Kristen Schaal and Morgan Murphy:
Jen Kirkman:
Showing posts with label Women in Comedy Festival. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Women in Comedy Festival. Show all posts
Monday, March 14, 2011
WICF Interviews - Kristen Schaal, Morgan Murphy, and Jen Kirkman
This year's Women In Comedy Festival was another success. The high point came Saturday at the headliner show with Kurt and Kristen, Morgan Murphy, and Jen Kirkman at the Brattle Theatre, all of whom participated in a panel discussion Saturday afternoon, with Rachel Dratch and Myq Kaplan. I spoke with Kristen Schaal, Murphy, and Kirkman backstage after the panel, a few hours before their shows.
Kristen Schaal and Morgan Murphy:
Jen Kirkman:
Kristen Schaal and Morgan Murphy:
Jen Kirkman:
Saturday, March 12, 2011
WICF Spotlight: Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting at ImprovBoston
 |
| Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting at ImprovBoston tonight |
How did you get involved with the Women In Comedy Festival?
Our very good friends (and hilarious stand-ups) Selena Coppock and Carolyn Castiglia participated in the festival it’s inaugural year and spoke very highly of it. We had never performed in Boston before, so we applied, got in and tried not to murder each other on the 5 hour bus ride.
What were your thoughts on last year’s edition?
We had a great time performing last year! It’s always fun to perform outside of NYC and the Boston audience didn’t throw anything at us! What a pleasure! It was also kind of awesome literally running smack into Maria Bamford in the tiny bathroom at ImprovBoston.
Have you performed at other festivals that include other comic artforms – stand-up, sketch, improv, and storytelling?
Yes! We’ve traveled all over for various festivals including the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, Ladies Are Funny Festival in Austin, SketchFest NYC, Los Angeles Comedy Festival, Capital Fringe in DC and AYE Arts and Music Festival in Cincinnati. Randomly. we also performed at the National Roller Derby Tournament, which is perhaps the highlight of our career. The only disappointment was that nobody body checked us.
How did the two of you come together as Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting?
We met doing theatre at Sarah Lawrence College, where we acted in a lot of very earnest girl dramas together. Then we realized it was more fun to make fun of that kind of theater than to actually do it. We started doing sketch comedy in a larger group as soon as we graduated and through that we formed the duo that is Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting.
How did you come up with the name?
It was the name of our prayer circle. Just kidding. Kind of. ”Skinny Bitch Meeting” was an inside joke with a few friends and Jesus found his way in there somehow, as He tends to do. Obviously our mothers are thrilled with the name (no they aren’t) and obviously we are masters in marketing (no we’re not), ‘cause newspapers LOVE to print the words “bitch” and “Jesus” next to each other. BRILLIANT.
How would you describe what SBJM does?
We’re a little weird, absurd, dark and dirty. We tend towards more theatrical, character-based stuff because that’s what our background is, and generally that’s the kind of thing that makes us laugh. Some other ways to describe what we do? “Mama’s Crack fix” and “Fun Ass”.
Who are you looking forward to seeing at the Festival?
Oh, everyone! We love anything Kurt and Kristen does. Leibya Rogers is a genius with tofu nipples. Amy Albert as Delilah Dix makes our private parts feel gross in the best way possible. Doppleganger is hands down one of the best improv troupes in NYC. Ben Lerman is a uke wizard! Leah Dubie rocks it every time! We could go on.
Why should people come to see your show?
Because if they don’t we will hunt them down and eat their children. If they don’t have children then we will seduce their wives. If they aren’t married to women we’ll leave them alone.
Women In Comedy Festival - Full Tilt Comedy: Sketch: 10PM, $20. Mainstage. With Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, OBV, and Harry Roasts America. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253
Friday, March 11, 2011
WICF Spotlight: Stripped Stories at ImprovBoston
 |
| Giulia Rozzi, co-host of Stripped Stories |
“We are a show produced, created and hosted by two women,” says Rozzi. “We have a nice mix of male and females on our show as well as a mix of male and female fans, so I think we've done a great job of creating a female operated show that celebrates both genders and all sexual orientations. We are a show that is empowering to women and men.”
Rozzi and her co-host Margot Leitman have been performing Stripped Stories in New York City, where they are based, and sometimes taking the show on the road. It’s an interactive show, and it’s hard to think of a topic more universal.
“We enable audience members to laugh at their own sexual misadventures via the brave guests who bare their souls on stage,” says Rozzi. “We open every show telling the audience that ‘this is a safe zone’ meaning what's shared at the show stays at the show. Some people may assume because the show is about sex that means it's just a bunch of vulgar sex stories, and sure sometimes the stories get dirty, but it's also vulnerable, sentimental, and of course hilarious.”
And now, abruptly, two questions:
Who are you looking forward to seeing at the Festival?
We're excited to see/meet new comics and familiar faces.
Why should people come to see your show?
It's fun, inspiring, touching, interactive, entertaining , positive, and very different from your typical comedy show. (Also, people have been known to find romance at our show, so you never know...)
