September 2024
Our free monthly newsletter, featuring all the emerging comedy making us laugh right now...
Hi friends,
You know what? Skip this intro, it’s all filler. It’s too hot to read. Ignore this pointless introduction and just get to the good part: clicking links. All the really funny stuff is under this paragraph, we promise. Go ahead and laugh, relax your shoulders, then drink a tall glass of ice water and call it a day. You work too hard. Go LOL a lil, why don’t you. xx
Los Angeles
Stephen Brower (who you might know from his deservedly popular “if I would date them” series) is bringing his solo show “Palatable Gay Robot” to Dynasty Typewriter on September 18th. TBH this is one where we’re telling you to go because we’ll be there — in addition to positive buzz following its run at Chelsea Music Hall, Brower is a Broadway-vetted performer with a solid portfolio of online content that demonstrates an original voice. What else do you need? GO.
“Miami raised and Brooklyn abused” comedian and writer Tatiana Frank is headlining Lyric Hyperion on September 21st. Her standup is disarmingly funny — well-written punchlines with candid personal detail, filled with self-deprecation — and this show will mark her first visit to the west coast.
New York
Ariel Elias is hosting a new live game show called “Venns with Benefits” at Caveat in which professional comedians are tasked with guessing the center of a venn diagram between two unconnected concepts, e.g. What connects “divorce” and “Walmart”? What about “taxes” and “being tickled”? Or “the 1%” and “zoos”?
The sweetest boys in sketch comedy are moving back to LA (sorry New York!) Say goodbye to Business Casual at Union Hall on September 14th, with special guests including the very funny Joey Dardano.
GOOD, NEW SHOW ALERT: Rising from the ashes of the recently retired Butterboy, and featuring a murderer’s row of NYC’s nicest hosts, true comedy die hards won’t want to miss Frankenstein’s Baby at Union Hall every 1st and 3rd Monday at Union Hall.
"Pink Eye" from Jacob Motz brilliantly captures the awkward and ridiculous lengths people will go to avoid a seemingly harmless infection, turning everyday interactions into laugh-out-loud moments. With sharp comedic timing and a knack for exaggerating the mundane, "Pink Eye" turns a minor inconvenience into a major - adn wildly entertaining - catastrophe.
“Caller Number 9” is a short that further solidifies Sandy Honig as a comedic filmmaker everyone simply must know. Everything in this delectable 8-minute short is off-beat and yet pitch perfect: the concept, the performances, the visuals.
Animator Napoleon Chavez has created hands down the best rat on the internet: CORDAROY. The character design is sleek and the lil guy gets remarkable mileage out of his catchphrase: “Yeah!”
Christina Fidler is an animator and director known for her “twitchy lines, fast-paced gags, and off-kilter universes.” Her micro-short “Prisoner of War” is a great introduction to her work, and her full portfolio is available to check out here.
Thanks to Silverlake Shorts (whose next event is September 13th at El Cid), we got to catch the incredible short “Bug Diner,” written, directed and animated by Phoebe Jane Hart. This short is the good kind of weird that you have to see to believe. You can and should catch it in any of the upcoming Sundance Short Films screenings.
Toby Ilogu's "Cheat On Your Man Anthem" is a cleverly-written, fun, simple concept that will be stuck in your head for days to come. He's an up-and-coming multi-hyphenate with a growing fanbase and is someone worth tracking in the comedy space.
Jordan Myrick is a writer and comedian whose fast-paced reels are a must-follow food diary for anyone in LA wondering where to eat. She’s launching a new cooking show on Dropout in October called “Gastronauts” but until then you should take her advice on the best sushi spots in LA.
Tatyana Guchi is an unrepped LA-based comic who you should follow if for no other reason than she’s having fun — and it’s contagious. We’re excited to check out her improv group (Bernie Mac and Cheese) at their residency at the West Side Comedy Club.
Every month (here in our free newsletter) we’ll share a script from a comedic writer that we think you should know. It’s that simple! This month’s script is…. MOONBANDITS by Michael Lukk Litwak.
Logline: When the invention of droids disrupts the bandit industry, a team of outlaws sets out for what could be their last score. An ensemble sci-fi adventure combined with a female heist comedy with the flavor of a classic western.
Click here to download the script.
Michael Lukk Litwak is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker that was born and raised in Los Angeles. He likes to tell character-driven stories that embrace the absurd, often through a lens of classic genre-filmmaking. His first feature film was ‘MOLLI AND MAX IN THE FUTURE’ a sci-fi romantic comedy commonly described as ‘When Harry Met Sally’ meets ‘Rick & Morty.’
That’s it for this month.
Thanks!
*This newsletter features contributions from a team of comedy tastemakers:
Carly Hoogendyk
Emily Kochman
Casey Hodgkinson