The Boston Comedy Interview: Greg Fitzsimmons, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons out today

Greg Fitzsimmons new memoior,
out today.

Greg Fitzsimmons did not grow up in Boston. He grew up on Tarrytown, outside of New York. But the stories he tells in his new book out today, Dear Mrs. Fitzsimmons: Tales of Redemption From An Irish Mailbox, could just as easily have taken place in Charlestown or any number of Boston suburbs, Irish kids causing trouble, terrorizing the neighborhood.

He tells the standard childhood stories – riding a loveseat on wheels into traffic, hanging off a fourth story railing by your knees, having your brother and sister pose as your parents to bail you out of a DUI (this one comes with a picture of Greg and co shortly afterwards, Greg celebrating with a beer). Who hasn’t done that?

If the stories do sound familiar, or you have one to top his, Fitzsimmons has created a Web site, http://www.dearmrsfitzsimmons.com/, for you to share. A few submissions have rolled in already.

Fitzsimmons’ Boston connection didn’t come until college, when he attended Boston University, and began to pursue the career in comedy of which he had always dreamed. Here he found a lot of like-minded comic hopefuls in a scene packed with talent like Louis CK, David Cross, and Joe Rogan, and veterans like Don Gavin and Ken Rogerson.

That, and most of Fitzsimmons’ life up to the present are chronicled in the book, using disciplinary and otherwise unflattering letters sent to his mothers to mark time, and disposition.

Fitzsimmons won’t get to Boston until January 29 when he hits the Wilbur, so the book will have to hold you until then. I spoke with him by e-mail about the book and his Boston experiences.

I guess my first question should be, given some of the pictures of you dangling from fourth story ledges and drinking outside of a police station after a DUI, how are you still alive?

Alcohol, for the Irish, is like spinach to Popeye (although I have a hunch that since he was a sailor dating a bulimic, he was also a drunk).

Did you change the names of the non-famous folks in the books to protect the innocent?

There was no innocence, but I wanted to make sure there were also no lawsuits. No need to drag others into my own personal parade of embarrassing confessions.

Were there any particular documents you remembered that you really wanted to include in the book?

There were at least three police reports in the local paper about a bike being stolen form my next-door neighbor. I only found one, but in each case it is very possible that I was the thief.

Any responses on http://www.dearmrsfitzsimmons.com/ yet?

They are just starting to come in. I am having a contest where people upload a video of them describing the best letter that was ever sent to their parents. Each week I give away a signed book.

You drew a pretty balanced picture of your family life as a kid, showing the laughter and some of the more emotionally and physicals trying moments. Did you put much time into editing that for tone?

I’ve been to a lot of therapy and have been talking about my family onstage for two decades now, so the tone was the easy part. The difficult part was knowing that some relatives would see this as a betrayal of the Irish code of never talking about human emotion.

There’s some good insight into the Boston club scene in the 1980s here. Had you been aware of the boom from a few years earlier when you came to Boston?

No. I always wanted to be a comedian, but other than Steven Wright I had no idea what a rich and individual scene I was lucky enough to start out in. To this day I think some of the best comics I’ve seen in my life are the guys who I admired coming up. Don Gavin, Kenny Rogerson, Mike Donovan etc etc etc.

Were there one or two comedians in particular you patterned yourself after when you started here?

I think we all sounded like Gavin to some extent. There is a cool sarcastic delivery and the punch lines are thrown away so it never seems like you are trying to make the crowd laugh.

David Cross, Greg Fitzsimmons, and Louis CK.

You mention a lot of your peers who have made names for themselves - Joe Rogan, Louis CK, David Cross. Was there a feeling that these people were going to be something special one day? Did anyone stand out?

Cross has always been a genius and totally original. He had a vision for the kind of comedy he wanted to do from day one. I wasn’t sure if Louie would survive but I knew if he did he would be awesome. Rogan and I drove to gigs together for years and he was always aggressive and confident unlike anyone I’d ever seen.

