Monday, April 6, 2009

AuditionPortal.com Comedian of the Month

Comedian Vanessa HollingsheadComedian Vanessa Hollingshead is the quintessential, native New Yorker. She claims she just got her driver’s license a couple of years ago. So, stay off the roads if you're near her NY Apartment. I'm not joking.

As a child, my dear friend "Vee" spent a year at Millbrook Mansion with her father, Michael Hollingshead, who introduced Timothy Leary, and later, Paul McCartney, of the “Beatles,” to LSD. At five years old she took LSD by accident. "Hey, it was on a sugar cube, and they were out of Snickers." Her mother Sophie found out and was outraged.

She whisked Vanessa back to New York City, encouraged her to try “amphetamines” to help her clean the apartment and to stay away from sugar. “Bad for your teeth!” But motherhood did not agree with Sophie, as it interfered with her finding good weed in bad neighborhoods. Now, throw in two years on a commune by herself, two years in London with her dad, and a decade of temp work, and Vanessa’s angst was complete. Coincidentally, a great comedian was born.

Could this be why her comedy is just so outrageous and funny?

Vanessa is one funny comedian and a dear friend of ours here at AuditionPortal.com. You can catch her at Gotham Comedy club and hundreds of clubs throughout the tri-state area, on a regular basis.

Please check her website at www.vanessahollingshead.com to see samples of her work, get updates and to buy a copy of her riotous DVD, "Vanessa Hollingshead, An American Anglomanicac," Produced by Tovero & Marks.

Paul Brighton
www.auditionportal.com

Monday, March 30, 2009

Gettin' Blissed

Leaving Bliss comedy
Every so often, an amazing character on the web or T.V. grabs us. These days It could be Ugly Betty, or Michael on “The Office.” But where are the great women comedians like Lucille Ball or Penny Marshall, who at the time, had no contemporaries, and left us wanting more week after week because we gave in to their character?

These characters have the ability to suspend the truth. And that’s precisely why “Leaving Bliss," the new sketch comedy web series, has captured the hearts of so many YouTubers all over the globe. “Leaving Bliss” and Shanna Micko's character Patience Owen provoke us to ask: could that person be acting? Is that really her? It’s so well-done, we willingly surrender to her character instantly and forget we're watching an actor.

By surfing the YouTube comments of the latest and 5th webisode, “Gettin’ Blitzed,” people are drawn in by Patience Owen’s humble, tragic and hilarious character. You simply can’t help but feel sorry for her lack of experience, her small-town innocence or her exceedingly monumental aspirations. Hitting the big time in Hollywood is one of them–mustering up the courage to speak to her gorgeous and ripped demi-god roommate who lives in the next room, is the other. You see, Patience doesn’t actually know what “Gettin’ Blitzed” is, and what happens in this episode is genius and uproarious! Check it out.

As a fanatical viewer of this series, I cheer for underdogs like Patience to get the guy, get the job, get out into the real world and make it big. At this stage however, we are conservatively optimistic, and, we only want patience to find a little love and move beyond her prior 46-minute relationship with a man who’s farts smells like denture-cream, and graduate to Madison (Brent Bailey), the Guitar Hero wielding hotty living in her midst.

The short of it: 25-year old Patience who leaves small-town Bliss, Idaho thought she was moving in with another girl with whom she could eat Nutter Butters with and stay up for long night talks. Instead, Madison turns out to be a gorgeous boy, that poor Patience simply shrivels in the wake of. Secretly, we long to see Patience make the move on Madison right there in the kitchen by the tired little toaster oven. But, will that ever happen? Will Patience continue drawing pictures of Madison like an obsessed school girl? Or, will she shed that extensive cable-knit sweater collection and just go for it?

With her fertile and foul-mouthed sister Roxanne living about 937 miles away, she may never have that nudge she so desperately needs.

Roxanne is played ever-so-skillfully by Jordan St. Jean, who has great lines and flawless delivery. As the writer, Shanna generously leaves the vulgarity and punch to someone who knows how to juxtapose her, without any upstaging. The two are a complimentary duo we haven’t seen the likes of in sitcoms in years. Could the return of the female comedy-duo be the next big thing? Unfortunately, Roxanne is in Bliss Idaho, stuck with the remaining 274 people, and un-blissfully raising two children while bummin’ off Grandma. Hey, maybe Roxanne needs to leave the kids with the Pat Sajak-obsessed Grandma and fly to L.A. to give Patience the sisterly love she deserves.

It could happen. But you just never know what'll happen next.

Leaving Bliss is an artfully-executed, sincere and professional production with uber-directing chops by Steve Yager. As a Musician, Director and Co-Founder of AuditionPortal.com, I tend to get hyper-attuned to production values, audio, and the technical aspects of entertainment. But sticking out through the matrix of all this well-produced brilliance, I found a story; a wonderful story about a character I just can’t get enough of.

Patience may be “Leaving Bliss,” but we experience true bliss with every new webisode.