Women In Comedy Festival - Stripped Stories: 11:3oPM, $16. Mainstage. Starring Giulia Rozzi and Margot Leitman, with Kurt Braunohler. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253
WICF: Rachel Dratch Performs at ImprovBoston
 |
| Rachel Dratch performs at ImprovBoston tonight |
“Rachel Dratch has been on our short-list of dream headliners since day one,” says WICF co-founder Michelle Barbera, “and we'd tried getting in touch with her in various ways to no avail. I ended up going on IMDB Pro (yes, there's a reason for IMDB Pro's existence, I now know) and found her agency. I have to give huge props to her agency, and especially to John and Scott, for taking my call in the first place, and for working with me over many months to see what was possible because they believed in our mission. When we finally got the call to confirm that Rachel was in, I felt like a seven-year-old at her Star-Wars-themed surprise birthday party. Times ten. I was very excited.”
Barbera notes it’s a rare chance to see Dratch in an intimate, 100-seat setting, and to see her on tomorrow’s panel at the Brattle with headliners Jen Kirkman, Morgan Murphy, Kristen Schaal, and Kurt Braunohler. “For audience members and performers alike to see Rachel Dratch perform and speak, live, right here in Boston, brings home a sense of reality about the possibilities for women in comedy to become household names and have a cultural impact,” she says.0” I don't think anyone who gets to see Rachel at WICF will ever forget the experience, and we believe that she, along with our other headliners and performers, will inspire so many others to really go for a great career in comedy.”
Thursday, March 10, 2011
WICF Spotlight: Somebody’s In the Doghouse
 |
| Somebody's In the Doghouse plays the WICF tonight at ImprovBoston |
“Every year is bigger and better than the last,” she says. “I think people in other cities really got wind of what was happening after last year -- they had some amazing groups come in from LA and New York, among other places. I could tell because as this year ramped up, friends from other cities were getting in touch to get the skinny, and ask about applying. Word is clearly getting around that this is a great, worthwhile festival.”
Somebody’s In the Doghouse does sketch and video, which makes it a good fit for a festival that includes comic formats ranging from stand-up to improv to musical comedy. “To me it makes a lot of sense to bring the different types together,” says Johnson. “There’s a lot of overlap anyway. Some of my favorite stand-ups could also be described as storytellers, with some sketch and improv thrown in – like the Walsh Brothers, for example.”
Johnson and Gotscik met as performers at Improv Asylum and started doing shows together shortly thereafter at the North End theatre. How would Johnson describe the group? “We are a two-person comedy group that writes character-driven sketches that are topical, sharp, and a little screwball,” she says. “Then we perform the SH*T out of them. We also sing a fair amount. Doghouse isn't just sketch comedy though. We've written and starred in an independent pilot about a shopping network, called Today's Special, which went to the NY Television Festival. And our video shorts have been featured in the L.A. Comedy Shorts, the Austin Film Festival and other festivals. Leah and I also performed on a cruise ship with The Second City at Sea and wrote a more narrative-driven show about that experience.”
And what of the name, Somebody’s In the Doghouse? “We had started performing without a name, and after one of our late shows we were driving home with another comedy friend, Sara,” says Johnson. :She called her husband on the way and was outraged to find he had eaten the last frozen pizza in their house. The theme song was born. The name also fit because we often write about things that really bother us or we feel deserve to be brutally mocked.”
And now, abruptly, two questions:
Who are you looking forward to seeing at the Festival?
Oh man, so much stuff. Just a few of the many I’m psyched to see are Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting, the Laura on Laura Comeback Tour, hometown hero Cathleen Carr, Citizen Rothstein, Doppelganger, of course the headliners Morgan Murphy, Jen Kirkman and Kurt & Kristen. I’m going to become a show-seeing zombie.
Why should people come to see your show?
If they like sketch comedy, they will love us!
Women In Comedy Festival - For Your Entertainment: Improv,Sketch, & Musical Acts of Glory: 8PM, $12. Mainstage. With LivePod Shuffle, Somebody's in the Doghouse, and Delilah Dix: Showin' My Business. ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253
WICF Spotlight: Ready, Set… Wife! at ImprovBoston
 |
| Ready, Set... Wife makes its live debut at the WICF tonight at IB |
The pair have known each other for years, and have been looking for some way to put their talents together, and finally found it when Okrant was visiting New York promoting her book, Living Oprah. Both are married, and found fertile ground in the subject. “Doing an online project seemed perfect,” says Carr, “and we decided to base it in our own reality -- we're both modern wives who are completely clueless about how to juggle our independent feminist sides with the traditional roles expected of a married woman.”
There are obstacles to being married and pursuing a career in comedy. There’s a social element, hanging out with other comics and making connections that might mean stage time or other opportunities. “I like to go home now after shows,” says Carr. “I’m a nester and sometimes I worry that by not going out as much and making the scene, I will miss out on networking time. That is why I really dig social media and networking because I can engage with other comedians anytime, anywhere. I think as everyone gets older, people don't care as much about folks being married. Listen, at the end of the day, even comedians don't want to die alone.”
Carr and Okrant are putting together a tour for RSW, and tonight’s show will be a trial run of that. So what will the show look like? “Well, there will be a bit of everything,” says Carr, “from an original digital short, to some standup/sketch, to a fabulous panel of celebrity comedians who will solve all marital issues (the audience and our own) live onstage.”