You mention Kevin Knox and Greg Giraldo at the end of the book - how well did you know them? Did you know them from Boston?

Knoxy was a friend and a hero to a lot of us coming up at that time. We played a lot of golf together and went on a lot of road trips. Going to an IHOP with Kevin was like Willy Wonka taking you through the Chocolate Factory. Every interaction he had with anyone was fun and insane. I always felt lucky to be hanging around him.

Giraldo was a guy I came up with in the NY scene after I left Boston. There is a bond formed between guys you go through this hellish period with. He was a real peer and we supported each other right to the end.
I shot 3 TV pilots with Greg in the last two years. Wish one of them had been picked up.

Any particular memories from the clubs you return to? You mention The Vault and Stitches in the book.

I don’t know if I thought about the irony in working at the Vault at the time. It was literally the vault of a bank where you told jokes for no money. After the show you had to stack chairs and clear tables. The way things are going in the financial world; Dick Doherty might be able to start a national chain of these clubs.

Do you still have friends here that come out to the shows? Anyone you’re looking forward to seeing when you’re back here at the Wilbur?

I have a lot of friends from college (BU) who I keep in touch with when I’m on town. Hope to see Rich Ceisler and John Tobin and a list about three pages long. I’m coming in early to try to make the rounds.

Mike Birbiglia new book, Connection date

Mike Birbiglia is coming back to Boston to play the Comedy Connection Wilbur Theatre on October 13 on his Painfully True Stories Tour. He'll be promoting his new book, Sleepwalk With Me and Other Painfully True Stories. Tickets went on sale today, and the ticket price includes an autographed copy of the book, which will hit bookstores on October 12.

Click here to buy tickets.

Jeff Kreisler's Get Rich Cheating

Jeff Kreisler couldn’t have timed the release of his new book, Get Rich Cheating; The Crooked Path to Easy Street, any better. After all, as Kreisler points out, cheating in business, sports, the entertainment world, wherever you choose to apply his advice, is recession-proof. Kreisler, who grew up in Amherst and has written for The Daily Show’s Indecision08 Web site and Jim Cramer’s TheStreet.com, will be at the Borders on School Street at noon today reading from the book, with a couple of other New England readings Tuesday and Thursday.

How long have you been working on this book?

About 2.5 years, conception to publication. Probably 8 months of writing, the rest was publishing industry nonsense.

Did you have to add anything in last minute as the "financial crisis" became more of a national focal point?

Actually, I already had almost everything about the crisis in there, it just didn't have that label. all the scams and lies - all the taking advantage of people's desire to get rich or have cheap homes or easy credit - all the secrecy and obfuscation in the financial markets - it was all already out there in the world and in there in the book... it just hadn't caused 10% unemployment yet.

I did write one chapter specifically about the crisis which is a step-by-step recap of all the tricks I advocate and how they were used leading up to the crisis - sort of a "see, I told you could Get Rich Cheating". I also added some last minute stuff about Madoff & Blagojevich, but they fit pretty easily into existing sections.

Were you writing to a general audience, or to a business audience?

The first version was for more of a business audience. A lot of accounting jokes. I'm not kidding. Please kill me. BUT THEN I got a new publisher - Harper Collins - and they wanted me to expand it beyond corporate crime. Good decision. Now it covers cheating throughout culture, with a way for anyone to get rich in any industry.

Showbiz, sports, politics, and, of course, business. There's sooooo much cheating. Every day something new (Daily Cheat Chats on
http://GetRichCheating.com)

Is there anyone or any book in particular that inspired the tone?

I think it came from that old sense of "if you don't laugh, you'll cry." Just writing my weekly business column - and therefore reading the business news every day - kinda overwhelmed me with all the crap that's going on in that world. And, of course, as a struggling comic, I want to get rich quick... and there were a ton of those books those days (especially about real estate).

Another take-itself-too-seriously screaming-at-the-top-of-my-lungs rant about what's wrong with the world wouldn't work, so why not flip and advocate doing all these horrible things, and do it like those get rich quick late night infomercial guys. (Have you seen our infomercial? http://getrichcheating.com/?p=158).

