An Impromptu “Mehran Show” Tonight Focuses On Auditions

The Mehran, title character of
The Mehran Show at Mottley's

The Mehran Show usually happens the third Thursday of every month at Mottley’s. This month, that’s getting pre-empted by a St. Patrick’s Day party being thrown by the club’s host bar, Trinity, who will be using all three floors, including Mottley’s basement space, for the drunken revelry. That means The Mehran Show will happen tonight instead, with a line-up made up of comedians practicing for two auditions happening next week at The Comedy Studio.

On Tuesday, Eddie Brill will be in town. Brill will be looking for talent for the Great American Comedy Festival, but he also books the comics for Letterman. Thursday, talent agency Mosaic will be looking at local talent to add to their roster. Tonight’s line-up includes Matt D. (both), Tony Moschetto (Mosaic), Bethany Van Delft (Mosaic), Kyle Ploof (Brill), Andrew Mayer (Brill), Raj Sivaraman (Brill), and Jenny Zigrino (Brill), with a couple of more comics possibly jumping in late.

Mehran, who is on the bill for the Mosaic show, says he has done somewhere between ten and fifteen auditions, which doesn’t necessarily make him feel like a veteran of the process. "It's not like I'm one of these battle-scarred road comics who can tell you about the Vegas cattle-call of '02,” he says. “From the relatively short list of audition showcases I've been on, I can say that the trick is probably not to get too trapped in your head about it, don't forget to stay in the moment and have fun and do your strongest material that sums you up the best but you're also feeling the happiest with on that particular day."

“These auditions are based on a cumulative preparedness,” he adds. “It's not like we got a script that morning or had to write new material to suit the fancies of a particular booker (at least not that day.) These agents come to see what we already do.”

Neither of these auditions is likely to make or break any comedians career. But it could mean a significant step up and open doors for them eventually, to future festival appearances, or even a Letterman spot. What you see tonight at Mottley’s could be the very beginning of a career path toward New York City or LA.

The BC Q&A: Erin Judge on The Dress-Up Show's one-year anniversary

Erin Judge and Bethany Van Delft celebrate their one-year anniversary of The Dress-Up Show tonight at Mottley’s with Ken Reid, Tom Dustin, Mehran, Jenny Z, and Tim McIntire. The concept is that comedians wear their fanciest duds, or, likely in the case of many comics, borrow some fancy dud to wear. The audience is encouraged to do the same, to create Boston’s funniest formal party.

Judge moved to New York City last year, but comes back to the city where she started her comedy career once a month for the show. She’ll also get back to her native Texas to play this summer.

Do you have anything special planned for the one-year anniversary?

As everyone knows, the one-year is the "paper anniversary." Both Bethany and I will incorporate paper into our outfits, plus we'll have special prizes for EVERYONE who comes to see the show. We'll also revisit some of our best moments from dress-up show history, including some of our favorite performer costumes.

How much have the comics indulged in dressing up? Have any been reluctant to dress up?

For me, the comics' reactions have been the absolute best part of doing this show. Everybody seems to enjoy kicking it up a notch. Ken Reid wore a Space Ghost costume the first time he performed; Dan Boulger rented a formal tux with coattails and a top hat. At our very first show, Mehran came in drag. It's been a fantastic time. A couple of comics along the way were reluctant because they thought "dress up" meant "wear a dress," and we had to explain that we just wanted them to wear something different from their usual on-stage attire. The comics who do the show all seem to love it.

How have audiences reacted? Do they generally dress up, too?

I've been impressed! Of course, the audience doesn't have to dress-up, but their outfits can win them prizes. Each week we draw a category for an audience prize -- best shirt, best bag, best shoes, etc. That element of the show really gets the audience involved. And we've had some really snazzy audience ensembles, especially from some of the bachelorette parties that have come our way. Even people who don't come particularly dressed up have a good shot at winning the prize, which is based on audience votes.

Does it affect the comedy at all?

I think it makes the performances particularly memorable! It sometimes takes comics out of their comfort zones, but usually I see them come into a really fun place as a result of the snazzy attire. I love watching the comics at our show. It's always a whole different level of performance.



What made you think of a dress-up show?

Well, I wanted to co-host a show with Bethany Van Delft, because she's fantastic, and we work really well together. A couple of years ago, I went to go see the "Sex and the City" movie, and I was just amazed by how everybody dressed up in their best cocktail outfits to go see that movie. We thought it would be a great idea to create a monthly show where people could wear their dress-up clothes in an informal setting, just like going to the movies.