For those who may be wondering, Carr's other project, Two Girls For Five Bucks, with Daiva Dupree, is alive and well and still performing in New York City.
And now, abruptly, one question:
Why should someone come to see your show?
It will be the best Women's Studies class of your life.
Women In Comedy Festival - Ready, Set... Wife: A Frank and Funny Discussion on Marriage with Robyn Okrant abd Cathleen Carr: 7PM, $10. Mainstage, ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
WICF Spotlight: Mad Men and Milkshakes – Storytelling
 |
| Jess Sutich hosts Mad Men and Milkshakes: Storytelling tonight as part of the WICF |
That’s where Jess Sutich comes in. Sutich hosts a regular storytelling show at ImprovBoston called A Night of Oral (Tradition), which happens again next month on April 7. Tonight, she is part of opening night festivities hosting the storytelling show, Mad Men and Milkshakes.
Some festivals give a nod to storytelling with a show or two, but the WICF features a storytelling show almost every night, tonight through Sunday. Sutich knows the better players in the storytelling scene, and she’s impressed with the names on this year’s schedule. “There are such great acts here this year that it can only lead to increased exposure and hopefully even more storytelling festival submissions for next year,” she says.
As a storyteller, Sutich is happy to see so many other storytellers on the bill, but also sees a benefit for the pure stand-up acts. “It's nice to see that variety on the stage and it allows comedians to see other things going on in the comedy and performance world,” she says. “Storytelling is infectious also. When you hear someone tell a story it reminds you of stories that you have so it's great to be a part of a festival and lure all of these great performers in, you know get them to drink the Kool-Aid.”
The line between stand-up and storytelling is a bit blurred. Sutich has experience with several different comic formats, all of which share at least some similarities. “I think that to some extent all forms of comedy can inform each other,” she says. “I started as an improvisor and I bring that skill to my stand-up as much as I bring my stand-up to storytelling and vice-versa. I think that a lot of comedians get started with comedy because they can just tell really funny stories. You can have a stand-up style where you include more stories and real life events but storytelling gives you more of a relaxed timeline. Instead of having to go through a bunch of different jokes you are really there to get people involved in one particular moment.”
According to Sutich, audiences at A Night of Oral (tradition) have been laid-back and open to hearing something different. Storytelling is in a bit of a boom period now, with shows like The Moth expanding in New York, LA, and around the country, and This American Life becoming a staple on NPR. “Storytelling is growing in the performance community, in large part due to the influence that The Moth has had,” she says. “I feel like I can actually feel the audience leaning forward to listen when people tell their stories. Also, although A Night of Oral (tradition) is definitely comedic, a wide range of topics have been brought to stage and the audience is really game for it. They aren't afraid to let it get real.”
And now, abruptly, two questions:
Who are you looking forward to seeing?
I feel like I should use this question to hit on people. I am definitely looking forward to Giulia Rozzi and Margot Leitman's Stripped Stories on Friday, and Sara Benincasa's Family Hour With Auntie Sara on Sunday. Those are both great shows. On Thursday at Mottley's I am going to check out the Dress-Up show. I have seen Ophira Eisenberg host The Moth in New York so it will be fun to see her do stand-up AND in fancy clothes. I am excited that Rachel Dratch will be on of course, and after seeing Flight of the Conchords I was really excited that Kristen Schaal would be here. Beyond that there are just a lot of awesome comedians that I love seeing perform so I will get out to see as much as I can! I hope all of the people I have mentioned read this and consider this a formal pick-up line.
Why should people come to see your show?
People should come to see my show because it's great. If you are into schadenfreude I overshare a lot about my life and it really can make you feel a lot better about the decisions you are making, if you have a great story and you want to see what it's all about while you build your nerve to take the stage it's good for that too. The people who are on the show at the festival and each month are always delightful and funny. My show will make you laugh while you drink beer and when you go home you will feel strangely closer to other human beings. I suggest that everyone try it at least once.
Women In Comedy Festival - Mad Men and Milkshakes: Storytelling: 9PM, $10. Mainstage, Hosted by Jess Sutich with Mad Men and Satan Drank My Milk: Tales of Co-Habitational Hell.ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253
WICF Spotlight: Beards & Broads Tonight at ImprovBoston
 |
| Matt Kona - the "beard" in "Beards & Broads" |
Not everyone on the bill is a woman. The “Beard” in “Beards & Broads” is Matt Kona, a person of alternate genitalia by the standards of the WICF. It’s an inclusive Festival, which means men were encouraged to submit for acceptance. This will be Kona’s first comedy festival. He says he’s excited to see the shows, the panels, and the workshops, and to hang out with the out-of-towners. “It’s a good vibe, all around,” he says.
Though Kona is hosting, he didn’t put together tonight’s show. “I was kind of amused/flattered when not only was I chosen to be the host, but my facial hair was a part of the name for the night,” he says. “Either that or it's because all the women on the show are married to secretly gay men. I'm pretty sure that's what ‘beard’ means in some circles.”
How does it feel to be one of a handful of men on the bill? “It's cool,” he says. “Last year Josh Gondelman was the only non-female, and he's back this year in addition to a lot of hilarious comics that are blowing up in the scene at the moment like Kyle Ploof, Matt D., Gary Petersen, Rob Crean, Tim Vargulish and more. So it's good company to be in.”
