August 2024
Our free monthly newsletter, featuring the first ever "Script of the Month" and all the emerging comedy making us laugh right now...
Hi all,
It’s August, which means a couple things (besides “it’s hot”):
The Edinburgh Fringe is in full swing (and will be for the entire month). We debuted our new series “Scene Report” from Zach Schiffman last week, asking the question “Is Edinburgh Fringe Worth It?” And you definitely don’t want to miss guest columnist David Zucker’s expansive Edinburgh Fringe Guide 2024 — with priceless advice for fest-goers and over 150 show recommendations, his list includes “Absolute, non-negotiable must-sees” as well as “Award Winning Shows” and “People I Just Fucking Love.”
It feels like the whole friggin’ town is on vacation. On the upside, travel time is a great opportunity to read and watch shorts from comedians you might not know yet!
That said: Let’s ride.
Los Angeles
Courtney Pauroso has been mentioned in the newsletter a whole bunch by now — but this week at the Elysian, she’ll be presenting both her “complicated youngest” (Vanessa 5000) as well as her “beloved firstborn” (Gutterplum). If you’ve missed either, now is your chance to do better.
Rob McElhenney’s More Better Productions is getting into standup! They hosted an especially strong showcase at Dynasty Typewriter this past month, and will present a new lineup hosted by Moses Storm on August 14th.
Zoe Zakson may have just graduated from college, but she’s already well into a burgeoning standup career. You can see her at The Crow as well as at the new show she hosts alongside Kate Saltel called This U?, where comedians roast (willing) audience members based on their digital footprint; next date is TBD, so follow her for updates.
New York
We recently name dropped Marley Gotterer in the newsletter (as an act in Trans-It Girls), and now she is appearing solo at the Bell House in CRUSH: Marley Gotterer the Strongest Woman in New York. The show — on September 5th, directed by Peter Smith (Oh, Mary!) — will feature Gotterer performing physical feats like those from her Twinks vs. Dolls wins (as featured in The Cut).
Henry Hall's new music video Wikipedia-ing Poisonous Snakes is notable on a few levels - as a good, funny rock song by singer/songwriter & actor Hall, and a fun piece of comedic filmmaking by Hall and co-director Liz Charky.
Jim Cummings's new short is now online after world-premiering at Tribeca in June. Fans of Cummings's sensibility will love this one - like Thunder Road, it hones in one on a specific premise and really goes there. Jim stars as a representative of Marvel tasked with showing a Make-a-Wish patient the latest Captain America movie, only to be stymied when the child asks why there aren't any gay characters in the film. Things decline further from there.
Roger is a great sketch about a woman (Charly Clive) who orders a new sex toy called The Roger, which turns out to be a very mid, real-life guy. The short is a great sendup of annoying womens' sex toy marketing and a funny sketch that surprises. Written by Daisy Bard.
The latest from Adult Swim's Smalls Program, "Dewdge Center" (from Tonight Show writer Brooks Allison) uses a distinct animation style, combining surreal - almost grotesque - visuals with a raw, unpolished aesthetic and pairs it with a quirky, offbeat sense of humor. The character designs are exaggerated and the movements feel chaotic, but it comes together with sharp, satirical dialogue to reflect the absurd and irreverent world of Dewdge Center.
A thoughtful, funny short from Sean Buckelew about the innermost thoughts of the robots in our lives, "I Am a Robot" expertly explores themes of identity and self-awareness through the lens of AI. The animation style is fluid and uses expressive movements to showcase the introspective storytelling, asking the audience to reflect on what it means to be humans. The comedy is smart, using the juxtaposition of what a robot is with its earnest, funny attempts to navigate through the human world.
This month’s success story: Boman Martinez-Reid first went viral with his spot-on parodies of reality TV and celebrity press moments, especially his take on The Kardashians. This lover of TV now has a show of his own on Canada’s Crave, entitled MADE FOR TV, where he tries out various genres the medium is known for, including dating show, cooking contests, and drag competitions, among others. It’s all very meta, very silly, and very funny. All episodes are streaming now.
Jamie Linn Watson and Courtney O’Donnell are like Chappel Roan in that they are “your favorite Brooklyn basement comic’s favorite Brooklyn basement comics.” But their recent collab sketch will almost certainly make the industry gatekeeper in anyone’s heart laugh.
Vienna Ayla is bringing the theatre kid energy to the crowded field of TikTok characters, and it’s working. She plays with archetypes we instantly recognize - the girl with a crush, that one friend parallel parking, and our personal favorite, the personality hire - but she gives them 3-dimensional shape. Brands are beginning to recognize the power of Vienna’s characters and charm, it’s only a matter of time before casting directors do as well.
Chris Grace and his solo show “Chris Grace as Scarlett Johansson” has won over audiences at both the Hollywood and Edinburgh Fringe, as well as the Kennedy Center. And on August 23rd, the legitimately talked about special will be available to stream on Dropout.TV — as good a reason as any to subscribe to the platform!
We’re trying a new thing! 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…. BLANCHE by Samantha Shier.
Logline: Set in the 1950s, when 18-year-old Blanche finds herself trapped in a miserable marriage with a deadbeat husband, she is determined to go against the law, and worse, her meddlesome mother’s wishes, to achieve the unthinkable dream: getting a divorce.
Click here to download the script.
Samantha Shier is currently a staff writer on the first season of an upcoming FX Series ENGLISH TEACHER created by Brian Jordan Alvarez. Before that, Samantha was the Script Coordinator on THE BEAR for Season 3. Samantha has been part of WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS since season 1 working under Paul Simms and became an associate producer in season 4. She received a B.A. in Film Studies at McGill University.
That’s it for this month.
Thanks!
*This newsletter features contributions from a team of comedy tastemakers:
Carly Hoogendyk
Emily Kochman
Keelin Ryan
Casey Hodgkinson