Plus, Bethany and I both tend to work the "alternative comedy" scene, where comics tend to wear ripped up hoodies and legwarmers on their faces and stuff like that. We wanted to give them an unselfconscious setting where they could dress like the old-time comics always did, in suits and ties and dresses....and costumes too, if they so desire.

Are you looking forward to going home and playing Texas again this summer?

That'll be super fun. I'm psyched to perform in Austin at the LAF Festival, and it'll be very interesting to stay with my mother for several few weeks.

Do you think you'll keep doing the show for another year? How has it been coming up here for the show once a month?

I love doing the Dress-Up Show. We did one in New York, and it went extremely well. We're hoping to do a monthly show in Boston and a monthly show in New York. Bethany and I always bring something new to each show, but mostly the showcase format is what keeps it fresh. I think we can keep it growing and building for quite a while.

ColorStruck tonight and tomorrow at Tommy's

Bethany Van Delft can hardly believe it. The little show she, Deb Farrar-Parkman, and Janet Cormier started with a handful of comics at The Comedy Studio in 2000 marks its eleventh year tonight. ColorStruck: The Women of Color in Comedy show officially enters its second decade when it kicks off its two-night stand at Tommy’s Comedy Lounge this evening.

“That's crazy,” says Van Delft. “I don't think we've taken the time to think about how long it's been. We've just been making sure that the show keeps going year after year. We might have to have an anniversary party.”



More than just an annual show, ColorStruck also books showcases at colleges and festivals, expanding its roster with new comics as others leave the fold. “I'm grateful that we've been able to withstand the tests of time so to speak,” says Farrar-Parkman. “We've lost a few along the way. Most of the originals have left comedy altogether and others who joined the group in later years, have moved to other cities and are actively pursuing careers in those venues.”

Alycia Cooper (BET’s Comic View, Last Comic Standing) is a new face at the show this year. Susan Alexander, founder of the Five Funny Females traveling show, performs in her second ColorStruck this year, as does Iranian comic Asie Mohtarez. “We're getting to bring in established acts we work with on the road from around the country, as well as talented new comics we meet along the way,” says Van Delft.



The show has helped create a community amongst women of color in comedy, but Van Delft says it has been important for audiences, too. “I think it's been more of an important experience for audiences,” she says, “to get to see an entire line-up of women comedians of color, all talented with unique voices and stories to tell. It's not something you really see in Boston or New England very often.”

Farrar-Parkman, an Emmy-winning producer, says ColorStruck has helped her as a stand-up comedian. “The festival has truly helped me to refine my career, hosting abilities, stage presence and ability to perform before truly diverse crowds from old to young and in between,” she says. “I'm doing a show at the Improv in LA on April 22nd and am fully aware that were it not for ColorStruck, I might not be at the performance level to do the LA scene.”

Here’s the line-up for each night. Bethany Van Delft hosts both nights.

Friday
Alycia Cooper
Deb Farrar Parkman
Janet Cormier
Shereen Kassam
Susan Alexander
Esther Ku

Saturday
Deb Farrar-Parkman
Janet Cormier
Asie Mohtarez
Susan Alexander
Sketch by Sheila Jackson
Alycia Cooper

Rooftop Comedy spotlights Mottley's

Mottley's Comedy Club is featured on the front page of RooftopComedy.com this week, complete with a link to two pages worth of comedy clips from DJ Hazard, Bethany Van Delft, Josh Gondelman, and a few others, all shot at the club. For the uninitiated, RooftopComedy.com does this with differnt clubs around the country, giving it a pretty deep reach into various local scenes.

Here's a bit of a sample from DJ Hazard's sold-out show in December.

Show is on tonight at the Studio

There was some doubt earlier this week over whether there would be a show tonight at the Comedy Studio. Just got this from the Studio's Rick Jenkins, confirming there will in fact be a show, with a great line-up, to boot:

We will have a show tonight (Friday, November 6) at the Studio.

The Hong Kong wasn't sure until Wednesday night. So we quickly put together a pretty cool night. Personally, I feel like it's going to be a great time. Like the old days; small turn out; lots of funny friends.

