No Shame Iowa City 3-5-2010
We had a full show. Full order. Good sized house. A little bit of everything and then some. The order (with descriptions) in the Comments section.
Hope to see you all the Friday after Spring Break (March 26th!)
Hope to see you all the Friday after Spring Break (March 26th!)
Labels: Iowa City
posted by Eli at 12:16 PM
24 Comments:
The Order:
1) This is how I always meet people -by Jordi
(Man and woman ask each other about their odd tendencies)
2) That Damned Alphabet Part A -by Noah S. Brown
(A stalks man. Hits him. "Fuckin' A!")
3) Totally Improvised 1 - by Laugh Track
(Improv. Something about a cow. Etc.)
4) Conversation with a Cat - by James S. Roth
(Cat blackmails man into agreeing to kill the Pres. of Brazil)
4.5) No Mercy - by Calvin
(Coach wants his team to literally rape the other team)
5) Another Tall Tale - by Spence Abbe
(Dying salesman wins a bet with the devil)
6) Three Levels of Abstraction - by Asher Stuhlman
(Back and forth where the players aren't sure if they are in a play or not)
7)Totally Improvised 2 - By Laugh Track
(More Improv. Something about eating too many pickles?)
8)Fuck Your Mother in the Ass Volume 9 - by Lord Sir Chips Simon, Esquire
(DM boring. Confusion as to why incest porn is so popular. Is she suppressing a deep, dark desire to cum on her mom's face?)
8.5) Beef Jerky - by Calvin
(BJ loves Beef Jerky. Man is impotent)
9)Sky Patrol Episode I: That New Guy - by Sky Patrol
(Man gets to join Sky Patrol in SPACE and fire Space Bullets at Space crooks who steal Space Candy from the Space Bank)
10) I had to Pretend to Write like David Mamet for a Class and this is what Happened - by Cassi
(Interaction in world is like robots to person A. B tells him he is full of it)
11) Taken For a Fool - by Eli Wilkinson
(Wife burns ex-husband and his mistress)
12) Buds -by Soren
(Two buds have fight over getting on an airplane)
12.5) Perfectly Normal Conversation -by Jefferson and Madison Streets
(IMU? "You're not me!")
13) Totally Improvised 3 -by Laugh Track
(Yet more improv. Started with a brief summary of FACE/OFF by the great John Woo)
14) Reginald Cassidy on Inside the No Shame Studio - by Luke Christensen
(Kjai interviews Reginald who is really just a acting hack who likes a sound close to clapping and drinks from a flask)
15) These Events are True and Occur in Real Time - by Evn Skenk
(Luke and Kjai are the same person: Evan Schenck. But are separated and NO ONE GETS THEM)
1. I really felt Jordan's voice in this. I identify with it; meeting people is awkward!
2. Possibly the best .5 gag this year.
3, 7, 13. Laugh Track's getting better, but this piece was still short on, well, laughs.
4. This is what Garfield should be.
4.5. This is just so close to what really happens that I feel bad about laughing.
5. Well played.
6. I wrote this and have no further comments.
8. if your mom's name is Eileen, you can Come On Eileen.
8.5. I love this sort of non-sequitor. I was laughing so hard I almost pissed my pants.
9. I was a bit anxious about this beforehand because I knew that Eric's script was a bit last-minute, and James and I were a bit too busy playing Resident Evil 5 to help him iron it out, but the terseness of the ending ("You're a dumbass!") really worked well.
10. no comment
11. This was very well-written and delivered well. The story revealed itself as it went along, which is good.
12. This was good.
12.5. you of I
14. This skit did a pretty good job of making me feel uneasy. Well done!
15. Evan Schank. Evan Skenchk. Evan Schneck. Evan Sckneck. Evan Skinnick. Eventually it stops looking like a name.
This was my favorite show in a while. If I don't have anything to say about your piece, trust that I enjoyed it.
4.5. I was afraid that stating my usual distaste for "rape jokes" in last week's post would result in a slew of rape jokes this week, but I think this piece worked. The joke was on the coach when such humor was used to show him as such a rage-fueled sports guy, and it was interesting for taking that kind of "yer gonna murder 'em out there!" pep-talk to a different TYPE of extreme.
I even imagined that the other coach for the opposing team was telling his players the same thing. But hey, if they really did go out and rape each other and someone reported it, both universities would try to have it covered up anyway.
5. This ruled. I was envisioning Stan from the Monkey Island games, but besides that, I lol'd a lot.
8. I want to talk this up because she's a newer performer this season and I like her. I laughed at this! On incest porn: Evan and Mirri and I hung out at Java House before the show, and we remarked that the Gyllenhaals were very attractive people and it would be cool to see Jake and Maggie make out. We assumed that such celebrity sibling-slash fanfiction was out there on the Internet. It's gotta be.
9. Jesteadt said he wanted this to be a recurring series and I look forward to future installments. I liked the space-talk, but the repeated trombone theme was my favorite thing about it.
11. Yes. Serious pieces - dramatic pieces - are a good change of pace. I don't write enough because I find it easier to do comedy than to show, like, ACTUAL FEELINGS, which are embsrarassing zomg. There is a showbiz saying: "Dying is easy, comedy is hard." I find it to be the opposite for No Shame, maybe partly because we're young whippersnappers who grew up in the Ironic Age. Earnestness is good too. I liked this.
