Thursday, December 9, 2010

Will Franken at The Sacramento Comedy Spot

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A night of comedy with
Will Franken
With special guest Ray Molina

When: Friday, January 14th, 2011 @ 9pm
Where: Sacramento Comedy Spot, 1050 20th Street, Sacramento, CA 95811
WWW: http://saccomedyspot.com and  http://willfranken.com/
How Much: $15
Phone: (916) 402-4757

"What elevates Mr. Franken above your garden-variety comedian is an erudite wit and a highly developed sense of the absurd" - The New York Times
"Best Comedian" -SF Weekly
"Best alternative to psychedelic drugs" -SF Bay Guardian
"A demented, one-man Monty Python" -Ars Nova

Credits
Just for Laughs Festival in Montreal- Alternative Show and Best of the Fest
HBO Comedy Festival- 1st Runner-up for The Andy Kaufman Award
The World Stands Up, BBC tv appearance, London

Will Franken's strange life story is the kind that standup comedians dream of having and independent filmmakers dream of concocting.

A brilliant and hilarious youngster with a penchant for psychedelic drugs, Franken came head to head with a tyrannical father and a stiff Midwestern hometown before fleeing both to seek fame and fortune in New York City -- earning an Associate’s degree in Acting and a Master's degree in English en route. Franken's Big Apple existence was also marked by highs and lows, from nailing a lucrative gig as the mascot of online library Questia, to teaching social studies and English at a middle school in Harlem. He was a fixture in Greenwich Village’s alternative theatre scene.

The bumpy life continued as Franken, broke but determined to make a name for himself in comedy, came to San Francisco from New York by way of North Carolina -- with $300 to his name and no housing or employment prospects. Between spending nights in his car at the Berkeley Marina and days looking for typist work, Franken hit every open mic show and poetry slam he could find. In less than three years, his determination paid off as he quickly built a solid reputation as one of San Francisco's most original comedic acts.

Franken established himself as a San Francisco cult figure and was selected “Best Comedian” by SF Weekly and “Best Alternative to Psychedelic Drugs” by the San Francisco Bay Guardian. Tribe.net named him one of the Top 25 People to Watch Nationwide. His solo show Good Luck With It debuted at the New York Fringe Festival to rave reviews by the New York Times, and had an extended run at San Francisco’s Marsh Theater.

“Madonna reinvents herself every year. I reinvent myself every two minutes," Franken says. You can see that principle at work in both his comedy and his life: Always keep moving because things are bound to get -- in the words of a San Francisco Bay Guardian article about Franken -- more "bizarre and fabulous."

And opening the show:
Ray Molina is a comedian's comedian. He is one of the sharpest writers on the scene today and his deadpan delivery is perfect for his often dark subject matter.

Friday, December 3, 2010

Ha Ha Heathens at The Steve Allen Theatre

Atheists United Los Angeles Presents...
Ha Ha Heathens
New Year's Celebration

Who: Keith Lowell Jensen, Troy Conrad, Betsy Salkind and Trevor Hill
When: December 31, 2010. 8pm
Where: The Steve Allen Theatre, 4773 Hollywood Blvd. Los Angeles CA 90027
How Much: $15 Proceeds to benefit Atheists United, Los Angeles
More Information and advanced tickets: http://atheistsunited.org
Facebook Event Page: http://tinyurl.com/2gxjsqw

An all atheist comedy show. You probably won't be struck by lightning if you attend. You definitely won't be made to sing, kneel, pray or tithe as this godless batch of funny folks serve up sacred cow, well done. People of all faiths are welcome and, so long as they bring their senses of humor, sure to have a good time.
Ha Ha Heathens has played before sold out audiences in San Francisco and Sacramento and is now making it's way to Los Angeles for the first time..


MEET THE HEATHENS:
Click on photos for hi-res. Contact if larger images are needed

Keith Lowell Jensen
Best known as the atheist comedian on the popular Coexist? Comedy Tour, Keith Lowell Jensen was also recently seen on Lopez Tonight where performed in a skit with George Lopez and Chris Rock. He also appeared on Spike TV's Manswers as a panhandling expert, proudly displaying his "Atheist, will convert for food" cardboard sign and asking a busload of school children to hand over their lunch money. Jensen's CD "To The Moon; Live at Luna's" was named one of the best comedy CDs of 2009 by The Serious Comedy Site and his recently released documentary film "Why Lie; I Need A Drink" screened at theatres from New York to California before being released on DVD this past November.
www.AtheistComedian.com


Troy Conrad
Troy Conrad has no fear of making the controversial into comedy and standing for a rational world. A writer for The Jay Mohr Roast on NBC, and a guest on The Stephanie Miller Show, Sirius/XM Radio, and Pacifica Radio, his work has also been featured on The Thom Hartmann Program and The Young Turks. One of the few writers to complete the writing programs at Second City Los Angeles Conservatory, iO West, and Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre. He has performed at comedy clubs throughout the U.S., and festivals including Montreal, Dublin, Philadelphia, Calgary, and Vancouver, and Minneapolis. After performing with Arizona’s professional Shakespeare company, Southwest Shakespeare, he moved to Los Angeles not for sitcom fame, but for the good soil to grow good projects and develop as an artist.

