#nzicf

[downbabylon]

NZ ICF, Poster VSOP, Midtown, NYC

[kozokomatsubara]

Last night at An Evening With Noel Fielding. Getting ready for Show 2/4 at the Bruce Mason Centre tonight. @paulpanfergrams @nzcomedyfestival #AnEveningWithNoelFielding #NoelDownUnder #NZICF #Auckland #BruceMasonCentre

[thehuhtamakiyears]

Submission: Friday 01.05.2015

Jon makes a puncoffee. Because the coffee is for an actor in Uther Dean’s new play Spyfinger that opens at BATS next week in the NZ Comedy Festival. And it’s a show about spies and promises to reference lots of classic spy movies and be funny and the actor was on her way to rehearsal where Uther would be and, well you get it. Levels man. 

Details etc: http://bats.co.nz/shows/spyfinger/

[improbserver]

Deconstructing Comedian Deconstruction.

UPDATE: The creator of Comedian Deconstruction, Jess Carpenter, has contacted me to ask that I clarify that the post below reflects only my experiences with the show in Wellington as part of the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, and should not be construed as representing the original (US) show, which I have neither seen nor participated in.

Last night I played in a show called Comedian Deconstruction with some of my very favourite improvisors, and also some stand-up comedians.

The premise is simple: some stand-up happens, and then some improv happens based on the material from the stand-up. Only, what do you do when the stand-up is actually pretty gross?

To wit, the material we had to work from was basically: a) aren't gay people gross? b) aren't fat people gross? c) "I have four children, so naturally I have a lot of hatred in my life" (this is as close to a direct quote as I can remember) and d) how many mental-illness-based slurs can I remember?

What we tried to do was recontextualise a bunch of the more salvageable material in a way that didn't celebrate it, but also didn't come across as holier-than-thou. More than being nasty about the lines that had had us cringing and mime-vomiting in the wings, we wanted to show how ridiculous the ideas and attitudes behind the material were.

Judging from the audience's reaction (and from talking to people after the show who, admittedly, were our friends and so likely to be biased towards being lovely people), we did an okay job. But I don't think it's enough for a show to have an eloquent apology for some shitty material (whether that's the MC or the next act), because the audience still have to sit through that material without knowing that an apology is coming. More: if the MC or the next act have to spend their time on stage addressing the gross stuff, it takes even more away from the ability to put positive, celebratory comedy on stage.

I really hope that when I do the show again in two weeks, my fellow performers and I don't have to worry about playing clean-up, or salvaging the show. But most of all I hope that everyone is there to make everyone else look and feel good, audience included.

I remember a moment from the first half, where a comedian capped a particularly unpleasant call with "the improvisors are going to have fun with that one!"

Christine Brooks, from the wings: "NO, WE WON'T."

[aucklandlive]

We love magic. We love comedy. We love these guys. Coming up in the Comedy Festival.

[artichokethecat]

I saw Sam Simmons tonight, probably the best comedy show I’ve been to. On a Tuesday night in a half filled theatre. Absurd and baffling. Had to stop myself from clapping too often.

[tashyslashy]

I love the comedy festival SO MUCH! Saw my comedy tutor Nick Rado's show tonight and it was AMAZING. Had me in hysterical laughter, so if you ever get to go to his show DO IT. He's great.

[24daysofgiggles-blog]

Tonight's Five Star Preview

Wow! What an awesome night! The packed out auditorium that is the Sky City Theatre was humming with many many dozen people (in fact, enough people to have the venue sold out) looking for laughs. And it was at this fountain of laughter that they gained their release. 

The night opened with the fantastic DAN WILLIS from the UK effortlessly warming the crowd up. A comedic fluffer of epic proportions bringing, not just laughing, but painful guffawing to the energised crowd. The perfect opener to an awesome show. 

Chris Martin - No, not that one. The first act of the evening, also an act I saw last night, who rolled out new material and had the whole audience in stitches, whether it was with his comedy, or because everyone had fallen into a dishwasher onto some knives laying with the sharp edges up, I"m not sure. 

Craig Campbell owned the stage with his brilliant presence, even when the lights went out. The crowd loved him, I loved him, and his vegetable fandom. Make sure you see his show this festival. 

Brendon Burns took his rightful place on stage, in a suit, educating us all on the intricacies of his barbecuing skills, and where he would draw the line and walk away from his six-burner and the bell-peppers. For more information, be sure to see his solo show, or see him hosting the first week of Late and Live shows at The Classic.

Bill Dawes took me by surprise. This borderline schizophrenic performance left me wondering about what's in my protein shake, and introduced me to the goings-on inside a Gym (something which even viewers from a distance can tell I'm not familiar with). With tears of laughter pouring down my face I could see many others in the same predicament I found myself in: Wondering to myself "should I keep laughing until I pass out, or can I stop listening just long enough to breathe?"

Milton Jones - the UK's best one-liner comic performed brilliant old-and-new material to keep the audience off guard. With more word play than a mills and boon novel, he just keeps knocking it out of the park. 

Dead Cat Bounce - with over a million combined hits on YouTube for their song Rugby (a song which I argue should have been TV3's song for the World Cup last year) this was certainly the act I was looking forward to the most, and I wasn't disappointed. With pants so tight there wasn't much left to the imagination, and I can still picture the glittering gold as I write this blog, two hours later.