Renata Tutko will host sets from Chris Fleming, Sarah Heggan, Rick Jenkins, Andrew Mayer, Andy Ofiesh, Sean Sullivan and Bethany Van Delft.

Erin Judge says farewell to Boston (mostly)

This is an important week for Erin Judge. Not only is she showing of The Dress Up Show tonight with Bethany Van Delft as part of the Boston Comedy Festival, she’ll headline her own send off show Sunday as she leaves for New York City. Judge has been a fixture on the scene since her first open mic at the All-Asia Café in 2002, hosting Sundays at The Comedy Studio, and putting on her two-person show, The Meaning of Wife, with Ailin Conant, and working her way up to an appearance on Comedy Central’s Live at Gotham.

Fear not, though, Boston, you will still get to see her once a month at Mottley’s hosting The Dress Up Show with Bethany Van Delft. I caught up with her by phone on August 21, the day The Meaning of Wife opened at the New York International Fringe Festival.

Are you all ready to move to New York?

I live in New York. That’s where I am right now. I’m here, and I’m excited.

What made you move now?

I’d say what made me move now is just a feeling of… feeling ready to go into the clubs in New York City and perform stand-up at the level I think is necessary when you get started in New York to make a good impression. And I’m also interested in doing casting and writing for television and exploring the possibilities of those sorts of things, which are less available to me in Boston.

Did you get a sense of that world performing in Boston?

There’s great casting agencies in Boston and there’s lots of people who work at all kinds of levels of the industry there, but I think it’s more like, for me, having the interest in television and the other aspects of the entertainment industry that deal with comedy, from TV writing to screen writing to filmmaking, television, most of that happens in New York and L.A., so I really want to be at one of those places at this point in my career.

Do you have any leads and things like that or are you going out there and starting fresh?

I have some good friends who work either in television or do lots of movies and television commercials who have given me lots of leads, but right now I’m flying solo a little bit.

"Dumb and Crazy" from Live at Gotham:

Live at Gotham
Erin Judge - Dumb and Crazy
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

Is it hard to pick up and move everything? I know you had a day job.

I’ve been doing comedy full time for about a year. I left my day job in July of last year. And I’ve been working as a comedian ever since. So that made it easier. It wasn’t like I was trying to finish off a job. But it’s very difficult to pick up and move, especially when I have such great relationships with the comedy community in Boston. Especially with people like Rick Jenkins [owner of The Comedy Studio] and a lot of the other comedians in town. I’m going to miss them all horribly. But I’m excited to close to Boston. I’m glad I’m that not in L.A. I’m glad that I’m about to be in New York and come up to Boston frequently. And I’m very excited that right around now is when the Boston Comedy Festival is happening because I feel it will be a nice way to kind of say goodbye to the Boston comedy world.

Is the September 2 Dress Up Show your send-off show?

Bethany and I will continue to do the Dress Up Show once a month at Mottley’s. I’m going to come up for that, which is great. The real send off show is going to be at the Comedy Studio on September 6. It’s not part of the Festival, but I’m going to be headlining, doing twenty minutes, which is nice because Rick doesn’t always let people do that. But it’ll be fun, and Bethany is hosting that night at the Studio. Since she and I have worked together for such a long time it’s really great that she’s going to be a part of that show.

"Bad Dating Advice" from Live at Gotham:

Live at Gotham
Erin Judge - Bad Dating Advice
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

As far as the Dress Up Show and the Festival, are you going to be doing anything differently because it’s part of the Festival?

Well, we have a really fantastic line-up of people, national comedians as well as local comedians, which is really exciting. But in terms of the show, we really just want to showcase the format of the Dress Up Show as it is for the people who are coming to the Festival. So it’s just going to be me and Bethany dressed up telling stories and hosting a really fun night of comedy where everybody’s dressed up.

How did the show come to be part of the Festival?

I think Jim McCue and Helen McCue of the Festival have a good relationship with Mottley’s. And last year, the club, Mottley’s, opened in conjunction with the Festival. That’s how they made their opening, with Shane Mauss headlining, as part of the Boston Comedy Festival. So I think the club, Mottley’s, with whom we have a great relationship, Bethany and I do, they continue to have a great relationship with the Festival. So it’s great because it’s additional publicity and it’s national acts who are going to be coming into our monthly show, and we’re very excited to have that.

Are you also in the contest this year? [Editor’s note: Erin moved on from her round Monday and will be in the semi-finals]

I am in the contest. My prelim is 9PM Monday on August 31.