(Some say the voice is somewhat similar to what Colbert does, but I wouldn't say that was an inspiration, just a flattering coincidence).

I haven't seen too many humor books that actually cite sources -- did you do any research specifically for the book or did you use sources you were reading anyway?

I've always been one of those lunatics with stacks of newspaper clippings piled everywhere. Was worried it was a sign of dementia until I sorted through them for some citations. Now I feel okay.

I actually did a lot of research just for the book. If I thought some company had done something, I needed to be sure... and if I wanted to find someone who'd done something specifically stupid, I'd go look and usually find.

Lotta research. Princeton degree: Engage!


Who is the Greatest Cheater?

I got the most pleasure out of Enron. They just had everything.
Arrogance, manipulating workers and investors, crazy excessive spending, yelling at grandmoms, using Star Wars characters to fake transaction, making up whole industries, doing nothing, ties to GW Bush, awesome defenses (after they found an email which said "shred the documents, they're onto us," CEO Jeff Skilling said he was just "being sarcastic." Genius!), and, of course, Ken Lay faking death and vacationing with Elvis and Hoffa.

What made you decide to pursue stand-up after studying at Princeton, Exeter, and Virginia Law School?

Drugs.

Seriously, I've always been interested in politics and culture and the formation of society and the interaction of man... and there isn't really a profession where you get to blab about that - at least not one it's easy to get into. In comedy, you can do whatever you want, as long as it's funny. Works for me.

Also, I'm delusional about comedy. I idolize the notion of the court jester, he who speaks power to truth as long as he's funny and wears curvy shoes. I think - especially in our culture - satire can inform and help make smarter citizens.

Oh, and I'm the stubborn youngest kid and I like a challenge.

When did you live in Boston?

Summer of 1999. Grew up in Amherst, came here often. Am here right now. (Reading at Borders).

What advice would you give to your old boss, Jim Cramer, now?

Shhhh, don't speak.

What kind of personal fortune have you amassed doing stand-up?

You ever heard of "money?" That's mine.

Kyria Abrahams Is Perfect, and You're Doomed

As of today, Kyria Abrahams is a published memoirist, as Touchstone released her I’m Perfect, You’re Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah’s Witness Upbringing. The book is deeply funny and deeply personal, delving into how her faith drove her to suicide attempts and a loveless marriage. Hard to pull laughter from that subject, but Abrahams does it with relentless sense of self-deprecation and awareness. Of course, Abrahams is used to getting laughs from her time in Boston, performing at The Comedy Studio and other venues around town. She answered a few questions about the book and Boston comedy from her New York apartment by e-mail while recovering from a root canal. (She'll also be blogging at the Powell's Web site this week).

Do you get to perform stand-up much any more?

I do want to get back to performing regularly, but I took a break to write the book and eventually fell out of the loop. I also realized that I liked the solitude of the writing process. I love doing standup, but it's also very nice to go home after work and eat dinner in my kitchen, instead of running to Brooklyn to perform for five disinterested hipsters in the back of a hat store/bar/arcade with free pizza. I got tired of forcing comedy on people who didn't even know there was a show going on. It felt too desperate.

Do you have any particularly fond memories of playing Boston and the Comedy Studio?

Hell yes. Fond, traumatic, life-changing, hungover - you name it! That building and the people inside it changed my whole life, as did the waitress at the second floor bar offering vodka and Kool Aid shots in a test tube and, my personal favorite question: "Meat on a Stick?"

Hosting the Friday night show with Piston Honda is probably my fondest experience, working with The Walsh Brothers, Dan Newbower and James Patterson. We were five incredibly talented comedians, none of whom could get our acts together long enough to produce anything anything of substance.

And, of course, I'm sure you remember when Sam Walters kidnapped you as part of a publicity stunt for our comedy troupe WAKKA, which I believe stood for The Warring Komik's Army. That was... awesome?

I think the bottom line is that Rick Jenkins gave us free reign to be horrible and to forge life-long friendships. I actually have a painting of the Hong Kong hanging above my desk.

