Writing and musicals

I am happy to announce that I had my first group writing session of the year. Fellow comic, Leslie Ann Thompson, and I met at Joey's Comedy Club to drink beer, ahem, I mean, work through jokes (there was definitely some beer on hand though). I've been trying to talk about my fall 2012 trip on Greyhound on stage, and after meeting with Leslie, I think I definitely have some things to work with.

I am unhappy to announce that the folks at the Emagine Theatre had the audacity to deny my student ID from eight years ago. The nerve! I mean, seriously.

And my verdict on Les Miz? It was very well done, and the cast was quite impressive (well, minus Russell Crowe, anyway), but after an hour and a half, I was pretty bored with the singing (and this coming from someone with a BFA in theatre). Luckily, I spared the rest of the theatre and resisted the urge to sing along to "On My Own."

Unfortunately, my Honda Civic was not so lucky as I belted it out like something fierce on my way home. Good thing cars don't have ears.

Totally Pauly

Last week, I got to open for Pauly Shore at the Temple Theatre in Saginaw, Michigan.  It was such a wonderful venue, and the staff took such great care of us!  I really enjoyed watching Pauly's act, too.  I had no idea what to expect (would he just say "hey, bu-uddy" the whole time?, would he share behind-the-scenes celeb gossip? just quote his films?) from his show.  What I found was a deeply personal, raw, real and very funny account of his life.  I was definitely impressed!

Some pictures:

That's me, Pauly (duh) and his opener, Sandy Danto (who is hilarious, very nice and a Michigan native - a nice little trifecta, if you ask me).  

Food in the green room.  Ah, the perks of working with famous people.

Five miles!

I ran five miles at the gym today (a first for me)! Shout out to the guy on the treadmill next to me with excessive BO. You, sir, made me run faster than I thought possible (just to get away from you).

New hair

Went back to being blonder. Before and after hair.

Houghton, Michigan

I headed up to Michigan's Upper Peninsula for the second time in a month (apparently, I'm on the crappy weather world tour).  This time, I got lucky and didn't hit much snow.

I worked with the very funny Mike Merryfield, and one of my friends from the Detroit area happened to be staying at the same hotel so he came to check out the show.  I also discovered that the venue had not only an exercise room, but a tanning bed.  As you can imagine, I never wanted to leave.  And in fact, I didn't leave at all on Saturday.

Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures with subjects of the human variety.  But, here are the shots I did take (including the tanning bed in all its glory).

 

Happy 2013!

I spent the last days of 2012 in Yankton, South Dakota, Clinton, Iowa and Lansing, Iowa with my good buddy, Steve Sabo.

First stop: Yankton.  The drive was horrible.  It featured blizzards, almost ending up in the ditch and lack of sleep.  Luckily, the show made it completely worth it!  The crowds were so fun and welcoming.  Oh, and did I mention drunk?  Because, yeah, they were that, too.  At one point, we were egged on to do something called "Bubbles."  Neither Steve nor I had heard of this.  Well, I mean, I've heard of bubbles, but I never knew them to be a verb and something one does with alcohol.

Apparently, "bubbles" is when you drink an entire bottle of Rumple Minz until there is nothing left but bubbles.  Yes, you read that correctly: an entire bottle!  P.S. Rumple Minz is 100 proof!

Um, holy whoa!

Thinking that nobody would actually attempt this feat, Steve and I politely declined, only to be shown up by the owner who downed half a bottle!

South Dakota, I have a new respect for your drinking abilities.

Us post-show:

I didn't take too many pictures in Yankton (although I have a feeling if we stuck around longer, we would have captured quite a few people passed out with empty bottles of Rumple Minz in their hands), but I did enjoy this menu from a local Chinese restaurant.

I guess these coupons only apply to hard to please eaters.

After Yankton, we headed to Clinton, Iowa for another fun show.  As you can tell by this picture, these folks like to drink, too.

 After the show, Steve and I sang a duet of Bloodhound Gang's "The Bad Touch." Yes, it was just as bad as it sounds.

Our back-up dancer. 

When I checked into the hotel in Clinton, I asked if there was a fitness center.

"No, but we have a bar."

Apparently, getting so drunk that you dry-heave and inadvertently do stomach crunched counts as exercise in Iowa.  My kind of place.

Then, at night, I got the hotel equivalent of ding dong ditched. At 2:30 am, someone pounded on my door and ran. I guess karma takes about 20 years, and I'm just now getting repaid for my middle school antics.

After Clinton, we headed to Lansing, Iowa.  And I promptly fell in love with the town.  It's situated right on the Mississippi River, and not only is the scenery beautiful, but the hotel is adorable!

Here are some shots from where I stayed:

The inn was a former photography studio (in the 1800's), so it was filled with old camera decor.

For New Year's Eve, we headed up to Boyd, Minnesota.  The show was sold-out, and I had a blast. 

My favorite part of the evening?  Seeing a guy, who was DJing after the show, wearing shorts.  Let me elaborate: it was -8 degrees!  Here's DJ No Pants (as he was nicknamed) demonstrating that he has WAY more guys than I ever will:

 Steve on stage.

Ringing in 2013 with my BFF, Bud Light.

 
New Year's lapdances? Didn't know that was customary, but from what I gather, it is in Minnesota.

The long drive home was long, and I broke one of my resolutions (to give up soda) before the day was even finished. But, I had so much fun on the trip, and there's always tomorrow to give up Diet Pepsi.

Happy 2013, everyone!

Top Ten Things You Need to Know About Riding the Bus

My latest article for Zoiks! Online is published.  Check it out here.