Is that something you look forward to, or is that sort of perfunctory?

Well, I’ve done the contest twice before. I didn’t do it last year. But I really love being part of showcase shows and I love the challenge of the five minute set. And it’s a great line-up on the contest. At least the part that I’m on. I like that part of it. As far as being judged and being competitive with other comedians, I try not to focus on that element of it.

What are your plans for The Meaning of Wife?

Well, we open at 4:45 today in New York City. [Laughs] We open at the New York International Fringe Festival today. And we’re performing this weekend and next weekend. So as soon as I get done with The Meaning of Wife on the 29th, I get to come to Boston and do the Boston Comedy Festival.

Are there any plans past that?

Not right now. At the [New York] Festival, we’re going to gage interest in the show. We have a lot of people from the industry coming out to see us. We’re hoping that someone who has the resources to work on booking us around or touring us or even putting up a run in New York will be interested in producing the show. We’ll see.

How much does having the Comedy Central credit help? Do people recognize that?

I think so. I think that people in the theater world are primarily the ones interested in this Festival. But they’re always looking for talents they haven’t seen yet. And a lot of the people who we know who are coming from the entertainment industry are casting people from film and television, as well. So that’s an exciting element of it.

"Maid of Honor" from Live at Gotham:

Live at Gotham
Erin Judge - Maid of Honor
www.comedycentral.com
Joke of the Day Stand-Up Comedy Free Online Games

What local comedians influenced you?

Definitely the Walsh Brothers and Kelly MacFarland. And I of course love guys like D.J. Hazard and Tony V. When I think back to the performers that I would work with when I first started performing at the Comedy Studio, people like Tony Moschetto and Bethany Van Delft were extremely awesome to work with from the very beginning. And my other peers like Myq Kaplan.

How do you feel Boston fits into the national scene?

Right now, I think Boston performers are giving some of the most killer five to seven minute showcase, television, and accessible sets in the country. And I think that that is a testament not only to the Comedy Studio and their format but just the various venues around town and the development of the various extremely smart and cool comedians from all over the area.

What do you see in the near future for Boston comedy?

I think it’s just going to keep getting better and better. I think that right now is a great moment for comedy in the world and in television and in all media. And I think that it’s just going to continue to churn out the kinds of talent and the generations of brilliant voices that it has for a really long time now.

The 11th Annual Roxbury Film Festival kicks of with Comedy Night at Slade's

The 11th Annual Roxbury Film Festival kicks off with Comedy Night tonight at Slade's Bar & Grill hosted by Jonathon Gates with Chris Tabb, Bethany Van Delft, and Orlando Baxter. Wednesday is also the night Gates hosts his Blakc Comedy Explosion, which will go on as scheduled tomorrow at 9PM with Washington D.C comic Eddie Bryant.

More on the Roxbury Film Festival, and the film Why We Laugh, which closes out the Festival on Sunday at the MFA.

Slades Bar & Grill
958 Tremont Street, Roxbury
Phone: 617.541.3900

Discount Variety tonight -- Bethany Van Delft and Schooltree

Tonight at 8PM at the CinemaSalem Cafe, we have one of the best line-ups we've had yet for FunnyGrownHere.com Presents... Discount Variety. We have the comedy of Bethany Van Delft and the music of Schooltree (Lainey Schulbaum, moonlighting from the Steamy Bohemians). Here's a bit more about them before you head out to the show.

BETHANY VAN DELFT

Bethany Van Delft is a rising voice in Boston comedy, and part of another regular Thursday night show -- The Dress Up show at Mottley's Comedy Club. She is also founding member of “Colorstruck: Women of Color in Comedy”, New England’s first and only women of color comedy showcase. She has been featured in the Boston Comedy Festival, New York Underground Comedy Festival, and The Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Festival. She is a core member of the touring show “5 Funny Females”. She is a favorite at clubs and colleges all over New England, and will definitely win something and/or be on TV by next year.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

About 4 or 5 years seriously.

What are your favorite places to play?

I love comedy clubs, but I also really enjoy performing at venues where you wouldn't expect to see a comedy show. I just did Middlesex Lounge, it was a great time.

Who are your favorite musicians, locally and nationally?

I am ashamed to admit I am a little behind the times when it comes to local music. I tend to check out more music comedy like Steamy Bohemians, and MC Mr Napkins.