Did your stand-up experience help you with the humor in the book?

I don't know if the craft of standup was important, but I think the experience of bombing definitely helped. Bombing kinda makes you a better joke-writer, because you want to avoid the soul-crushing feeling of silence. I think every standup has had the experience of thinking a joke was gonna kill, and then realizing that it's definitely.... not. But if you never perform in front of people, there's no way to hone the skill of self-preservation, you're just stuck in your own head. That's a bad place for a comic, because everything up there seems brilliant.

Where did the idea to write a memoir come from? Was it something you always had in mind?

I was thinking about doing a one-woman show, or maybe just adding some jokes about it to my standup routing. I finally realized that I needed too much backstory and explanation. I couldn't make jokes about it, because no one would understand what I was talking about. The memoir was the only form that really met the needs of the story.

The book is funny, but also often brutally personal. Were you hesitant at all about revealing so much in public?

Not really. I'm always very open about my life, especially dumb mistakes I've made. Someone recently said that I "Live life out loud," and I liked that. Everything in my book is there to further the understanding of who I was as a child, which will hopefully give people some understanding of what it feels like to grow up as a Jehovah's Witness. I was excited to have the opportunity to put my life out there for this reason. And memoirs are supposed to be revealing. Unlike, say, describing my attempted suicide while standing around the cheese plate at the company Christmas party. There's a time and a place.

How did you approach the tone when talking about the rituals and your experience as a Jehovah’s Witness? You’re obviously mocking the founding principles of the religion, but you’re doing it by mocking your own attitude about it at the time, which seems like a tough line to walk, between preaching and self-deprecation.
I have a tendency to be very judgmental, so I made a conscious effort to reign that in. I just didn't think a nasty, sarcastic tone would make for a good book. Maybe that's why I was so hard on myself at times, because my character is, in a way, a symbol for all Jehovah's Witnesses. At the same time, I wanted to remember that these are real people with real lives, something that's often overlooked when we make fun of religion. It's easy to stereotype religious nuts, it's hard to see them in shades of gray.

Have you gotten much feedback from people who were in the book? Is there anyone you’ve purposefully not sent the book to preview?

Only from a few people, but for the most part, people have been very quiet about the whole thing. I didn't send copies to my parents, of course. It's apostate literature, and I was afraid the Fed Ex truck would burst into flames.

Where do you stand on religion now?

I'll be honest, I really don't like religion. The idea of organizing access to God is very distasteful to me. I just don't think it's healthy to go to church. It poisons the experience and creates all kinds of drama that has nothing to do with God but has everything to do with what color robes mean you're the most important person in the room. Organized religion is all about ego to me.

At the same time, I'm the kind of person who prays and meditates almost every day. I have a higher power in my life, and I also don't care if anyone agrees with that concept or not (so save your spiel, athiests!). I don't really feel the need to debate it. It's just my personal relationship with God, in the same way that I have a favorite deodorant and I sleep with socks on. It doesn't affect anyone but me.

Out Today: Eugene Mirman's The Will To Whatevs

Eugene Mirman’s new advice book, The Will To Whatevs: A Guide to Modern Life, is so helpful, he needs two prefaces and three introductions to prepare you for all of the help. And even that won’t fully prepare you, which is why you need to read the rest of it.

Mirman covers everything you might want to do in life. Want to own the night? Find love? Find a rhythm guitarist? Make millions of dollars off of the ideas of foreigners? Or just get through high school without embarrassing yourself? Mirman packs it all into just over two hundred pages.

According to Mirman, Mirman is in a special class of people like coaches, priests, and psychologists that he calls “Mind Thinkers.” That’s what qualifies him to help you Over-Actualize yourself, and make up words like Defendtastic, that don’t actually mean anything, but help enhance the perception of Mirman’s authority. Each chapter covers a different life question, bolstered by timelines and graphs and quotes from Mirman’s other books (“If no one figures out you are pretending to be retarded, your life will be greeted with treasure.” – Eugene Miman, from his book Inspirational Proverbs for No One in Particular.).

