

Despite Calgary’s wealth of comedic talent we have yet to see our own pro only open mic.  That all changes in the fall.  That’s when Red Carpet Comedy will be having it’s opening night in Calgary.  The rules are simple: professional comics on stage trying out ONLY their new stuff.

The audience will be in for a once-in-a-lifetime experience as the comedians share material with them that is being heard for the first time.  There are no guarantees as to the quality of one joke or another (it’s all new stuff), but you will be guaranteed a great time and a memorable night!  (And, yes, there will be a lot of laughs – they will just be in surprising places.)

All the details are forthcoming, but I do know that I will be the MC of the evening (also having to perform only new material), and that it will be occurring on a Wednesday night in September or October (heck, maybe even one show each month).

In the coming weeks I’ll be searching for all the professional comics that I can find (as well as the amateurs… they will be invited to attend, just not on the stage) to join the email newsletter of Red Carpet Comedy so that they can be the first to know about the show when the date is confirmed.  We’re also hunting for fans of stand-up comedy (they can also join the newsletter) so that we can let them know when the show will be and which of Calgary’s comedy celebrities they will see perform.

A full website with a rundown on the show and what each event will look like is available by clicking here. The date of the show will be confirmed in early August – at this point, we’ll start booking the comedy guests and making tickets available for sale.  (They’ll be cheap: $10 or so.)

I know I’ve already started to think about some new comedy to share with the audience that night.  Hopefully I will see you there where your reaction will decide if it stays or if it goes.

One of my best friends, Steve Nagy (mentioned on this blog before), embarked yesterday for a trip to Rwanda.  Now, a LOT of people’s knee-jerk question is: “Why?” The knee-jerk answer from myself is: “I have no idea.” After spending a week on a road trip to Vancouver and Tofino he decided that Rwanda was right for him. (That decision was made about a month ago.)

To be fair, he’s wanted to volunteer at a hospital in Rwanda (and work for other NGOs in and around East Africa) for quite some time.  His travels to other parts of the world (Hungary, China, Nepal, etc.) have set him up with a number of different contacts in the humanitarian sector, and he’s now taking advantage of them.  Since signing on to be a part of the trip his skills as photographer and videographer have been enlisted and he’ll be producing a “promotional video” for the hospital as well.

I’ve spent the last few weeks helping him get online and ready to start feeding information (stories, photos, and videos) back to us here in Canada and around the world. The final product is pretty spiffy, and there are a number of ways to read about and see what he is up to:

• A full-length blog with photos and video.
• A shorter blog through Tumblr.
• Twitter (for the most frequent updates).

I know that I’ll be watching intently.  Bon voyage, Steve!

The two of us on a train. On top of a train that is.

I had a TON of fun this past Saturday and Sunday taking a “Weekend Voice Over Introduction” presented by WCS Voice Spot and facilitated by the very talented Jonathan Love.  I’ve had a bug in my ear for quite some time about getting involved in voice over acting and this was my first step to pursuing it.  Number one lesson from the weekend: I’ve got a LOT to learn.  (But that is pretty exciting on it’s own… I love learning new skills, especially when they involve performing of some kind.)

The main benefit of pursuing this new “career”, or at least adding it to my existing one, is that it allows me to flex my acting muscles with less time commitment than a full stage play.  As I mentioned in my blog post from a few weeks ago, I do very much enjoy the opportunity to work with other people to produce creative work, and “on mic” opportunities often allow for that to happen.

Two days of working in the “classroom” (well, in the hotel boardroom) culminated in a brief stint in a studio here in town recording a commercial that would have originally aired sometime in the 90s.  I’ve included a couple of takes of the same script here – these are exactly as read with no edits. If you have a trained ear for the industry you’ll notice some areas for improvement.  If you don’t… well… you may still notice areas for improvement.

For now I’m casually hunting for any opportunity to work “on mic” and will see how it goes for the next few months before making any final decision on whether or not to include this skill in my regular repertoire.

On a personal note:  It was great to work with Jonathan again!  He’s also a part of a great music group called The Heebee-jeebees and they are playing the Coke Stage during Stampede.  (Click here for the showtimes.)

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PS:  Happy Birthday, Canada! I was going to get you a card with some money it, but then realized that I paid taxes again this year, so we’ll call it even.