By: Kristen Becker
Comedian Doug Stanhope has one of, if not THE most honest voice in the comedy world today. He followed the path to LA, but quickly realized it wasn’t for him. He now resides in Bisbee, Arizona and has a rabid fan base that shows up wherever and whenever he tells them to. People don’t “like” Stanhope. They either love him or they hate him. He is the smartest guy working out there today and one of the nicest I’ve met in my travels. He will be performing THIS Saturday night with myself and Mark Walton. It is a RARE opportunity to catch him in such an intimate space. You won’t want to miss it.
Kristen Becker: Buffalo is a city desperate to laugh, and we only have a one-nighter in the suburbs. They do a good job, but it is the only “club”, so we have a distinct advantage of working out material without the club owner telling us we can’t do certain jokes. On the other hand, we have no “CLUB” experience, so no matter how good guys are they can’t seem to get paid gigs out of town. To sum it up we’re cranking out some smart unfiltered comics, with nowhere to work. Do you think it is possible to build a city’s entire comedy scene on underground shows? If so, got any recommendations of folks I should try to book?
Doug Stanhope: It’s entirely possible to develop a scene without a comedy club, in fact the lack of a club should be to your advantage. There’s no competition. Make sure not to burn out your local talent pool. Don’t try to put up every single comic on every single show. Try to keep direct contact with your audience, either through Facebook or preferably by maintaining a mailing list through your website. There’s a reason clubs have comment cards and it’s not because they really give a f*@k if you liked the wings. It’s to get a name and an email to contact them about upcoming shows.
Use everyone in the scene to their strengths – get the smooth-talkers talking to bar owners to set up shows, the computer geek to work the social networking sites, the hot-but-unfunny girl to b*%w people in the toilet, etc. If you have enough talent and can find creative ways to market it, there’s no reason that you should need a Funnybone to come f@*k it up by starting a comedy club.
Also, you can move to a place that already has a scene. There’s that. But why, when you can decide what you want the scene to be and create it?
KB: Any advice for new comics?
DS: Never take advice. It’s only someone telling you how to be more like them.
KB: I’m usually really awkward pre-show, and having worked with you I know you tend to be that way, too. Growing up did you have a fear of speaking publicly? What do you think makes awkward f$@ks like us want to get in front of people and talk? Besides the booze and hookers, of course.
DS: I guess everyone has their reasons. P#*@@y is probably at the core of it – for both of us. I was not athletic or beautiful. I had no musical ability or huge c*#k. But I was funny and I used that the same way someone might use karaoke or face-piercings to stand out in a crowd of young people trying to f#@k.
KB: Do you crank out a new show every year or so, or is it a constantly changing thing? Adding new stuff from the road, and taking some stuff away? So there maybe a repeat, but few and far between?
DS: I try to turn over material as rapidly as possible. I get sick of my own s$#t quickly so anytime I can scrape up anything at all new to throw in, I do. Maybe to a fault. But Youtube is changing the game in that it only takes one a**$#le with a cell phone camera to make your new shit old overnight. I can see it really f*&king up the future of stand-up.
KB: Will Bingo be with you this time? I always seem to miss her.
DS: You’re gonna miss her again. I haven’t quite sold her on Buffalo yet.
KB: That’s ok. We are used to that here, but I think it might be more her kind of place then she realizes.
Doug Stanhope
THIS SATURDAY, May 22nd
Doors at 8pm. Tickets @ www.dougstanhope.com
Nietzsche’s
248 Allen Street
Buffalo, NY 14201
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Kristen Becker is a comedian who
started her comedy career in Toronto 8 years ago, and since then has
traveled the continent performing and producing shows. She has opened
for national acts such as Doug Stanhope, Josh Blue (Winner of Last Comic
Standing), and Ani DiFranco. Additionally, Kristen beat out 60
contestants (all men) to win the 2006 Queen City Comedy Competition.
Becker was recently named “One of America’s Funniest Lesbians” by CURVE
Magazine, in a tie for #8 with Lily Tomlin. Locally, Becker has been
producing/hosting the Doin’ Time
Stand-Up Comedy Showcase at Nietzsche’s every Tuesday in Buffalo for
the last 4 years.