Kona went to last year’s WICF, and says it was a learning experience. “[I] had a blast and met a lot of great people, both those involved in running the shows and performing,” he says. “I definitely benefited from Jackie Kashian's road comedy workshop and the intimate Free Open Mic/Workshop that Maria Bamford put on in particular. I was there at 8AM to make sure I was one of the nine people to get a spot, along with Jenny Zigrino and Matt Donaher who were also braving the cold to be a part of it.”
And now, abruptly, two questions:
Who are you looking forward to seeing, both on your own show and at the festival in general?
I'm excited to see Jessica Brodkin, she's from D.C. and is the only out of town comic on the Beards and Broads show. I've only seen video of her so I'm looking forward to seeing her live and to talk to her about the burgeoning scene down there. I hope to make it over to The Dress Up show the next night (the 10th) at Mottley's. It's a monthly show run by Bethany Van Delft and Erin Judge, and it's consistently great and fun to see people get decked out for comedy. I'm glad that it's a part of the WICF and I'm sure it will be mutually beneficial to the festival audiences, performers and the show going forward in the months. I'm really looking forward "Kurt and Friends" and Kelly MacFarlane at IB 8pm on 3/11 as well as Giulia Rozzi (who killed it earlier this year at Mottley's) doing her famous Stripped Stories show with Margot Leitman later that night on the 11th at 11:30pm at IB. The big show at The Brattle Theater of course goes without saying. People should buy tickets for that now because it will set out soon.
Why should people see your show?
There are a multitude of reasons for people should see my show. For one, it's opening night and that means there will be an undercurrent of excitement that will simply not be there on "night after premiere night." It's fun to see people waltzing around with their newly printed festival lanyards pretending they’re back stage passes for a heavy metal shows and it's the best time to buy a festival t-shirt before they run out of it in your size. Also because the ImprovBoston main stage is a great room, and I may or may not open my set by reaching into a bag of tongue in cheek over the top sexist jokes/phrases to say and then attempt to dig myself out of and win back the audience. Will I be able to pull it off? Will I pussy out? Only one way to find out…
Women In Comedy Festival - Beards & Broads: Stand-up: 8PM, $10. Mainstage. Hosted by Matt Kona with Kristin Seltman, Theresa Condito, Shea Spillane, Tari Fanderclai, Niraj Shah, Erika Kreutzinger, and Jessica Brodkin ImprovBoston, 40 Prospect Street, Cambridge, Ma, 02139. 617-576-1253
Friday, March 4, 2011
Maria Ciampa and the Women In Comedy Festival In the Boston Globe
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Backstage at the Women in Comedy Festival 3/26
This year’s Women in Comedy Festival was an unmitigated success. There were interesting acts in stand-up, sketch, improv, and storytelling, mostly full and sold out audiences, and a feeling that something creative and unusual was going on. I caught up with WIC co-founder Michelle Barbera, who also performed at the Festival, about how WIC had changed in its second year.
I also got a little history from Edie McClurg, whom you might remember from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, A Bug’s Life, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and countless other movies and films. She was performing in an improv group called the All Girl Revue with several other talented improv comics, including Jane Morris. I also spoke with Morris, co-founder of Second City’s ETC stage, the second stage of the legendary Chicago improv and sketch house.
More to come this week as I process the videos.
Michelle Barbera:
Edie McClurg:
Jane Morris:
I also got a little history from Edie McClurg, whom you might remember from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, A Bug’s Life, Planes, Trains, and Automobiles, and countless other movies and films. She was performing in an improv group called the All Girl Revue with several other talented improv comics, including Jane Morris. I also spoke with Morris, co-founder of Second City’s ETC stage, the second stage of the legendary Chicago improv and sketch house.
More to come this week as I process the videos.
Michelle Barbera:
Edie McClurg:
Jane Morris:
Friday, March 26, 2010
Maria Bamford talks about the Women in Comedy Festival and Plan B
Maria Bamford is popping up all over the place these days. Earlier this month, she released a new DVD, Plan B, of her one-woman show about moving home to Duluth during a career slump. She’s on the Disney Channel’s Kick Buttowski. You may also have recognized the Comedians of Comedy star on Target TV ads around Christmas (she says she got to improvise those, which is probably why they were funny). If you haven’t already seen her free one-hour special (available for download on www.mariabamford.com) or heard last year’s CD, Unwanted Thoughts Syndrome, you have a lot of catching up to do.
Which is why the theme of Plan B – Bamford moving back to her hometown of Duluth Minnesota to reassess her career options – seems ironic. It’s hard to think of a comedian with a fuller schedule than Bamford’s these days.
Bamford is known for her keen ability to create complete characters, every one with their own distinct voice and set of mannerisms. She stretched that ability in Plan B, voicing an entire town, addressing each other and addressing Bamford, sometimes several to a scene. Still, Bamford didn’t find it difficult to intertwine the different characters. “It was fun to imagine what it would be like to move home,” she says.
Most of the characters from Plan B seem to have no idea what Bamford does for a living or how it works. Longtime fans will recognize Bamford’s mother, and a register jockey who tells Bamford that she was never funny, just weird. The interactions are hilarious, but Bamford says the real life perception of her job is a bit less crazy. “Nobody seems to weirded out by it,” she says. “I think I make up stuff so that I seem like more of a weirdo.”
