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Thursday, August 26, 2010

Comedy fest names keep rolling in

More comics have been added to the line-up for the Global Comedy Fest, which runs Sept. 16-26. As per custom here at the blog, I'll keep a running tally. The new additions are in a larger typeface beside a photo. Is this confusing? I don't know but I think it's better than having to check multiple posts to add up everyone who will be here. These are also listed chronologically, just because I'm anal.

Joe Mande ~ September 16, 17, & 18 at The Comedy Mix: Once named "Best New Comedian" by Time Out New York, Joe Mande has performed all over the country at colleges, clubs and festivals such as Bumbershoot and Montreal’s Just for Laughs. He has appeared on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham and VH1's Best Week Ever. In March, his book Look At This F*cking Hipster, based on his popular blog, was published by St. Martin's Press. He most recently wrote for this year's MTV Movie Awards.


Comedy Power Pack in 3D ~ September 17th at The Vogue Theatre: The first of its kind, ‘Comedy Action Pack in 3D’ is a stand-up and comedy video show in 3D. Three of Vancouver ’s brightest new stars are teaming up for an exciting night of comedy. Reza Peyk (Iranian-Canadian), Ken Kirby - aka Gary Fong (Chinese-Canadian) and Jy Harris (Redhead-Canadian) are among Canada ’s new guard of innovative comics and will star in this first ever 3D comedy show that will feature stand-up, short film, sketch and outrageous characters.


Iliza Shlesinger ~ September 17 & 18 at Lafflines: Winner of NBC’s Last Comic Standing Season 6, Iliza Shlesinger is the first female and youngest comedian to hold the title of Last Comic Standing. In addition to performing at the coveted Just for Laughs Festival, her credits include Comedy Central Presents, Comedy Central’s Live At Gotham, Showtime’s Pauly Shore & Friends and NBC’s Last Call with Carson Daly.


Charlie Murphy ~ September 18 at The Vogue Theatre: Charlie Murphy’s rapid evolution from Chappelle's Show cast member to top-billed international comedian, playing to sold-out audiences around the globe, has been remarkable. He has spent the past eight years performing his critically acclaimed stand-up show and solidifying his position in Hollywood as a true acting talent, in his own right.


“Asian Connection” featuring Joe Wong ~ September 19 at Lafflines: Self-proclaimed “all American immigrant,” Joe Wong came a long way from a rosy-eyed new immigrant to a blossoming comedian. His jokes range from ethnic and personal to political and bizarre. His humour is not easily categorized, but always inspired. Joe participated in the David Letterman Showcase at the Boston Comedy Festival in 2005 and won rave reviews for his performance. In 2006 and 2007, Joe headlined numerous high-profile shows, including the Autism Speaks Show, AC/DC Benefit Show and the Ticket To Asia Show. He recently headlined The Radio & Television Correspondents' Dinner and was the highlight of the evening with his roast to President Obama and Vice President Biden.


Kyle Kinane ~ September 21 & 22 at The Comedy Mix: Kyle Kinane has performed at comedy festivals across the United States, Canada and England. A regular opener for headliners such as Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn, Kinane has appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly, the BBC, and Judd Apatow’s Funny People. He was also rated #5 on Askmen.com’s top 10 list of upcoming comedians.


Gerry Dee ~ September 23rd at The Vogue Theatre: Gerry Dee won ‘Best Male Stand-Up ’ at the 2008 Canadian Comedy Awards and is the first Canadian in twenty-seven years to win the prestigious San Francisco International Comedy Competition. He has appeared on NBC’s Last Comic Standing 5 and can be seen weekly on The Score with his humourous segment called “Gerry Dee-Sports Reporter”.


Dean Edwards ~ September 23, 24, & 25 at Lafflines: With two successful seasons as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, the Bronx's Dean Edwards is making his mark on the comedy scene. His memorable impressions as Don Cheadle, Michael Jackson and Denzel Washington, have enabled Dean to push himself creatively. Edwards has most recently appeared on Showtime's Comics Without Borders - the nine-week comedy series which showcases multicultural stand-up comics. He was also chosen to complete the voice work of Bernie Mac on Soul Men after Mac's untimely death.


Chris Porter ~ September 23, 24, & 25 at The Comedy Mix: Best known for his third place finish on Season 4 of Last Comic Standing, Chris Porter has been a touring comic since he was 23. His raw energy and unique perspective has distinguished him as one of the elite comics in the industry. Born and raised in Kansas City, Chris brings a true stand-up experience to his live shows. There are no sound cues, no puppets, and no catch phrases - just gut wrenching laughter drawn from his own experience and observations. Chris can also be seen on his own Comedy Central Presents special and Live at Gotham.


Tom Green ~ September 24th at The Vogue Theatre: He has graced the cover of Rolling Stone, commandeered the coveted guest-host chair on The Late Show with David Letterman, and conquered the World Wide Web with his free-wheeling, wildly popular internet talk show, Tom Green's House Tonight. Now, Tom brings his unique brand of hilarity to the art of stand-up comedy. Experience one of the great comic minds in the field of entertainment, live and in person, when Tom Green takes the stage and provides non-stop laughter with his brilliantly cracked view of the world around him. [Also appearing, according to the comedyfest website, is America's Funnyman, Neil Hamburger.]

