Mikey Kolberg

Indefinite Hiatus

Hey guys,

So obviously I haven’t written anything here for a couple months. The long and short of it is I got a job writing for TorontoStandard.com and any other writing I’m doing is for my own comedy so I just don’t have any room in my life for blogging right now. There are a bunch of other great comedy blogs covering the scene now like Comedy Uncovered and Third Beat. Hope you enjoyed the blog. Go see comedy. And follow me on Twitter.

Paul F. Tompkins – The Video Game

Ever wanted to know what it’s like to tell jokes just like your favourite stand-up comedians? Too afraid to get on stage and try it yourself? Now you can do it from your couch with Paul F. Tompkins: The Video Game. Laugh Sabbath Alumni Adam & Dave directed this sketch for Jon Dore’s Funny As Hell on HBO Canada so this totally counts as local content.

Send Cheryl Hann To Space!

Cheryl Hann of Picnicface has always dreamed of seeing the Earth from orbit. It’s been her greatest wish ever since she was a little girl. When her mom called her to let her know that Metro Newspaper announced a contest that would send the winner into space, she dropped everything and launched a campaign to accrue votes. Based on what I’ve read on Facebook and the article she wrote for VICE on the subject, she might die if she doesn’t win. If she gets enough votes to make it to the final round and ultimately into orbit, she might die for other reasons. Here’s what she told VICE:

If I win – well, fuck. If I win, I’ll be happy. There isn’t a word yet for this kind of happiness. I don’t know what to expect from this experience except to have the wonders of the universe take a dump in my mind. I guess I’ll probably take a hundred thousand pictures, and then put my camera away when I realize it’s preventing me from really seeing what I came to see. I’ll probably try and catch my space-tears in a jar so you can all taste them, too.

Read the whole article here.

If you have any heart you should vote Cheryl into space. GO HERE TO VOTE CHERYL AS MANY AS 10 TIMES PER DAY. As her Picnicface cast mate Mark Little wrote, “Go to space, Cheryl. Go to space.”

UPDATE: Cheryl’s camp just posted this rousing rap campaign video. Enjoy.

Oh yeah and watch all of Picnicface’s videos and stuff.

Real Professional Duo No Longer Have A Reason To Reject You

Lousy Smarch weather this ain’t. All the sunshine in the city has boys and girls shedding layers faster than you can recite the Second Amendment: “You have the right to bare arms!” As this new video from Claire Stollery and Katie Uhlmann points out, the warm temperatures also mean that the good lookin’ ladies of Real Professional Duo will no longer have any impediments to getting laid. Spring really is the open season.

Follow Real Professional Duo on Twitter @RealProfesh

Canadian International Comedy Fest Primer

Sorry I haven’t been posting over the last week or so, I’ve been busy with a new gig writing for Toronto Standard. The good news is, sometimes I get to write about comedy goings-on in town for them. So head on over to see my post on Who To See at the Canadian International Comedy Fest this week.[/not_even_a_real_post]

Marty Topps’ Odes (Plural) to TapouT Gear

Putting on a killer comedy show can be expensive, especially when you go above and beyond a brick wall and a microphone. That’s something Marty Topps knows all too well – his Marty Topps House Party shows feature a DJ, confetti cannons, a professional dance pack, special effects, the whole wazoo. A growing list of expenses has pushed a number of local producers to seek out sponsors and Topps is no different. Recently he recorded some new theme songs in hopes of attracting some sponsorship dollars from his favourite brand: TapouT Gear.

“I made the tunes as a proposition to TapouT for a rebranding,” Marty told me. “Their marketing dept (marketing@tapout.com) ended up blocking my e-mail address after I wouldn’t stop sending in my songs (true story).. so I put a couple of them up on Soundcloud.

“As far as an actual sponsor, I am currently on a sponsorship campaign, generously giving TapouT Gear unsolicited, free advertising at my shows and on my social media. I just love the shirts. Think they’re great shirts!”

While the money may not be pouring in from TapouT yet, Marty’s next show March 2nd (that’s tonight!) hopes to raise some much needed cash for his show’s producer. From the invite:

Tragedy has struck our producer Brandon, but WHATEVAR! Who cares! Cuz it’s given us an excuse to throw the biggest, highest profile Marty Topps House Party show we’ve ever done! We’re raising $1,000,000.000 one penny at a time so don’t forget to bring your pocket book.

