I don’t think I’m alone in this view of the path that I have walked. George Carlin shares a similar lament about his own work in Last Words (which I wrote about two weeks ago). Letting the knowledge that “I’ll regret this” control my decision making, however, is not an option. Instead it simply becomes a lesson in forgiving myself for my mistakes and remembering that I (hopefully) did my absolute best at the time. Easier said than done.

At the end of August (specifically August 26 to 28), I’ll be appearing at Calgary Yuk Yuk’s, and using those sets to create my first comedy album. I’m considering this a “beta project” – one to get my feet wet and help me to learn what works in this format and what doesn’t. The final product will be sold by donation (you could download it for free if you like) through my website and I’ll make up a couple of hard copies for my public shows. My personal goal is to reach a 30 minute long recording, which will allow me to keep some material for live-shows only.

Many details have to be taken care of before then. Not the least of which is selecting which material to perform and working to refine it in limited stage times between now and then (it’s a remarkably slow summer for comedy). My most recent challenge has been to put a structure and arc on the whole show/recording. So far, I’ve had some success with this and think that I’m close to getting that figured out. Then it will be on to the logistics which will include figuring out the recording equipment, getting some graphic design done, creating the pay-by-donation system and download site, and making sure that there is a good audience in the club each night.

I’ll have more posts online as the process continues. For now, put a note in your calendar for August 26 to 28 here in Calgary. I’m hoping to “stack” the audience a bit to get the best taping.

Finally, you may be wondering, “What will the album be called?” I could think of no title more fitting than: I’ll Regret This.

There are four rooms that run in Calgary that are independent of any full-time comedy club. These are places where everyone can gather regardless of affiliation to any organization. It’s in rooms like these that new material and new comedians develop. Without such places comedy wouldn’t move forward. All of these rooms run on the local clubs’ “off nights” (Sunday through Wednesday) and each do a superb job of supporting local talent.

In looking at all the selfless work that many of these producers do, I decided that it was time to celebrate those contributions in one place online and make it easy for fans of the art to find the shows and get updates on comedy in the city. The easiest way to do this was to launch a new website, so that is what I did.  Check out:

www.CalgaryComedy.ca

Within the site you will find information on the four local comedy rooms as well as be able to join a “Calgary Comedy Newsletter” which will send out a monthly update about these venues (and which local, national, and international performers will be featured there).

I hope that you will take the time to check out the website and then the various comedy rooms that it details. So many amazing comedy performances happen in the city and we’d love for you to be able to see them all!

CalgaryComedy.ca Screenshot

The thought process on this began last April when I was bumped from an “Amateur Workshop” that I was scheduled to present at The Calgary Yuk Yuk’s Club.  I was disappointed primarily because I was really looking forward to running the workshop.  After the one that I ran last November (and the good reviews that it got it), I had put a bunch of work into a new presentation and I didn’t want it to go to waste.  Rescheduling for another Wednesday night was not really going to work with my performance schedule and then the Amateur Nights were to go on hiatus for the summer.

Many of the local “up and coming” comics were also disappointed that they would be losing such a valuable learning tool over the next couple of months.  Turns out that I wasn’t the only one that felt bad about it.  Both my friends Marcus Beaubier (a comedian) and Scott Robertson (the Calgary Yuk Yuk’s club manager) wanted to keep it going, but it was clear that it wouldn’t work for these summer months the way that it had been running.  So the three of us got together and created a new structure for the evenings and agreed that we would work as a team to try and help make the whole “new comedian scene” even better.

Last Wednesday night we took the first step with a room full of comedians at Yuk’s Calgary.  Every amateur comic in attendance did a short three minute set and was given feedback from both myself and Marcus.  I think it’s reasonable to say that everyone learned something and had fun doing it (including Marcus and me). That’s really all the information that we needed to decide to keep it going.

We’re going to spend the next several Wednesday nights (possibly right through until September) running various workshops, coaching sessions, and the like, to help everyone become better performers and comedians. This coming Wednesday, June 2, we’ll split up the amateurs into groups based on what we think they need the most help with.  Marcus and I will each take a group to ensure that our feedback and suggestions are slightly more personalized than within the large group (click here for the Facebook event).

There will also be a couple of shows featuring the Amateurs throughout the summer.  The first such show will take place on June 23 and be hosted by myself (click here for the Facebook event). Should be a fun evening of getting to see these people take some of their first steps into comedy.

