2005.06.03 - - Sketch Comedy Every Friday Night!

[zombie menace]

Okay, I haven't been around here a lot lately, b/c i've been busy putting together another sketch show. I'm no Kelsey Grammer, but my writing crew is pretty funny.

I think a whopping three people from the LBE community came out to see the last show (thanks, ******, ******GF and Pat!), and to my knowledge they had a good time. Come on out and enjoy the show, please.

[zombie menace]

Come out tonight! i'll give you a slap on the ass.

[zombie menace]

anybody coming tonight? stop and say hello.

[Patrick Cosmos]

I'm gonna come by after finals are over (two weeks).

Huzzah!

[Marsh]

I honestly would come, but there is a Bulls game. Maybe in the future with Partick!

[Patrick Cosmos]

Maybe in the future with Patrick!

This is the best sentence fragment ever.

Do not consider revising.

[zombie menace]

Awesome. By an informal poll, this is our funniest show yet.

So that's like, four laughs, guaranteed!

[zombie menace]

Come Tonight!

you get to meet me! i'm hilarious in person and on the interweb.

[zombie menace]

three more shows, dudes. the crowds are starting to get nice and big! Come on out!

[Hazel]

Dear friend, I must ask. Are you seriously trying to convince me that you're the one comedy troupe out of the 18,348,901.5 in Chicago that is actually funny? Because I need more convincing. Sketch comedy troupes are notoriously terrible, ranking a hair's breadth above improv groups, who need to be shotgunned en masse as soon as we can find a bureaucrat to organize the affair.

Also, are you one of those troupes where you hand out canned beer during the break and make me watch your comedy stylings while seated on a folding chair in a poorly-lit storefront theater with loose wiring creeping through water-leak holes in the ceiling drywall?

Is there more than one girl in the troupe? Does the girl or girls play actual characters, or are they simply tools for schlocky sexist humor?

Is your humor actual humor, or simply pop culture references that will make people giggle?

Or am I just supposed to come because I think you're a rad dude?

[electronics]

whoa, tough crowd...

[Hazel]

I believe these to be valid questions. They are also in no way meant to be offensive, merely expository.

[zombie menace]

Ahem.

Dear friend, I must ask. Are you seriously trying to convince me that you're the one comedy troupe out of the 18,348,901.5 in Chicago that is actually funny? Because I need more convincing. Sketch comedy troupes are notoriously terrible, ranking a hair's breadth above improv groups, who need to be shotgunned en masse as soon as we can find a bureaucrat to organize the affair.

First, i don't think that number is accurate. You might want to check your source. And while I'm not going to debate the state of comedy (sketch or otherwise) in the greater metropolitan area, I will say that while there is a whole lot of awful comedy out there, whether it be sketch, improv or standup, there is way more good stuff going on than you are giving credit for. Also, i believe Bill 6-2005-zh6783, the shotgunning of bad improv practicers, (aka "Horatio Sanz' Law") sponsored by Janice D. Schakowsky (D-IL 9th district) is currently held up in fillibuster.

Also, are you one of those troupes where you hand out canned beer during the break and make me watch your comedy stylings while seated on a folding chair in a poorly-lit storefront theater with loose wiring creeping through water-leak holes in the ceiling drywall?

Replace "storefront" with "basement" and you just described every DuPage show i've ever been to.

The show's in Donny's Skybox, one of the three theaters housed in Piper's Alley, home of Second City, and Second City Etc. So there's some quality control there. As for specifics

canned beer--i believe it comes in bottles, and the wine comes in plastic cups. it's ridiculously overpriced so i recommend getting loaded beforehand or sneaking in your own.

folding chairs--the chairs are of the non-folding variety. For the most part, they are made of wood. There are also tables.

poorly lit--well, everything except for the stage is dark... but i think that is supposed to help you see what's happening up there better. I'm also pretty sure that the theater contains professional grade lighting and sound.

loose wiring creeping through water-leak holes in the ceiling drywall--what are you, a city inspector?

Is there more than one girl in the troupe? Does the girl or girls play actual characters, or are they simply tools for schlocky sexist humor?

the cast is three fellas, three fillies. All six are very accomplished actors, graduates of the Second City Training Center and the Conservatory (the one they actually have to try out for). And I think the ladies of this cast steal the show from our guys in their character work and their performance. While there are a few scenes with moms and a couple of sluts, we would never employ "schlocky sexist humor." Schlocky racist humor, however, is par for the course.

Is your humor actual humor, or simply pop culture references that will make people giggle?

A little of column A, a little of column B. We ain't Voltaire, and we ain't Gallagher. However, if Gallagher and Voltaire got together and had a baby, I'd mouthfuck the shit out of it.

am I just supposed to come because I think you're a rad dude?

whatever gets you to the church on time, friend.

I believe these to be valid questions. They are also in no way meant to be offensive, merely expository.

No offense taken. There's a lot of crapola out there, and it's good to get some assurances. You shouldn't go to movies w/o reading reviews, neither should you go to a sketch show w/o some confidence that you'll be entertained.

But come now GH, no matter how convincing I may be, we both know you're not coming to this show.

[Hazel]

But come now GH, no matter how convincing I may be, we both know you're not coming to this show.

This is 100% true, for I am very poor and very lazy. While I do think you are a rad dude, the fact is, the Second City graduates many more people who think they are funny than those who are actually funny. While Donny's Skybox is above par for performance spaces, it still bats about .200 in the "actually funny shows" category. I have seen more than a few insufferable performances in that place.

The pop culture question is actually my most important question. I remember the first time I saw Schadenfreude (sp?), they attempted to milk the fact that they mentioned Zayre's for about 10,000,000,000 laughs.

"HAHAHA!! ZAYRE'S IS TOTALLY AN 80'S DEPARTMENT STORE THAT NO LONGER EXISTS! THAT'S FUNNY JUST BECAUSE!"

[zombie menace]

Nah, we don't do anything like that. There are pop culture references, but they're usually employed as a means to an end, not the punchline.

I would also 100% agree that the Skybox has had some stinkers there. quite a few. mostly they are graduation shows, but some renters have put up crapola. I don't think my show falls into the category, but we're still amateurs at this. it's only our third show, so we're still figuring things out. i do think that as a whole, the shows have gotten progressively more cohesive and funnier, but that's no indicator on the comedy-o-meter.

it's weird how similar the sketch/improv scene is to the music scene.