If you usually ignore the commentary tracks on DVDs, don’t ignore the one on Plan B. It features Bamford with her parents watching the show, pointing out their favorite jokes and telling stories. “I think they really enjoyed it and they are game for anything, as they are my parents,” she says. “My dad opened for me at a motorcycle rally in my hometown and did his first 15 minutes of standup in front of a crowd of moderately interested Midwest biker-types. He is a good egg. And I did pay him 300 bucks.”
Bamford will be headlining a sold-out show Saturday at ImprovBoston as part of the Women In Comedy Festival doing stand-up with Jackie Kashian and Maria Ciampa (you can still get tickets to the simulcast here). She’s also hosting an open mic Saturday afternoon at 1 PM, with an unusual process.
Those who want to perform at the open mic will show up and put their names into a hat. Only the comics who are chosen will stay for the open mic, which is closed to the general public. “I love a short open mic with no audience, which is why it’s limited to 8 lucky signuppers,” she says.
Women in Comedy co-founder Maria Ciampa is thrilled to have comics like Bamford and Kashian, as well as Edie McClurg (part of the All Girl Revue playing tonight and tomorrow) as part of the mix with a strong line-up of local stand-up, sketch, improv troupes, and storytellers. “Bamford and Kashian are both unique, funny voices, so it means so much to lots of Boston comedians to have them in town,” she says.
Also search for "The Maria Bamford Show" on YouTube, which features some of the same material as Plan B, but in a video sketch format:
Edie McClurg talks to Fox about the Women in Comedy Festival
Edie McClurg is an unforgettable actress. All you have to say is, "They think he's a righteous dude" and people light up -- "Oh, that's her!" She's been a popular character actress for decades, from "The Richard Pryor Show" up through "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles," and her voice work on "A Bug's Life." She's a trained improv actress, as well, with L.A.'s The Groundlings, and she'll be performing improv tonight at ImprovBoston as part of the All Girl Revue on the Women In Comedy Festival.
Here's a clip of her being interviewed on Boston's Fox 25.
Here's a clip of her being interviewed on Boston's Fox 25.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Video: Maria Ciampa on the Women in Comedy Festival
The Women In Comedy Festival 2010 kicks off Wednesday at ImprovBoston, bigger an better than last year's first edition. Directors Maria Ciampa, Michele Barbera, and Elyse Schuerman have assembled a packed schedule full of local and national talent in every comedic genre -- stand-up, sketch, video, improv, and storytelling -- playing March 24-28. Maria Bamford and Jackie Kashian are headlining with a show Saturday (Bamford will also host the free afternoon open mic on Saturday). The All Girl Revue, with Edie McClurg (remember the secretary from Ferris Bueller?) and Jane Morris (founder of SEcond City's ETC stage), plays the Festival Friday and Saturday. Bonnie McFarlane is on the storytelling show Saturday with Sara Benincasa and Robin Gelfenbien.
And that's before you count locally-bred talent like Giulia Rozzi, Kelly MacFarland, Jessica Sutich, Jenny Z (as Liz Fang), Somebody's In the Doghouse, Naughy Nanas (an over-50 improv troupe), Michele and Micah, and Josh Gondelman (the Festival's lone male stand-up). For a full schedule, click here.
I caught up with Ciampa last week at ImprovBoston to talk about the WIC Festival 2010. Here it is, with a minor edit.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Maria Ciampa: The Interviewer Interviewed
It’s a simple concept – Maria Ciampa sits down with her husband Justin Carr and a camera or two, and asks him questions, which he does his best to answer. This is the gist of the achingly funny video series, Interviews With My Husband, that Ciampa has been producing for nearly a year. She just released the eighth installment, “Catchphrases,” and several more are in the works. It works because of Ciampa’s questions, alternating between mundane and absurd, and also because Carr, a DJ by trade, has a wonderful deadpan. It all feels quite quaint on the surface, but there is a real edge to some of the questions that makes you wonder if there is a real, contentious issue between them (why doesn’t she like the beer he brews?).
Here Ciampa gives us a behind-the-scenes look at Interviews With My Husband, including the comic strips that started it, and what we might expect in March when she debuts a few more installments at the Women In Comedy Festival at ImprovBoston, a festival Ciampa co-founded.
This will all make more sense if you watch the latest video before you read the interview. So here ‘tis:
Maria Ciampa, was there a particular conversation or experience that led you to think Interviews with My Husband would make a good video series?
There were many many particular conversations that led me and Justin to create IWMH (like how I shortened that? because I don’t have the TIME to write out Interviews with My Husband, Nick. I just don’t have the time to write all that out.)
One of the first conversations that led to IWMH was on the night before our wedding. We were in Puerto Rico, at a place on the beach in San Juan, and we were getting ready for bed, as if we’d already been married for 70 million years, and I noticed Justin kept his socks on as he got into bed. It was really hot, so I asked him why he was sleeping in his socks. He said, “So I don’t get cold feet.” It was then that I knew I was about to marry a man who I could decide then and there was either really hilarious, or a total retard. I chose both.
