Happy Halloween! Do your thing, WICF readers, and send us some funny photos or write-ups of your weekend shenanigans. But only if you want to. I want to thank Rachel Rosenthal again for speaking with us about her awesome and hilarious (and instructional!) site Bridesmaiding.com. Next week, we'll have plenty of new info. for you about the 2011 festival, so keep checking us out — we're looking good!
For this holiday weekend, here's another bloody show and a wonderful website for your perusal:
Beti Gathegi's site, newly-launched this past September, chronicles the stories of women from all walks of life whom Beti admires and is amazed by. Including video profiles, an advice section, interviews with women from all sorts of careers, a gadget girl section, and an inspiration board, Beti's nascent site is an aspirational, inspirational work-in-progress. She says, "I really want to build and be a part of a community that is discussing dynamic women, interesting careers and other fascinating topics, so this is my contribution to that conversation." This week, Poly Republic profiles Wild 'N Out and Comedy Central's Rasika Mathur. Mathur is releasing her new comedy album "The Sari (W)rap" on November 2, and she will be featured in the upcoming movie The Taqwacores, based on the Michael Muhammad Knight book of the same name.
UCB's Halloween show about the an evil spirit from Hell who returns to wreak vengeance and cover their nightly audiences with blood. Lots and lots of blood. No worries, though, true believers, because according to the site, "the beast only slaughters those who are rife with selfishness, greed, hatred, and a few people who just suck." Written by Matt Walsh, and directed by John Frusciante.
Sanaa Lathan is a beautiful Hollywood veteran, who understands the importance of style. She has work her traditional black tresses, both long and short. Her we see her with a medium length style. This one uses a middle part to add to Lathan's overall look. She has just the right amount of curls to add to this graceful hairstyle.
I've been invited to six weddings this year, nine if you expand the definition of "year" to December 2008-January 2011. What no one tells you when you graduate college is that you are about to enter a solid decade of wedcation*. So it is with no hesitation that I say I was happy to interview WICF marketing guru Rachel Rosenthal about the launch of her new site, Bridesmaiding.com. Because Rachel gets it. And she wants you to, too.
*wedcation — noun The time in your life when all of your vacation decisions revolve around going to other people's weddings (and, maybe, your own one or two).
Rachel: Oh, hi! I am aiming to create a fun and easily accessible resource center for bridesmaids who are REAL women … like the people I am actual friends with! If you search the internet for help with bridesmaid duties — you’ll find a heck of a lot of toilet paper hats and penis cakes. You’ll also find a lot of info aimed at the bride — but not at the actual bridal party attendants. Whenever I was in a wedding and needed assistance, I found it difficult to find help when going against the grain. I hope for Bridesmaiding.com to become that place where women can get ideas, share stories, and have a laugh at the moments in between.
WICF: How would you describe the main features of your site?
Rachel: The site is a combination of resources (articles, advice and how-tos) and a blog. On the resources side, we have anything you may need to be a good bridesmaid — gift ideas, money-saving tips, how to plan a bridal shower, etc. On the blog side, we have true-life stories (both funny and touching), as well as fictional wedding toasts and “just for fun” anecdotes. I like to share a lot of great photography whenever possible, as well.
WICF: I know it's not meant to be a straight comedy site (right?), but it's definitely funny. Who are your contributors?
Rachel: It’s definitely not meant to be straight-up comedy, but I’m well aware that my writing style sounds a lot like [the way that] I speak! And let’s be honest … I’m hilarious. (ha ha) I hope that when people read the website, they will feel like a friend is advising them — not just a random wiki page. Due to the fact that I am an improviser and comedian — a lot of comedy has made its way onto this site. I am lucky enough to have some hilarious contributors. Friend and fellow performer Shannon Connolly shared her entire experience of being a bridesmaid for the first time — which was amazing. (You can see [all of the posts] in “Shancon’s Corner.”) I have also had the honor of writer/author Sara Faith Alterman contributing a weekly column, “Toasted,” [in which] she creates hilarious (fictional) wedding toasts as if she were the world’s worst bridesmaid. What I find interesting is that many of the comedian writers have written truly touching stories — rather than straight-up comedy. (See? We can turn it off!)
