Being a Comedian for more than 20 years now, I can honestly say that I have performed in the worst places and the best places in the country. I will concentrate on the best places because I believe comedy should be a happy event and not a downer. What makes a Comedy Club fun and successful is the proper setting. It is all about atmosphere, seating arrangement and most of all, the intimacy factor. Comedy is an intimate medium that always works best in smaller venues of 400 seats or less. The bigger the venue, the less the crowd is part of the experience. I believe that Comedy Clubs and Small Theaters are the best, especially for a crowd worker like myself. With all that being said, here is my list:
My Favorite Comedy Venues Of All Time 1. The Original Improv(NYC, NY)- This club was the Grandaddy of all Comedy Clubs. It was the first and truly the best. It was nice and small, about 100 seats, intimate, and had such an aura about it. When you were on that stage, you knew that the likes of George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Lenny Bruce and anyone else you can think of in Comedy, had performed there before you. What a great place it was. I miss it dearly and the owner, Silver Friedman, was great to me.
2. Rascal’s Comedy Club(Ocean Township, NJ)- This became my home base for many years and it was the perfect Comedy Club. It held around 225 seats comfortably and there wasn’t a bad one in the house. It was a rectangular room with the stage on one of the long walls, so every seat was close to the stage.
3. Rascal’s Comedy Club(West Orange, NJ) – This was a great 400 seat club that was downstairs of one terrific restaurant (I miss the Chicken Francais)and was the Flagship of The Rascal’s chain. We used to do a Comedy TV Show there every Thursday night called ‘Rascal’s Comedy Hour’ and it was so much fun. Being a headliner myself, I never get to see other headliners unless we are all on the same bill doing a benefit of some kind. But with the TV show, I was the Musical Director and writer for the show and I got to see everyone that came through each week. I really had a blast and the show lasted for about 9 years.
4. The Strand Theater(Lakewood, NJ) – What a terrific landmark and a great place to perform since they renovated it about 7 years ago. The acoustics are unbelievable and it is just the right size for a theater to perform comedy in.
5. Uncle Vinny’s/Ferrara’s(Point Pleasant, NJ) – This is a new club and has only been open for about 1 and a half years. It reminds me of The Original Improv with it’s intimacy of only around 100 seats. It’s a great restaurant also and the owners, Dino & Jerry, are a pleasure to work for.
6. The Comedy Stop at The Trop(Atlantic City, NJ) – What a terrific place. It is like a mini theater of around 250 seats with all of the casino showroom aura that a comedian loves to perform in. The room has since moved to the new Quarter Wing upstairs and is a little bigger and even nicer than before. Great atmosphere.
7. Catch A Rising Star at The Hyatt(Princeton, NJ) Another perfect setting for comedy. Only around 180 seats and nice and close to the stage. All views have no obstructions whatsoever and it is located in one beautiful hotel.
8. Penn’s Peak(Jim Thorpe, PA) – This is one of the most unique places that I ever performed in. It looks like a giant 1800 seat chalet on top of a mountain and that’s basically what it is. I generally don’t like large venues like this but they have large screens everywhere for all to see that aren’t close and their sound system is second to none. Plus there are balconies all around the stage. So even though it is 1800 seats, 1000 of them are still pretty close to the stage. Definitely a performers dream venue!
9. Viva DeBris(Syracuse, NY) – I truly miss this place. It looked like a little theater bowl of around 200 seats and they were all close. There was also around 20 seats that were right around the stage. No place to hide for those patrons. I also miss the owner, friend of mine and fellow comedian & magician, Joe DeLion. It broke his heart, and a lot of comedians’, when the Hotel Syracuse was sold and forced it to close down.
10. The Improv on Melrose(Hollywood, CA) – A great club with lots of show biz aura. As a patron, you never know who is going to walk in and do a set and as an entertainer, you never know who is going to be in the audience. One of the great Comedy Clubs of all time.
On my list for honorable mentions are Jokers Wild of New Haven, CT, Catch A Rising Star at Resorts in Atlantic City, NJ, The Brass Rail of Sekonk, MA, East Side Comedy Club of Huntington, NY, Tracy’s Comedy Club at The Bowman’s in Carney, MD, The Comedy Stop At The Tropicana in Las Vegas, NV, Wisecracker’s Comedy Club in Scranton & Wilkes-Barre, PA, Konkoma Komedy of Ronkonkoma, NY, The Music Box Theater at The Borgata in Atlantic City, NJ, Zanies in Chicago, IL and the College of DuPage in IL, that had the perfect state of the art theater I ever saw at a school.