His live DVD, “The Comedy Jesus Show,” is available at stores throughout North America. A former fundamentalist and door-to-door Bible salesman, Troy has an inside perspective on the dangers of religion and obedience and reaches a tremendous number of people. The videos he has produced, directed, or appeared in, such as “Intervention: iPhone Apps” have been viewed over 10 million times. He is also the producer of The David Feldman Comedy Podcast on iTunes, the Funny or Die series, “Runyon: Just Above Sunset,” and the upcoming Howard Bloom project “The Truth at Any Price.” Rational Entertainment will soon be releasing the DVD of “Inside the Decider,” a deep and honest version of George W. Bush’s memoir “Decision Points.”
www.rationalentertainment.com

Betsy Salkind
The Boston Globe said, "there are countless ways to make someone laugh, and Betsy Salkind knows most of them. Want sarcastic wit? Political humor? Or maybe just a good animal mime? Salkind can pull all that off and more.” Best known as 'Squirrel Lady,' Betsy has appeared on "Girls Night Out," "Last Comic Standing," and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno."
She was a staffwriter for SATURDAY NIGHT SPECIAL and ROSEANNE, and is author of "More Than Once Upon A Time" and "Betsy's Sunday School Bible Classics (children's books for adults) as well as the blog "Ethel's Law." Betsy's Sunday School Bible Classics is an Award Finalist for the 2010 USA Book Awards (humor).
www.BetsySalkind.com

Trevor Hill
Trevor Hill was a favorite at the San Francisco "Ha Ha Heathens" when the godless comedy show visited his hometown earlier this year. The young comedian draws on his personal life in a way that is charming and hilariously honest including his observations made while  traveling to the world's most spiritual places, the middle east and Las Vegas.
We feel most fortunate having this San Francisco Bay Area favorite on loan to us for the night.

Keith Lowell Jensen

Best known as the atheist comedian on the popular Coexist? Comedy Tour, Keith Lowell Jensen was also recently seen on Lopez Tonight where he performed in a skit with George Lopez and Chris Rock. He also appeared on Spike TV's Manswers as a panhandling expert, proudly displaying his "Atheist, will convert for food" cardboard sign and asking a busload of school children to hand over their lunch money.

Jensen's CD "To The Moon; Live at Luna's" was named one of the best comedy CDs of 2009 by The Serious Comedy Site and his recently released documentary film "Why Lie; I Need A Drink" screened at theatres from New York to California before being released on DVD this past November.

In the past decade the comedian has performed at top clubs on the west coast, east coast and when it couldn't be helped in those horrifying places in between the coasts. Festival bookings include The San Francisco Sketch Fest, The Seattle Sketch Fest, The Marsh Comedy Festival and The Sacramento All Sketch Comedy Festival.

Current dates:



Every Wednesday unless otherwise noted: Comedy Night at Luna's Cafe, Sacramento CA

www.AtheistComedian.com

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Comedians With Disabilities Act

EatEmUpYum Shows presents...
The Comedians With Disabilities Act
A very special comedy show

When: Monday, February 1st, 2011
Where: Punch Line, 444 Battery Street, San Francisco, CA 94111-3228
WWW: http://www.punchlinecomedyclub.com/
Tickets: On sale soon at http://www.punchlinecomedyclub.com/ (18 and over, two drink minimum)
How Much: $15
Phone: (310) 692-4495

When "Wheelchair Comedian" Micheal O'Connell saw Steve Danner, a little person, performing at a comedy club his first thought was, "Damn, if we could find a blind guy we'd make a hell of a team." Soon after he began hearing about a comedian named Eric Mee who is not only blind, but who loves to crack wheelchair jokes. The three comedians enlisted producer/comedian Keith Lowell Jensen of The Coexist Comedy Tour and the debut performance of The Comedians With Disabilities Act took place on November 26th, 2010 at The Sacramento Comedy Spot.

Seated in the sold out crowd were blind people (the seeing eye dogs were not charged admission nor required to meet any two drink minimums), people in wheelchairs (who did not get a discount despite providing their own chairs but who were allowed to enter even after it became standing room only) and little people plus folks with other assorted disabilities and some who suffered an embarrassing lack of any apparent disabilities. One woman who had lost her sight eight years earlier took advantage of this opportunity to make her first solo excursion out of her house and back again since going blind. The show was inspiring and touching which is pretty amazing considering it mostly consisted of three very funny young men capping on each other and their audience mercilessly.

The gang is now ready to take the show on the road. With Jensen acting as emcee The Comedians With Disabilities Act hits The Punch Line San Francisco on February 1st at 8pm featuring:

Michael O'Connell - Wheels
"I use the term wheelchair comedian because I'm tired of hearing the giggles when I tell people I do stand up."
Michael has appeared on The Jerry's Kids MDA Telethon and on the Dennis Miller Radio Show. He has toured the west coast from Seattle to San Diego performing with some of the best in the business including Bobby Slayton and Will Durst.

Steve Danner - Pot o' Gold
"Objects on stage are closer than they appear."
Steve is the road warrior of the group, hitting stages darn near every night in every part of the state. Steve answers the questions that everyone wants to ask but won't, unless they're really drunk.

Eric Mee - Cane and Shades
"People watch a blind guy like they watch Nascar. They're just waiting for the wreck."
Eric lost his eyesight at age 19. He has taken every opportunity to make the best of his situation and found the most surefire way to keep his friends and family from feeling pity for him was to make them laugh. They laughed so much it made him wonder if he should try stand up comedy. Lucky for us he did.

Click on picture for full size image. credit all photos to Cynthia E. Jones.
The gentleman with the glasses and cane is Eric Mee, in the chair is Michael O'Connell and the goatee belongs to Steve Danner.