Russ Meneve
Rev. Bob Levy
Tammy Pescatelli
Buddy Flip
Larry the Cable Guy
David Cross
Sandra Bernhard
Bill Burr
Eddie Griffin
Cringe Humor
Last Comic Standing
Dean Obeidallah
Lamont Ferguson
Stan Chen
Ryan Stout
|
DVDs
Chondra Pierce - A
Piece of My Mind
Live Comedy from the
Laff House: Make
Room for Comedy
Redneck Comedy
Roundup 2 - Bill
Engvall, Jeff Foxworthy
and Ron Shock.
Southern Gents of
Comedy - Ron White,
Vic Henley, Steve
McGrew and Otis Lee
Crenshaw
Laffapalooza #6 -
Jamie Foxx, JB
Smoove, Gerald Kelly
and Wil Sylvince
Laffapalooza #7 - Rob
Stapleton, Loni Love,
Jo Koy and James
Hannah
Laffapalooza #8 -
Rodney Perry, Tony
Roberts, Earthquake
Paul Mooney -
Analyzing White
America
Russell Peters - Two
Concerts...On Ticket
Dave Attell - Insomiac
Tour Uncensored -
Dave Attell, Dane
Cook, Greg Giraldo and
Sean Rouse
Mike Epps -
Inappropriate Behavior
Jeff Cesario - You Can
Get a Hooker
Tomorrow Night
Kims of Comedy -
Steve Byrne, Bobby
Lee, Kevin Shea and
Dr. Ken
Alonzo Bodden - Tall,
Dark & Funny
Jim Gaffigan - Beyond
the Pale
CDs
Don Rickles - Speaks
Jackie Mason - The
World According to Me
Jake Johannsen - Jake
This Dot Com
Brad Montague -
Double Live
Eric Schwartz - Wimp
Pimp
Kathleen Madigan - In
Other Words
Drew Hastings - I'm
Just Like You
Jesse Joyce - Joyce to
the World
Marc Maron - Not Sold
Out
Mike Birbiglia - Two
Drink Mike
Tom Rhodes - Hot
Sweet Ass
Jimmy Shubert -
Pandemonium
Ron White - You Can't
Fix Stupid
Books
Oliver Double - Getting
the Joke: The Inner
Workings of Stand-Up
Comedy
Ed Driscoll - Spilled
Gravy: Advice on Love,
Life, and Acceptance
from a Man Uniquely
Unqualified to Give It
Brad Stine - Live From
Middle America: Rants
from a Red-State
Comedian
Sandi C. Shore - Sandi
Shore's Secrets to
Stand-Up Success: A
Complete Step-by-Step
Workbook
Judy Brown - The
Comedy Thesaurus
|
Movies
March 24
Health Inspector -
Larry the Cable Guy
and Bruce Bruce star in
the comedy with
support from Lisa
Lampanelli.
April 7
The Benchwarmers -
David Spade stars with
screenwriter/comedian,
Nick Swardson, Craig
Kilborn, Norm
MacDonald and Adam
Sandler in a comedy
about a three-player
baseball team that
challenges Little
League teams.
Phat Girlz - Mo'Nique
and Godfrey star in the
comedy about love and
acceptance.
April 14
Scary Movie 4 - DeRay
Davis co-stars in the
spoof comedy with
Anna Farris and Regina
Hall.
The Wild - Eddie Izzard
lends his voice in the
animated feature.
May 19
Over the Hedge - Garry
Shandling, Wanda
Sykes and Omid Djalili
lend their voices in the
animated movie
starring Bruce Willis,
who replaces Jim
Carrey as the lead
character.
May 26
Little Men - Keenan
Ivory Wayans directs
his younger brothers,
Shawn and Marlon
Wayans in a comedy
that co-stars Tracy
Morgan, Gary Owen
and John Witherspoon.
June 16
Wordplay - Jon Stewart
shares his passion for
crossword puzzles in
this documentary
featuring Bill Clinton,
Bob Dole and Ken
Burns.