Now there are surely many, many more fantastic venues for Comedy to be held but these are my favorites and if you ever find yourselves in those areas and you need a laugh, don’t hesitate to walk in and take a seat. You’re guaranteed to have a good time and if you don’t, it won’t be because the comics didn’t try their hardest for you. Thanks for reading, from THE COMEDY TORNADO!!
By: Paul Venier
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 21st, 2010. 
Alright, I have to say that laughing makes the world go round. Me, myself I love to laugh and I love to make other people laugh. That is why I thought that today I would share with you some of my favorite movies. The movies that I am going to recommend to you here are ones that have made me seriously laugh, I mean can’t breathe laughing here people. I am sick of these movies that have been coming out lately that show every scene that will make you laugh in the movie and the rest of the film is filled with b line jokes that will barely make you smile. I have been too disappointed lately on the movies that I thought were going to be awesome that ended up completely disappointing me in the end. I have seen a lot of movies so I thought that I would try and save some of you out there who are looking for a laugh, some movies that will be guaranteed to ***** your sh*t up! Alright, so here goes:
1. The Hangover
2. Tommy Boy
3. Billy Madison
4. Forgetting Sarah Marshall
5. The Goods “Live Free, Sell Hard”
6. Big Daddy
7. LIAR LIAR
8. Old School
9. National Lampoons Christmas Vacation & Vegas Vacation
10. Super Troopers 11. Robin Hood: Men in Tights
12. What About Bob
13. Taladega Nights
14. 40 Year Old Virgin
15. Office Space
16. The Heartbreak Kid (This one’s for the ladies)
17. House Bunny (another one’s for the ladies)
18. Superbad
19. Bad Santa
20. Napoleon Dynamite
21. The Sweetest Thing (Another for the Ladies)
22. Dodgeball
23. Happy Gilmore
24. The Hot Chick
25. Wedding Crashers
26. The New Guy
27. Meet the Parents
28. White Chicks
29. American Pie
30. Knocked Up
31. Finding Nemo
32. Saved
33. Shallow Hal
34. Zoolander
35. Nothing to Lose
36. Superstar
37. Van Wilder
38. Waiting
39. Jeff Dunham – Spark of Insanity DVD
40. Wet Hot American Summer
41. Wayne’s World
42. Dazed and Confused
43. Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
44. The Big Lebowski
45. There’s Something About Mary
46. Anchorman
47. The Proposal (This movies is not hilarious as a whole, but there is one scene that is just HILARIOUS! All I will say is that Sandra bullock and Ryan Reynolds have accidental ***** collision will ***** YOU UP!)
48. Bruno (Warning, there is a lot of *** humor in this one so if you can’t handle those kind of jokes, this one is not for you. If only my boyfriend had that warning before we watched the film.
49. The Ugly Truth (Another ***** Flick)
50. Stranger than Fiction
Now I know there are A LOT more funny movies floating around in the world today that aren’t on this list, but these are all the ones I could think of for the moment. Please feel free to add the movies I missed in the comments section if you would like. These are just some of my favorite funny movies. These are not in any kind of order, they are just listed in the order I remembered them in. I hope you enjoy them and they give you a really good hard laugh:).
By: Katy Anderson
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 21st, 2010.
Comedy hypnotists are certainly gaining importance as no party can be considered complete without them.
They are gaining popularity for a number of reasons such as:
• Innovative form of entertainment. People are tired of the same old parties and want something new. This is exactly what they are offered by comedy hypnotists. A unique and unconventional form of entertainment is always going to grab your guest’s attention and keep them hooked.
• Fun and genuine entertainment. People have begun to realize the huge amount of fun and entertainment all rolled into one that comedy hypnotists can bring in great measures to the party.
• Great social skills. These hypnotists are several notches better than the other entertainers around. The reason for this is the fabulous social and interpersonal skills that they have which enable them to be able to relate to their audience. They make the persons involve feel like stars and shift the focus on to them. The knowledge of hypnosis and the years of study and experience hold them in good stead out here. They are great at rapport building.
