Hey, ladies!

Here are few things I find exciting in the world of "Women in Comedy."

Thanks to my friend Erin "Gigglechick" Bennett, web designer to the comedy stars, I discovered that Maria Bamford has dedicated an entire page of her web presence to "Funny Women Who Are Comedians." Further proof of her awesomeness. As if that wasn't already made abundantly clear by the fact that she created a free, downloadable Christmas special for her fans that you can watch here on Punchline Magazine's Vimeo channel. (I'm gonna watch today! Yay!) Thank you to Dylan Gadino for knowing that some of us have computers powered by hamsters held together with duct tape (yes, I taped the hamsters) and are thus unable to do things like "download."

In other news, Anjelah Johnson's one-hour special, "That's How We Do It," aired last night on Comedy Central.



Again, Punchline Magazine has the scoop here with this interview by Emma Kat Richardson wherein she asked Anjelah where she sees herself fitting in with the larger picture of the current comedy landscape. Anjelah's response:

Where do I see myself fitting in? I think I’ve actually managed to pave my own way into doing things totally differently, so I don’t know how exactly I fit in, or maybe it’s something totally different. Especially with the age of YouTube and things like that, people are doing things different nowadays, as opposed to these big headliners who have been doing this for years; they’ve really just been touring forever, doing comedy clubs and colleges and things like that, and working their way up to this headlining place.

Whereas myself, I’ve only been doing comedy for five years, and I have my one-hour special coming out soon, and that’s something I couldn’t have have planned or dreamed of on my own, but it’s the way that things are working out for me. It’s the cards that I’ve been dealt. So, I don’t know exactly how I fit in to this mold that’s already there, or maybe it’s something new. I don’t know.

I think she brings up an essential truth here about the business of show: most of us will not be able to follow some kind of pre-determined path to success. Entertainment is not like law or medicine, not only because it's not nearly as respectable, but also because there are not logical steps one can take or tests one can pass that legitimize a career. I can think of several great examples of people who've struck out on their own, circumventing the "system" and ultimately ending up in the center of it as a result.

My friend Victor Varnado's film "The Awkward Kings" will air on Comedy Central in February. He didn't wait for Viacom execs to approach him; he gathered the equipment, a handful of great comedians (Eric Andre, Hannibal Buress, Marina Franklin and Baron Vaughn) and made a movie. We've heard this story before, with the likes of Juno and Once. But now comedians are proving indie moxie can work outside of Hollywood, too.

There are always excuses readily available about why a career can't work and why it's too hard to live your dreams, but in the end, persevering despite those challenges will be the only thing that sets the men apart from the mice, the women apart from the worms.

Ars Nova Holiday Party, "Lemme See" Shoot and Our Hit Parade!

As pre-Holiday weeks go, last week was an awesome one. On December 12th, I got to perform with Shockwave and Soce at the Ars Nova Cast Party. Ars Nova is one of my favorite places in the entire world, and working with them this year has been a thrill and a delight. Here's a collage of some fun pics I took that night:



The next day, Soce, Shawn Hollenbach, Anya Garrett and I shot my next hip-hop symphonic funny timez video jam, "Lemme See," which will have its WORLD PREMIERE at my new monthly comedy event Splurge! at Happy Ending.



Post-shoot glow!



And finally, Wednesday night, December 16th, I had the tremendous fortune to be a part of what TimeOut New York just called the best cabaret show in the city, Our Hit Parade. This was my second time doing the show, and it was incredible. Joe's Pub is a spectacular place, and Bridget Everett, Kenny Mellman and Neal Medlyn curate and perform the shit out of it.

Without further ado, here's my rendition of 2007's Timbaland/One Republic hit, "Apologize," with Shockwave on mouth drums and Kenny Mellman on piano. The lyrics to the rap are by Lil Wayne and Bun B and come from this excellent remix I found on YouTube. Enjoy!

Oh hai!

Oh! Hey there! It's you! The Internet. So nice to see you! You look thinner. I do, too? Well, thanks for noticing. I did tone up a bit, after finishing my 45for45 Challenge. No, I didn't really blog about it because I got super busy. Yeah! I've been up to lots of stuff, including continuing my yoga practice. (Amen.)