What is the best music show you’ve seen?

It's a toss up between WAR at the old House of Blues in Cambridge years ago, and The Nuyorican Soul concert at The Manhattan Center featuring all the bands from the recording, live.

SCHOOLTREE

Schooltree is Lainey Schulbaum, Boston-based performer, composer, audio engineer and producer. She is one half of Boston's dubious darlings The Steamy Bohemians, and co-founder of the acclaimed variety show Jerkus Circus. This solo project is avant-pop in genre - sometimes theatrical, often odd - played with piano, voice, and drum machine. Dark story-telling and vivid imagery characterize songs about stuff like going to the moon, naughty children, premature burials, and conformity. Lainey straddles the fence between serious musician and off-the-wall comedic performer with a discomfort that both delights and confuses audiences wherever she performs.

How long have you been playing in Boston?

Approximately one thousand years. Well, I'm rounding up - guess it's more like six.

What are your favorite places to play?

The Lizard Lounge, Ralph's Diner (Worcester), the Abbey Lounge (RIP)

Who are your favorite comedians, locally and nationally?

I love everyone locally, especially Bethany Van Delft. Louis CK and Mike Birbiglia are a couple of my favorite non-locals.

What is the best comedy show you've seen?

Jerkus Circus - every single one.

Eddie Brill Scouts the Studio Sunday for the Great American Comedy Festival

Last year, Eddie Brill rolled into Boston with twenty-four spots to fill for his competition at the Great American Comedy Festival. Brill, who books the Festival and also books the stand-up talent on the Late Show with David Letterman, looked at talent from twelve different cities, and wound up taking five Boston comics – Myq Kaplan, Shane Mauss, Dan Boulger, Micah Sherman, and David Powell.

That’s a pretty high bar to set – roughly twenty percent of the talent came from Boston. But Brill expects Boston will be up to the challenge when he visits the Comedy Studio again on Sunday scouting for this year’s festival (Joe Wong is already slated to be in the Festival). ““My feeling is there’ll definitely be people from Boston because it’s just been a fantastically great city for us for finding great talent,” says Brill.

At least one person on the bill Sunday, Dan Sally, almost made the Festival last year, and Brill asked for him to be in this year’s line-up. “He was someone who was on the cusp,” he says. “I thought he could have gone last year but again, I could only pick twenty-four.”

Brill is a New York guy, but he has strong Boston roots. He went to Emerson, and he started doing stand-up here. He still keeps in touch with his alma mater, and sees Boston comedians all the time in New York.

Brill says he is looking for people who are “on the cusp of greatness,” and makes it clear he is not picking contestants for an amateur competition. “I’m looking for poise, I’m looking for people who own the stage, who call the shots up there,” he says. “People who are one of a kind, who are really true to who they are. I’m looking for great material, I’m looking for people who have a point of view, who have an edge.”

The point of the Festival, which takes place June 14-20, is to honor Johnny Carson in his hometown of Norfolk, Nebraska. This year’s gala host is David Brenner, who appeared on more Tonight Shows than anyone. And another Boston guy, Bill Dana, who was the first head writer for the original Tonight Show, will receive the Comedy Legend Award. Every comedian who goes to the Festival is placed with a host family, who shows the comedian around and shows off Carson’s hometown.

Comedians who are auditioning for the festival might want to review a few clips from Carson’s Tonight Show to remind them of the spirit of the show. “Carson, Letterman [they were] Middle America guys but they were really funny, but they were never milquetoast,” says Brill. “They didn’t mind their tongue. I’m looking for that kind of sarcasm, that really smart, funny, biting, great comedy. It’s not like these people have to Johnny Carson, they just have to honor what Johnny did. Johnny was huge for the comedy business. And this is us giving back to him, to the community that he loved so well.”

The Comedy Studio, Sunday April 5, 8PM
Line-up: Ahmed Bharoocha, Andrew Sleighter, Bethany Van Delft, Dan Sally, Dave McDonough, David Grabiner, Jennifer Myszkowski, Jono Zalay, Rick Canavan, Rob Turbovsky, Tom E. Morello, Zach Sherwin, and musical guest Ronald Reagan 80's.