Other contributors have been friends, improvisers, strangers on the street — whomever. This site is a really fun way to get your stories out there and I encourage anyone to write a story (or contribute an idea for one) so we can share it with the world (wide web).
WICF: How has your reception been from your reading audience? Have you heard about any ruffled bridal feathers as a result of a post?
Rachel: So far, the reception has been really encouraging! It’s not surprising we haven’t ruffled any bridal feathers, considering that an uptight bridezilla is likely not reading Bridesmaiding.com. Also, this site isn’t meant to be anti-wedding or anti-bride. On the contrary, I think that being asked to be a bridesmaid has sadly become a chore, rather than an honor. The truth of the matter is — weddings should be fun. It’s just a huge party with your closest friends. Hopefully, the content on our site can help you get there with the least amount of drama and the most amount of fun.
Anyone can contribute anonymously but for the most part — our writers have just put it all out there! Check out Chris Cuddy’s hilarious, true-life, “It's a nice day for a White(trash) wedding” story to see what I mean
WICF: You've recently moved — have you discovered that your experience differs from city to city, or is bridesmaiding truly pan-regional?
Rachel: There is a reason there are a million wedding TV shows… there is always going to be another wedding, another bride…and therefore — another bridesmaid. Not only is bridesmaiding more than regional — it’s international. I have spoken with women in Canada and Europe who have found the site helpful and have passed it along to friends and colleagues going through the wedding planning thing.
WICF: What are your goals for the site in the future? Rachel: I’d love to get more interaction with the readers and actual bridesmaids. I keep trying to address questions that I had when I was in weddings – but obviously every person has a different experience. I want the ideas to come straight from the source, so we can give our readers whatever it is they truly need! I also want to work with more contributors (writers and photographers) for the future. Bridesmaiding.com is the perfect place for photographers to show off their work and for the rest of us to enjoy it!
Ideally, it’d be pretty awesome if we could be the next IndieBride — but for the bridal party instead of just for the bride. :)
It’s been a great week over here at the Women in Comedy Festival blog: We’ve put out a call for writers (contact editor@womenincomedyfestival.com if you’re interested!) and we’re looking for feedback from you, our lovely readers (email info@womenincomedyfestival.com for suggestions for next year’s fest!) as we’re gearing up to open submissions for the 2011 festival next month! I’d also like to thank Kristin Cook, Associate Producer at Sesame Workshop, for giving me the opportunity to write what I humbly consider to be the perfect blog post: an interview with a charming lady who has an awesome job, accompanied by videos of Grover, Isaiah Mustafa and a Mad Men parody. (It also contained a True Blood parody, but I’m not including that in the list of what makes this the Best Post Ever as I don’t watch that show — I’m basically boycotting vampires, except for Annalise, which, full disclosure, I proofed. Also, I’m in love with the author.)
For a little light Friday fare, I’ve got the first of what I hope will be many website and show suggestions for you:
Website* of the Week
dooce www.dooce.com Heather Armstrong’s influence on the Web has been such that she’s even coined her own, eponymous term for getting fired due to writing about one’s job on one’s blog (“dooced” even has its own entry in PC Magazine’s encyclopedia). More than being merely influential, Heather is funny. This sarcastic, at times sardonic, former Mormon and current HGTV- and mommy-blogger has range and wit in spades. She also often commands that her kids or her dogs cook her a hot dog, so she is truly a woman after my own heart. Start reading her blog from the beginning — when you’ve got days and days to kill (say, after surgery, or while your freshly-unemployed free time is as-yet-otherwise filled). (*Thank you, Wired, for going to a single word, all-lowercase form for this term.)