It’s easy to hear Mirman’s comic voice while you’re reading Will to Whatevs. His brand of absurdist misdirection works wonderfully with the concept of a fake (?) advice book. His thoughts on making an impression in high school – “Buy the most expensive jeans in a two-hundred mile radius of your town and wear them on your first day. If anyone asks how you could afford them, say that your father is president of Ashton Kutcher.”

Those who are familiar with Mirman as a stand-up could hear him delivering that line onstage. And since his delivery is so important to the joke, give Mirman a tremendous amount of credit for making that translate in print. That transition is not always easy for a comedian, which is why books just based on a comedian’s act are often lacking punch. Whatevs, though, is the type of book you’ll want to look up from and quote to whoever is around you. Try to resist doing that, though, since, if you’re me, it tends to irritate people.

There are a few treats for Mirman’s Boston fanbase. He talks about growing up and going to school here, and in his list of suggested Halloween costumes, number ten is “Rick Jenkins, founder of the Comedy Studio in Cambridge, Massachusetts.” I’m not sure what that will mean to the rest of the country, but it should make Boston comedy fans smile.

A few favorite quotes:

On money:
At any given moment you stand at the threshold of opportunity, just a million dollars and a new idea away from having fifty million dollars and the kind of car a Poison groupie would let you punch her in the face to ride in. I will help you cross over that threshold and punch that groupie.

On Condoleezza Rice’s death from a power overdose:
I know she isn’t dead right now, but I am hoping that this book becomes a classic, and when people read it a hundred years from now, they’ll figure that Condoleezza Rice, whoever she was, died from smoking power.

On protesting:
Nothing tells the government to keep doing what they’re doing like a small number of seemingly confused protesters defeated on a street corner. Do not hold a tiny protest, please. Hold only big ones.

On business models:
Either way, don’t forget to “like wear a rubber in the shower,” if you know what I mean, which you don’t, because it’s too complex. So to really understand this, buy my other book, Eugene’s Confusing Analogies, Explained!

On formerly held jobs:
Both law and investment firms are feudal in nature and seem to lack the instinct to treat all employees like people rather than fourteen-dollar-an-hour hookers with no future or teeth.

Betsy Salkind Releases Betsy's Sunday School Bible Classics

In her new book, Betsy’s Sunday School Bible Classics, former Boston comic and M.I.T. grad Betsy Salkind retells the stories of Abraham and Isaac and Lot, and, as describes it, “puts back all the stuff that was removed to keep children from running away screaming,” That includes all of the murder and rape, things people don’t usually associate with these stories. Salkind illustrates the book herself, offering a brutal, effective counterpoint to the simple narrative, designed to look like a child’s notebook.

Salkind has never been shy about potentially offensive material. Otherwise, she wouldn’t be a part of a tour called “Offensive Women,” which also stars Boston native Julie Goldman. For a bit more background, check out her site or my Boston Globe article from 2005. I spoke with Ms. Salkind by e-mail about M.I.T., Bible stories, and pissing people off.

What made you put Bible Classics together?

I had created the style in an earlier book and knew it would be a great way of telling these stories. I have always been bothered by much of the bible and especially by common interpretations of what the stories were about. For example the story of Abraham and Isaac is always told from the perspective of Abraham and is supposedly about his relationship with God. But I always was more interested in Isaac and his experience, and wondered why no one even talked about it. Turns out there are a whole bunch of stories like that. I also found that some of the stories that are taught to children, the "classic" children's bible stories, are seriously abridged and are really more like Grimm's Fairy Tales. Even Noah's Ark had a lot of surprises.

And I chose the old testament because it’s the basis of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, and since we’re supposed to be reverent and respectful of religious people (even if they are not always respectful of each other or non-believers), I thought we should be honest about what’s really in that book, and decide if those morals are really what we want to base our society on.

Was any of this based on stand-up material?

