This morning I shot an elephant that was wearing my pajamas

Posted by Jeff on Sep 7th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

You might’ve heard (or maybe not, but who cares) that I got accepted into the Comedy Bar “PRO” stand-up class.
This means either that Comedy Bar believes in my stand-up potential more than I do, or that it’s really not that hard to get into the PRO class.

Anyway.
I’ve been doing this class since July, and now the final class showcase is happening in less than two weeks on the Comedy Bar mainstage.

I’ll be performing a set about the horrible, out-of-control toddler who lives in the apartment upstairs from me. There will be a couple of digs at the Ford brothers thrown in too. I wanted to throw in a cannibalism joke (the same one from my set in the Advanced showcase), but was advised against it this time.

Tickets available at the link on the right sidebar.

If you can’t make that night, but still want to watch me attempt stand-up, you can catch a sneak preview of the show this week at Hot Mic, in the basement theatre, Tuesday the 10th at 8:30 p.m.
This show includes a “bucket” open mic as well. I don’t recommend putting your name in early, because you’ll be on the bottom and they pick only twelve. Trust me. I learned this from hard experience.

(Both of these events are at Comedy Bar’s East location, 2800 Danforth Avenue, at Danforth and Dawes.)

And I expect I’ll be performing at (maybe even co-hosting) more Hot Mics in October, so keep an eye out.

Now. If you want to get in the mood with some real comedy, here’s a bit of classic Bill.

See you in the funny papers, Boo.

What’s the deal with Comedy Bar? I’ve heard of a crowbar, but this is ridiculous!

Posted by Jeff on Jul 6th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

My class showcase for my Advanced stand-up class at Comedy Bar is this Wednesday.

 

 

I’ll be doing a bit about how I still don’t know how to talk like grownups. There may or may not be a cannibalism joke in there. More likely may.

Tickets available via the link on the right sidebar.

Now. If you want to get in the mood with some real comedy, here’s a bit of Dylan.

 

 

Toodles, yo.

Saturday in the Salon / It isn’t yet the Fourth of July

Posted by Jeff on May 26th, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Another Zoom gig coming up at the end of this week: I’m kicking off June with a virtual reading at Saturday Literary Salon, hosted by Dane Ince.

I’ll be reading from my novel Hate Story, with a little bit extra, and there will be an open mic, so you can share your own work with an international audience.
The Zoom link will be available on this web page.

In other news, I’m currently continuing my stand-up classes at Comedy Bar Danforth, and there will be a couple of live class shows in July.
I’m still not one hundred percent sure that stand-up comedy is something I want to pursue seriously (or if it is, I probably should’ve done it twenty-five or thirty years ago), but I’m enjoying the classes and meeting a few interesting people. You can see me at the occasional local stand-up open mic, where I’m often the only performer whose material isn’t about sex or scatology. (And always the only one promoting a book.)

I’ll leave you with the most infamous Thomas the Tank Engine episode, for no particular reason. I think Henry deserved his punishment, don’t you?

Cheerio.

The Colour of Magic Theatre

Posted by Jeff on Apr 22nd, 2024 in News | 0 comments

Quick note to let you know (if anybody even reads my website) that I’m featuring once again at Magic Theatre Poetry Reading on Zoom, next Sunday at 9:30 a.m. EST.
The reason it starts so early is that the host (and the live version of the series) is based in Thailand. So the start time is also 2:30 p.m. in the U.K. There’s an open mic following my set, so feel free to share your own writing with the folks.

Facebook event page linked on the right sidebar, complete with Zoom link info.

In the meantime… I’ve been dabbling in stand-up comedy. For better or for worse.
I’ve completed the Second City stand-up classes and am soon going to start the Advanced class at Comedy Bar East. And I’ve appeared at a few open mics here and there. So far, it’s not going badly enough to quit.
Here’s a video of my Second City Stand-Up 2 class show on February 25. See if you can guess which part is a ripoff of one of my poems.

See ya. Don’t take any wooden igloos.

Every girl’s crazy ’bout a Sharp Dressed Words

Posted by Jeff on Feb 22nd, 2024 in News | 0 comments

I know this is short notice, but…

I’m going to be one of the vendors at the second annual Sharp Words book fair in Hamilton this Saturday.

I’ll be sharing the venue with many small and independent presses. If you’re in or near Steeltown on the weekend, drop by, say hi, maybe even buy a copy of Hate Story if you don’t have it yet.
More information at the link above and on the right sidebar.

Also… if you’ve been following my brave attempts at stand-up comedy since last summer:
I’ve been taking the second Second City stand-up class for the past several weeks, and my final class show is this Sunday. Tickets linked at the listing on the right sidebar. I don’t know if I’m supposed to be inviting folks publicly like this (it’s mainly intended for family and friends of the class members)… but screw it, you’re probably not even reading this anyway.

Now, here’s a cute young’un watching Psycho for the first time.

See you soon, crocodile.