With dubiously promised appearances from big time Canadian celebs like Kim “Kitty” Katrall, Paul “Gross!” Gross and Brent “The Butt” Butt, it should be a great show.

Here’s a little taste of last month’s 10th Anniversary show for the uninitiated:

Guest Post: The Roast of Dan Ramos

The following is a guest post written by my friend James Boyd about another friend of ours, comedian Dan Ramos. Maybe you’ve heard of him? Maybe yes? Maybe no? Well, either way this is going to be a good read. I won’t say anything else because James says pretty much everything you need to know.

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Toronto stand-up and actor Dan Ramos for many years. And in that time I’ve collaborated with Dan on countless comedic projects. So it’s safe to say I’ve seen Dan do a lot of ridiculous things to try to get laughs.

I’ve seen him fall off a kitchen table and break a lamp. I’ve seen him pull down a fellow cast member’s pants on stage. I’ve seen him run through university lecture halls in a banana suit screaming while being chased by a 7-foot gorilla. I’ve seen him drink paint.

From performing poetry about fisting, to miming having his head shoved into an anus, Dan will do and has done anything it takes to get a rise out of an audience. Heck I was even witness to him kissing the editor of this very website on the lips (a smooch which was Mikey’s first and only on-screen kiss up til now I believe.)

But this Saturday Dan won’t have to do a thing to get laughs. He won’t even have to get up out of his seat. You guessed it, he’s being roasted.

Dan is leaving Toronto at the end of the month for the big stage of New York City after over 7 years contributing to the local comedy scene. As a parting gift the members of his sketch comedy troupe Touch My Stereotype (TMS) have organized The Roast of Dan Ramos, this Saturday night at 10:30pm at Comedy Bar; tickets are $10. The event will feature many of Dan’s collaborators and contemporaries roasting and performing tributes to him, including members of TMS, The Raisin Gang and Fun Time Internet.

In my completely nonobjective opinion, Dan is a truly special comedic talent and the chance to see him on stage one more time should not be missed. And better yet, proceeds from the show will help Dan in paying for his move and fulfilling a dream.

If you aren’t familiar with his work and want to evaluate his chops before buying a ticket, you can find hours of his material on YouTube including a feature length doc I made about him from a couple years back.

But if you’re looking for a quick sampling, here’s some good stuff to start with:

Stand-up (Montreal 2007)

– This is a few years old, and the quality isn’t the greatest, but it showcases Dan’s ability to command a crowd while delivering the craziest of material.

Prom Day

– Dan’s always been great on camera and on Saturday in addition to the roasting there will be video clips shown of the best acting work Dan did while in this town. This short is right up there, as it won the 24-hour Film Challenge in ’08 and co-stars Comedy at the Ossington’s Stephanie Kaliner and Jeremy Mersereau.

Sparkles

In addition to performing Dan is also an inventive and accomplished video editing wizard. He put together this video for TMS. “What is Sparkles?”

Music Class

Dan broke into the TO comedy scene with Ryerson’s sketch show RIOT. Here’s a skit in which he essentially improvised the dialogue anew at each performance.

– James Boyd

James is Toronto-based videographer and editor. He co-owns and operates Single Space Productions, a video production company, and occasionally he still shoots and edits short films for his funny friends. www.SingleSpaceProductions.com

Laugh Sabbath Born Again at Comedy Bar

It’s been two long months but the wait is finally over: Laugh Sabbath is back, baby! Toronto’s funniest comedy collective has parted ways with The Rivoli after a healthy 6 year run at the legendary club and have moved into some new digs at Comedy Bar where they’ll be every Thursday starting this week on February 16th. I know this reads like advertising copy, but I just such a fan of this bunch of comedians, I get a little aggressive. Check out a little preview of the Laugh Sabbath regulars gracing the stage for the rebirth.

James Hartnett & Tim Polley (Performing separately, I assume, but together in this classic sketch)

Kathleen Phillips

Tim Gilbert

Chris Locke

Hosted by Brian Barlow

And that’s just the first one! If you haven’t ever seen these guys before, I strongly urge that you do. That’s all I can say really.

Follow Laugh Sabbath on Twitter @laughsabbath