The Dress Up Show at Mottley's Tonight

If you head out to Mottley's for a little pre-weekend comedy tonight, you may notice things look a little different. It may appear that you have walked into the Great Gatsby, and some of your favorite comics may not appear as you are used to seeing them. Same goes for the audience. That's because you have stumbled into The Dress Up Show, hosted by Ering Judge and Bethany Van Delft. The show is a chance for comics (and the audience, if they so choose) to put on their best finery, which may necessitate a quick trip to a secondhand shop for some. The series begins its run tonight, and will run the second Thursday of each month.

Here's a bit about the show from Judge.

What inspired the Dress Up Show?

Well, Bethany and I co-hosted a show once, and we had such a great time that we knew we wanted to co-host on a regular basis. Over the summer, I went to see the "Sex and the City" movie in the theater, and I was amazed by how dressed up the audience was. It was evident that tons of people are dying for some place to wear their most fabulous clothes, but not a lot of bars and restaurants around here inspire that vibe. Bethany thought dressing up would be a fun theme, and she pointed out that if we did a show on the early side in the city, we could attract people who want to hang out in town after work during the week. That's why we're doing the show at 7pm on Thursdays, and Mottley's Comedy Club provides the perfect downtown location.

Do you think the audiences will take you up on this?

I do! We've already gotten a lot of positive feedback about the dressing up aspect. And it's pretty free-form, so whether people want to wear glittery platform shoes or a top hat or a ball gown, it's all welcome. But if you wear a top hat, you have to sit in the back.

How many of these do you plan to do? Are you thinking of this as an indefinite run?

It's a monthly show that will take place on the second Thursday of every month, and if it goes well we hope it will become an ongoing thing. The owners of Mottley's (Tim, Jon and Jeff) have been super open to the concept, so hopefully it'll catch on and go for a while. Our second show will be April 9th.


What have you heard from the comedians who are participating so far about their level of enthusiasm?

Everybody seems pretty excited about it. It's a great excuse for the comics to experiment with self-expression and that crucial first impression on stage. The rule is that comics have to be more dressed up than they normally are on stage, so it's definitely a relative level of dressiness. I think it'll be interesting to see who chooses to dress formally or business-like and who goes with something funkier.

Do you expect this to change the vibe of the comedy at all?

I think it really might! Of course, it depends on the comedian. For some it'll be a total artistic twist that might even disrupt their normal on-stage persona, but I think for the most part it'll be interesting to see who seems much more confident wearing something fancier than usual.

The Dress Up Show at Mottley's Comedy Club, 61 Chatham St, Boston. March 12, 7PM. With Erin Judge, Bethany Van Delft, Dan Boulger, Maria Ciampa, Andrea Henry, Mehran Khagani, and Ellen Moschetto.

Random Notes

New England natives Al Ducharme and Bernadette Pauley are back in Boston tonight and tomorrow playing Mottley’s Comedy Club. Bethany Van Delft hosts tonight, Stephen Donovan hosts tomorrow… Interesting pairing tonight and tomorrow at Dick’s Beantown Comedy Escape at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Worcester, with John David and Joe Wong on the bill (with Kris Norton)… Great line-up at the Comedy Studio this weekend. Tonight, Renata Tutko hosts Doug Chagnon, Chris Coxen, Nate Johnson, Erin Judge, Chrissy Kelleher, Shane Mauss, Andrew Mayer, Brian Moote, Chris Pennie, and Ronald Reagan 80s. Saturday, it’s Jessie Baade, Taylor Connelly, Paul Day, Erin Judge, Mehran, Brian Moote, Sean Sullivan, PJ Westin, and Jono Zalay… Dom Irrera is at the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre tonight (take a look at my Q&A with him from earlier in the week), and ex-SNL Weekend Update anchor Norm MacDonald plays tomorrow. They also announced a couple of additions to the schedule this week – Jay Mohr is there May 2 and Demetri Martin, fresh from the success of his new Comedy Central show Important Things with Demetri Martin, comes to the Wilbur April 10… 5 Funny Females is back at Max Stein’s in Lexington tonight with host Susan Alexander, Ellen Moschetto, Erin Livingston, Jess Sutich, and Jessie Baade… If you happen to be down in North Providence, RI tomorrow, you can catch Amy Tee’s Comedy Chaos at the Sunset Bar and Grill, with special guest Dana Goldberg.