What’s in it for us?  While I’d like to claim altruism is our primary intention (and that is a part of it), I have always enjoyed sharing my knowledge and experience for the simple fact that it reinforces those lessons in my own head.  Just by the act of teaching, I learn, and that’s a pretty good way to spend the summer.

The majority of my thanks goes to Karen Goerzen for directing the show.  Her additions to the script and staging of Egolution are too numerous to count.  She forced me to take a script that was in a strange area between stand-up comedy and theatre, and turn it into theatre.  Thanks, Karen!

Another huge kudos and thanks goes to Cory Mack for being my “partner in crime” for the past weekend of workshopping our new shows.  We worked together to put the weekend on and her show, The Goose Queen of Kindersley, was a treat to watch every night.  It’s so great to work with talented, kind, and funny people like Cory.

Both Cory and I are hugely grateful to everyone that made it to the show and especially to those that took the time to write down some feedback for us.  (Well… almost everyone that wrote down feedback… sometimes it was unhelpful – even hurtful – or strange.) We’ve read all the comments and will be making changes to the scripts/performances in the comings months.  Thanks to our ability to add a fifth show, both of us will be submitting our performances for next year’s round of The Canadian Comedy Awards in the category of “One Person Show”.

There were a couple of people that were also at the performances every night helping to run the shows.  Our stage manager, Ian Wilson, did a stellar job, as did our Front of House Manager, Marcia Lane.

Continuing in the “no man is an island” theme of this post: I need to thank (once again) a few of my friends that helped make the show possible:

• Zoë Klintberg for posing as my girlfriend in front of a photographer for a few minutes
• Heather Schellenberg for being that photographer
• Russell Bowers for his help with the sound design
• and Andrew Delong for helping to hang lights during load-in

Several people have been asking when (and if) the show will be re-mounted… and it will in some fashion.  I’m going to ignore the script for about a month (maybe write the first draft of a completely different show) and then come back to it with fresh eyes.

A photo album was created for the show on my Facebook Page.  You don’t have to join the page or even have a Facebook account to see the album.

Ego-Maniacal Driving

My summer is slowly starting to fill up with various projects and I’ll continue to keep you posted on this blog with all of the updates. Until then; another a HUGE thanks to everyone that was involved with the debut of Egolution and to everyone that came to see what I’ve been working on.

The show is called Egolution and it’s all the work that I’ve done on the topic of ego assembled into one performance.  The first draft of the final script was submitted to my director yesterday (at over 4,300 words).  Now the hard part begins: revisions, changes, improvements (hopefully), and cuts, for the better part of a month.

Egolution will premiere in Calgary in Motel at The Epcor Centre For The Performing Arts from May 19 to 22, 2010. It will run as part of an event called Me, Myself & You; which will combine this show with Cory Mack’s one-woman show, The Goose Queen of Kindersley.  Each of us is at a point with our work where input from an audience is required to make it better so we’re holding these performances so that we can “workshop” the pieces.

Tickets are available online (through Eventbrite):
www.MeMyselfAndYou.ca

Tickets will be $15 each, but there is a special discount code for $5 off listed on my Facebook Fan Page.  That code will work until May 5 and then it will expire.

I’m also very excited to announce who that Karen Goerzen will be directing the debut of this piece.  She was my drama teacher in high school (mentioned in my post a few weeks ago), who has since retired from teaching and is working on a wide range of projects.  It’s very exciting for me to have her on board and to be working together again.  With her input I’m quite sure that the audiences are in for a great show.

The show only has a small number of seats available (about 50 each night), so reserve your tickets soon to guarantee your spot.

I’ll be opening for Gerry Dee in both Calgary and Edmonton!

Gerry is coming through on a nation-wide tour and I have been selected to be his opening act at both Alberta venues.  I’m excited and honoured to have been selected.  On April 9 and 10 we’ll be performing at The Calgary Yuk Yuk’s and on April 16 and 17 we’ll be at The Edmonton Yuk Yuk’s.

Each night there will be two shows… one at 8:00pm and the other at 10:30pm.  These events are sure to sell-out so don’t hesitate to reserve your tickets;  in Calgary call (403) 258-2028 and in Edmonton call (780) 481-9857.

Those fours shows are just one part of a jam-packed April… there is another Red Carpet Comedy on April 7 (for which all the acts are being encouraged to write material on “over used” premises), and I’ll be hosting the Calgary Yuk Yuk’s Amateur Workshop on April 14.