Yes. I had jokes about Abraham and Isaac and Job. A fellow comic, Edmund Johnson, was the son of a preacher and he told me even more horrible stories I didn’t know about. We loved making material out of these stories. It's great material. And references that most people know.

Have you gotten any flak over it yet?

No. I can only hope. Oddly, the religious scholars (or religiously raised) know best that these are the real stories. It seems they have troubled them as well. And so far people find it very funny (if a little disturbing). I thought about giving it to Sunday school children and then letting their parents and teachers try to explain that yes, these are the stories, but...

Are you planning on additional volumes?

Yes. There are 8 stories total, only the first two are in this book. I expect that the whole 8 will be published in a big volume (they are completed and ready to go). Then I plan to take on the Book of Mormon, and some secular stories.

Were you religious as a child? Do you remember questioning these stories when they were first taught to you?

I had a bat mitzvah, but by then was pretty sure god had nothing to do with organized religion. The Abraham and Isaac story always bothered me, and hearing men in the conservative Jewish temple pray "thank God I was not born a woman."

Are you planning more Offensive Women shows in the new year? Any in or near Boston?

There will be more Offensive Women shows. The December shows at the Zipper Theatre (co-produced by Eve Ensler) in NY were a big hit, and I'm sure we will be back there. In addition the show will come to LA, SF in 2009 and eventually tour the country. I'm sure Boston will be on the tour.

How often do you think the show still offends people, even with the warning in the title?

Rarely. I don't think we're really offensive, we just are letting folks know up front that we are not self-censoring, which I think is expected of women. There's so much to be offended by in the world right now, that if you're offended by us you're going to have a hard time getting through the day.

Did you know Julie Goldman when you were at MIT? (Not sure of the timeline for when she was here and you were).

I didn't know Julie when I was at MIT. I met her when she was a student at Emerson. We actually met on a short lived PBS series that was supposed to be a feminist Saturday Night Live. It was produced by Nova producers, so you can imagine how funny that was.

I never asked about this when we spoke - how did you wind up banned in Boston? Where, specifically, were you banned from? (From the "Emperor story in your online bio).

I was banned from the Comedy Connection and any other club they had control over. So was Guilty Children (the improv troupe), because I was a member of the group. They never gave me any paid work anyway, so the banning was just their rage at being called out. They said I shouldn't air comedy's dirty laundry in front of the audience.

I ran across this letter doing some research. What do you think when you read something like that? Do you ever purposefully try to offend someone?

I love this letter, and am amazed at how high up in the Google search it comes. My favorite thing in this letter is the last sentence in the first paragraph:
“But I will try not to dwell on my own feelings and opinions here because they are more-or-less irrelevant, and because I was not present at the event myself.”
I tend to be most offensive to those who are not actually there.

Here was my response in a later issue of that paper:

Letters to the Editor

I am writing in response to the letter by Adam C. Powell ["Women's Comedy Night Deemed Offensive," April 10]. I didn't actually read his letter, but some friends of mine did, and based on their reports, I consider his letter to be misguided, inappropriate, and misrepresentative of my work. I submit the following reply.

I am sincerely sorry that you were offended. I am also sorry if it was not clear to you and your friends before you attended the event that the content would be feminist.

The material I believe caused distress to your friends was a piece about "The Rapture." The entire piece consisted of me reading, verbatim, from a publication about the Rapture put out by a Christian group in Pensacola, Fla. That much of the audience found the readings amusing was entirely their choice.

It is not my intention as an artist to attack individuals or groups for the purpose of getting a laugh. As a feminist comedian I do hold up to scrutiny many patriarchal institutions and their practices. This includes all of the Judeo-Christian religions. The purpose of this is to allow those who are oppressed by those who would oppress them to laugh at the injustices, so as not to be crushed by that which truly is offensive: oppression.

I cannot say that you were not hurt by my obvious disbelief and disagreement with a doctrine which holds meaning for you. However, I would ask you to understand that I believe a humorous presentation of Christian doctrine is not comparable with the offenses done in the name of Christianity (e.g. the burning of 9 million women).