Peter Chao ~ Best of the Fest at The Vogue Theatre (September 25 at 7:30pm): Love him or hate him, Vancouver-based Peter Chao is an internet sensation. One of his 78 videos on YouTube has had nearly 1.8 million views, with many of his videos hitting the million mark. Chao is the 62nd most popular personality on the world’s biggest video-sharing network.


Edge of the Fest, September 25 at the Vogue Theatre (10 p.m.): A comedy show made up of the edgiest comics of the 2010 Global ComedyFest Vancouver. These comics are hand-picked by the festival directors and put on stage to showcase the genius of their comedy stylings.

This year, Edge of the Fest will include Jamie Kilstein, Glenn Wool and Tig Notaro, to name a few – (with more names to be announced in the upcoming weeks!).

Jamie Kilstein: Seen on the Paramount Comedy Channel in the UK, CNN, the BBC, The Comedy Channel in Australia, HBO Canada and Showtime Comedy in the Middle East, Jamie Kilstein is a brilliant satirist. He was noted in the recent bestseller Sataristas alongside Stephen Colbert, George Carlin and other iconic satirists, and was named “Critics Pick” in Time Out Chicago, Sydney and London. In 2009, Punchlines Magazine honoured him with the title of “One Comic to Watch”. Jamie also co-hosts Citizen Radio, a political-comedy radio podcast dedicated to covering stories ignored by ‘Corporate America’. Guests have included Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Tariq Ali, and Janeane Garofalo.

Glenn Wool

After beginning his comedy career in his hometown of Vancouver, Glenn moved to London in 1998 and quickly became one of the rising stars of the London comedy circuit. He has been nominated for Best International Stand Up and has headlined international festivals such as the Stavinger Comedy Festival. Glenn’s 2005 live show, ‘You Don't Go To Hell For Eating Elephants’, debuted at the prestigious Melbourne Comedy Festival. In 2009, Glenn made his US television debut on Comedy Central's Live at Gotham. Recently, he was awarded the 2010 Time Out Sydney Comedy Award for Best of the Fest.

Tig Notaro

Tig Notaro is best known for her character, “Officer Tig”, on Comedy Central’s The Sarah Silverman Program. She was also a regular on ABC’s In The Motherhood with Megan Mullally and Cheryl Hines, and had a supporting role opposite Kristen Stewart in The Runaways. She has had her own Comedy Central Presents and has performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live as well as Last Call with Carson Daly.

James Adomian

James Adomian is a comedian, actor and writer known for his many characters and impressions. He is a daredevil dancing queen renowned for the many masks he wears as well as his fiery populist satire. James was a Top-10 finalist on the most recent season of NBC’s Last Comic Standing and is a frequent contributor to Comedy Death-Ray Radio and other wild podcasts. Other credits include Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay, CBS’s The Late Late Show and The Onion Radio News.
Marc Maron

For over fifteen years, Marc Maron has been writing and performing raw, honest and thought-provoking comedy for print, stage, radio and television. A legend in the stand-up community, he has appeared on HBO, Conan, Letterman, his two Comedy Central Presents specials and almost every show that allows comics to perform. His book, based on his solo show, The Jerusalem Syndrome: My Life as a Reluctant Messiah, is out of print and overpriced by vendors who think it might have some collectors value. His three CDs, Not Sold Out, Tickets Still Available and Final Engagement are comedy cult classics. His podcast WTF with Marc Maron, featuring in-depth interviews with comedy icons like Robin Williams and Ben Stiller, premiered in September 2009 and now averages 160,000 listeners per week. The show hit #1 on the iTunes comedy charts numerous times and has been downloaded by 4.4 million people since its inception.


“ComedyFest Encore Italia!” featuring Tammy Pescatelli ~ September 30, October 1 & 2 at Lafflines: Tammy Pescatelli is one of America ’s funniest and hardest working women of comedy. Beating out thousands for the enviable spot as part of the Final Five on NBC’s Last Comic Standing Season 2 catapulted Tammy’s career and solidified her as one of the sharpest women in the comedy world. She has appeared twice as a guest on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Dennis Miller and has appeared in her own half-hour special for Comedy Central. Most recently, Tammy finished #1 on Comedy Central’s 2010 Stand-Up Showdown.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

What with all the stuff you're posting on this website I'm impressed you found time for the Georgia Straight piece this week. Hopefully "Time Me Kangaroo Down" doesn't go the way of the Men at Work tune and get snagged by some ridiculous copyright deal though.

Jude

Guy MacPherson said...

Uh, that was two Straight pieces this week, Jude. You gotta read the whole paper!

Anonymous said...

I'm just glad you didn't point out I misspelled Tie as Time... That's what I get for surfing the interweb instead of sleeping at 4:00 AM.

Jude