Stand-up comedy at Bryant Lake Bowl Tuesday, July 29 7 PM

I'll be performing some of my new comedy with the Last Laugh crew at Bryant Lake Bowl this Tuesday 7 PM, July 29! This show does sell out at times, so reserve tickets early: $10/advance, $12 day of show. Tickets· FAQ · Map · Directions · Review

From the website: “Last Laugh is a hilarious evening of hysterical stand up comedy and outrageous Improv featuring some of the best and brightest comedy performers on the rise: a night not to be missed!”

A wonderful and funny guy I know from Clear Channel Radio, Jason Schommer, is one of the co-founders of LaVie theater, and will be "headlining" the stand-up comedy portion of the show. He's fantastically funny! (And I hope your shoulder is feeling better, Jason!) Some of his stories remind me a little of David Sedaris, only he's bigger and funnier!

Funniest Person Contest at Acme Comedy Co.!

This follows my going onstage June 12 (my wedding anniversary) at Acme Comedy Co. in downtown Minneapolis. I recommend you don't miss the Monday night free show at Acme every week--it's is often better than some other paid shows around town, in my opinion; they have visiting comics from around the country and locally trying out new material Monday nights.


Restaurant, Theater, Bar and Bowling!

If you're unfamiliar with Bryant Lake Bowl, it's a cool place with a theater, restaurant, bar and bowling lanes. It's an eclectic hangout where you can get fine food, beer, espresso.. and see a play, dance performance, or comedy show--and bowl!

You also might catch a glimpse of some of Minnesota's Hollywood-connected people like Winona Ryder, Josh Hartnett (once sighted there with Scarlett Johansson), or the Gyllenhaals. It's also extremely pleasant since Minneapolis did away with smoking in restaurants a couple of years ago!! The BLB's "Theater Happy Hour" includes appetizer deals and drink specials from 3 pm-6 pm M - F.

I'll post a clip from the performance here after the show.

Last Laugh with Sarah at Bryant Lake Bowl
Tuesday, July, $10 in advance, $12 day of show.
Buy tickets · Directions and FAQ · Map · Review

How does a comic/comedian talk or dialogue with an audience?

Comedians are supposed to know how to connect with their audience. (Videos below!)

For example, a generic rule of thumb from a comedy class (that my husband Dave taught) is, when your rehearsed material is not working, connect with the audience. You can just change your tone, or wording, or where you look, or you can actually talk with the audience. When people feel you've connected with them (often signaled by getting some laughs), go back to delivering your rehearsed material. (This is not a hard rule, but a general guideline for new comics learning the ropes.)

This can take almost any form. A comic (Chris Barron, performing in Minneapolis) once had a man with a huge beard in the front row. Whenever his jokes stopped getting laughs, he would just point to the guy with the beard in the front, begin clapping and say "Ladies and Gentleman, Mr. Grizzly Adams. A big hand for Mr. Grizzly Adams!!" People would laugh, and he would go on with his show. (It was amazingly effective.)

But what do you say to them if you talk? I couldn't find any examples by searching the the web, so I looked through some clips of the comic many people feel is one of the best ever at talking to the audience: Paula Poundstone. And I found some great stuff, all included below!

Paula is famous for "interviewing" folks and quickly finding all kinds of funny things to bring out. Usually she is interviewing audience members, but in one case below, she interviews a talk show host (who thinks he is interviewing her, but ends up laughing hysterically).

She often incorporates information that just came up, so some of the clips start a little bit before she talks to the audience, so you can hear how she incorporates things. Keep listening to see how she weaves the information into her talk with folks, and how once she gets going it gets funny quickly.

The first two videos pretty much start with Paula talking to the audience, but the later ones you have to fast forward to get to the best starting point. Until I get the videos into clips of just the suggested parts, what you can do is click a video to start it, then pause it. It will keep downloading while it's paused, and then after a bit you can forward it to the suggested start time, which I've posted above each video for now. (Or you can just watch the each thing from the beginning while you wait for her to get into it with folks.) Remember, the first two you can just watch right from the beginning.

So without further ado, heeeere's Paula!

Funny Girls - Paula Poundstone Bonus: Kind Work


Start after song at beginning


Start video from 2:55


Start video from 3:50


Start video from 5:02


Start video from 1:50

Trying Out New Material as a Stand-Up Comic

Naked Barbie silhouettes finally get their comeuppance!









Last night I made my debut on Hennepin Avenue doing standup comedy with Lisa Lampanelli! (Okay, maybe she was at the Minneapolis State Theater and I was ten blocks away at the JDC Theater, but you get the idea.)



I was one of the dancers in Cassandra's Cabaret, a show Cassandra does several times a year, drawing different guest performers each time from the pool of club and restaurant dancers in town. The audience sits at small tables and drinks champagne and eats fruit, cheese, sweets, etc.



Cassandra and all three guests each do a 15-minute Oriental Dance Solo. After an intermission, each guest also does a shorter piece of completely of their choosing. Most dancers do a second dance; in a Cabaret years ago my second piece was a Zambra Mora.



This time I decided to FINALLY do my stand-up comedy in the show! Is there a comic you think I sound like? Let me know please!