Let's see... where to begin? Well, the last time we talked was November 3rd. But there was some stuff that happened before that I wanted to tell you about. So maybe I should treat this as a 4th quarter recap, via photos, natch. A mix of the personal and professional, like my life.

October 12, 2009
Adriana's 4th Birthday
Party Central, USA

(Yes, that is a shout-out to the sketch group of the same name.)

My darling daughter is 4 years old! Isn't she lovely?



October 15, 2009
Guest-hosting for Rachel Kramer Bussel
In the Flesh at Happy Ending



Here's a cute pic of me and some of my favorite comedy peeps, from L to R: Shayna Ferm, Me, Marty Beckerman, Shawn Hollenbach, Margot Leitman, Dan Hirshon, Mindy Raf, Megan Carpentier. "In the Flesh" is an erotic reading series, so in RKB's absence, everyone told funny, sexy stories or sexy, funny stories. It was such a blast. You can check the footage on YouTube here. And here's Shayna Ferm and I closing out the show with a freestyle duet!



Mad love for the fans at Table One, pictured here with Margot and I.

October 17, 2009
How To Be Post-Racial
at Bowery Poetry Club

I took some fabulous pictures of my dear friend Elon James White's show featuring my pals Sara Benincasa, Lizz Winstead, Adrienne Iapalucci, Hassan Madry with special guest Margaret Cho, but they're all on his Facebook account. Instead, I offer you this photo of Maragret and I taken with my camera:



Hero. I saw Margaret at The Apollo a few years back with my Chicks and Giggles co-producer Nichelle Stephens, but there's nothing like seeing a comic you love in an intimate room. Margaret was super funny and lovely.

Sunday, October 18
Out of the Darkness Walk
Chelsea

On Sunday, October 18th I participated in the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention's Out of the Darkness walk in honor of my grandparents. I can still take donations until December 31, so if you'd care to do some holiday giving to an important and under served charity, feel free to contribute $5, $10 or $20 here.



Wet, but happy.



I saw several inspiring people that day, but none so much as the parents with their adorably quirky teen daughter who was walking in honor of having survived her own suicide attempt. There was something truly remarkable about this young girl, braces on her teeth, rainbows all over her clothes, that reminded me about how simultaneously fragile and strong we all are. I think comedy, despite the fact that it often (and sometimes cruelly) makes fun of weakness, is really the essence of strength and fragility combined. It asks you to bear your vulnerability in a fierce way. Tragedy plus time...

October is a lovely month in NYC, and I took some fun arty shots as I walked the streets, too.



1. Houston Street, 2. Canal Street Birds, 3. 5th Street Lizards, 4. Canal Street Bubbles



1. Sunshine, 2. 5th Street Pony, 3. 5th Street Satan, 4. Thai Offering

October 31
Halloween





My little kitty and I made some delicious cupcakes in celebration of the spookiest time of the year. Here's some video footage for Shockwave, who is her biggest fan.



November 8, 2009



Taken on the Lower East Side, after recording my upcoming video release "Lemme See" with Shawn Hollenbach and Soce the Elemental Wizard. I also had the pleasure of performing at the second "Mommy Needs a Cocktail" event, presented by Momasphere. I've met a lot of great women at the first two events, including Faye Rogaski of Social Sklz, a program that teaches these kidz today how to improve their face-to-face communication and manners.

November 14, 2009

Shot DAMN (You Wish) with Tom McCaffrey, Mara Herron, directed/edited by Anya Garrett. Video released November 25, 2009. YouTube chose it as the Comedy Spotlight and it was the number one comedy video in 22 countries on December 3, 2009. In case you haven't seen it, please enjoy it here. Or on the Montreal Comedy Festival's Just for Laughs channel here.

November 25, 2009
...was also...
Thanksgiving Day





Two of my faves from our familial celebration. I have the cutest turkey tot on the block.

December 4, 2009
BEATdown at UCB
Champ.



I beat Chaz Kangas (pictured above in the blue tee), a 23-year-old upstart from NYU who makes a very formidable competitor. Go here and download his 2009 Christmas Rap Megamix for free!

***

I think I'll end my recap here. I'll hit you with another post including pics from the Ars Nova Holiday Party, Our Hit Parade and the "Lemme See" shoot. Video premieres at Splurge! at Happy Ending, January 8th at 8 pm. See you there!

XO,
ckc