• They can change the environment to one of fun and laughter. Comedy hypnotists with their bag full of tricks can instantaneously change the environment and add life to the party. They will go on to involve your guests and make the entertainment focus on them by asking them to volunteer.
• Real and right entertainment. The kind of entertainment that they provide is unique and never seen before kind. Your guests, most of them will be experiencing it for the first time and this will make it all the more exciting for them.
Go on and bring this most amazing and enlightening form of entertainment to your party and watch the party flow.
By: Michael O'Neill
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Read more on 5 Reasons For Comedy Hypnotists Becoming Popular…
Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 21st, 2010.
Comedies of films and TV series TV can arouse people to jeer at ugly and funny things and to approve the normal life and good dreams through exaggeration, ingenious structures and humorous lines. The comedies are fond of scathing satire on ugly and backward things with exaggerated expression techniques to stress on the conflicts between them and normal things. What’s more, the final results of comedy movies and comedy TV are often easy and perfect.
Many people are fond of comedies and humor in it, and there are some people who study the expression techniques of humor in comedy movies and comedy TV series. Humor is a wit and power, or we can call it a kind of civilization that’s created by people when facing with problems in life. Therefore, the study of expression techniques of humor in Chinese and American comedy movies and comedy TV series is very important.
As a kind of art, expression techniques of humor in Chinese and American comedy movies and comedy TV series cannot be separated from its native culture. It’s easy for us to find after a comparison that on the one hand Chinese folk culture is more plentiful than America, especially in the linguistic forms. China has kinds of linguistic forms such as dialects and crosstalk. By contrast, America appears to be much weaker. On the other hand, America seems to be better than China when refers to the usage of African American humor in comedy movies and comedy TV series. According to the above comparison, Chinese and American comedies should learn from each other and present more splendid works to the audience.
By: Yukia Wong
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 20th, 2010.
The latest trend in entertainment is to have a comedy hypnotist performing to make your party stand out from the run of the mill kinds. The popularity of this kind of entertainment is growing because of people loving the suspense involved in this form of entertainment. The hypnosis used is powerful and can be a great enlightening factor at parties.
Here is more about hypnosis:
Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 20th, 2010.
Stand-up comedy has evolved in harmony with the cosmic blueprint and there’s an interesting story attached to this. It’s more than just funny jokes for adults, but a Long, long time ago before our time, and before people as we know them existed on Earth, our planet was formed from a cataclysmic “bang” out in the cosmos.
The cosmic blueprint: Comedy and funny jokes for adults was fused into the very material that went into making our own planet. Much, much later when dinosaurs roamed the Earth, they themselves were destined to suffer the consequences of this cosmic idleness. Consider why those mammoth creatures disappeared, again the answer is clear, they died of boredom.
Why they didn’t have television. It is said that evidence exists to suggest that man did, in fact, survive the ice-age. True, most died in that endless cold, but the clever ones stayed at home in their caves in front of a cozy fire making up funny jokes for adults which is One Theory of how stand-up comedy first started off!
Let us consider: Before stand-up comedy and funny jokes for adults, there were other startling fundamentals of our planet’s development. Firstly we will consider Newton’s first law of relativity,, for every action, there is an opposite and equal reaction. We can best illustrate this by observing the very length of time our planet took to develop life forms. For a long, long time nothing happened, so what was the reaction? Nothing! Eventually microscopic unicellular organisms were in existence, but they got tired of floating around in a massive ocean, so they teamed up to form the first species of fish.
That makes a lot of sense: But what has funny jokes for adults and stand-up comedy got to do with fish? Now if you’ve been attentive, you’ll be able to discern the makings of a pattern here… Yes, that cosmic blueprint was in evidence again. The fish had to keep swimming to survive and like the little amoeba, the fish got well and truly bored with swimming; just so they could breathe.
It took one enterprising little fish. The fish went up on to the beach and what was the first thing he did? Yes, he had a rest, but very shortly after this he developed lungs, so he could stay on the beach – resting. Now if it wasn’t for the fact that the fish got hungry he might never have developed lungs or legs and they are the main ingredients for Stand-up comedy and funny jokes for adults. And that’s how it all started.
Consider the obvious parallel. With the development of the walking fish, the cosmic die was firmly cast. As with the fish, man’s very physical configuration was determined by his most basic needs and legs provided the mobility which was needed for man to gather and hunt food, walk around making up funny jokes for adults to laugh at with their developed lungs.
