Blog Stage - Acting in Film, TV, Theatre - Backstage

Weekend Plans: The Mini-Fridge Festival

As we prepare for the upcoming holiday weekend by oiling the grill and stocking up on refreshments, many forget that it is also a celebration for our neighbors up north. Happy Canada Day to all the Canucks!

Frigid New York is joining forces with our fellow North Americans to commemorate our independence from the tea-sipping, crumpet-eating lads across the pond. Starting today at Under St. Marks (between First Avenue and Avenue A), the four day Mini-Fridge festival will be BBQ-friendly and packed with patriotism.

Sketchfest NYC Gets FUCT, Murderfist-ed, and More

Sketchfest NYC -- which wrapped up its sixth annual festival last night, after three straight days of sketch comedy at the UCB Theatre -- continues to showcase the wide variety of comedy and performance styles that makes sketch comedy such a vibrant and vital art. We were there for every single blackout, costume change, and musical cue at Sketchfest NYC 2010. Read about the entire weekend, below (and read more about the first night of the festival here):

Two of the annual highlights of the festival, Elephant Larry and Pangea 3000, each combine childlike wonder -- or, more accurately, the awkward feelings of 13-year-old kids -- with visions of an alternate reality in their sharply-written and energetically performed sketches. The boys of Pangea 3000 remind you of somebody's goofy younger brothers as they played baseball in the future, shouted about whispering, conjugated verbs, won a fart noise spelling bee, and didn't forget to thank anyone (especially Jessica Hess). Elephant Larry, meanwhile, would be our troublemaking yet deceptively wise older cousins, pointing out the ridiculousness in things we take for granted such as how to wear clothes, why "that's not what your mom said last night," if someone could be attracted to a circle, and how relish is really made.

In other Sketchfest NYC shows, Team Submarine was frustrated by affirmative action for Klingons, but found art in a student's insulting drawings. Last Call Cleveland brilliantly deconstructed cliche stand-up routines at the "Giggle Boner" comedy club, took a seizure break, then serenaded us with "The One-Semester-of-Spanish Spanish Love Song." Rue Brutalia  tried and failed to advertise orange juice from Betsy Ross Farms, taught valuable self-defense lessons, and confronted a child molester. Free Love Forum introduced us to the Bilk brothers and regretted ever saying "See you, wouldn't want to be you." Long Pork got cartoonishly violent, performed magic, and shocked a gentleman repeatedly with a dog collar in the name of improv.

Sketchfest NYC Begins with BoF, Beer, and Big Laughs

The sixth annual Sketchfest NYC began its three-night sketch comedy festival at the UCB Theatre last night, with opening night performances by BoF, Harvard Sailing Team, Audience of Two, Sidecar, Livia Scott, and John Phillips, as well as a special talk with former Saturday Night Live writer Tom Davis and a final hour of musical comedy performances.

As the sketch duo BoF (Best of Friends), Stephen Soroka and Mamrie Hart used their quick wits and wordplay -- "We don't say 'puns,' we say wordplay," Soroka informed me -- in an all-new show of fast-paced sketches that coined the phrase "enemends" (not to be mistaken with "frienemies"), gave away prizes to a few lucky audience members, performed inscrutable celebrity impressions, and turned a drug bust into a dance party. Compared with their Sketchfest NYC debut a year ago, BoF was noticeably more confident and looser in their performance, timing, and writing last night.

Like BoF, the guys and gals of Sketchfest NYC favorites Harvard Sailing Team seem to be a happy-go-lucky bunch in their matching polos -- until you realize their comedy style is to disarm the audience with a polite smile before punching you in the face. Sketches last night included some of the group's trademark song and dance routines, "Yo Mama Canada," and learning that "McDreaming" is an action verb.

Sketchfest NYC Creates a Community, One Sketch at a Time

The sixth annual Sketchfest NYC, in which 30 different performance groups from around North America converge on Gotham to celebrate the art of sketch comedy, begins tonight and runs through June 12 at the UCB Theatre in NYC. I spoke with several of the producers and performers participating in this year's Sketchfest NYC about the festival, and how they think this annual event has grown to contribute to the creation of a unified sketch comedy community in New York.

"We throw a three-day party celebrating and honoring something that we all love to do and watch," says Shayna Ferm, part of the sketch comedy troupe Fearsome and also a solo sketch and musical comedy performer. "Everyone has fun. Everyone meets people. We all get inspired. You remember your Sketchfest experiences and feel like you 'know' each other afterward. It's a big love-fest." Ferm has been involved in all six years of the festival, not only as a performer but also volunteering, selecting performance groups, and now being part of the producing team for the last two years.

