Monday, September 14, 2009

What Do He Don't Do?

In keeping with the theme of letting you know of the Life and Times of a Renaissance Man I guess I should let you know what's been going on since last I posted to my blog. This past weekend(Sept. 11-12) was a whirlwind of performance. I went to Kansas City, MO with Comedy Cures. I love working with them because it's an opportunity to use my comedy for good, not evil(pronounced eeee-vil). Working for Comedy Cures also challenges me as a comedian because we do shows in places that you wouldn't expect to see stand-up comedy and for diverse groups that are usually a mix of ages and ethnicities that makes one have to really think hard about what will work on such a diverse crowd. I did 3 shows in Kansas City. The first 2 were on Friday morning at 2 different elementary schools. That was a challenge. Although I don't curse in my act, it doesn't necessarily mean that my content is something that an elementary school student will understand. I had to sift through my material to find what I thought might work. I figured it out, and just in case you find yourself in a situation where you have to entertain elementary school kids, here's what you should include in your act; music, funny faces and falling down. I channeled my inner zaniness and was able to pull it off. Later that evening, I told jokes to a group of alumni from the Kansas City University of Medicine and Biosciences. A very different group than the morning group. I chose to cut out a large percentage of the funny faces and falling down(didn't cut out all of it, because who doesn't love funny faces and watching people fall down). I pulled that one off too, although they were a more cerebral crowd and chose to applaud some of the humor in lieu of full belly laughter.

When I got back to NY on Saturday I had very little time to relax before I had to go to the Bronx and perform at a show hosted by Rev. Run's daughters, Vanessa and Angela Simmons. This audience was not only ethnically and culturally diverse, it also had an age range from little kids to grandparents. I actually had moments on stage this weekend where I was very conscious of the fact that I'm pretty good to be able to make such a broad range of people laugh. Someone told me this week that I have a God-given gift. I know that's right!!! I'm glad to use it to touch people and make people happy.

After I finished with that show, I jumped in my car and drove to Connecticut to sing at a wedding reception. I know what you're saying, "What do he don't do"? I know!!! A Renaissance Man indeed.

In addition to all of that excitement, I was also notified that "Souled Out Comedy", Younger Child Productions' documentary feature has been chosen to screen at the Friars Club Comedy Film Festival. The screening date is Friday, September 25th at 8:30PM at The Paley Center for Media. If you find yourself in NYC on that day, I hope to see you there.



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