Day 26: Gathering the troops 8/12/07

Today was the beginning of something I hope to be magical. I've wanted to start a writing circle for awhile where us comedians can bounce ideas off each other and work our shit. Julie recommended it to me before and I was into it. The trick is to get the right dynamic of people. After a few false starts I believe we've gotten somewhere.

The contenders:

Danielle C. Radford- My roomie. You know her, you love her, and so does the rest of the comedy scene in Seattle. In a little month she already has a lot more street cred in the scene than I do. With good reason after all as she is wonderful to watch onstage. You can't help but to love her and THEN she blasts you with her jokes.

Paul Marshall- A gentleman I met through one of my bestest friends. I had the honor to direct Paul in "As You Like It" where he gave an amazing performance of Touchstone. He's naturally an incredibly witty person with a vast knowledge of comedians in the scene. He is utterly fearless in what he's willing to do in front of people and his humor comes constantly out of left field.

James Parkinson- A newbie to comedy but a hysterical person in his own right. I worked with him for a stint at the Jizzcock Fucktory and at one point had to ask if he ever did comedy. He said it was always something he wanted to take on and then I hounded him to do it knowing he would kick a lot of but at it. Half the time he talks to you it sounds like one of the funniest bits you've heard but it's just him talking off the top of his head.

I'm sure others will come and go but I think this is a solid core to work off of. We met up a few hours before open mic to put some stuff in front of each other. Paul's jokes were almost instantly hilarious. We nipped and tucked a few things but his set was solid. I got a lot of help on a section of a bit that I was struggling with that hasn't come together yet and then I worked a bit with them that I wrote a while ago but haven't put up affectionately titled "porno". James debuted his material. He did what most people do (Danielle and I for sure) the first time out and wrote WAY too much, but once we cut out all the extraneous stuff the jokes that were left were killer. Danielle brought some new stuff, one bit that needed work, but one that will be her closer forever.

It just felt really good. We had a good vibe and everyone contributed and everyone was very constructive. Solomon showed up after we were finishing but got some feedback from him. Then off to the Comedy Underground.

I was the 2nd one up tonight (never happened before) and had a nice set. The porno set was met with the awkwardness and horror that I hoped. Neuva ring landed again. Paul went up and had a great response. He had a weird delivery to his stuff, not sure if it was intentional or not, but his material was very well received. Danielle murdered with her new stuff, lets just call it "anal bleaching". After Danielle went James was supposed to but Ty Burrell came in and worked some new stuff. It was really funny. Poor James had to follow that and came in with a great bit about it. You could tell James was wrestling with nerves, but despite that fact and a couple of hic-ups with delivery most of his stuff landed. A great first up. Solomon went up after and worked some new stuff and had probably the funniest line all night. I'd repeat it, but it'd lose something on the Internet.

We tried to hit up Mainstage afterward but to no avail, they closed their set. Oh well, tonight was a highly successful ventor and I'm excited by what our little group can bring. We need a name. Any ideas?

Lesson: Writing groups WORK!

Backup Lesson: A clever name gives a strong identity. Any ideas?