I can't say I cared for the improv as much, but that's fine. Perhaps it's because when I see improv I prefer one longer, developed scene instead of those "do five small scenes in forward and reverse order" kinds of improv games or exercises. But improv takes practice. Keep coming to the show, guys.
An enjoyable show! Good energy, and a lot of fun. See you after spring break, folks.
Where was Jjaro? We missed him at the show.
95% positive Jjaro is David Rout.
And a hint... the only way to defeat David Rout is to ignore him. I promise.
On the "No Mercy" piece: Is joking about rape ever funny?
My feeling is: directly, no. But on No Mercy I felt the joke was more about aggressive sports culture, so I gave it a pass. YMMV.
There seem to be a lot of .5s and these days. Maybe there could be an all .5 night like there was a couple years back?
I would never subject an audience to a "1 Minute Piece Night" ever again. The order takes SOOO long to read and the change over time is just awful.
I actually liked the No Mercy one because of the strange amount of truth in it.
we live in a macho world where people feel that the most powerful they can do to another person, or group of people, is embarrass them sexually, and oftentimes the same people will turn around and ask God for forgiveness, while promising to forgive others, not realizing the irony.
I grew up in southwestern Iowa. It happens all the time.
Rape is only funny when it happens to someone who deserves it, like Ben Affleck in "Mallrats" or the asshole Greg guy in "Animal House." The annoying chick in "Death Proof" on the other hand was just annoying and didn't deserve it (even though the rape was only implied). It's kind of a "turnabout is fair play" scenario.
"Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."
Everyone needs it, and everyone should give it.
Under what circumstances could anyone ever "deserve" to get raped?
Under what circumstances could anyone ever "deserve" to get raped?
Hitler.
hitler hitler hitler hitler hitler hitler hitler hitler hitler hitler
You're making me wet... down there.
"Snot Nosed said...
'You're making me wet... down there.'"
Is it the talk of Hitler, the talk of rape, or the talk of Hitler getting raped that makes you wet?
First one, then the other, then both together makes me squirt... I'm a masochist.
...What? No one else thinks power is sexy? Then to have that powerful figure demeaned is just damn hot. But really you can replace Hitler with any 20th century dictator and I would get off. Except FDR. Polio is gross.
dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks dicks
GOD YOU HAVE ME GUSHING! GUSHING!!!
The comment about "rape is only funny when someone deserves it" that cited movies as examples and the posts about Hitler deserving it reminds me of a movie example that covers both: In "Little Nicky", Hitler's punishment in Hell is to have a pineapple shoved up his ass every day.
I think it's interesting that people use comedy to make the rape-as-revenge scenario acceptable. In a straight dramatic situation, the horror of rape is too unsettling, even if someone "deserves" it.
(Sidebar: Edward Norton in "American History X" is a violent bigot for half the movie but has a change of heart by the time he gets raped, so is he still a bad enough person to deserve it?)
I agree with comments on "No Mercy" that the humor comes from taking macho sports posturing to an extreme. Sports serve as a battleground for some people to prove their value or assert dominance by defeating/punishing/humiliating an opponent. Rape is also used as a tool for punishment and humiliation, and the piece combined rape with sport-sanctioned violence to form a scenario so over-the-top it became laughable. However, jokes that makes light of rape itself or suggest that rape is a humorous form of comeuppance are not funny and not acceptable. The juxtaposition of rape with sports is sadly not that uncommon; I have heard more than one description of a loss described as "we/they got raped." Statements like these lessen the brutality of rape by attempting to make a sporting event seem more significant.
On a lighter note, I am glad that No Shame is able to spur these kind of debates, both about the workings of comedy and larger social issues. Discussions like these are what should be found on this blog. I hope there will be more in the future.
<*initialize*>
<*prepare most complete record*>
>>A Method to the Madness
>>by Molly Schintler
There was method behind the madness that first created an anti-mari`uana frenzy in the United States. harry J. Anslinger was almost singlehandedly responsible for the crusade``~`~~~Comm`ssioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcot`cs from 1930-1962. His campaign was pushed forth~`~~~`~``façade; however, there were blatantly racist motives behind Ansl`nger's ethics. {Ansl`nger used racial prejudices to solid`fy public support for a ban on the demon weed. In his test`mony to US Congress supporting the Mari`uana Tax Act of 1937,, Ansl`nger declared, "There are 100,000 total mari`uana smokers in the US, and most are Heroes (?Negroes), Hispanics, Filip`nos and entertainers. Their satanic music, jazz and swing, result from mari`uana usage. This mari`uana cause wh`te women to seek sexual relations with Heroes (?Negroes), entertainers and any others." By presenting mari`uana as a røøt of evil in soc`ety while simultaneously tying the drug to people of color, Ansl`nger was breeding racism.
With fear-mongering, racist ethos, these half-truth stories molded the public's opinion of mari`uana. By the end of the 1930s, the American populous believed that under the influence of mari`uana cit`zens were apt to murder s`x with a butcher knife, steal, rape and go `nsane. While these flashy headlines certainly sold stories, they also twisted facts, created fear, and ultimately dimin`shed the truth to madness, reefer madness.
<*terminate*>
Post a Comment
<< Home