Show to See
Gorefest VIII: Cirque Du Slaughte, at ImprovBoston, Cambridge, MA In the eighth incarnation of the consistently sold-out show, ImprovBoston’s Director of Programming Don Schuerman brings the circus to the audience, complete with a contortionist, conjoined bearded-lady twins, and somebody named Ramaloke The Mysterious. The show is always funny, always deliciously inappropriate, and always a huge mess — don’t wear anything you wouldn’t want to have to try and wash food coloring out of. And maybe don’t make dinner plans for after the show.
WICF asked first-time Gorefest cast member Deana Tolliver, ImprovBoston’s Associate Managing Director and Director of Training and Sales, about her experiences in the show. Deana told us, “One of the veterans gave me her list of tips last night. They included: Bring your own towels, get some earplugs to protect you from the cannons, you can never have enough baby wipes, just accept that you will be covered in blood, don't even try to fix your hair between shows (it just hardens to a clump) and remember to clean yourself up as best you can before leaving the theater — you don't want to be walking home at 1 a.m. covered in blood. I can't wait.”
When asked about the opportunities for women in comedy in the show, Deana responded, “The women in this show are fantastic, this year has some of my favorite female roles I have seen anywhere. All of them are dark and hilarious: a desperate mother, conjoined twins, a magician's assistant, a mute contortionist, a lion tamer, plus an amazing duo of dancers. The amount of amazingly talented women working in the Boston area is impressive, and Gorefest put together an incredible line up.”
http://www.improvboston.com/gorefest for tickets, Runs W/Th/F/Sa/Su 10/21-10/31 $22 adults/$19 students and seniors Shows nightly at 8 p.m., also at 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
"Everything is better when you add a muppet — especially Grover." — Kristin Cook
Around these parts, we all love the Muppets. I will fight you if you say you don't, so help me— (Alright, calming, happy thoughts now . . . counting with the Count on a warm summer's day . . . Big Bird in a sunny meadow, jumping rope . . . )
Phew, that's better. Where were we, then? Ah, yes, love for the Muppets runs strong and deep around here, so we were extra, super-duper excited when WICF spoke with Kristin Cook, Associate Producer at Sesame Workshop. Kristin was part of the team that created the "Grover: Smell Like A Monster" Old Spice commercial parody, and she was gracious enough to fan the flames of our muppet obsession.
WICF: What is your job, and what hand did you have in this video?
Kristin: I was the technical director on the shoot and the editor. I also helped out here and there during pre-production.
WICF: How did this video come about? Where'd the idea come from, how many people were involved, and how long did it take?
Kristin: Well, I work in the Digital Media department of Sesame Workshop, and everyone in the office was a big fan of the original Old Spice commercial from the start. One of our copy writers, Jessie Hopkins, had written a short piece for Grover that was sort of in the "Old Spice" style and during the shoot our director, J Milligan, thought of the idea to really go for it and try to do a straight up spoof of the commercial. We have a little production team lead by our great producer, Alison Folino, and we are about seven people, not including the three puppeteers we had on the shoot. We were on a pretty tight schedule and we actually put the whole thing together in about two weeks.
WICF: What was the goal for this video? Was the idea to make a viral video? For it to stay on the Sesame Workshop site? Open-ended?
Kristin: We really just wanted to make a funny, and entertaining video — We believe that if you're not having fun, then you're not learning. The new season was starting so we had planned on putting the video on YouTube just as a short promo.
We all joked about how great it would be if the video went viral, so we're really pleased that people seemed to enjoy it and at least to get our sense of humor.
WICF: Have there been other videos like this? Why do you think this one took off the way it did?
Kristin: This is the first parody video we did as just digital content. Of course the show has always done great parodies like "Mad Men" and "True Mud." It's a great way to entertain parents and their kids at the same time. I think the video took off because obviously people loved the original and everything is better when you add a muppet, especially Grover.
