SHADOWBOX SKETCH FEST 2011

Well we made the journey for the 3rd year in a row to Columbus, OH for the Shadowbox Sketch Comedy Festival.  This is one of our favorite yearly events and we look forward to three days of madness, hilarity and comedy camaraderie at each one.  A big thanks to the Shadowbox staff and tech crew who are on point for every conceivable need we or any of the other troupes might have.  They are always on it!  The festival is set up as an American Idol type competition where each troupe performs 20 minutes of material and then receives feedback from the assembled judges.  The judges for this particular event were original SNL member Garret Morris, writer and long time performer at Shadowbox Julie Klein, and local TV personality Johnny DiLoretto from a Columbus morning show.  Though he is not listed as a judge, Shadowbox Executive producer Steve Guyer also puts his two or three (often a whole dollar) cents in as well, so in actuality, there are 4 judges.  After the judges give critiques and feedback, the audience then votes on their favorite sketch from each troupe and that sketch is performed the following night in a full showcase including performances from the Shadowbox troupe and their band BillWho?.

Drew McDermott and Jeremy Burgess performing in “Deer Cooler” at Shadowbox Sketch Festival.  Photo by Studio 66.

THE TROUPES

 

SKETCH BY NUMBER

First up on Tuesday night were Sketch By Number a Columbus, OH troupe who had won the competition the year before.  I was impressed by their bravado in going in a more absurd and edgier direction than they had last year.  Their opening piece was hilarious and involved a stalwart husband bludgeoning a would be home invader with a pool noodle.  It seems simple, but the longer the beating went on, the more hilarious it became.  At the end of the beating, there was a small pause and then actress Nikki Winkleman slyly says, “You’ve killed him.”  Punctuating the absurdity of the scene.  Good quick punchline about sex with a pool noodle and the sketch was done.  They followed with a sketch about pronunciation and plural verses singular understandings, again an absurd push for comedy with a man who obviously did not understand plural tenses.  I liked the sketch, but there was a lack of consistency in my mind for  which parts of speech were being mangled as plural when it should be singular and it lost momentum towards the end.   However, I still enjoy the premise and I’m sure that this one will keep developing.  They followed with a hilarious video about a woman of socio-economic depravity who does not know that she is pregnant.  This was Winkleman’s shining moment and she showed a great commitment to character in this video (SEE BELOW).  It was parody of the Discovery Channel show “I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant”, though you didn’t need to have seen the show to understand it.  Most important moment in the video happens around minute 3:02.  Trust me, it’s worth waiting for.  They then closed with a Shakespeare lampoon about two frat boy like friends trying to hang out and being prevented from doing so by their parents.  ”Bromeo and Julien” was the title and this was a well crafted piece borrowing from Shakespeare and naturally being updated for present times.  This was not the first time I had seen Romeo and Juliet  parody, even in this form, and though there were predictable moments and it drug a little here and there, there were also some hilarious bits with the seasoned timing of actors Liam Cronin and Danny Prater hinging on Winkleman’s slick writing.  The piece had a great closing with Bromeo asking, ” Wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?”  Julian casually responds with a tall boy of Natty Ice (sic: 22 ounces of Natural Ice Beer in a silvery can) that he extends to Bromeo and their friendship is saved for the night.  Unexpected and hilarious cap to the sketch.  The Shadowbox judges gave Sketch By Number a hard time for Prater’s response to having a sip of Natural Ice and shouting “Gross!” as he exits and the lights are fading away, but it’s those kind of “dollop of cream” moments that audiences love.  Character is broken sure, but that will always get a laugh.  Again, I enjoyed their “ballsy” (Their words) approach to sketches this year and have definitely seen them hone and refine their style from their performances last year.

CHECK OUT THEIR VIDEO

 

 

