With the production of Tuesdays With Morrie under two months away now I’m very excited to have a key sponsor on board to help with the production.  Please join me in welcoming M&M Meat Shops to the team!

The folks at M&M Meat Shops have always been big supporters of the arts in and around Calgary (not to mention the rest of the country) - and as a bachelor and “often on the road” performer I can tell you that I am a big supporter of them.  Tickets for Tuesdays With Morrie will be on sale shortly (I’ll have more information on this blog when that happens).  In the meantime, I hope that you stop by M&M Meat Shops on the way home for an easy dinner tonight.  (That’s probably what I’ll be doing as well.)

For some reason the month of April is turning into the “fundraiser” month for myself.  I’ve got three seperate performances coming up to raise money for various charities.  All of these nights should be a lot of fun and they all help a very worthy cause…

April 20 - Comedy Monday Night - 4 Year Anniversary Show. The CMN room has been “self medicating for 4 years” now and to celebrate we’re raising some money for The Epilepsy Association of Calgary.  It’s going to be a bit different than an “open mic” - mostly pros on the show doing tried and true material.  I’m honoured to have been asked to appear on the line up and am looking forward to it!  Click here for all the details on the event.

April 25 - Live’r Up! Comedy Fundraiser & Silent Auction. This event is being produced by some friends of mine in the industry, and I received this note from them about the event…

It’s been quite some time since we’ve contacted some of you, and almost a year since our “Savannah Brown Comedy Fundraiser and Auction” was held. Our courageous Savannah has been recovering from two liver transplants, and in February celebrated her 10th birthday! We are so happy she is on the road to recovery.

However joyous that recovery is for Savannah, Ruth, and John, it has also been a struggle. The aftermath of cancer treatment is almost as traumatic as the cancer itself.  Side-Splitting Productions has decided to host one more fundraiser for our friends to help them through this rough time, celebrate Savannah’s life, and promote Organ Donor Awareness in our community.

Please join us in aiding Savannah’s recovery by laughing ‘till your liver hurts at another fantastic show!

And here are the details for this show:

When: Saturday, April 25, 2009
Location: Thorncliffe Community Centre, 5600 Centre Street NW Calgary
Time: Doors open 7:00 PM, Showtime 8:00 PM
Tickets: $20.00, available for purchase prior to show date, limited tickets available.
Please call 403-282-5974 for details.

April 29 - The Magic of John Horsley and Friends in support of Parkinson’s Research. This special night at Calgary’s Club Paradiso will be more of a variety night than a magic night.  (In fact, it looks like I’ll just be doing stand up on the show.)  This room is one of my favourites to perform in.  The fundraiser we did for The Friend 2 Friend Learning Society in March raised close to $1,600 and we should be able to do at least that much on this show.  For tickets and information please call The Village Cantina at (403) 265-5739.

I love that I get to spend the month of April giving back to the community, and I hope that you will be able to support one or more of these shows.

PS:  While not a fundraiser… I’m working Friday and Saturday night at Daryl Makk’s Comedy Detour.  Click here for event information.

Here is a typical breakdown that could occur during any comedy show, anytime, anywhere:

Comedian: (tells particularly dirty joke)

Audience: (gasps, groans, boos, etc.)

Comedian:  “I was just trying to find the line.”

Every audience has a “line” where something crosses from funny to rude, or funny to gross.  Every performer has such a line as well, and sometimes those two arbitrary points don’t line up.  This can cause problems.  I’ve been thinking a lot about these invisible markers quite a bit this week with everyone talking about the incident that happened on Red Eye with a number of “pundits” last week.  If you haven’t seen it… this group of television personalities (and I use the word “personality” with more than a hint of sarcasm), mocked Canada’s involvement with the war in Afghanistan, our troops, and basically insulted every Canadian stereotype that you can imagine.

Canadians took offense in a big way.  Facebook groups, online petitions, and boycotts cropped up in only a matter of hours and are all getting some pretty good support.  And yet, this is not the first time that Canada has been made fun of.  South Park wants to “blame Canada” for everything that goes wrong in the US, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert take frequent shots at us, and even a character on one of my favourite sitcoms two weeks ago asked, “Why do we let them be a country?”