The beginnings of IWMH was actually a cartoon that I write, and comedian, illustrator and host of the storytelling show A Night of Oral (Tradition) Jess Sutich illustrates. I would tell her about our conversations, and since she’s a patient friend who was probably drinking a glass of wine at the time, she would listen and say, “I can do that in a comic strip.” And I was like, “Yes, do that.”
The comics are online here. Here’s the one I just described, so if it’s not funny to you, it’s because you just read it in story form a second ago, or because it’s Old Tyme pun-like humor, which for some reason you don’t find funny.
Here’s another one.
And here’s one I really love.
Maria Ciampa, why do you begin every question to Justin Carr by saying the name, Justin Carr?
His name is so succinct, so concise. So easy to say. I need to say the whole name. I don’t just do that when I interview him, I call him Justin Carr all the time, whether I’m happy, angry, hungry. Those are my three main states, really. I call him “Justin Carr” in rain, sleet, snow, in sickness and in health. Except during sex. That would be weird.
Maria Ciampa, do you agree that the joke of using someone's first name before every question works much better in your videos than it does here in print?
I disagree. You have won with the joke of calling me by my full name, Nick A. Zaino III.
Are the videos mostly improvised? Do you run through different takes and edit the best ones?
I see now you are asking about my “artistic process,” Nick A. Zaino III. Let me share.
I come from an improv background, and I believe in the power of improv in creating material. I also believe in honing that material before it’s put out there. So Justin and I hang out and improvise, then I write it down, then we improvise again, and find more funny within what has been written. After that, we lock down a script, and rehearse only 3 times. More than that kills it. Justin is not an actor, does not like to be on stage, but for some reason the camera loves him, and he is totally comfortable in front of it. Probably because he’s so friggin hot. But I digress. Then, we memorize our lines (well, Justin does, I use a cue card) and voila! Expert director of photography Jacob Lipcon and masterful video editor Sasha Goldberg create the hilarity that you see on film.
How often do you plan on making episodes of this series? Do they just come about when you have set of questions you think will work with the premise?
We release a new episode every 6 or so weeks.
Many scripts are already written and waiting to be shot. Justin and I have conversations daily that are scribbled on scraps of paper, the back of envelopes, and Justin’s face in sharpie while he’s sleeping, that will eventually become new episodes.
Plans for the spring include:
Shooting on location at a supermarket, park, yoga studio, and other exciting places.
Reversing the roles and having Justin interview me
Taking questions from viewers for me to ask Justin, and for Justin to ask me. We already got one great suggestion: ask Justin about ex-girlfriends, which I do all the time since I can’t believe he’s ever like any other lady but me.
Justin debuting a special “sports” episode, where he interviews me about sports, especially football, about which I care and know nothing.
Inviting Justin on the WICF Comedy Podcast, downloadable on iTunes, and streaming here.
Will you be debuting any of these at festivals or shows, like your upcoming Women in Comedy Festival?
Funny you should ask, Nick A. Zaino III! Justin and I will be debuting some of these at the Women in Comedy Festival, March 24 - 28, 2010 at ImprovBoston and Mottley’s Comedy Club! I would check out the web site for exact show times.
Monday, January 4, 2010
Women In Comedy: Submission Deadline Extended
If you missed the first deadline for March's Women In Comedy Festival, I just got word from Festival co-creator Maria Ciampa that the submission deadline has been extended until Monday. For more, check the WIC Web site: http://womenincomedyfestival.blogspot.com/
Here's the full announcement:
The Second Annual ImprovBoston Women in Comedy Festival's submission deadline has been extended to Monday, January 11, and both men and women are encouraged to submit for the 2010 festival! This year's festival will be held at IB Mar. 24-28.
Submissions from a variety of genres will be accepted this year, including improvisational comedy, live sketch comedy, stand up comedy, short film / TV pilot, scripted musical comedy, storytelling, and humor writing.
Please see the Women in Comedy Website to download a submission form and learn more about the submission process for each comedy genre.
The festival is a celebration of Boston-area and nationally-known women in comedy. The festival's mission is to create a forum for people to experience the unique comedic expression of women, see strong female and male performers and, most importantly, to have a great time.
Here's the full announcement:
The Second Annual ImprovBoston Women in Comedy Festival's submission deadline has been extended to Monday, January 11, and both men and women are encouraged to submit for the 2010 festival! This year's festival will be held at IB Mar. 24-28.
Submissions from a variety of genres will be accepted this year, including improvisational comedy, live sketch comedy, stand up comedy, short film / TV pilot, scripted musical comedy, storytelling, and humor writing.
Please see the Women in Comedy Website to download a submission form and learn more about the submission process for each comedy genre.
The festival is a celebration of Boston-area and nationally-known women in comedy. The festival's mission is to create a forum for people to experience the unique comedic expression of women, see strong female and male performers and, most importantly, to have a great time.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Maria Ciampa talks the Women in Comedy Festival
Maria Ciampa and Michelle Barbera have met a lot of funny people in their years on the Boston comedy scene. Both have experience in Boston’s improv community, Ciampa as part of the Improv Asylum mainstage cast and Barbera as a producer/player with the Tribe and ImprovBoston. Both now also perform stand-up and make short films. About a year ago, the pair started thinking about all of the people they knew in the Boston scene – the stand-ups, the sketch players, the filmmakers, storytellers, and writers – and specifically the women who were major contributors to the scene. And that’s when the Women in Comedy Festival, which kicks off tonight at ImprovBoston, was born. This is my conversation with Ciampa about the Festival, including the Funny Guys showcase (it’s a more inclusive women’s festival).