By: David L Lloyd
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 20th, 2010.
One of the problems with musical comedy is the fact that you pay Broadway prices for something that may or may not be funny to you. Monty Python’s Spamalot seems to have just the right mix of humor, hum-worthy tunes, and a decent story line to make for extremely satisfying musical comedy. If you are considering spending the money to see a musical comedy this year, this is definitely one worth considering.
The comedy actually begins before the curtain rises. At the outset of the show, the audience is told to “let your cell phones and pagers ring willy-nilly.” After a few laughs, the audience is then told “be aware there are heavily armed knights on stage that may drag you out and impale you.” This sets the tone for the type of humor of the entire show.
What is the plot of Spamalot? In a nutshell, it is the plot of the legend of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. The show is actually an attempt to turn the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail into a musical, but the story line of the play is quite a bit different than that of the movie. The parody of the Arthurian legend is very irreverent, poking fun at the story whenever possible in both music and prose. The play also laughs at traditional Broadway, especially with “The Song That Goes Like This,” which pokes fun at the traditional love song found in most Broadway productions.
Over the course of the play, Arthur is actually given the commission to perform a West End or Broadway musical, depending on where the performance is located. Parodies of successful musicals, such as Fiddler on the Roof and several of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s shows are sprinkled throughout the performance. The show even pokes fun at the proverbial “damsel in distress,” turning her into an effeminate young man who is the distressed individual who needs saving.
All in all, Spamalot is an irreverent look at an old legend and the role of the musical as entertainment. The plot is not the main focus of the play. The main focus is the humor, which is found in everything from the sets to the costumes to the lyrics.
Spamalot was written by Eric Idle, who was part of the Monty Python team. John Du Prez worked with Idle to write the music for the play. The original production, which opened in 2005, won three Tony Awards, including the coveted Best Musical title. It was nominated for a total of 14 Tony Awards.
The show began in Chicago in 2005, was eventually transferred to New York, and became an international production in 2006 when it opened in London’s West End. Other international productions include Melbourne and Barcelona. The show is scheduled to open in Germany in 2009. Spamalot has been popular in all areas where it has been released. Some of the reason for this popularity is the many references it makes to traditional Broadway shows. Theatergoers appreciate this lighthearted look at the art they so passionately love.
By: Patrick Sharple
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Read more on Monty Python’s Spamalot – Musical Comedy Worth Paying For…
Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 19th, 2010.
We would all love to be a successful stand up comedian. They look so smooth up there on stage delivering joke after joke and getting laugh after laugh. They make it look so easy and seem to be so relaxed. Of course there are those who are not so good and even those who completely bomb out on stage. Audiences really aren’t nice people when you don’t deliver what was promised. So a good stand up comedy routine is worth it’s weight in gold.
However, it is not just enough to have a good routine you also have to be able to deliver the material so that you get laughs. That is what you are paid to do and if there are no laughs forthcoming you wont get invited back. So what is it that makes a good comedian. There have been many famous names in the past and a few good ones about now so what is it that they all have to make them so successful. Some are just naturals. They can get up on stage, be as cool and natural as anyone and deliver line after line because they have their own natural style that is funny.
Others struggle on stage. They are never at ease at least not until the laughs start to roll. They have to learn routines and methods and spend a long time trying to get it right. It just does not come easy to them. Wouldn’t it be great to be able to just get up there and start talking. Your style is naturally funny and you just have a heap of stuff that is relevant to every situation and is naturally funny. You can get up any time in front of anybody with no preparation and just do it. How good would that be.
There is probably very few of us that could do it that easily. But if we haven’t got it we can learn it. There are plenty of courses and schools where you can learn how to be a stand up comedian. Just check their credentials and what they are offering before you spend your cash. Some of the courses out there you can do on line and are less that $100. Well worth it if you are going to learn a good stand up comedy routine. However, this stuff that you learn you don’t have to apply as a comedian. If you are a public speaker of any sort some basic stand up comedy skills will you give heaps of confidence on the platform. If you get your audience to ***** a smile or even break into a laugh you have got them on your side. Much easier to sell something if they are on your side.
Maybe you just want to be funnier at your local party. If you can get regular laughs your popularity will grow. You will feel more comfortable with people and more relaxed making you easier to get along with. Couldn’t hurt where you work too. ***** a joke or two round the water cooler and you will have them eating out of your hand. This stuff could really enhance your lifestyle, make you a more confident person and generally give you a new, better lease on life.
