#tbt to just some of the babes who are just as hottt as their jokes/bits are that have been on PT this summer!! Thanks Mike Bryk for being there to capture all these great moments, including the first ever "drag king" performance by NATE aka Natalie Palamides, superstar Catherine Cohen's first time on the show, plus returning sets from PT favs Lucas Bros, Jess Salomon, Casey Jane Ellison, Ruby Karp, Irene Morales, Madison Shepard, Ian Fidance & more! Full albums in the photo section of our Picture This FB page!!
And a reminder to not miss our next show THIS SATURDAY 10/19 7:30p back at Union Hall, it promises to have even more hotties like Instagram/Viceland's Dee Nasty, Rosebud Baker, Rebeccaca O'Neal & more!! Only a few hours left to get tix online and save a few bucks! (plus more importantly **get first crack at seating!!**) https://www.eventbrite.com/e/picture-this-tickets-74284110775
#NewYork #Brooklyn #ParkSlope: Picture This! is BACK for another night of live animated ONE NIGHT ONLY lineup combinations of #NY’s best comedians and artists! 🃏🎨🍻
COMEDY BY: Dee Nasty, Rosebud Baker, Rebecca O'Neal, Chanel Ali, Doug Smith & Ryan Donahue!
ANIMATION BY: Bryan Brinkman, Dan Pinto, Jenny Fine, Cat Baldwin, Brett Hall, Josh Sachs & Milton Ladd!
GUEST HOSTED BY: Samantha Ruddy!
SATURDAY 10/19
Doors 7pm, Show 7:30pm
21+ $8 online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/picture-this-tickets-74284110775 or $10 at the door🚪
at Union Hall
702 Union St
Brooklyn, NY 11215
Flier by the amazing Bryan Brinkman!
I was thinking about how I always wonder if last month was my last month. I wonder if the phone will stop ringing and my comedy run will be over.
Sometimes the first of the month comes and I don't have any gigs yet. Then on the 2nd.... the phone rings and a few emails come. And I let out a sigh of relief.
Even today, October 2nd, I booked three gigs and turned down two because the dates conflicted.
Sometimes my knees get shaky and I question my footing here but I'm determined to see this out until the end. I'm gonna be the greatest.
Check out this podcast interview I did this week: http://logandoescomedy.com/2014/10/02/logandoespodcast-episode-10-chanel-ali/
I talk about comedy, writing jokes and pursuing greatness.
WIthout a doubt, one of the best parts of standup comedy comes in the form of applause breaks. When a comic sets up a real nice bit, sometimes the crowd gets so enthralled in the laugh that they clap and acknowledge it. It could mean 5 or more seconds of undisturbed applause, where a comic can bask in their work.
That's really an incredible feeling.
It's one of the reasons that I like early Richard Pryor standup. In particular, I really enjoy his five minute set on the Kraft Music Hall Special in 1964. I'm sure when he rehearsed this set, it was a tight five minutes but after all the applause breaks, the entire set is about five minutes and 30 seconds.
After rightfully earning a few applause breaks, Pryor starts to say, "Wait, I got more to tell you."
He does it once, then again and again. After each bit he says it and moves forward. I love that it shows how he's walking them through his set, bit by bit, pulling them along. I remember reading about how much stage fright he used to have and I feel like these shows from the 1960s give us a glimpse into how his confidence was forming.
Pryor was finding himself on stage and beginning to recognize his own potential. After the 1960s, his standup is much more refined and his stage presence changes for the better. I could just be a sap for the art form but I really feel like it's a beautiful thing.
Shoutout to applause breaks and people who aren't afraid to laugh loudly.
Richard Pryor Standup: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDMH3SuXzsE
The first time: when I hear comedians talk about their first time on stage I always think it's interesting how they recount it step-by-step.
The first time I did stand up was at the University of the Arts in South Philly. I went to the open mic to listen to my friend Margel, who is an amazing musician. Once I arrived he told me that the cover was $20, which is outrageous in the open mic community.
It didn't take me long to decide that it was worth it but I also remember thinking that the rest of the show better be damn good.
I took a seat at the furthest table in the back. In between acts, Margel came to sit with me. Some were poets, some were singers. some were somewhere in between. They were confident and raw. I remember this one girl recited a poem about her struggles with her autistic son. About how people look at him. Some people cried along with her and when she got off stage and embraced her friends, you could tell she had just done something beautiful for herself.
I envied her bravery for a split second. And then I thought that she had accidentally (or maybe purposefully) educated everyone in the audience.
After about 8 acts, the host got on stage and asked more people to sign-up. She said that some of the headliners hadn't arrived yet that the audience would just be sitting there and waiting if they didn't fill a few time slots.