None of those comments were received with such a backlash.  I guess the cast of Red Eye found this country’s “line”.  Granted, the timing of these comments could not have been worse - given the deaths of four brave Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan recently.  (And I can not stress enough my respect for the armed forces, especially the people, some of them my age, that have given their lives for our ideals.) While this may have been a big part of the issue, I think that the idea of “intention” and “attitude” are far more important than timing.

The cast of Red Eye intended to inflict harm.  Their ignorance created an attitude that turned what they perceived as commentary into abuse.

This creates a very interesting question for all stand-up comedians…  Every joke has a victim - a target.  Sometimes it is the performer him/herself, other times it is a person/country/idea that is attacked.  What makes such an attack acceptable?  The intention.  Most comedians that I know have the best of intentions. It is their goal to share a viewpoint with their audiences, or entertain, or educate, or even open minds.  So long as these jokes are not written from a place of ignorance the performer remains on the same side of the line as the audience.

If anything, the infamy of this clip should remind all comedians (and all pundits) that their intention and attitude may be more important than their punchlines.

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PS:  Happy Birthday, Dad!  (Sorry I couldn’t have a cheerier post on the big day!)

I have an agent that is on record as saying that he wants me to stop performing magic and focus only on comedy.  The truth is, that he has never seen any of my magic shows.  Surprisingly, this is not an uncommon thought/question from people whom I meet.  It has never occured to me that I would ever have to choose.

Both magic and comedy have a seperate draw and enjoyment for me.  The universality of magic and the freedom of comedy (the ability to talk about anything that I choose) both hold great appeal.  Most important is giving each of these performance arts the time that they deserve.  Either style of performing on it’s own constitutes a career to which many have dedicated their lives, so finding the time to work on both is sometimes quite difficult.  After performing and working on comedy for some time I find that my stand-up gets better than my magic, so I switch over to magic and work on it until it gets better than my comedy, and then I repeat the whole procedure.  Fortunately, while working on one I am also improving the other.  They are complimentary in their very nature.

A lot of my competitors call themselves “comedy magicians”, but I am always slightly shocked to find that they only have credits on the magic side of performing.  I think that using that title requires the bearer to have credits in both comedy and magic, and after years of doing both apart and together I confidently use this title and entertain my clients with both performance styles.

So, I am going to avoid choosing either magic or comedy for as long as possible.  Now you don’t have to ask.

Yesterday was the first Tuesday I have missed making a blog post since I started in September of last year.  Could it have something to do with St. Patrick’s Day?  Possibly.  Far more likely it is becuase I have a show to do this evening (show ends at about 10pm) and from there I drive all night to get to a 10am show the next morning in Hinton, AB.  The travel schedule has been stressing me out just a little.

So, I have decided to quite proudly take a week off from blog posts (with the exception of this post that is), and will return next week (hopefully on Tuesday) with something fresh and new.  In the meantime I wanted to share this video of the The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.  It is an interview he conducted with Jim Cramer last week and has been circling around the internet quite a bit.  With the clip people seem to be asking the question, “Why is it that a comedian is the one to so accurately hit the nail on the head and be the voice of reason?”  The truth is, that I have always felt that is the role of comedians… Jon Stewart is doing his job, and doing it VERY well.

Click here to visit The Daily Show website for Canadian viewing. (Damn copyright laws are a pain.) You’ll then have to hunt through the centre column for the three clips of the Jim Cramer interview - but it is well worth it.  Happy Hunting!

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On a much more personal note: one of my best friends in the world has his Mother going in for surgery today (probably already there), and despite my crazy travel schedule both he, his Mom, and his family will be in my thoughts.  Good luck.

In last week’s blog post I made mention of an exciting new television project which I am working on and I can now share all the details… it’s a show that I co-created with my best friend, Steve Nagy, and is called Going My Way.  At it’s heart, it’s a travel show featuring both Steve and myself as we jet-set around the world and show you all the splendor that this planet has to offer.  “But that has been done to death!”  Sure has… that’s why we added a twist…

It is important to know that Steve and I travel VERY differently.  I take a nice plane to the nice hotel and the bill is covered by my clients.  Steve, on the other hand, has been known to travel to China on two weeks notice and camp on the sides of roads.  Going My Way will pick one destination and showcase each style of travel.

