On Saturday, my friend (and fellow comic), Mike Evitts, asked me to attend a rally to support funding for Planned Parenthood. The turn-out was quite nice, and I loaded up on feminist t-shirts, stickers and buttons. I was pleasantly surprised to see so many men there. After all, Planned Parenthood offers free and low-cost services for men as well as women. Moreover, if we're going to dismantle patriarchy and strike down laws that seek to control women's bodies and their access to healthcare, we're going to need people of all genders to do it.
After the rally, I headed over to South Haven, Michigan for a gig at the Old Harbor Inn. If you haven't been there before (I hadn't), I recommend taking a trip! It's right on Lake Michigan, and it's quite gorgeous.
This is a view from my hotel room:
This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but I was right on the water. And want to know the best part? My room was literally steps away from the performance venue. When the club owners and bartenders feed you free Long Island iced teas throughout the evening, that's a HUGE bonus.
The show was a lot of fun, and the venue was packed! I worked with Steve Bills, who I always enjoy. Not only do I appreciate his material, but his crowd work never ceases to inspire me. Plus, one of my parents' friends from college stopped by the show, and brought their old college yearbook with him. I was amazed by how much my dad looked like my brother. I can only imagine what's going to happen when my future children get their hands on my yearbook and see what a nerd-alert I was (that's right, I was on the debate team and in the science club, yo!).
On Sunday morning, I headed to the Laugh Detroit Comedy Festival. My good friend, Dave Moroz, puts the festival together, and he asked me if I would volunteer for the week. I jumped at the chance! Not only did I get to meet awesome comics from around the country (and Canada, too), but I also got my own studio hotel suite for the week (note - this beats the crap out of staying in my parents' basement).
I left the festival being exhausted, but completely inspired. It was so wonderful to meet so many new comics, and to also see all of their acts. I also took the Step Up Your Stand-Up workshop with Jeff Singer, and it was definitely the kick in the butt I needed to write more material. It's not that I dislike my material now, but I want to get more personal. More real.
I also ate more hummus than can possibly be good for one human being. You see, Garden Fresh sponsored the festival. So every night, after the shows, we would sit around, drink beer and stuff our faces with Garden Fresh hummus, guacamole and salsa. This, of course, translates to, every morning, I woke up with a tummy ache. But, oh my goodness, it was delicious! I think I need Garden Fresh to sponsor my life.
I didn't take many pictures during the festival as I was so busy. But, Kimberly, the official festival photographer, captured this one of Dave and me (sporting our supa-fly VIP passes):
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