To learn more about Shanna Micko and her talented ensemble of Actors visit the “Leaving Bliss” Website right now! Just five short episodes and you’ll be all caught up.

Paul Brighton
http://www.auditionportal.com/

Weekend Owner of Carolines?

Comedian Bryan Kennedy
Bryan Kennedy trotted out of a dressing room at Carolines comedy club in Times Square on a recent night wearing a black-and-white striped shirt and a whistle around his neck.

“I’ll be your host this evening,” said Bryan “and your referee.”

For the past three years, Bryan has presided over March Comedy Madness, an annual show-a-thon patterned after the basketball tournament staged by the National Collegiate Athletic Association.

With a decibel meter in his hands, Bryan hustled onstage and looked out at a raucous crowd ready to take part in a different sort of March Madness.

At Carolines, 64 comedians from the New York area are placed in brackets, with top picks going to those who have turned in strong performances in previous tournaments. Each hopes to advance, round by round, to the finals, where the winner will be rewarded with the opportunity to headline at Carolines for an entire weekend.

“For lesser-known comedians, getting a chance to headline here can open up a lot of doors,” said Liz Miele, 23, a comic from Pennington, N.J., who reached the Final Four last year. “Everyone knows what’s at stake.” "The contest can open up a lot of doors,” she said.

Before calling to the stage the comics whose names were bracketed on a large board behind him, Bryan worked the crowd with some of his own material. “NASA launched its Kepler spacecraft to search our corner of the galaxy for other Earth-like planets,” he said. “Aboard the spacecraft were 2.9 million people looking for jobs.”

Soon after, Tracie Jayne was pining that many of her relationships had come to an abrupt end. “I’ve been left at the altar,” she said, “and given up for Lent.”

Josh Spear tried to impress women with his academic credentials: “I’m single, ladies,” he said, “two and a half college credits, come and get it.”

And Kevin McCaffrey took aim at those who consider hunting to be a sport. “It’s not a sport if both teams don’t know they’re playing.”

Two at a time, the comedians walked on stage and delivered what they hoped was their best material. Bryan , who blew his whistle at the two-minute limit, stood between contestants after their routines and asked the crowd to cheer loudly for the one they would like to see advance to the next round. The decibel meter did the rest.

Paul Brighton of Audition Portal says the competition is "a great launching pad."

Calise Hawkins, 29, of Jersey City, used her 2-year-old daughter as material. “I still can’t believe I’m somebody’s mom,” she said. “I’m very excited about it, especially tonight, just to be away from her.”

“My strategy during the shorter sets is to try and come off as very likable, very clean, and to try and get the crowd on my side,” said Rob O’Reilly, 24, who has been to the finals twice in the past two years. “As a comedian, you want to reach the later rounds so that you have more time to mess with the audience, and more time to be funny.”

Ryan Reiss, 29, of Manhattan, joked about his bed. “My girlfriend said she would like to sleep away from the door because if the boogeyman comes, he’ll get me first. I said that’s not realistic at all. I’ll sleep by the door, that way, if there’s a fire, I’ll be the first one out.”

With each passing round, the comedians get more time to tell jokes. In the first round, the field of 64 had one minute each. By the second round, a field of 32 had two minutes. Those who advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, on Wednesday, had four minutes. At the Final Four on Tuesday, semifinalists — Ms. Hawkins among them — will get seven minutes each, and the remaining two comedians 10 minutes to decide the championship.

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Comedian Jon Stewart attacks Mad Money's Rick Santelli

Comedian Stewart’s a populist. He may have mocked CNBC’s Rick Santelli’s live populist appeal to the traders on the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade, but by no means is comedian Stewart's “The Daily Show” a leader in social thought.

"This is where comedy and politics collide" says Paul Brighton of Audition Portal.

Online news outlets labeled Jon Stewart’s interview of CNBC’s “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer with headlines such as “Stewart Eviscerates Cramer, CNBC,” and “Jon Stewart Thrashes Jim Cramer.”

Anyone who watched the interview knows that it wasn’t in typical comedian Stewart fashion. The host of “The Daily Show” didn’t josh around with Cramer; he indignantly crucified him and his network.

Last Thursday Cramer became the regrettable face of everything that’s wrong with modern journalism, and, worse yet, comedian Stewart epitomized everything that’s right.

CNBC, with its programs and pundits that speculate on financial news, doesn’t seem to fully appreciate the power it holds in swaying consumer confidence and upholding the idea of Wall Street responsibility. They have championed the senseless idea that money can be instantaneous, or fast, or even mad — elevating the shady 3 a.m. easy–money infomercial to prime–time status and labeling it as American as apple pie.

There is a place for opinion, for speculation, but it’s typically labeled as such. There is also a place for biting investigative journalism that uncovers the hypocrisy and shady dealings of our world, something that seems to be in small supply today. Something that comedian Stewart and Co. capitalized on last week, as the ratings of “Mad Money” plummeted and “The Daily Show” soared.