Wednesday night of next week (March 3) is the fourth instalment of Red Carpet Comedy.  I’ll be kicking off the show again ahead of (at current count) another 8 comedians trying their hand at their newest material.  As has been my main objective lately, I’ll be talking more about the epidemic of ego that seems to be spreading around society, and pointing out my love/hate relationship with my own narcissism.  (I’ll be writing more on this blog in a couple of weeks about why I’ve been writing/talking so much about ego in my stand-up act.) These evenings have always been a blast for both the performers and audience. I hope that if you haven’t already been able to make it out you can spare some time on March 3.

This next announcement is going to be a little cryptic (that’s intentional)… in April I’ll be opening for one of Canada’s biggest names in comedy.  He’ll be coming through Calgary on April 9 and 10, and will be in Edmonton the following weekend (April 16 and 17).  I’ll have more information closer to the shows but it will be my next big appearance in both of these cities and I didn’t want you to be able to say, “I didn’t know you were performing so I made other plans.”  Now, the only excuse you’ll have is: “I didn’t want to see your show.”  (Perhaps leaving you with no other excuse wasn’t the best choice for my self-esteem… but it’s too late to go back now.)

As always, I look forward to seeing your smiling face in an audience soon.

After watching it (it will only take a minute) you may ask yourself if this video was about someone in particular and, yes, yes it was.  However, in the interest of sparing this person the embarrassment I’ll keep the name to myself.  Sorry.  I know you wanted more gossip than that.  Go read TMZ or something.

Enjoy…

Nothing like this has ever been attempted before.  Too often we can get bogged down in the politics of the industry and easily forget that the goals of all comedians are the same: to entertain (and perhaps enlighten) audiences.  It was with that notion and intention that Comediapedia was established.  Neither Cory nor myself have any other objectives than to create a sense of community amongst all Canadian comedic performers.

If you are a comedian: I urge you to visit the site and establish your profile.  You can share as much or as little as you like… even just your name and headshot would help us to create a more complete list of performers.  Once you have done that – share the site with your Comedian friends to help us make the directory as complete as possible.

If you are a fan of comedy: If you see a Canadian Comedian on stage or TV but didn’t see or hear their name you may be able to find them within the Comediapedia database.  The comics have the option to share their popular/memorable punchlines (which can be searched).  Or maybe you know where they are from and can do a search based on that.  I can’t imagine a Canadian Comedian that wouldn’t love to have you as a fan.

While the database may appear meager now, with time it will grow to encompass all Canadian Comedians that wish to take part.  When that occurs we will have a central location to acknowledge the massive achievements and unbelievable talent that this country produces.

1. In this lovely technology-driven world the really important news “finds” me.  Be it through Twitter, Facebook, or old-fashioned real-world conversations: I find out (without trying) about the most important events.
2. With 99.9% of reported news, I am incapable of taking any action to help the situation that they are reporting on.  Knowing some of the terrible things that happen only serves to depress me and leave me with a powerless feeling.

While the earthquake in Haiti last week proved point #1 (I found out about it almost immediately through various sources), it has also shown the exception to point #2; next week I will endeavour to help as much as I can.  I’m going to do this the only way that I know how: entertain others in exchange for money and donate that cash to The Red Cross.  This will happen over two nights for two different events.

Red Carpet Comedy is scheduled for January 27.  While the show time (8PM), ticket price ($10), and location will all remain the same, the money made on the door will now be donated (100%) to the Haitian Relief Effort.  There has been a lot of talk about the ability to donate $10 with a text message – that same $10 can make its way to The Red Cross and in addition to helping those in need, you’ll receive a unique evening of entertainment.  You can order your tickets online now by clicking here. Also, you can check out the Facebook event page.

The day after Red Carpet Comedy (January 28) will see a second evening of entertainment for the same cause.  The management at Club Paradiso (the same venue for Red Carpet Comedy) has decided to hold their own fund raiser featuring a variety of the performers regularly seen on their stage.  There will be music, comedy, magic, and some special surprises.  (I’ll be on the show as well.)  Tickets for this evening are $50 and include the show, a drink, some snacks, and a $10 Village Cantina coupon.  As in the previous night’s show, all of the revenue from ticket sales (plus silent auction items) will be going toward helping those affected by this disaster.  You can order your tickets for this event by calling (403) 265-5739.

I’ve decided to take action to help in my own small way, and I hope that you’ll choose to help in your own small way by joining us next Wednesday or Thursday night.