Thursday, May 04, 2006

Comedy Fest, Mario Deux & a plaster dust coat

Ok, ok I've been putting it off long enough and the Fest is nearly over...

What I did and saw at the Comedy Fest by Lliam Amor, aged 8.

I must confess for all my waffling about supporting and seeing hundreds of shows this festival I have been extraordinarily slack and/or unlucky and have only managed to catch a few, including:

Dylan Moran - I kicked off the festival with a night of heavy lidded curmudgeonly Irish goodness. We sat three rows away from this wonderful performer and enjoyed him and his second hand smoke immensely - Then again he could've shuffled in lit a cigarette for an hour and I still would've laughed (or did he just do that - I can't remember). He tapped into the usual comedy catch-alls - sex, relationships, drinking and, strangely, discussing feminist issues and how he had to deal with them onstage because "they're a bunch of loveable muddleheads".



I also took the family to see La La Luna by Wolfe Bowart the Artistic Director of The Shneedles Family Circus. I’ve been a keen follower of the Shneedles on the web and we all hurried along one cold afternoon to see this incredible show. Funny, wry, magical (and all the other usual adjectives that go into describing this beguiling show). A clown - whose not scary, the design and aural quirks of a Circ De Soleil show without the exorbitant ticket prices and some genuinely funny belly laughs from a gifted performer. Plus the kids enjoyed it to.

I have performed in two Late Nite Impro shows now and have my last fling on Saturday night. The new format is great fun and the shows have all been selling out which is a great feeling and testament to the work that Impro Melbourne does as a company.

I'm feeling a bit burnt out though. I don't know why. I go to the Hi Fi bar and I see the same stuff that everyone's done before. Performers trotting out the same stand up acts, recycled and dusted off.... Arrgh I'm becoming a grumpy old man already. Still - good on everyone who took a punt and lost a load of money appearing in the fest this year. The rain hasn't helped.

Other things:

* Bumping into Dylan Moran on the street immediately after his gig and saying very stupidly "great show - really enjoyed it" - he looked pained but thanked me anyway.
* Watching from the top 'soundproofed' Hi Fi bar as Daniel Kitson took to task a man in a white sheet who had crawled onstage, pelting him with apples and poking him with the microphone stand. A bizarre dumb show indeed.
* Locking lips with Tracy Bartram, lifting and carrying her offstage during Celebrity Theatresports (we were in a team together - I'm not a stalker)
* Watching Jason Geary perform with a inner ear infection and still make the audience laugh their heads off.
* Catching the Umbilical Brothers perform some "old" material during the lock in (I can't believe I auditioned for their franchise project - it takes years to perfect that stuff...and even then...)
* Playing "Add in a "specific body part" to a film title" with the Call Girls, Justin Kennedy and others from the Crew in the Peter Cook Bar.
* Witnessing the blatant fawning of a group of very pretty tarts over Arj Barker. Huh! What's he got...etc etc

Celebrity Theatresports 2006, Team: CSI Moe. Me, Geoff Wallis, Tracy Bartram & Simon Rogers

I'm also going to play with the Scrabble Unscripted group on Sunday which will be great fun as I have no idea how it goes - thus the beauty of impro.

Happy Birthday Marios.
Dad was in Canberra so he slung my sister and I his tickets to the Mario's 20th Anniversary party at the Fitzroy Bowling Club. What a great night it was. Both Marios made fulsome speeches and there was much hobnobbing and chatting.

The Renovations are nearly completed (hah) and our lungs have a fine patina of plaster dust as does the rest of the house. Jeez it looks good though.

See you for a drink to finish off a wet fest on Saturday and Sunday at the Cook.