Today, the angry mob is pointing its pitchforks at the world of Wall Street and financial news networks, but yesterday they were ready to torch the regular news media for not paying more attention to the flimsy case for war in Iraq. Even then, it was comedian Stewart who led the bastion of ragtag flamethrowers, scolding Tucker Carlson and Paul Begala on the since–canceled CNN program “Crossfire” for denigrating our political system into an obnoxious shouting match.

Something is seriously wrong when our nation’s court jester has to point out the failings of our political and financial leaders. But it’s no surprise that we’ve come to this point. The Internet has allowed anyone, even crazy people, to not only have an opinion but also shout it out to the world.

It’s no wonder that the popularity of television opinion programs have exploded in recent years. Opining has become an art that anyone can practice, and it seems that news conglomerates have pushed the prestige and credibility of news programs aside for the ratings of opinion programs.

Comedian Robin Williams has Heart Surgery

Comedian Robin Williams has surgery
In a statement issued Thursday, Williams' publicist, Diane Rosen, said that the renowned comedian and actor needs an aortic valve replacement.

"Our best wishes go out to Robin and his family" said Paul Brighton of Audition Portal.

Despite a personal history of alcoholism, a family history of heart failure and being forced to cancel a comedic tour due to a heart-related problem, 57-year-old comedian Robin Williams will likely emerge safely from his upcoming heart surgery, heart doctors agree.

According to Associated Press reports, the comedian canceled four shows of his "Weapons of Self-Destruction" tour in Florida earlier in the week after he experienced shortness of breath and was taken to a Miami hospital.

Comedian Williams was also quoted in the statement as saying, "I'm so touched by everyone's support and well wishes... This tour has been amazing fun and I can't wait to get back out on the road after a little tune-up."

Williams' publicists have not revealed when or at what hospital his surgery will take place. A message left for further comment was not immediately returned.

But though details remain scarce, heart doctors said aortic valve replacement today is a fairly routine procedure and that Williams will likely emerge unscathed.

"The prognosis is actually quite good, assuming that the procedure is limited to the aortic valve they are replacing," said Dr. Timothy Gardner, president of the American Heart Association and medical director of the Center for Heart and Vascular Health for the Christiana Care Health System.

"In someone who is healthy, despite being in their late 50s, there is a very low operative risk of failure, death or complications."

Dr. Richard Shemin, chief of the Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, noted that the procedure is not an uncommon one, even in patients as young as Williams.

"Aortic valve replacement surgery is quite commonly performed these days," he said.
According to statistics from the American Heart Association, surgeons in the United States performed 17,592 aortic valve procedures in 2007. On average, these patients spent only eight days in the hospital after their surgeries.

Robin Williams' brother died of heart failure. "It is not a no-risk procedure; this is open heart surgery," Gardner said. But he added that he believes that the risk of complications associated with this procedure, including death, is less than 5 percent.

The comedian's past alcoholism likely won't affect chances. If comedian Williams has had any prior heart difficulties, he has kept them from the media. However, Williams' family has not been untouched by heart disease. In 2007, his brother Robert Todd Williams passed away from heart failure at the age of 69.

The comedian has also openly admitted a battle with alcoholism, which sent him to a rehabilitation clinic in 2006 after 20 years of sobriety. Two months after he checked himself in, he spoke to anchor Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America" about the continuation of his struggle with alcoholism, as well as cocaine abuse, in the early 1980s.

Past research has shown that heavy drinking over time can damage the heart and increase the chances of certain cardiovascular illnesses. However, Gardner said Williams' specific condition is almost certainly unrelated to his past alcoholism.

"There is no connection between alcoholism or alcohol abuse and aortic valve problems," he said.

"It is also very unlikely that his past alcohol abuse has affected this comedian's heart because we see him having been fully functional and fine before this."

Comedian Williams' current problem with his aortic valve may even be congenital; Gardner and Shemin agreed that even slightly deformed aortic valves can function normally until patients reach middle age, after which symptoms surface for some.

Shemin said that while there are a number of ways that the surgery can be performed, all involve cutting the faulty valve out and replacing it. During the procedure, doctors will hook Williams up to a machine that will keep Williams' blood oxygenated and flowing through his body, allowing them to stop Williams' heart for part of the three- to four-hour procedure.

"It is necessary to stop the heart to protect the mucles of the heart when you're doing the replacement," Shemin said.

"These operations restore people back to their totally normal life activities and abilities to do things," he said. "Almost always it restores them back to a totally normal lifespan."

Gardner said that it is likely that Williams will have surgery sometime within the next couple of weeks, and the procedure will probably involve the replacement of Williams' own valve with a mechanical valve or one made from pig or cow tissue.

Despite the serious-sounding nature of this part of the procedure, however, Shemin said that most patients are well enough two weeks after the surgery to walk a mile -- and are completely recovered after just four to six weeks.