THE RIOT

Next up were Toronto, Canada natives The Riot.  Expectations are high for a group from Sketch Comedy’s “Third City” you might say and they brought some great stuff.  They opened with a sketch about joining the Canadian Armed Forces which showed a man onstage being manipulated into fanciful dances and poses by people passing by.  The punch is accentuated with a VO announcing what’s happening and intimating this is the entrance exam for Canadian military service.  They followed with an infomercial type sketch.  It was the weakest of their material and had the Sham Wow type character narrating and following a fairly cliche formula in my mind.  They then moved into a very Monty Python flavored sketch called Soft “C’s”.  The setup was easy as a teacher addressing a classroom and introduces himself and soon we find that every hard “c” consonant sound is replaced by a soft “c” more like an “s”.  I’ll have to say that performer Matt Karzis was unnaturally skilled at weaving his way through dialogue that was laden with opportunities to soften every “c” possible.  There was a moment where the sketch began to seem too long, but there would be a reinvention with even more examples where a softened “c” continued to sound hilarious.  In a more modern and absurd fashion the joke becomes more hilarious as it is beaten into the ground.  It’s a magical balance, if done effectively, between a sketch going on too long and going on too long on purpose and adding to the comedy.  It worked for me as it continued well beyond expectations but the skill of writing coupled with  Karzis’ ability to master the consonant  switch effortlessly made it work.  The cap seemed cheap with the principal of the school entering and using soft “G’s” until the assembled students call it and the sketch is over.  I’m not sure what you do with the “drag it out” sketch and maybe a stranger ending would have worked, but sometimes the hardest part with a good idea in sketch comedy is ending it.  They closed with a song/story sketch called “The Lonely Gynecologist”.   A fun idea with lip syncing actors pantomiming lines from the song that was deftly performed by Greg Calderone.  The end was an absurd “twist” with a choral breakdown repeating “only if you use two fingers”…use your imagination.  It fell flat to me with not enough punch to the big music breakdown, but on night two they were able to involve the Shadowbox band and take it up a notch.  All and all a solid performance from the Canucks.

Check out this high production value movie trailer from The Riot.

 

 

THE LAUGHTER LEAGUE

Next up was Cleveland, Ohio’s Laughter League; a troupe we’ve been performing with for the last 3 years at the Shadowbox Sketch Comedy Festival.  They always have a fun feel to all of their material that has a playful nature that makes a perverse moment that much more astounding and effective.  They opened with a sketch called “Extremely General Hospital”.  A great idea that played out well.  The premise should be clear from the title, and it was brilliantly executed with some sharp writing and a very consistent performance from Patrick Ciamacco who never fails to deliver.  My favorite lines were:

“How should I report the patient dying, doctor?”

“This man died from death to his body and face.”

“What’s the time of death?”

(Doctor looks at his watch)  ”Today.”

They then had part one of a series called “Fishing With The Stars” which was a funny quick premise, but there were a few technical issues that upset the timing of the sketch (lights and sound).  They were going for the groan effect with this series of bits and I for one don’t mind the occasional groan over a laugh when it works.  They followed with a sketch about a woman with anger management issues that slowly build over the course of dinner at a restaurant.  The sketch built slowly and in some regards the anger wasn’t completely apparent.  The parts that got laughs were the reactions of waiter, manager and boyfriend to the horrendous requests and complaints of the embittered woman played by the newest Laughter Leaguer Debbie Lenarz.  It wasn’t their strongest material but still had some very funny moments. The last piece they delivered was my favorite though the judges seemed to pan it.  It was a 50′s science fiction sketch called “Alien Autopsy”  This piece was superbly written and acted and they grabbed the cliches from this archaic form of cinema and stretched them to hilarious moments that were most effective in their subtlety.  You had the scientist who’s gonna solve the problem, the police officer who is suspicious of everything and the young high school football hero who is supposed to perform a heroic feat to save mankind.  Of course there was an alien being operated on and there was the female character; the cheerleader who is always in these types of film.  It was she who bore the brunt of the comedy in this piece as in 50′s fashion all of the male characters were misogynistic and dismissive of any suggestion she made.  I know it sounds harsh and understandably angering to any ladies reading this, but the way it was employed worked well, and I believe even the most seasoned feminist would laugh at the social commentary of the piece.  It was the 50′s remember!  The behavior is not being condoned, merely exaggerated for comedic effect.  Favorite lines:  ”Sally if you’re not feeling well, there’s a kitchen not 60 feet from here where you can seek comfort.”  And of course the alien comes to life a bit later in the sketch and the female character begins to speak and the alien says “Quiet, Sally.  The alien men and human men are speaking.”  Yes, I’m aware it doesn’t read as well as it was performed, but trust me you would have laughed at the ridiculousness of it.  The audience didn’t vote this one as their favorite but this was our favorite and one we quoted over the next few days many times.  A characteristically solid set from the Laughter League.

Here’s a sketch that the League performed live the first year we saw them and have now committed to film.