WICF: Do the same people who create Sesame Street the show also create Sesame Old Spice parody videos, or is the studio more compartmentalized? Was this Grover muppet the same muppet used daily on TV?
Kristin: Most of the video for Sesame is done by the larger production team, but Digital Media has their own small team with an in-house green screen studio. We do video content for online games and original video for Sesamesteet.org. This was the real Grover, as seen on TV.
WICF: How much fun was it to Old Spice a muppet?
Kristin: Awesome fun. Everyone had a great time. We all really liked the original so we never got sick of watching it over and over. Whenever we were stuck as to what do do during the shoot, we would say "look to Mustafa". Then we would re-watch the original for inspiration.
WICF: Who is the audience for this video?
Kristin: This video is for parents, their kids and the fans. I really think it's even fun for the little kids who don't even get the spoof part of it. They can watch Grover be silly and hopefully start thinking that learning can be fun, too.
You can see more Grover videos on his Facebook page.
Hey folks! WICF 2011 details are being determined as you read this, so stay tuned to this space, keep checking our homepage news feed, Facebook or Twitter, and sign up to receive our newsletter— all of which will tell you when submissions will open (hint — it'll be next month!) and what the dates of next year's festival will be!
So now you know how you can hear from us, and we'd love to hear from you! What do you want to see in this space? More interviews? Show reviews? Website write ups? More coverage of your city's funny ladies? Send email to: editor@womenincomedyfestival.com with suggestions, or if you want to contribute! We're always looking for new writers. It's your turn to be heard!
Suggestions for next year's festival — performers you want to see, panels you'd like to attend, merch. you'd like to buy (WICF onesies are sooooo chic!) — are welcomed at: info@womenincomedyfestival.com, and at the mailing address found here. We're going to make this third festival the best one yet — with your help!
The eponymous women of the Women in Comedy Festival team don't just spend all of our time providing a showcase for the funny ladies we all know and love — sometimes, we're the ones making the comedy! The WICF blog spoke with festival Co-Producers Elyse Schuerman and Michelle Barbera about their current production, "John Hughes High," which ends its run as an ImprovBoston Showcase show tonight. Elyse directed the whole thing, and Michelle is part of the ensemble cast. Tickets are going fast, I'd recommend going here (www.improvboston.com) to buy them before you even finish reading this interview.
WICF: How did this show come about?
Elyse:A bunch of factors pushed me to propose this show last spring; John Hughes' death . . . his films touched so many teenagers lives in the '80s and '90s (and today, I think). He was able to play the realities of teenage life with humor and touching moments alike. We did an '80s teen movie-inspired show about 10 years ago that was really fun. I took some inspiration from that show, but focused on John Hughes in particular and changed the format quite a bit.
WICF: How easy/hard has it been to bring the show to the stage?
Elyse: Not too difficult. It's a great cast (which makes my job easy) and I tried to keep the show straight forward for them with a lot of freedom as improvisers.
WICF: How has the cast gelled, and how'd you make the video? And costumes?
Elyse: [The] cast really enjoys each other. Most of them know each other, but not everyone has performed together, which makes it fun. Michelle directed/edited the video and Melissa Carubia wrote and performs the song [and stars in the video]. All shot at Arlington High . . . Costumes were mostly from the Garment District [in Cambridge] and the cast's own collections.
Promo. video for John Hughes High, at ImprovBoston.
WICF: These movies had such iconic looks about them, how did you find it when translating them to the stage? Which of his movies is the show based on?
Elyse:I wanted as much accuracy for the '80s as I could since it's a style choice and, also, what people expect. It's inspired by "Ferris Bueller's Day Off," "Pretty in Pink," "Sixteen Candles," and "The Breakfast Club" ("Weird Science" and "Some Kind of Wonderful" contributed some inspiration). We also focused on his iconic characters as inspiration. Each show has a Principal, Secretary, Good Girl, Good Boy, Bad Boy, Bad Girl and an Exchange Student (among other characters).