And there is always the opportunity to get up there in amateur hour and knock them dead. If this sounds like you check out some of the courses that are available. It could just be the start of a new you.
By: Nick Young
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 19th, 2010.
Seinfeld was dubbed “the show about nothing”. Nevertheless, its episodes concerning the frustrations of everyday life and relationships caught the imagination. Jerry Seinfeld co-created the show with Larry David, basing the show on his own persona and stand up routine. In fact, a scene showing Seinfeld as his fictional altar ego doing stand up was shown in each episode. The series ran from 1989 to 1998 and frequently tops polls on favorite comic TV shows. The series made Jerry Seinfeld a wealthy man and his co-stars became household names. Jason Alexander played George, Jerry’s best friend from High School. Julia Louis-Dreyfuss played ex-girlfriend Elaine and Michael Richards played eccentric neighbor Kramer. Larry David went on to work on another sitcom, Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Not many sequels go on to outshine the original but this could be said to be the case for Frasier, a spin off from the long running Cheers. Frasier premiered in 1993 and ran for 11 seasons, winning 37 Emmy Awards along the way. Psychiatrist Frasier Crane has returned to his hometown of Seattle and gradually re-establishes a relation ship with brother Niles and his ex-cop father, Martin. We also see his life as a radio psychiatrist and his attempts at a lasting romance. The social satire and pithy one-liners were brilliantly written. Audiences also tuned in to see whether Niles and Martin’s physical therapist, Daphne would get together. The cast of Kelsey Grammer, Jane Leeves, David Hyde Pierce, Peri Gilpin, and John Mahoney delivered the lines beautifully on this classic comedy television show. Not forgetting Moose, who played Eddie, Martin’s beloved dog.
Friends made household names of its six stars in the ensemble cast and the show won seven Emmy Awards. It ran from 1994 until 2004 and there was a record audience for the final episode. There was chemistry between the characters and the audience identified with their love and career problems, watching them mature over the years. The on / off romance of Rachel (Jennifer Aniston) and Ross (David Schwimmer) kept everyone guessing. Chandler (Matthew Perry), Monica (Courtney Cox), Joey (Matt LeBlanc) and Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) all had their own journeys. Matt Leblanc went on to star in his spin off series, Joey in which he reprised his character, and re-located to Hollywood to make it big.
Will and Grace ran for eight seasons from 1998 and was groundbreaking in its portrayal of *** main characters. It won 16 Emmy Awards and made stars of the four main roles. Eric McCormack played lawyer Will Truman and his best buddy, interior decorator, Grace Adler was played by Debra Messing. Theirs was a complicated relationship but one which weathered the storms. Friends Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) and Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) add to the fun and general mayhem. There were some high profile players for recurring roles in this comedy TV show, including a bravura performance from Debbie Reynolds as Grace’s eccentric mother. Sydney Pollack and Blythe Danner played Will’s parents and Harry Connick Jr was Grace’s husband.
By: Ralphy Jarvis
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 19th, 2010.
Comedy is popular all over the world. There are many different types of comedy. There is stand up comedies, television show comedies, book comedies and movie comedies. Comedy is a form of entertainment that includes humor and jokes. Some famous stand up comedians are Kevin Hart, Dave Chappell and Dane Cook. Some comedy movies are Friday, 40 Year Old Virgin and Blank Man. People all over the world love this type of entertainment.
Most people don’t know that this is a type of literature. Stand up Comics usually perform on stage in front of a group of people. This is my favorite type of entertainment. Going to see these performances can also come with other forms of entertainment like food hosts and great advertisement in between performances. If you like to laugh the I highly recommend comedy as your remedy. The jokes are great and the performances are great.
There are also many television comedies like Friends, King Of Queens and Tyler Perry’s House Of Payne. All of these shoes are funny and great sources of entertainment. You can watch these television shoes on your local TV stations. Some of these channels consist of Upn 20, Fox 5 and BET. Another great source of this type of entertainment is DVD movies. There are movies that you can view online or even at the movie theatre.
Finally you can also find comic books if your into this form of literature. Do some research and I’m sure you wont be disappointed. You can’t go wrong with humor. It’s a great way to express feeling and also to relieve stress!
By: Leon K Smith
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Filed under Arts And Entertainment by on Nov 19th, 2010.