I've been off the radar so far this week, but that's partially because of all the work Sam, Gerrit and I have been doing on the new video. This one's been a beast to put together. With everything else we've shot, we've either had outside help or been in a moving car with no room for fancy-pants equipment. This time around we've had to do everything ourselves AND try to maintain those "production values" that all the kids seem to be into these days.

On previous shoots our collective butt has been saved by our good friend Bill Buckendorf, who has his own light kit, camera and microphones, and also the patience of a saint. He's much in demand among other, more established NYC comedy types and with good reason. He works quickly, he's professional, and he's great at his job.

Oh man, we miss Bill.

That said, we're still having a blast shooting this thing-- from scrounging equipment to planning a shot list to dressing the set, we've done a pretty good job of learning as we go. I fell in love with our neighborhood hardware store when I found out they'd sell me two of these babies for about 30 bucks. We snagged a tripod from my improv buddy Jamie Cummings. Winston and LuX2 went beyond the call of duty and showed up this morning for a 7:30 outdoor shoot before work.

I think the end product will hold up pretty well. But it's been really labor intensive.

Photos to come. 

I've been kind of a non-presence on the ol' 2log lately. The holidays were nuts, and since they've been over, I've been channeling most of my writing impulses towards some non- Ao2 projects I've wanted to work on for a while.

Also, as Sam mentioned in the last nooze post, I spent all last weekend auditioning to be be a member of a house team at the PIT.

I've been spending more and more time at that theater over the past year, meeting fantastic people, learning from an incredibly talented  faculty of performers, and discovering one of the warmest, most supportive communities I've ever been a part of. Pitizens are a rare breed in a business and a city that can be pretty sharky.

Auditions are a nerve-wracking process, and the PIT did everything possible to make everyone feel as relaxed and welcome during the process as possible. When callbacks begin with a spontaneous twenty-minute dance party, you know you're part of something special. There was never any sense of competition--just a room packed to the rafters with comedy geeks having a great time watching each other play.

Anyway, I got the call Sunday night that I had been picked for a team. You'll be able to see me (and my new teammates) doing regular shows at the PIT very soon-- once the theater figures out how to work the two new teams they made this weekend into the schedule, and once we know what the hell we're calling ourselves. I'll post details here as soon as I have 'em, which oughta be by the end of this week.

Thanks to the PIT, and to everybody I played with Saturday and Sunday. It was the best time I've ever had performing in this city.

I'll get back to posting my usual horseshit here soon.

Quick plug, to be followed by an actual post later today:

Looks like my first show at the PIT with my new teammates will be WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16th at 7:00 PM.

All the teams at theater will be playing that night. It's gonna be a big ol' party.  Plus, as with every wednesday at the PIT, all shows are free! Hot shit!  You can come for the early show and stay all night. If you're here in NYC, come on down!

No, we don't have a name yet.

Just a quick reminder to any NYC-based 2log readers that you can see me and the rest of the newly christened PIT house team, "Vacation Island," Tonight at 7:00 and every wednesday from here on out.

Stick around the rest of the night for performances by folks who have performed and written for SNL, 30 Rock, Flight of the Conchords and more.

And it's all free! Free I tells ya!

Details on The PIT website.

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to watch Michael Showalter, an aristocrat most notable for sleeping between 5-10 hours a day.  He was hosting a comedy set.  I don't often watch the all the cool underground NYC comedy stuff Ben is successfully clawing his way to the top of, because I'm a boring homebody who likes to sit at home and memorize his periodic table of the elements.  Huzzah for Tungsten!

Nonetheless, it was cool to see a set by the always hilarious Aziz Ansari, who showed some clips from season 2 of his TV sketch comedy show.  Now, I don't have TV, so I didn't know this show existed.  But, from the rough cut, it looked awfully funny.  It appears to be about four dudes:

• Aziz, whom we know is funny
• Paul Scheer, under whom Ben and Sam studied
• Some dude who looks enough like Bob Odenkirk, I'll just assume it's him
• A monkey with a gun, although the monkey was probably just an extra

The name of the show is something like Ghost Town or Bean Sprout.  I can't remember.  Google things until you find it.  Or look around TV, probably on cable.  You may want to consider thinking about checking it out.

In hindsight, I think I more effectively plugged a certain chemical element (hint: atomic number 74, symbol W) than a TV show I've never really seen.  But it has such a notably high melting point and tensile strength, so I think it deserves your respect and adoration.

A few weeks ago I did a show where I played a character that went to Assassin Camp. I had a line about how we had all been issued guns that shoot knives, which got a decent sized laugh.

Cut to the other night. I sat down to catch up with latest from Channel 102 and discovered that Matt Donnelly wrote a similar joke, and had done it much better. The video had premiered the night before my show. Eep.

I didn't want Donnelly to think I stole his bit, plus it was a nifty coincidence, so I chatted with him about it. Turns out HE got the idea from Pete LePage who had been geeking out over a knife-gun in the pages of Punisher at his talk show, and got a huge laugh from that.

Then I remembered that Jason Kalter from Rue Brutalia does a sketch with a line in it about a gun that shoots cancer.

So basically, if you want a guaranteed laugh at the PIT, do a bit about a gun that shoots deadly but incongruous objects. You'll kill.

I'm going out of town this weekend, so you guys get your matinee a few hours early. Here's a couple gems from NYC sketch greats Elephant Larry. These guys have a sense of fun that's damned near impossible to duplicate.

Dammit, Elephant Larry! Stop hogging all the awesome!

Jon and Jason from Rue Brutalia are pretty damned funny. Even when they're horribly maiming people.