Bethany Van Delft, One of 5 Funny Females This Weekend

Bethany Van Delft first joined the revolving cast of 5 Funny Females last January. Since then, she estimates she has done between 15 and 20 of the showcases, hosted and organized by New York-based comedian Susan Alexander, all over New England. She’ll add two more to resume this weekend when the show plays Max Stein’s Steakhouse in Lexington Friday and Mission Oak Grill in Newburyport. The other four funny females will be Alexander, Maria Ciampa, Erin Judge, and Andrea Henry.

If grills and steakhouses don’t seem terribly conducive to comedy shows, Van Delft says the comics Alexander books and judgment about who to work with has made for a great experience. “We definitely try to make each space our own, but we pretty much go with the flow,” she says. “Maybe more toned down for a dining room or benefit, a little crazier at a rock club. The show works anywhere because the comics are pros, and the audiences have been so excited to have us. I feel really lucky to be part of it.”

Van Delft says she has seen some familiar faces at the shows, sometimes between 10 and fifteen who have seen a show before. “Some people are at every show,” she says. “The line up is always a different mix of comics, so they still get to see new acts as well as their favorites.”

And what do the comics get out of being part of an all-female showcase? “It's really just us creating opportunities for ourselves,” says Van Delft. “But the camaraderie is pretty cool. And the green room gossip.”

Here’s a look behind the scenes at that “green room,” from a show in Newburyport last March.

5 Funny Females Backstage at Newburyport, MA on 3.28.08

The Boston Scene: Looking Back and Forward to 2009

This was a year of transition for the Boston comedy scene. The Comedy Connection left Faneuil Hall for the Wilbur. Mottley’s Comedy Club opened to give Faneuil Hall a different, more indie-driven vibe. The Comedy Studio kept chugging despite losing staples like Micah Sherman and Myq Kaplan to New York. Dick Doherty stepped up his programming at the Vault.

There were rumblings about what would become of the scene, the usual concerns about hemorrhaging talent to New York and Los Angeles and speculation about the club scene. But at it’s base, this scene isn’t about the clubs. Never has been. The clubs, like the old Ding Ho and Catch a Rising Star, and more recently the Connection and the Studio, are just the facilitators. This scene is about the comedians, and from what I’ve seen over the past decade covering comedy in Boston, this scene will never lack for good comedians.

Nine years ago, I saw the Ding Ho reunion at the Somerville Theatre. I had been in town for about a year, and seen a few shows, but really hadn’t gotten my feet wet in the scene yet. At that reunion, I saw Bobcat Goldthwait, Steven Wright, Barry Crimmins, Jimmy Tingle, Don Gavin, Steve Sweeney, Lenny Clarke, Mike McDonald, Tony V., DJ Hazard, and probably twenty other comics whose roots were firmly planted in Boston.

It was an amazing array of talent, and an exhausting night as comic after talented comic took the stage. People took turns hosting just to get through it. You can read about the history of this scene all you want, but seeing wave after wave of comics of whom I was already a fan and hilarious veterans I had never heard of drove home just how rich the Boston comedy scene is, how deep its history. And the fact that I had laughed for more than three hours was proof this wasn’t just talk – these people were funny, and there seemed to be an endless supply of them.

A few weeks ago, I saw a lot of the same people at Showcase Live when Steven Wright was introduced into the Boston Comedy Hall of Fame. Crimmins gave us a glimpse into what it’s like to tour with Wright (Theme song --- “No Woman, No Press Charges,” and tequila and acid were staples, acid for the audience so they’d better understand the show). Bob Lazarus had the best set I’d seen him do. Ken Rogerson, Tony V, Don Gavin, Jimmy Tingle, Steve Sweeney, Lenny Clarke, Mike McDonald – the audience knew and cheered every one of them. They were old friends, a constant in an ever evolving city.

A few days later, the Paradise Rock Club hosted Robby Roadsteamer’s Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Festival. Roadsteamer had assembled some of the best of a new wave of Boston comedians. You can debate the term “alternative” if you’d like (in an awkward moment waiting for a sound cue that seemed like it would never come, host Shane Webb questioned alternative – “It just has to be weird, right?”). You can say it’s a false category, call it pretentious, however you perceive it. But what you can’t do is apply that old chestnut that it’s the “alternative to funny.”