That’s just the basic idea.  We’re still working out the final details about what we’ll be doing while on the road.  Maybe it will be a competition between the two of us, or a race to do the most good for the local communities, or… actually - this is where you come in.

Yesterday we completed work on the Going My Way website.  On the site you will learn a little about each of us, read up on how we took this idea from the pitch to very early pre-production stage, watch a video of Steve and I telling some stories, and then be asked to pitch in your own ideas.  It’s difficult for us to sit back and guess at what you will find entertaining on television - so why not ask you directly.  You have the option to become a Virtual Producer for the show and share with us your stories, your ideas, your “notes” - anything that you think would be of value.

So, for all the details check out http://GoingMyWay.ca - read the blog posts, our bios, and watch the video.  Then, if you are so inclined, sign up for a Virtual Producer account and start sharing your stories with us.  We’ll read all the feedback that we get and see what we can incorporate into our final idea.

There are those that have asked if this website launch isn’t a little premature… the show isn’t produced yet after all.  While that is true, we think that, with your support, the show becomes all the more marketable to potential broadcasters.  If we can show them an interest in this idea by their audience, and use our future viewers to help refine the concept to make it all the better, I am confident that Going My Way will eventually be a reality.

I hope you can spend some time in the coming weeks and learn all about the show online:

GoingMyWay.ca

As you may know, this coming June 7 to 13 I will be appearing along side Richard Michelle-Pentelbury in a production of Tuesdays With Morrie by Mitch Albom and Jeffery Hatcher.  We’ve already started the rehearsal process and are both excited for the opportunity.  It’s an amazing script with a lot of value (and from the performance side: very challenging).  I’ll be hanging up my jokes and cards to become an actor for this run!

While we are still a couple of months out from the show (tickets go on sale April 7 - click here for more details) there is now an opportunity for a company or individual to sponsor the production.  In exchange for sponsorship dollars you will be:

• Supporting the ALS Society working to further research into this terrible disease and help families affected by it.
• Given recognition through all the show’s marketing efforts.
• Invited (with complimentary tickets) to the run of the show.
• Provided numerous promotional opportunities both on and offline.

While this is a very limited list of sponsorship benefits, a one-pager on the show with a more extensive list is available:

Tuesdays With Morrie Sponsorship One-Pager

Anyone interested in sponsorship can contact Fracture A Femur Productions via e-mail (great-events@fractureafemur.com) or toll-free phone (877-693-5181) to have a package created just for them.

And, if you just like to come and watch the show, you can do that too… visit this site for more information and sign-up for the Tuesdays With Morrie e-newsletter for updates on ticket sales.

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I’m also VERY excited about next week’s post.  Next Tuesday you will learn all about a television project I am currently spending most of my time on… in fact, I spent most of yesterday working on filming an introduction video for the forthcoming website.

Today’s post is a little later in the day than I like to make them… hopefully this hasn’t thrown your whole schedule into confusion.  I’ve got quite a few shows coming up in March so I wanted to be sure to let you know about them all.  (Yes, they are listed on my “Upcoming” page… but that only lists a few shows at a time.) Here we go…

February 28 - Lethbridge, AB.  This is a Yuk Yuk’s On Tour room in the BP Lounge at Holiday Bowl.  Headliner is Jasen Fredrickson, and I’ll be opening the show.  Jasen created a Facebook event for the night.  I haven’t worked with Jasen in a while and I am looking forward to it.

March 7 - Daryl Makk’s Comedy Detour.  After a short hiatus The Comedy Detour is back in full swing in Calgary at the Toad ‘N’ Turtle Pub.  I’m MCing the show this night with headliner Lars Callieou.  Check out The Comedy Detour website for all the details.  Lars is another headliner whom I haven’t worked with in quite some time… and this is very surprising given how much he works.  (Also, in late 2008, Lars was one of the finalists in the very prestigious Seattle Comedy Competition.  Translation:  he’s good AND he’s been to Seattle!)

