Chicago-based sketch duo Rabbit Rabbit return to Stage773 after a well-received sketchfest showcase, and will once again hand the reins over to acting veterans Christian and Antoine, for an exclusive masterclass in acting. Rabbit Rabbit put me in touch with these two visionaries for an exclusive interview before
Read MorePaul Thomas safety PSA Premiere
Local comic/sketch dude/pretend pedo Paul Thomas was kind enough to send over this short public notice/motivational clip for an exclusive premiere here on the site. If you haven't already caught Paul's solo sketch show, Comedogenic, you have one chance left: he'll be performing it at 10pm on Thursday, January 3rd as a part of Chicago Sketch Fest at Stage 773, before decommissioning it for good (or at least within the Chicago city limits).
Here's 5 shows worth checking out
There's a lot of great shows coming up in the next handful of days. These are just a few of them:
Tonight (Wednesday October 10th)
Timothy O’Tooles. 9pm. $5 advance/$10 doors.
CYSK is probably the most professionally run and consistent weekly standup show there is. This is Fritz’s last week in town before moving to Los Angeles to become a very famous standup comedian (Kallas, the evening’s host, had a solid point about this phenomenon) and the promise of a special guest is not to be ignored, they’re known for rolling out surprise national acts on the regular.
Tomorrow night (Thursday October 11th)
Looseleaf Lounge. 7:30pm. $5 suggested donation.
Produced by Caitlin Bergh, The Funny Story Show is a place for folks from the storytelling and standup comedy scenes can come together to share true, personal stories. Bergh’s an aggressively honest comic, whose storytelling chops are unmatched on the standup scene, which makes her the perfect person to run this sort of show. Cason, the evening's headliner, is a Moth GrandSLAM champion and a staff writer for WBEZ's Paper Machete show
The Lincoln Lodge. 8:30pm. $5.
This is what it’d be like if open mics were more like showcases. 17 very funny people will perform a hot 5 minutes for a room full of agency scouts and regular folks. Consider this local comedy speed dating, it’s a perfect way to get exposed to a lot of personalities at once, a few of whom will probably get some very good news as a result of this show!
Friday night (October 12th)
Stage 773. 8pm. $15.
Two-man sketch troupe Urlakis & Cusick returns to Stage 773 after last year’s self-titled revue, which was praised for its relentless, cerebral dark humor. Both dudes have a strong sketch background, having worked, directed, and taught at The Annoyance, Second City, ComedySportz, and WCIU-TV. The show runs weekly through November 16th.
ComedySportz. Midnight. $10.
As mentioned before, James Fritz is moving to LA next week, and this show serves as a final farewell to the best comedian and podcaster on the scene. Produced by ComedyofChicago.com, this late night show has one of those lineups that will look INSANE to a specific type of nerd in three to five years.
Top 10 Rejected Late Live Show Jokes
The fifth season of The Late Live Show is coming to a close this weekend, after another wildly successful run. One of my favorite portions of the show is also the loosest: when Joe Kwaczala and Joe McAdam, host and cohost, read off some of the week's rejected jokes while the musical guests set up. These jokes are puerile, bizarre, and occasionally prefaced by "oh god, I can't read this..."
In honor of the Late Live Show's season finale, I asked the writers to submit a list of their favorite rejected jokes from this season, which you can read after this intro, provided by Joe McAdam.
The Late Live Show Season 5 finale is this Saturday, October 6th, at 8pm at Stage 773. Click here to preorder tickets.
"Each week at The Late Live Show, 10 writers submit jokes for the monologue, typically 6 of which make it to the show. Dozens of jokes are thrown away because they're awful, immature, crude, mean, too "penis-y", lame, not funny, way too weird or, (more often than any of those other reasons) there are too many dog jokes on the show already. So here's a list of 10 crappy jokes that never made it."
Read More