Betsy Salkind '86
http://tech.mit.edu/V112/N21/letters.21o.html

Are you surprised a letter like that would come from M.I.T.?

I am not surprised by anything that comes from MIT. It was a place that showed Deep Throat in campus facilities, got a lot of its money from the department of defense and the weapons industry, and preferred co-ed housing because the buildings suffered less vandalism than the all-male housing. It was also the height of Reagan youth.

I know you were happy leaving the Bank Examiner gig, are you even happier about that decision now?

Oh yes. I can finally use that part of my life for material. I also remembered recently that we had a Federal Reserve Employee Credit Union. The bank regulators did not use banks – they used a credit union. Nuff said?

Patrick Borelli's Holy Headshot at PA's Lounge, 11/28

Patrick Borelli started his career in stand-up at The Comedy Studio a decade ago before moving to New York, where he works for a book publisher by day and works the stand-up clubs by night. Today, he’s back in Boston at PA’s Lounge for a “reading” of his new book, Holy Headshot: A Celebration of America’s Undiscovered Talent, which he co-wrote with Douglas Gorenstein. Essentially a collection of headshots from aspiring actors, the book provokes a lot of laughter and a bit of sad sympathy for its decidedly offbeat hopefuls. Union Square Roundtable. Friday, November 28th, 9 PM. $9. PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Avenue in Union Square.

What possessed you to produce this book?

I've always loved looking at offbeat headshots and working with odd actors. When I first started out at the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square, I paired up with an peculiar elderly stand up named Lady B. She was in her late 60s. We would write and perform sketches together. From the very beginning of my career I was seeking out strange performers.

Do you have an honest appreciation for what these people are trying to do in their careers?

I started out in Boston which has a great comedy scene but is not the center of the entertainment industry like NY or LA is. More than half the people in Holy Headshot! live in small towns or cities throughout the US. I do appreciate that they're trying to build a career for themselves outside of LA or NY. I know how hard that is. I'm totally pulling for the folks in the book.

Did you get submissions from anyone you knew in Boston, either from the Studio or local actors?

I did not get submissions from anyone that I knew. I could have easily filled the book with Boston comedians I know like Eugene Mirman, Larry Murphy, Jen Kirkman, and Brendon Small, but that's not what I was looking for.

What, exactly, will you be doing at PA's Lounge? What are the videos you said you're showing?

I'll be showing some of my favorite headshots and resumes in Holy Headshot! I shot some short videos with some of the actors in the book. I did a basic interview with them and then asked them to perform a skill they had. Most of them performed a monologue or acted out a scene from a favorite film. I have a great video from an actor named Yenz Von Tilborg. If you combined a pirate and a hairdresser, you'd have Yenz. In his video, he performed a dramatic monologue from Dracula. All the videos are on www.holyheadshot.com.

Is what you're doing at PA's Lounge the same thing you've been doing at other book-related shows?

At PA's Lounge, I'll be doing a one-man, powerpoint presentation of my book. In NY, LA and San Francisco, we did a talent show featuring talent taken straight from the book. But since this is Thanksgiving, we were having trouble finding actors that were available to perform.

Have you gotten any responses from people included in the book?

Yes. They are ecstatic with the book. A number of them have been contacted by talent agents or have been called for auditions. Which is exactly what we were hoping for. Here's a message I just got from a Louisiana-based actor, Eric Gipson:

"I can't tell you how thrilled I am to be in the book, and to also be one of the 10 actors selected for the NPR story photos. It's a kick, an honor and a hoot! I wanted so bad to get in on the NYC and Los Angeles talent showcase action; but I may touch base with you soon about at least showing you some video samples of my lunacy, er, acting that is! How about a show in middle America or the South? THIS DOG IS STILL HUNTING!!! MY EYEBALLS ARE A-WIGGLIN, BABY!”

Seriously, I already feel like the other 102 actors in the book are my family as we continue our efforts in this bittersweet (but mostly wonderful) business. Entertaining people is my passion and I hope we can all connect one day.