Once she finished her announcement, there was an intermission and all the lights came on. As if I was having an out-of-body experience, I turned to Margel and said, "Sign me up."
Margel: What?
Me: Sign me up.
Margel: ... ... are you serious?
For an instant, everything came to a full stop. I knew that whatever I said next was going to lead to some sort of action. 99 percent of my brain wanted me to say, "Of course I'm not serious! Please don't move from your seat and even consider putting my name on that list. That sounds like my worst nightmare. My God."
That's what my brain wanted me to say. Verbatim.
But just that smallest voice.... that smallest, tinniest, microscopic voice that you rarely ever hear.
That voice that allowed me to jump of a cliff into a river when I visited Tennessee one summer.
That voice that allowed me to play my violin for hundreds when I lived in California.
That voice that allowed me to move to Philadelphia after I graduated high school, on a quest to make it in a new city.
Anytime I had been brave in my life it was because I had this feeling as if a voice was saying, "Go Chanel. Go."
For a second I was able to convince myself that that voice was never wrong. And because I had the smallest urge to try it, I let go.
Me: Yeah, sign me up.
Margel: What are you going to do up there?
Me: Uhmm... I'm gonna tell a story or something.
Before I could say another word, Margel had gotten up from the table and was on his way to put my name on that damn list. I wanted to tackle him. I wanted to faint.
But I didn't move. And then he came back and sat down. And then the lights dimmed again.
The host came back on and introduced the next act. Although no one around me knew it.... I was having a mental breakdown.
I tried to watch the other acts but my mind was racing, I reasoned by having a full conversation in my head,
Me: Ok. Ok. Wtf Chanel??? Why did you do this? Ok. Ok. What are you gonna say? Holy shit. Ok. Ok. You're just gonna tell them some stories. You know plenty of amusing stories. Ok.
At the time I was working at the airport and I felt like I encountered ridiculous people all the time.
Me: Ok. Talk about the crazy people at the airport. Ok lets see.
I picked three different people and tried to remember what was amusing about them. I went over it once or twice in my head. I felt like the room had gone silent while I was thinking. With resounding sharpness, the sound came back as I heard the host say, "Ok. Next is.... Chanel? Chanel are you ready?"
I got up and started walking towards the stage. Because I was sitting in the back I had to walk through the middle of the crowd and up the stairs to the stage. Every step took willpower. I wasn't thinking about what I was going to say or what was going to happen. I was thinking, "Move your left leg, right leg, left leg, right leg.... just keep going. Just get yourself there."
She handed me the mic and as I turned to face the crowd of eager faces I remember feeling blinded by the light. I could only see the first two rows of people. The rest of the crowd was dark figures and energy. The room felt so full of good vibes.
Me: Hey Philly.
The Crowd: Heyy!
Me: I love Philly. I moved here to go to Temple, y'all know Temple right?
The crowd clapped and someone shouted "Go owls" from the back of the room. Although I couldn't see that guy, I was grateful that he took the attention off of me, even if only for a second.
Me: Yeah, Temple Owls. While I was in school I decided to get a job at the airport... I work for TSA. Y'all know TSA right? The guys in the blue shirts. Yeah I'm a TSA thug. I'll search the shit outta yo bag.
The Crowd: *random giggles*
Me: It's rough though because I encounter really dumb people. The other day this lady asked me how much liquid she could carry in her bag. That's a perfectly reasonable question so I told her, "the maximum you can take is 3 ounces." She smiled and thanked me.
(Here I mimicked her as if I was walking away from the mic happily. Then I paused and walked back to the mic, impersonating the dumb passenger)
Dumb Passenger Lady Voice: Soo.... I guess five ounces is like...out of the question?
Me: Oh no. I'm sorry Miss. I should have clarified. 3 and 5 are NOT the same number. They're completely different numbers.
The Crowd: *hearty laugh*
After that I think I talked about a passenger who asked me where the closest tanning salon was (funny because of blackness) and another passenger who couldn't figure out if he was at arrivals or departures. He actually asked me, "Aren't I arriving?".
I remember looking down at the mic in my hand and wondering if the crowd could see it shaking. I couldn't stop shaking. I kept trying to take a deep breath but I felt like there was never enough time. I needed to keep talking.
The laughter hit me like a wave. It felt like being showered with love and appreciation. I felt like I could fly or slam dunk at least.
When I got off stage people were giving me high-fives and shaking my hand. One guy talked to me outside for 30 minutes about how he thought I should really give comedy a shot.
I didn't give comedy the effort that it deserved for an entire year after that. Stage fright kept me from performing consistently.
But I've come a long way and it has really changed my life for the better. Learning to listen to my instincts has made me a happier and healthier person. Comedy is my passion, it is my drug. It's living life on another level of happiness and I can't see going back.