 

DON’T WE BOYS

The fourth troupe to perform were newcomers The Don’t We Boys from Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Their tag line is ‘Dangerous Sketch Comedy” and they maintain that they put all of their characters in peril physically and emotionally.  This threesome  had an absolutely solid chemistry that played through everything that they performed.  They were chock full of quick witty moments that I really enjoyed.  It was the absurd aside to regular things through the lens of smart wordplay that worked very well for me.  I’ll have to admit I was backstage during their first night’s performance preparing to go on stage after them, so unfortunately I didn’t get to see their full set.  However, on night two I did get to see the sketch the audience chose for them to perform again and it was hilarous.  Hilarious in a slightly dry and absurd fashion with a good story that made it’s length easy to absorb.  This was easily the longest sketch of the evening, but I never felt bored watching it.  I for one am a fan of long form sketch comedy, when it works and do believe that not everything needs to be 3-5 minutes and tied up in a neat bow.  It was refreshing to see someone else who wasn’t afraid to do a mega-sketch.  The sketch was a children’s story time theme complete with narrator.  It involved the travails of two young friends growing up in a small town and one of them had accidentally killed someone with his bicycle.  The rest of the story played out as they hid the body and the secret murder for years as they grew older.  It’s innocence and subtlety were it’s strong points.  You felt invested in the characters and the narrator’s absurd asides kept the action moving and the audience was rapt and laughing throughout.  While my description may downplay the strength of this sketch, trust me when I say that it was an excellent piece that was fun to watch.

 

Here’s a good video example of their style of comedy.  A Clown Hires Another Clown.

 

US vs THE JUDGES

I’ll not be giving a review of our performance since, well I was in it.  I would like to give a special thanks to Jeremy Burgess for coming to Shadowbox and performing with us.  He rocked it and it was great to be back onstage with my long time comedy cohort.  However, I would like to give a quick critique of the Shadowbox judges and it’s interplay in the festival.  Firstly, I understand the use of the American Idol format with a performance followed by a critique.  It’s popular, however it may be beginning to wain, and audiences can latch on to the idea.  The first couple of years the critiques felt more constructive, though there were some subjective suggestions that weren’t always relevant. But, you’ll have that.  Comedy is probably the most subjective art form there is.   It was also brief and concise with enough positive comments to keep us from hanging our heads as we exited the stage.  However, this particular year the judges were decidedly negative and verbose to the point of completely slowing down the show.  Also from what little of American Idol i have seen there are three different perspectives normally from Paula’s cheerleading to Simon’s tear you a new one.  For some reason all of the judges felt the need to be Simon this particular year and were especially harsh on everyone.  Not only negative but these critiques could last as long as 5 or 6 minutes with over analyzations of comedy logic and what could only be seen as “Director’s notes” in a format that’s supposed to be about content, not how a character delivers a line or exits the stage.  Or an analysis of completely subjective portions of humor that one audience may not get, and another laughs uproariously at.  At times it was that detailed and over the top with critique.  Plus the length of these sections could not have been enjoyable for the audience who after a few of these segments probably become so analytical as they watched that it became more difficult for them to simply enjoy the show.  Also, I understand the inclusion of local celebrities in the judging cast, in this case Johnny DiLoretto, but if you are a celebrity judge without the comedy “cred” the other judges possess, I think you should be wary of  treading into heavy handed criticisms that are based more on personal preference and less on technical merit.  DiLoretto waded deep into this sort of perspective and would piggy back onto what other judges were saying without perhaps, the legitimizing nature of having a comedy background and I believe got himself in over his head with his comments.  That having been said, even the comedy “experts” Klein and Morris fell into this trap of personal preference over technique and craft in their criticisms.  Julie Klein especially had some harsh perspectives on every troupe, and many of the critiques she gave to all of us could’ve easily applied to the Shadowbox sketches we saw the following night, though I doubt they would have heeded them either.

Steve Guyer, Shadowbox Executive Producer, always feels the need to put his comments in as an addendum to the judges and at times it seems as if he is searching for something, however minuscule that he can critique and “correct”.  It is in his “director” nature to lend his perspective to whatever is happening on stage, but perhaps it would be better if he held to the MC role and kept the show moving.  Nonetheless, I do not want to sound ungrateful to the Shadowbox crew who are the warmest of hosts and provide simply everything you could possibly need for the show.  They are superbly professional and this remains to be one of our favorite yearly events.  My critique is more of the format of the Sketch Festival and the ingratiated judges seeming to grab the spotlight in order to denigrate the performing groups in a more negative and overly analytical fashion this year.  It was a vibe that all of the groups commented on and even some of the new groups who hadn’t been to this particular festival before were frightened to have to perform after beholding the criticism they would have to endure.  That’s my perspective, and one I think the performing groups all shared as we discussed the event throughout the festival.  Again, we are very grateful to the Shadowbox Crew and will continue to attend and thoroughly enjoy this event.