Archive for the ‘Dead Beats’ Category

Thank You Mess Hall!

Friday, September 28th, 2007

by Angie McMahon

So back in January we had our annual Comedy Festival Snubfest. This is a Comedy Festival where anyone who has been rejected from any other Comedy Festival can come and perform and compete to win performance slots in other major Comedy Festivals Through out the Country. Something that we will be resuming in the summer.

Well there is something interesting about Snubfest. Performers love it. They want to be a part of it. Some clammer for it. But every year someone cancels very very last min and they do it with a lie. Well we have only done it for three years and the first year was planned in three weeks so no no one canceled that year. But our second year I did get a call from a improv group from LA called The Cherry Spits Fan Club . I got a call from the head guy of that group the night before they were suppose to perform and I was told the group got into a fight in the airport and that they broke up and that they didn’t get on the plane and wouldn’t be coming to the festival.

Farrell, when met with the news on Friday night, decided that gather up any CIC folks we had standing around and act our that groups break up on stage. It went very very well. Some folks even said it was the high light of the fest. Silly and Fun. And because of that set we had decided to put together the first all CIC member group 96 Decibels.

Later I found out the group didn’t break up. They over booked themselves and lied to me. Instead of just saying, my God we screwed up they made up some crazy lie so that I wouldn’t get mad? Not sure why.

Last year similarly a group Mess Hall told me two days before the festival that they had broken up and wouldn’t be doing the show. But I later found out that they did a Sketchfest show the day before and a Cagematch show the night they were booked to do Snubfest.

But this time something else happened. I brushed off my one women show “Judy In Disguise with Glasses” to fill the slot. A show I hadn’t done since 2001. We needed a sketch group to fill the slot. And since Sketchfest was going on at the same time it wasn’t an easy fix. So no problem, I’ll do it. Well because of that Jim Mendrios of New York Underground Comedy Festival saw me perform and invited me (along with Cornwallis , Marz Timms, Tony Sam, Name Change Pending Extreme Improv and Velvet Tom) to perform at his festival.

So I talked with Jim this week. My agent had planned to come and shop me about but can’t because of family related issues. So I called Jim. He first gives congrats on our new space. Then starts to tell me he understands if we arent’ coming cause we are too busy. WHAHAHAHAT!!! I yell into the phone. “No we are coming, I just don’t have my agent for all the industry stuff coming. So I wasn’t sure how to ya know shop myself about”. Jim then asks if I would like to add two more shows. And continues that he will introduce me to some of the industry folks that will be attending (among them talent scouts from E!, Comedy Central, NBC, and Fox)the network parties. He says he has been pushing all the shows at the Sage and that with the extra shows no problem I should get seen.

So long story short. Thanks Mess Hall!

I will be performing my one women show on Saturday to warm me up for our NY show on Oct 4. So come by and check it out. It should be an amazing line up with Seth Thomas as the host (winner of the HBO Aspen Comedy Festival best new sketch comedian award), Mike and Duane Show (“Winner of the Audience Prize” — Bass Red Triangle Comedy Tour).

Saturday Sept 29
10:30pm Tix $10
The Cornservatory Theater
4210 N Lincoln
Chicago, IL
www.cicomedy.com



Posted in Company Members, Cornwallis, Dead Beats, Judy in Disguise with Glasses, New York Underground Comedy Festival, Tony Sam | No Comments »

Dead Beats!

Tuesday, July 24th, 2007

So I have decided to talk about the folks that have taken out ad’s with us and never paid the bill.

We shall start with The Chicago Comedy Series Produced by Matthew Paprocki and Alison Royer.

Now please understand I put out on a popular message board that we were selling ad space in our program for Mr. Marmalade. I was emailed from them requesting the ad. I did not solicit them directly. Then I put the ad together for them, got it approved, and waited for the check to come ($100 for a full page ad). The check never came, then finally two days before we opened the check was found. It was mailed to the Theater rather than my house. After a few emails asking if they still wanted the ad they agreed and I re did our program to make room for them again. I then went to print and mailed them a copy of the ad. After depositing the check I didn’t think about it again till about two months later when I got my statement and the copy of the NSF check that was returned. I emailed Alison with no reply. I emailed Matt and sent him a message through the popular message board. No reply. I have been told by two other people that Matt has bounced checks to them as well. He is know for telling lots of people he has all kinds of money and doesn’t care about making money on the shows cause he has plenty of it to throw around. He has also often said he would donate the money from shows to charities. I hope those folks have not had checks bounce on them.

He did in fairness loose his job, but as seen here boast boredom as a want for a new job rather than monetary need.

When I found out he got a sponsor (as seen on the Apollo Site) for his showcase, even though the sponsor link goes to a non existing site. After I found out about his sponsor I again emailed him through the popular message board and asked that he at least cover the $7 NSF fee at the very least, and that I understood that he lost his job and must be going through a tough time. No reply.

I should have known not to get involved with this person. I was warned by several people. Lesson learned.

On to our next Dead Beat. Glunz Bavarian Haus They took out a $50 ad in our playbill for Vietnamization of New Jersey by Christopher Durang.

We had printed an ad that said something to the effect of “with this playbill get a free pretzel after the show”. According to the owners of Bavarian Haus they saw a lot of return on this ad. And many of our patrons visited them after our show. They had said they would send a check on several occasions. We went in many times and were told he forgot to mail it, it will be mailed this week. We then even made them a fancy invoice and everything. After a constant perusing them for over 6 months for our $50 we gave up. They out and out lied to a small theater company. Gained business from us, and then stiffed us with the bill for no good reason.

We here and CIC ask you to not patronize the above businesses because of there bad business practices and for being not nice people in general.



Posted in Chicago Comedy Series, Dead Beats, Glunz Bavarian Haus | No Comments »

Site last updated December 19, 2011 @ 4:27 pm