When I first attended Sketchfest NYC four years ago, I immediately felt like I had been initiated as the newest member of some sort of secret club. Three nights of live sketch comedy from some of the best performers across the U.S. and Canada introduced me to the sketch scene in New York, and beyond.

"That's part of our mission, actually," says Sketchfest NYC producer Jeremy Lamb. "To increase awareness about sketch, and hook people."

Sketchfest makes audiences feel like they've crashed a weekend-long bender hosted by sketch comedians who also happened to be the best of friends, and who welcome their new audiences with open arms.

Annual Mermaid Parade Kicks Off Summer

Coney Island prepares for a fun-filled day as the Mermaid Parade takes place this month. The annual event is set to feature an array of elaborate floats, antique cars, marching bands and oceans of costumes.

Currently the country’s largest art parade, The Mermaid Parade has aimed to showcase the artistic self-expression of New York City while celebrating the beginning of summer and bringing forth the rich history of the area.

Introducing the SoHo International Film Festival

The list of accepted films has been announced for the inaugural season of the SoHo International Film Festival. The submissions include 32 films from American and International directors. The fest will run from Feb. 18-21.

The festival was founded by Jorge Ballos, Luis Pedron, and Noli Parumong.

“This new festival will celebrate the cutting-edge digital technology while honoring traditional forms of storytelling,” Ballos says on the festivals website. “We expect to draw audiences to this side of the city, known for its artistic community and cultural sophistication.”

NYMF Announces Submission Deadline

The New York Musical Theatre Festival announced today that it will ccept submissions for the Next Link Project, a program that subsidies the production of 12 shows for the festival, Jan. 11-March 1. Writers may submit new scripts that have not been produced in New York City for consideration in the program, and must include in their submission a demo recording of their songs, a synopsis of their show, a 15-page script selection, and a full script.

Entertainment Industry Opportunities - 11/19/09

Check out these 24 new notices from the BackStage.com Casting/Jobs Database -- film festivals calling for entries, staff/tech/crew jobs, casting workshops, and additional entertainment-industry opportunities:

1. Hellion Pictures: 'WEST'

'Hellion Pictures is seeking cast and crew for West, by Steven Berkoff. "Set in 1960s London, West depicts the hard, gritty working class milieu of its Stamford Hill District. Protagonist Mike is a member of a local gang... More

2. MCC Theater: MCC THEATER, DIR. OF DEVELOPMENT

MCC Theater is seeking staff to join its executive team. MCC Theater is a 24-year-old non-profit Off-Broadway theater that has produced Reasons to be Pretty, Grace, Frozen, Fat Pig, and Wit, am... More

Savannah Film Festival to Open Oct. 31

The 12th Annual Savannah Film Festival will kick off October 31st at the Savannah College of Art and Design with a red carpet event and continue through November 7th.

Featured screenings will include “Precious,” which won the Grand-Jury Prize at Sundance and the Audience Award at the Toronto Film Festival, “The Young Victoria,” and the North American premiere of “The City of Your Final Destination.” Honored guests Emmy Rossum, Patricia Clarkson, and Jeremy Renner will accompany their respective films, “Dare,” Woody Allen’s “Whatever Works,” and “The Hurt Locker.” Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster are also scheduled to attend for starring in Oren Moverman’s “The Messenger.”

Grant Heslov’s “The Men Who Stare at Goats” starring George Clooney, Ewan McGregor, and Kevin Spacey will be shown prior to its November 6th release date.

Traditionally, the festival highlights both professionals and up-and-coming filmmakers. Namely, SCAD students have the opportunity to showcase their films during the festival. Students also had the opportunity to enter a bumper contest with a 20 to 60 second piece themed “celebration of the art of cinema” to open festival films. A popular vote on the bumpers is in progress.

For more information and a schedule of film screenings, visit the Savannah Film Festival website.  

-- Alexis Brown 

Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival Recap

We apologize for being a couple days late with this post, but we had to take some time to recover from the four-day Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, which ran Sept. 17-20 in Brooklyn. This was the second year of the tongue-in-cheek comedy festival, which included themed stand-up shows like "The Comedians of Law and Order" (featuring comedians who have appeared in an episode of Law and Order), two sold-out performances by brilliant British comic Daniel Kitson, panel discussions like "Why Talented People Create Terrible Shows," and more.

Mirman organized his eponymous festival for his own self-amusement, it seems, but the Brooklyn comic's taste in friends and fellow comedians translated into a well-curated weekend of comedy. The opening night party at The Bell House in Gowanus started things off Thursday night with a whole roast pig, butterscotch pudding, and oh yeah, some comedy. 

Continue reading below for photos from the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival Opening Night Party, and other highlights of the night.