When did you and Michelle get the idea for the Festival?
I would say a little over a year ago. We work together on so many projects – she has her film production company. We’re making a movie and she and her husband put out really great films that have won a bunch of stuff with that 48 Hour. We worked together a lot on that, and we’ve worked together in improv for years, and she was like, we should do a bunch of shows that are produced by or feature women more. And I was like, yeah, yeah, let’s do it. Literally, that’s how it came about.
Has it been in planning for that entire year?
Yeah. For a few months when I was still working full time, there was less being done, but we have used the entire year to plan it, put it together, figure out what shows, what type of talent, how we want to market it, working on the grant – that’s a big piece of it. Michelle’s worked really hard on the Web site. We definitely used all that time.
How did you decide you wanted to approach it? What did you definitely want to have in the Festival?
We wanted it to represent not only the unique voice that women have in comedy, but all the different ways they contribute. So it might not be just stand-up. Like, a lot of people think comedy, they think stand-up. Especially in the comedy community in Boston, and the people I know, they’re involved in so much more than stand-up. There are people doing writing, just doing the writing, for a show like BNN [Boston News Net]. There are people doing video sketch, there are people producing short film, musical comedy, improv, storytelling, There’s so many different ways, we wanted to represent all the different ways we’re expressing ourselves.
How did you go about assembling the talent?
Since this is the first year, it was kind of a, let’s see how this goes. Let’s work with ImprovBoston, who didn’t really have advance notice that this would be in their production schedule. So we kind of had to work around the existing schedule. It was challenging for a festival, but luckily the people at ImprovBoston are easy to work with. So it wasn’t hugely challenging in the end. It became, what types of shows can we have and who fits these shows?
In the beginning I was thinking, okay, the first year, we’re just going to have Boston talent. And then we’ll grow from there. But I started getting all these e-mails. So what I did was to say, okay, I know I want Bethany and Erin to host something because I love what they’re doing with they’re dress-up show. Or I know I want the Steamy Bohemians in there. I know I want Selena [Coppock] in there because we’ve worked together and I know she’s funny and we’ve done festivals together. But then I started getting all these e-mails from women all over the place, like, oh I hear you’re doing a festival and can I get in it. And at first, I said this is the first year and it’s Boston only, but thank you so much and I’ll get in touch with you next year. But then it became, we had a little more freedom, so I was able to invite women from all over. There’s women from New York, there’s women from the Midwest, so it’s pretty cool.
And also a lot of the women who started in Boston are now in New York or Chicago. For example the sketch show, Somebody’s in the Doghouse. Leah’s either now in New York or Chicago and I know Cathleen Carr of Two Girls for Five Bucks, t hey started in Boston, now they’re in New York.
How did you decide to have the Funny Guys show?
Okay, so I’ve always been feminist and I’m comfortable with that, but the last thing I want to do is be is a rude feminist. Because no one likes anybody who’s rude. I think it’s important that we’re inclusive, right? So my first thought was, I don’t want to be non-inclusive. I don’t want to be like, fist in the air like, “We’re better! We’ll show you! We’re gonna fight!” That’s not what I’m all about and that’s not what this festival is about. So we were trying to figure out how we could include guys but still have it be mainly about the voice of women.
So I thought, what happens to me as a woman in comedy a lot of the time when I’m at a club? Even in the festival I did two months ago. You get the intro, “This next person coming to the stage is a woman and she’s gorgeous… and funny!” I know you’re trying to be nice, and that’s great. You are doing your best. But is it not 2009? Aren’t we all just comedians? It always surprises me. So I was like, what if, the same thing I think a lot, what if the tables were turned? What if guys actually had to deal with that? So I was like, “Let’s include the guys, you know? They’re good looking and they have nice hairy chests, bit can they make us laugh?” Or whatever.
So that’s what I want to do, and I was thinking about it. I’m so excited to host this, because I know I’m just going to be ridiculous about it. I’m definitely not going to harass them, but I want to take it to levels of ridiculousness. Pointing out physical things, or comparing their bodies to certain fruits. I don’t know what, but it’s going to be fun for me. But it’s all in good fun. It’s not something where I’m like, “I’m gonna get you back!” But that’s how it came about. It’s my chance to host and bring guys up in a way they might not be used to.
Are you already having to plan for the second year of this? Yeah. This is my first experience producing a festival, so I didn’t really know what I was in for. And Michelle, my co-producer, she’s been wonderful. She’s worked so much with the Web site and with the line-up and with coordinating with everyone. Over the past two weeks, literally just as the Festival is coming up, she just gave birth. So I’m like, first, next year, don’t have another baby, Michelle, because I need you around. But that’s women. They’ll do that. They’ll go off and give birth.