June 23
Click - Adam Sandler
stars in the comedy
about a man who finds
a universal remote.
|
RUSS
MENEVE
WELCOME
TO THE
DARKNESS,
THERE IS NO
TURNING BACK
NOW!
|
As an aspiring actress, with some experience in radio,
stage, film, and stand up, but not a lot of training in any,
what can I do to get more opportunities to do
commercials?
The first step to getting opportunities to do commercials
is to meet agents and casting directors. There are
countless acting studios and actor's networks and
collectives that offer these opportunities at a reasonable
price. That's right...I'm suggesting that you take a class
and/or seminars where you pay money and meet agents
and casting directors. Some people frown on this, but with
so much competition for the attention of industry
professionals, you have to do what works best for you in
moving your career forward.
When I first came to New York, I took a commercial class. One of the selling points of
my class was that I could meet agents and casting directors one on one. As a result of
that I met three agents who I started to freelance with. That planted the seed and
created relationships that I still have today eight years after taking the class.
Do I need a manager to get commercial work?
I know I shouldn't answer a question with a question, but the question I have for you
is, "Do you need a manager at all?"
A manager is supposed to manage your career, guide you and help you achieve your
goals according to the game plan that you have collectively agreed upon. Usually, a
person is not in need of a manager unless their career is at a point where there's so
much going on that you can't manage it yourself. Since a manager is supposed to plan
your career, you also have to know where you're headed and trust that the manager will
look out for your best interest. I'm a firm believer that no one is going to look out for
you better than you.
Having said that, if you're looking for a manager, make sure that this is someone who
sees for you what you see for yourself when it comes to your career goals, because you
have to be happy with your career. Make sure you have realistic goals and that you're
on the same page.
For example, if you look like Chris Farley, don't expect to get the leading man role that
would go to Colin Farrell. I'm not saying that Chris Farley wasn't sexy, I'm just saying
know what you're working with. Finally, a manager is entitled to a percentage of
everything you make whether they actively helped you book it or not. The belief is that
the work that the manager has done is the reason why you're in the position to get the
work that you've booked even if the booking agent pursued you. So even if you get
called in directly by a casting agent and book a part, your manager will receive a cut.
The answer to your question is: you don't "need" a manager to get commercial work.
You don't even need a manager to find a commercial agent. To get any kind of work,
you have to be willing to do the footwork to create the opportunity. You only "need" a
manager if you're unwilling to work for yourself, in which case you should get a
manager as soon as possible so that you don't die alone in a tiny apartment waiting
for opportunity to knock on your door.
Learn to be funny
Joe Schmoe
Comedy School
Tuition:
$250 - $7500
plus 20 paying guests
|
I once heard a comedian say that the only comedy
school you need is to be onstage. Is taking comedy
classes a waste of money? I would like to know
before I spend $400 for the class.
I do believe that the stage is the best comedy
school, but I don't believe that it's the only comedy
school. There are several ways to learn how to be a
comedian and they all work together. Living life helps
one to learn how to be a comedian as well as talking
to other comedians of varying levels of experience and
also watching comedians perform.
Comedy classes are helpful for some people. Comedy
classes are what they need to bring them out of their
shell and motivate them to write and perform.
Many very successful comics started out by taking a class. Being a comedian requires
skills that we all have to learn in order to perform. Some people have the ability to get
started and find their way without a class, but we all have to learn it from somewhere.
You have to be honest with yourself, are you gonna have the nerve and the discipline
to figure it out on your own, or do you just need a little help.
Comedy classes don't teach you how to be funny. I've always believed that being funny
is something that you are and being a comedian is something that you learn. That's
what separates the guy who makes his friends laugh at a party from the person who
gets onstage and makes strangers laugh.
So do the research and find out what works best for you. Also find a class that doesn't
cost $400 dollars. If you just want to give somebody $400, I'll take your money and
give you a few lessons while I'm at it.