March 10 through 14 - Comedy Cave.  Another week at The Comedy Cave - this time with Maxim Magazine’s “Comedian of the Year”, Rob Little.  I saw his show last time he was through Calgary and think that you’d be hard-pressed to find a higher energy act.  Show times and tickets are online at The Cave’s website.

March 15 - Clive, AB.  That’s right!  Clive, Alberta.  Haven’t heard of it before, but I’ll sure as heck be there on March 15.  I can’t foresee having anybody in Clive read this blog, so I’ll just leave it at that.

March 18 - The Magic of John Horsley and Friends.  This regular fundraiser at Club Paradiso has become a treat for me to perform on.  All the performers (magicians and comedians) are donating their time so that 100% of the ticket price goes toward Friend 2 Friend Learning Society.  It’s all being organized by comedian Lori Gibbs.  There’s a Facebook event page and you can also contact Lori via phone (403-861-7706) and e-mail (lorigibbs@shaw.ca).  Tickets are $20 and the line-up is amazing.  I’m not sure what I’ll be doing on the show just yet.  Either host or closing act… you’ll have to come to the show to find out!

That’s all in the foreseeable future - but as my phone keeps ringing I’ll keep updating!

It’s a little last minute but a TV “vignette” I filmed in January is airing today on CBC here in Calgary (Shaw Cable 6).  The short segment (I am told it’s about a minute long) will air at some point from 3:00pm to 3:30pm this afternoon.  I’ll check it out and try to post it on this site in a few days.

If you are visiting this site for the first time as a result of watching the segment: Welcome!  Here’s a couple of things I would recommend you check out while you are here:

• Upcoming Performances - If you would like to know where I am performing in the next couple of weeks.
• The Two Card Monte - A fun magic trick I sell after my shows.  There is a performance video and, if you are interested, you can pick up your very own set.
• And if you want to be among the first to know about future shows (including a performance of Tuesdays With Morrie which I am co-starring in) you can click here for all the details.

Thanks to Kathleen with CBC Television for thinking of me for this segment.

Not a lot of people know this, but my High School Diploma isn’t really a normal diploma… well - it’s normal, just has a special addition to it.  In high school I was a part of the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program.  (Yes, it was for the smart kids.  Mock away - I’ve already heard it all.) In order to graduate I had to write this final paper for my history class on a subject of my choosing.  My paper was about the age-old question: “Do great men make history or does history make great men?” This was then applied to Lenin and the Russian Revolution as a case study.  (And somehow I ended up as a comedian… who would have guessed!)

The paper got a decent grade (to be honest, I kind of phoned it in) but that question of great men vs. history has been on my mind a lot while reading Malcolm Gladwell’s latest book:  Outliers: The Story of Success.  For those of that haven’t heard about the book it studies “outliers”: the people that have achieved major success and how they have done it.  While the book draws many conclusions the factor of luck comes up quite a bit.  Being born in a particular year (or month) could have a huge impact on what you are able to accomplish, not to mention your upbringing and coincidence.

Gladwell has so masterfully answered what my IB paper attempted to all those years ago.  While having the natural drive and ambition to succeed is necessary - it’s just the prerequisite.  He also stresses the importance of chance and the need to have achieved 10,000 hours of work in a field to become proficient.  Reading that forced me to think of my own field.  When you start out in comedy you are given 5 minutes of stage time (basically not enough time to do any “damage” to the overall show).  By Gladwell’s logic that would be 120,000 spots on stage.  I think of this number when new comics ask me if they should enter the field and I laugh (internally of course).

I strongly recommend Outliers and hope that, if you read it, it changes your opinion on success and thus on failure.  Sometimes all the ability in the world isn’t enough - you have to be ready when luck strikes.

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In the same shipment from Amazon that contained Outliers was also David Crowe’s new comedy DVD, Crooked Finger.  I worked with David on New Year’s Eve here in Calgary and was honoured to do so.  He is definitely a comedian that has put in his 10,000 hours and it shows in his work.

The DVD is 75 minutes of non-stop laughs.  The material is selected very well and a delight to watch.  If you are putting in an order for Outliers be sure to add his DVD to it as well (or vice versa)… it’s the best one that I’ve watched in a while.