WICF: Did you prepare by watching every John Hughes movie available (and do you have the same horrified reaction I do to Andie's prom dress?)
Michelle:I didn't need to watch the films again for the show because I know them like the back of my hand. My personal favorite is "Some Kind of Wonderful," because the two underdogs end up together, and because Elias Koteas plays one of the funniest movie tough guys ever. p.s. I still love you, Eric Stoltz! Don't tell my husband. [ed.: Whoops.]
And yes, I couldn't believe it when Molly Ringwald took Annie Potts's perfectly serviceable prom dress and turned it into that bizarre monstrosity. Why?
Elias Koteas in "Some Kind of Wonderful" (Michelle warns this is NSFW).
WICF: As a seasoned director, do you find it more challenging to do a show based on somebody else's work than one in which the audience/cast/crew might not have had any preconceived notions going into it?
Elyse: In some ways it's easier and in some ways it's difficult. Easy because they have a knowledge base when they come to the show and can figure out what you are trying to do really quickly: "Oh, the guy playing the good guy is going to get the girl, etc." Then our job is to just entertain and have fun with the characters/story. It's difficult to produce shows that are someone else' creation, since some audience members do have high expectations from the material they know. I think heightening his style and conventions made this show easy to do (adults being clueless, teens worrying about their virginity, the melodrama of being a teenager, etc).
WICF: John Hughes had a mix of easily pigeonholed gender roles — the prom queen, the male jock — and characters that could have been played by either gender-the outsider, the weirdo, the brain, the richie. Did you cast for gender? How'd you handle this dichotomy?
Elyse:I did in some ways, but he has equals in all of his movies combined. Molly Ringwald's character in "Pretty in Pink" (outcast, low income) is similar in some ways to Erik Stoltz's character in "Some Kind of Wonderful," etc. I think he does a good job of pointing out that anyone can be an outcast or misunderstood and in fact, most of us feel that way (even Molly Ringwald's character in "The Breakfast Club" is vulnerable). While seven of the actors play the same character throughout one show, three to four others play any character they want (male/female nerds, etc.). Also, we see the kind male/female and the bad boy/bad girl each week, so they play off each other.
WICF: How is it playing a character, and in a setting, that was so seminal in so many of our childhoods?
Michelle: I grew up in the '80s and saw all of the John Hughes high school movies in the theater. Since then, I've re-watched them multiple times. Not only did I respond to the teen angst in the films, but the terrific comedic performances by actors like Edie McClurg (Grace), Jeffrey Jones (Ed Rooney) and Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller) [all from "Ferris Bueller's Day Off"]. His movies meant a lot to me and revisiting them really brings back a good feeling for the cast and audience alike.
This is one of the happiest shows I've ever done. It's both nostalgic and funny, and has a feel-good ending every week. Plus I get the job of being the wacky Secretary who does and says whatever comes to mind, and play off the equally wacky Principal (played by John Shaughnessy and alternately by Kevin Harrington).
WICF: Are you one specific character, or a mish mosh?
Michelle:It was twenty years after first seeing "Ferris Bueller's Day" Off that I found out that Edie McClurg (Grace, the secretary) came from improv comedy. I had the pleasure of meeting her when she performed at WICF 2010 with her improv troupe, All Girl Revue. I also drove her to a TV interview at Fox and everyone at the station was just as excited to meet her as I was. Now I'm playing the secretary character in "John Hughes High," which is my homage to her and to Dody Goodman (my character's name is Dody), who played the secretary in "Splash," another great '80s movie (by Ron Howard).
Edie McClurg interview, Fox TV.
WICF:How has the audience response been when you've been on stage?
