IO to host SNL watch party

IO will be hosting a watch party for the new season of Saturday Night Live this Saturday. The party is free and no reservations are needed.

The iO Theater and its community of writers and performers invites you to join them in celebrating the success of new Saturday Night Live hires and iO alumni Vanessa Bayer and Paul Brittain with a viewing party at iO.

Bayer and Brittain are following in the footsteps of recent iO hires like writer Michael Patrick O’Brien and SNL Legends like Tina Fey and Mike Myers. While we celebrate every year that an iO troupe member is hired for SNL, this night will be an event to remember.

The episode will be shown on our large projector screen in The Del Close Theater. Admission will be free and seating will be on a first come first served-basis, with the house opening at 10:00 PM.

That Denver show...

A few articles have hit the internets with regards to the limited engagement run in Denver, Colorado.

The first profiles Micah Sherman:

Among the talented touring Second City ensemble is Micah Sherman. Denver is the second city where Sherman has performed with Second City, and he said he has enjoyed working with the group of talented people who make up the ensemble.

“I love performing with the cast, everybody is really funny,” he said.

Sherman has been doing improv comedy since he was 15 years old. Like any activity, there was a steep learning curve at first, but Sherman enjoyed the process enough to stick with it.

“It’s the highest I’ve ever been, it’s a thrill,” he said. “A lot of people like to skydive and all that (stuff), I do improv.”

The second article also profiles Micah Sherman. Something tells me that it will not be too long before we see Micah performing regularly on the ETC or Mainstages.

Here's how Sherman explains it:

"Let's say I'm a congressman in the U.S. House of Representatives," he said. "You wouldn't assume that I was, say, Alexander Hamilton. I am your local, contemporary congressman. I'm someone the entire country hasn't heard of yet . . . but I still have a promising political career in front of me."

The problem with his analogy: "There are no congressmen who are funny the that I am funny," he admits. "They're funny the way congressmen are funny, in that we like to laugh at them."[...]

"All of the sketches that we will be performing in Denver were written by people like Stephen Colbert, Tina Fey and Dan Castellaneta (the voice of Homer Simpson)" Sherman said. "So while the material was written by people you have heard of, it's all being performed by people you haven't — like Micah Sherman."

He describes the evening as a journey through Second City's storied past, with narration peppered throughout explaining who was responsible for writing what scenes. He says one sketch written by Arkin in 1961 "is amazing for how well it still plays."

The limited run in Denver ends on October 10th.

Big Ten Tailgate

For those wondering what happened to all the correspondents from the Big Ten Friday Night Tailgate appearing on the Big Ten Network presented by iO, I know for a fact that Tim Baltz is appearing on the Second City ETC stages these days.

Jordan Klepper, I'm not so sure about. Nor am I sure with Steve Waltien. Other than performing regularly at IO.

The other difference this season is that Mike Hall is on the road as opposed to being in studio.

A POB Interview

No, I didn't interview POB but Live from New York, It's Saturday Night did. Here's an excerpt:

What advice, if any, do you have for aspiring comedy performers/writers?
Everything I've ever gotten has come to me when I stopped trying to get things, and focused on finding and performing in my own voice. So, make sure the bulk of your time is spent on projects that are truly unique to you and keep you up at night with excitement, not projects that showcase your cast ability. I'd also say don't get married to one path. I see a lot of people who let the fact that Second City or SNL has not hired them cause them to become bitter and/or quit comedy. I think it's healthier to set goals like, "I want to be working with friends and producing interesting comedy for a living some time soon," than "I need to get Second City main stage by 2012 and SNL by 2015 or I've failed."

Lastly, don't spend any energy worrying about what other comedians have been hired for, whether they deserve it, whether their last joke was good or not... Just worry about your own stuff and do your best to enjoy all the hilarious people out there without judgment. All easier said than done.