I’m already planning a lot of good stuff for next year. I want to have even more diversity in the type of shows we have, and I want them to be a little bit clearer. So I want to have one show that’s just all storytelling. I talked to Karen Corday about maybe having a female-themed Mortified. I want to get some authors in and do book readings. I want to have a fully musical comedy show. And also, I plan on expanding it to different venues. And I’ve talked to a few different venues in the area. So while it will stay the Women in Comedy Festival and probably even the ImprovBoston Women in Comedy Festival, we’ll expand it to different venues and be able to get the word out more that way.
Who or what are you most excited about seeing?
That’s so hard. I’m actually really excited about the panel discussions. I mean, I love shows, and I’m always at shows, but we have a panel discussion at 3:45 on Saturday. I guess that’s a testament to what a dork I am. I’m just a comedy nerd. I’m like, “Let’s talk about it!” We’re going to be talking about the business side and the creative side. What’s your process? Taking ideas to sketch form or taking ideas to stand-up form. Working this booker and working this casting agent. Finding your voice. All that good stuff. I do a lot of comedy and I always find that the conversations I love the most are talking about doing comedy.
I’m looking forward to that. I’m really excited about the 8PM on Saturday, because we have our headliner, Kelly MacFarland, and I think she’s hilarious. I’m so happy that we got her to headline the Festival. But all of them. Even the funny films. On Thursday, the 10PM, there’s the funny films show.
What I’m really excited about this Festival is, it has a community outreach portion to it. We got a grant from the Cambridge Arts Council, and I know it’s not very exciting for people to read about, but this is something I’m proud of. Because not only is it, I love comedy and I love helping women’s voices get out there, but we’re also doing a free workshop with Cambridge high school girls, and a free workshop with the Women’s Center of Cambridge, and that’s going to be taught be ImprovBoston staff. And it’s great, because comedy is a way to communicate, it’s a way to just feel better, boost your self-esteem, all that, blah blah – but it’s true. And I’m glad we can use this vehicle of the Festival to bring that to young women at the Cambridge Women’s Center. Maybe it will make them happier for an hour.
Women In Comedy Schedule
WEDNESDAY: 8PM Comedy Kick Off
Stand up comedy with Bari Olevsky, IB sketch group "User Friendly", and storytelling with Jess Sutich (A Night of Oral Tradition)
10PM Funny Guys Stand Up Showcase
Hosted by Maria Ciampa, with Micah Sherman, MC Mr. Napkins, Shane Mauss (Late Night with Conan), Dana Jay Bein, Robby Roadsteamer, and Ken Reid.
THURSDAY:
6PM Fabulous Females Cocktail Party
At ImprovBoston Lobby. Join us for a festive fundraiser to benefit women in comedy.
$25
8PM Bastards, Inc.
Featuring stand up comedy with Jess Sutich (A Night of Oral Tradition), Lindsay Gonzalez, Michelle Barbera (We're Making a Movie), and improv by Three Hole Punch and Bastards, Inc.
$10/$7 students and seniors
10PM Funny Films
Featuring a night of short films and video sketch written, produced and created by women. Hosted by Rheri and Jim Kenney.
$10/$7 students and seniors
FRIDAY:
8PM, Main Theater: Atreus
Aeschylus meets Dallas. The world's first soap opera is reimagined in the modern-day, high-stakes business world.
$16/$12 (students and seniors)
10PM, “Friday Night Variety Show" Hosted by: The Steamy Bohemians. Featuring: Carolyn Castiglia, Daniella Capolino, M. Dickson, Shereen Kassam, Jennifer Myszkowski, Sharon Spell, Carolyn Plummer
$20/$16 (students and seniors)
SATURDAY:
10 - 12:30 Writing Workshop for the Ladies with Marty Johnson
Show up and mention "Facebook" and get $15 off if there is still space!
1pm - 3:30 pm You've Got a Great Show Idea, Now What? with Two Girls For Five Bucks
Show up and mention "Facebook" and get $15 off if there is still space!
3:45 FREE Panel Discussion on the business and creative side of comedy. Catered by City Girl Cafe in Inman Square
6PM, Main Theater: Women of Family Show
An improvised comedy show for the whole family. Come see singing dancing and comedy all off the top of our improviser's heads.
$12/$10 (seniors)/ $7 (students and children)
8PM, Main Theater: The Women in Comedy Stand up Showcase
Featuring Headliner Kelly MacFarland (Comedy Central), hosted by Erin Judge (Comedy Central's Live at Gotham) and Bethany Van Delft (Boston Comedy Festival) with Maria Ciampa (North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival), Selena Coppock (North Carolina Comedy Arts Festival), Desiree Burch (Hysterical Festival), Robin Gelfenbien (Hysterical Festival)
$25/$20 (students and seniors)
9:30PM - “Boston News Network”, Boston’s premier weekly fake news show features the funniest women in Boston: Kristina Smarz, Megan Golterman, and more.
$10/$7 (students and seniors)
10PM - “Improv and Sketch Showcase”, featuring ImprovBoston Mainstage, Two Girls For Five Bucks, sketch comedy featuring Cathleen Carr and Daiva Dupree (Ars Nova), Somebody’s In The Doghouse, sketch comedy featuring Marty Johnson and Leah Gotsik (The Second City at Sea)
$25/$20 (students and seniors)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)