Month: July 2010

Hitting the West Side

This Friday the famous Santa Monica Place mall reopens after 2 years of reconstruction. Located across the street from the more famous Third Street Promenade and two blocks from the even more famouser Santa Monica Pier, it’s new open air design is expected to bring quite a crowd. The pre-reconstructed mall has been seen in the TV show Beverly Hills 90210, and movies like Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Pretty In Pink and Terminator 2.

Coincidentally, the Magic Meathands and I just happen to be performing the very same night as the grand (re-)opening at the Westside Comedy Theater in Santa Monica! We hit the stage at 8 PM. Right after our show is The Waterbrains and then Westside Comedy Theater’s own Mission IMPROVable. Three full hours of improvised comedy for just $10! The theater is located in the alley between Third Street and Fourth Street, behind the food court off the Promenade.

It’s sure to be a lively night! Come on out!

WHEN: Friday, August 6, 8 PM
WHERE: Westside Comedy Theater, 1323-A Third Street, Santa Monica, CA 90401
WHAT: Live improv comedy
HOW MUCH: $10

Secret Code: EAVB_KZXATBEDTJ

Dig Comics update: Ain’t It Cool News, Comic-Con & 2 more festivals!

I have fallen behind on posting about the progress of Dig Comics, the documentary that I’ve been working on as a producer for the last several years. There has been a lot of activity, some I can talk about it, some I can’t yet (but hopefully soon). Some highlights:

  • A great interview with director Miguel Cima was recently posted at the very popular movie news/gossip site Ain’t It Cool News.
  • The first new shooting since the completion of the 20-minute short is happening at this week’s Comic-Con International: San Diego. The event is completely sold out but if you are there and see us running around like mad men and women, yell out “I dig comics!” If you’re on Twitter, follow me Wednesday to Sunday this week to see how shooting is going at Comic-Con. Hopefully technology and time will work in my favor and I’ll be able to tweet. We’ve got some amazing people lined up to interview. Can’t wait to hear their thoughts.
  • Dig Comics will be screening at this weekend’s Action On Film International Film Festival at the Regency Academy Theater in Pasadena, California, on Sunday July 25 at 4 PM.
  • Dig Comics will also be screening at the 1 Reel Film Festival, part of Seattle’s Bumbershoot music and arts festival, on September 6 at 12 noon.

I think that’s everything. Seems like I’m missing something. Lots going on! Hopefully I’ll get to share more news soon.

The First 100

Famous Funnies #100 - Nov. 1942, Eastern Color (Image from CoverBrowser.com)

This probably merits a blog post. A couple of weeks ago, Bill Johnson and the Magic Meathands entered me into the Century Club by way of a good ol’ fashion comedy roast. According to Bill’s meticulous record-keeping, I performed 100 shows with the comedy improv group with meat for hands, as of our June 3rd show at The Spot Cafe, making me eligible for induction into the Magic Meathands Century Club.

I’m the sixth Meathand to reach 100 shows. And also according to Bill’s legendary Excel spreadsheets, I’ve broken the record for getting to 100 shows in the shortest amount of time so far – 1 year, 4 months, and a few days. My first show with the group was on January 29, 2009, although I had performed with them as a student before then.

I’ve had a complete blast performing with the Meathands, and I don’t see it ending any time soon. It’s just too much fun to give up.

Thank you to everyone that has come out to see one (or more) of our shows. It is always a huge honor when someone spends their valuable time seeing me make a fool out of myself on stage. And it’s such a kick to see our audience regulars come back again and again. It really tells me we’re doing something right. For those who haven’t made it out yet, I hope to get the chance to share this pure joy and fun with you soon.

And of course thank you to the Magic Meathands for letting me play and making me laugh.

For our show schedule, check out my last blog post here, or check in with MagicMeathands.com. You can also ‘like’ our Facebook fan page.