Michelle: The audience response has been terrific. The Principal and I come out and get them involved right from the start by addressing them as students at morning assembly. We get the character names and traits from the audience's real high school experiences. It's amazing how clear the high school archetypes are in their heads even 10, 20 or 30 years later. We often have typical teen film tropes in the show: montages, the big dramatic speech, the makeover, and the audience gets really enthusiastic to both recognize them and see them pulled off without the benefit of film editing.
"John Hughes High" ImprovBoston, 90 Prospect St., Cambridge, MA For tickets: www.improvboston.com Last show - TONIGHT, October 15, 2010, 8 p.m.
Cast: Michelle Barbera, John Shaughnessy, Dana Jay Bein, Marcelo Ilarmo, Pete Fenzel, Robert Woo, Kevin Harrington, Shannon Connolly, Katie Leeman, Hannah Foell and Mosie Senn-McNally. Director: Elyse Schuerman Assistant Director: Joanna French
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Miley Cyrus was spotted out and about in California on Friday (October 9th). The Can’t be Tamed hottie showed off some longer locks as she ran some errands in Toluca Lake dressed in some cut-off shorts and moccasin boots.
Miley has also just released a new music video for her song Who Owns My Heart. Be sure to take a look! Tags:Miley Cyrus, Miley Cyrus Gossips, Miley Cyrus images, Miley Cyrus news, Miley Cyrus Pics, Miley Cyrus wallpapers, Miley Cyrus Toluca lake,Mily Cyrus Whot owns my heart.
The WICF Comedy Podcast, official podcast of the Women In Comedy Festival has a new episode up for your listening pleasure! We took a hiatus for a few months, but we're back every two weeks from now on, so subscribe to the feed directly here or through iTunes, or just check it out right here on the Blog:
This week, Michelle Barbera (Co-Producer of the Women in Comedy Festival) interviews Michael Caine and John C. Reilly about the stunning recasting of the Batman franchise, comedians Tim Douglas and Dennis Hurley talk about sleeping on Anthony Clark's couch and appearing on the Daily Show, respectively, and the music of Olde English Comedy is featured.
Coming up in two week, Michelle Barbera and Maria Ciampa interview Harry Gordon of Harry Gordon Roasts America.
Also check out our older episodes, including Episode 5, which features an extended interview with Myq Kaplan, who was one of the five finalists on Last Comic Standing this summer and is currently on the Last Comic Standing Tour. Here's one of Myq's bits set to a terrific animation:
17-year-old songstress Miley Cyrus has been spotted having some fun at 21+ nightclub Voyeur just before Thursday, September 30 midnight, Us Magazine reported.
The "Can't Be Tamed" singer hit the Hollywood hotspot, which features topless dancers and S&M performances, in tight short denim and a black bare midriff.
An onlooker told the site that Miley "waved her hands in the air and danced seductively while shaking her hips" to David Guetta and DJ Khaled's songs. The onlooker added, "She was constantly smiling and seemed to be in great spirits."
Though underage Miley hit the 21+ nightclub, nothing too scandalous happened that night as the "Hannah Montana" star, who was surrounded by a security guard at all times, didn't have any alcohol. The source shared, "It was clear she knew she was being watched by others. No alcohol was in her presence the entire night."
The site further mentioned that Miley and his friends left the night club at about 1:30 on Friday morning, October 1. The source revealed, "Miley looked care-free and let loose with the girls. She looked happy and seemed to be taking advantage of her time out in the club."
After releasing her new album "Can't Be Tamed" in June this year, Miley had recently filmed her forthcoming movie "LOL: Laughing Out Loud" which is set to hit U.S. theaters sometime in 2011. Starring opposite Demi Moore, Ashley Greene and Thomas Jane, Miley filmed the project in some spots in Detroit and Paris. Tags:Miley Cyrus, Miley Cyrus Gossips, Miley Cyrus images, Miley Cyrus news, Miley Cyrus music albam, Miley Cyrus Photo, Miley Cyrus Pics, Miley Cyrus wallpapers,