Character comic Chris Coxen showed off his “combat dancing” as Danny Morsel (a mix of disco and punching and kicking) and his smoothness as loungemaster Barry Tattle. Mehran, who I was seeing in person for the first time, had a powerhouse set about being both gay and Iranian (the man is not shy about mining either for laughs). Bethany Van Delft was cool and intellectual, the Walsh Brothers told their wild stories about adjusting to LA, Anderson Comedy sang of Christmas with no pants. Shane Mauss pulled off a neat and seamless set of stand-up with a cell phone sketch sown in. And Roadsteamer clearly had the crowd behind him during his set of musical diatribes about the Boston comedy and music scenes, with help from a couple of muscleheads on my favorite of his tunes, “I Got Construction Boots.”

Two shows within three days of each other. Boston veterans, and a new generation of Boston comics. Whatever else might be in transition, the comedians are here, old and new, and they both have helped me laugh my ass off for nearly ten years. And there are continuing efforts to bring the two worlds together. Mottley’s approach to booking has allowed Shane Mauss, veteran Patty Ross, and Baron Vaughn (back home from New York) to headline. Artie Januario hosts a Wednesday night open mic at Giggles that regularly attracts veterans like Tony V (watch for that to start up again January 21).

My hope for 2009 is that people go out to see these comedians, and realize how lucky they are to live in a city where comedy never dies. And you don’t have to go very far to find it.

Robby Roadsteamer's Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Festival

The Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Festival with musical guest Campaign for Realtime
December 17, 8 PM.
Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave, Boston.
www.ticketmaster.com

Robby Roadsteamer knew he was asking for trouble by naming his latest production “The Greater Boston Alternative Comedy Festival.” Having worn a path between Boston’s music and comedy scenes over the past several years, he’s aware of the problems the term “alternative” presents. In the music scene, everything not Top 40 or hip hop became “alternative,” crowding the field until the term became useless.

In comedy, the description is often a dividing line between comics who view themselves as more traditional comedians (a definition that’s almost as useless) and comics who see their work as edgier or more original. But there’s little in the mechanics of what happens onstage, in structure or set-up, that could provide a definite line of demarcation.

Andy Kaufman did character work, but so did Sid Caesar. Jackie Martling does set-up and punchline material, but so does Steven Wright. Margaret Cho and Patton Oswalt may tell stories, but so did Andy Griffith (and if you’re suspicious of dragging out Matlock as an example, dig up a copy of his “What It Was Was Football.”). The structure of doesn’t define the genre, and none of those comics stick strictly to those structures.

“It’s like anything abstract,” says Roadsteamer. “It’s like describing art or love or anything. It’s like, you get to a certain degree where you have an idea of what the differences are, but to even try to define very stripped down – ‘alternative comedy is a comedian who goes up and doesn’t…’ – that’s stuff where you’re going to find a lot of contradictions.”

What you can say about the show is that it is packed with eclectic, immensely talented comedians. The Walsh Brothers put an indelible stamp on this scene with their mix of personal storytelling, rooted in their Charlestown upbringing, and absurdist sketch. Shane Mauss can write a standard joke as well as anyone, but will stretch talking about the strange things he’s experienced with his sudden popularity after his success at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival in Aspen and his Conan appearances.

Chris Coxen has been developing a set of characters, including the plastic-haired “Future Queer” and lounge singer Barry Tattle for the past several years, and they’ve recently started to mingle in more integrated shows. The Anderson Comedy Group has a taste for bizarre and sometimes tasteless sketch and short film. Shane Webb (who will MC the evening), Bethany Van Delft, and Mehran all mine their personal lives, from very different perspectives. And then there’s Roadsteamer himself, who has moved from a fake-mustachioed hard rock troubadour to something closer to his everyday self with an acoustic guitar.

What they do have in common is that they all come from the Greater Boston – Allston/Brighton/Cambridge – comedy scene. “All these amazing, talented comedy acts are coming from that area,” says Roadsteamer.

If this show is successful, Roadsteamer would like to organize more of them to spotlight what he sees as underappreciated acts. He doesn’t see a place for acts like this to grow and make a living in the current club scene, and he hopes this show will help the cause.

“There is an underground scene going, but it’s always nice to see what you can do with it, and maybe you can bring it to the next level,” he says. “Maybe one day, which obviously seems like a pipe dream at this point, but maybe more comedians of this type can make a living in the area in the area they enjoy living in.”

A sampling of Festival talent.

GBAC Festival Promo


Shane Webb


The Walsh Brothers


Shane Mauss


Anderson Comedy Group


Bethany Van Delft


Mehran
Mehran, 5 tight, 10.25.08