SuperEgo Comedy TV!

I am positively ecstatic to announce the launch of ...

www.youtube.com/SuperEgoComedy

We're launching with three great comics! More to come!

Emily Epstein is pretty as a goat.

Chris Worley has the sexiest light saber you've ever seen. And,

Danny Solomon is lookin' for a woman to butter his strawberry.

Be our YouTube Friend! Subscribe! Comment! And rate the videos! ("Five Stars" has a nice ring to it, doncha think?)

Many more fabulous comics will follow. SuperEgo TV is going to be the very best comedy talent showcase we can make it.

Check it out!

Two Very Special Haiti Fundraiser Shows

SuperEgo Comedy is producing two very special shows to support Kelli Dunham's very direct and very personal mission of mercy to Haiti.

TWO SHOWS - THURSDAY, JANUARY 28

Read all about it at SuperEgo Comedy Haiti Benefits.

If you can't make it, won't you please consider a donation? Any amount, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100 will go directly, 100% to help those in need.

The Check Spot

Michelle Dobrawsky and I are on The Check Spot this week, an awesome show about the New York City comedy scene brought to you by Dan Cartwright, Arthur Carlson and Dave Greek. Tune in to hear us tell all about SuperEgo Comedy, doing Conan, zombie eating plants, flaming balls, Ted Kennedy, and all the fun things that you can do with semen.

There are two ways to get there....

The Check Spot on the web.

The Check Spot on iTunes.

The Gay Dick Joke Set

Here's my All Gay Dick Jokes performance from last Friday's SuperEgo Comedy Showcase. I'm so happy with how this turned out.

SuperFantastic SuperEgo Comedy

We got Gregg Rogell for the SuperEgo Comedy Showcase. Rock!



The SuperEgo Comedy site just got a makeover,
face lift and breast augmentation. Check it out!

SuperEgo Comedy Stand-Up Showcase

Michelle and I are ecstatic to announce the launch of the SuperEgo Comedy™, Super Stand-Up Showcase. Join us for huge laughs as we present a fabulous lineup of pro comics, rising stars and fresh faces of the downtown stand-up scene. If you see only one comedy show this year ... this is it!

---

Friday, May 8
8:00 – 9:30 PM
New York Comedy Club
241 East 24th Street (map)
Between 2nd & 3rd Avenues

$10, two drink minimum

Click here to make your reservation.

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SuperEgo Comedy, Farewell Parkside Show

We'll be bidding a fond farewell to the Parkside Lounge at SuperEgo Comedy this week. Join Michelle and me as I host our final, blow-out show at our original location.

My own personal huge thanks to everyone who has supported the show for our three-year run ... the Parkside, John Morrison for the inspiration, our awesome comics, our awesome audiences and most of all Michelle for inviting me to be a part of one of the most rewarding creative enterprises of my life.

Never fear, SuperEgo Comedy will continue to kick ass and dispense truckloads of mirth at our fabulous new location, the Ochi's Lounge @ Comix.

Special Halloween Comedy Show

SuperEgo Comedy has a fabulous new show at a fabulous new location, Ochi's Lounge downstairs at Comix. To celebrate, Michelle and I are having a Halloween show with stand-up comedy in costume! There will be laughs. There will be horror. There will be candy. So come on down! No cover for audience and only 1 drink or food item minimum.

If you've been waiting for a special night to check it out, this is it! And if you want to see me, fabulous me be sure to be on time. I am opening the show.



Friday, October 31st @ 7:00 PM
353 West 14th Street, Chelsea (map)
Between 8th and 9th Avenue
A/C/E Train to 14th Street; L Train to 8th Ave

I'm All Squishy Now

Michelle wrote a really sweet blog post about our comedy partnership and our show in which she characterizes us as "dommy control freaks". She sure does have a way with words.

Stand-up is a solitary art. Sometimes it's even a bit lonely. So having a partner is a load of fun. We inspire each other, support each other and relieve each other when one of us is sick of it all.

We manage different parts of the show and it's that division of responsibilities that helps keep things going. I have no doubt that even if one of us had managed to start this thing on our own, alone we'd have given it up ages ago. When I just can't cope, it's a great relief to have someone to call and say, "Honey, would you hold the baby?

Thanks for two great years, babe. You rock my world.

SuperEgo Slash -- Comica Erotica

For our second anniversary Michelle and I decided to try our hand at slash fiction as comedy. The first video is my intro and Michelle's story. The second video is my story.

Dale's Night by Michelle Dobrawsky

Girl Talk by Dale Sorenson

SuperEgo Slash -- Behind the Scenes

For three months leading up to our second anniversary show neither Michelle nor I had any idea what we were going to do. We kept having the same conversation.

"You got anything?"

"No. You got anything?"

"No."

"How about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

We talked about doing another roast, but I felt like after my huge-boobed performance last year as Michelle I really had no where to go. Then this happened....

The Making of SuperEgo Slash
I was reading The Absolutely True Ball Story by Evan Jacobs. It's a charming and romantic tale of a boy who gets stoned, accidentally ties his balls in a knot and goes to the emergency room for this first homosexual experience and an anal probe.

Since we both know Evan I sent the link to Michelle as a laugh. My interest in the story inspired her to write a single line parody in an email....

"I felt his knit tie, soft but scratchy, rubbing against my bare heaving chest...."

This had me on the floor laughing. So I dared Michelle to write a slash fiction story about me and quickly decided to write my own about her.

And so, only 30 hours before the show, we finally found our theme.

We decided to coordinate our performances in a deadpan Masterpiece Theater style. But we did not share drafts.

So the whole time I was writing about her, I wondered what she was writing about me. Specifically I was worried about whether I was going to be the top or the bottom in Michelle's story. I could just see myself ending up at the bottom of some bitch pile.

---

The Show
We opened the show with our readings and as you can see in the videos it went well. I really liked the quick/slow rhythms and rising/falling tones of Michelle performance.

In his biography, Steve Martin relates how some years ago he changed the fundamental structure of his comedy. Instead of using obvious punch lines to tell the audience when to laugh, he left it to the audience to decide for themselves when to laugh.

A little nervous about how this whole thing would play, I decided to follow Martin's example and not telegraph any attempts at jokes. As far as I was concerned this was fine literature. This allowed me to relax and give exactly the performance I'd wanted to give. Although it wasn't easy getting there.

I had a lot of trouble with my rehearsals right up until the very last one. I was unable to resist my usual urge to ham it up, which is a form of begging for laughs. But when I put on the suit, everything just clicked right into place. Interesting how the clothes allowed me to finally get to where I wanted and knew I needed to be.

After our stories we put up 18 comics. There were a variety of themes to the reactions.

Several girls said they felt slighted at having been left out of the "lesbian montage".

Straight men and lesbians alike agree that I don't know a damn thing about lesbian sex. This is true.

I'd wanted to include female ejaculation in the story but didn't for two reasons. First, I wanted to keep it classy. Second, I had absolutely no idea how to get there.

The erotic parts of Girl Talk read like a 14-year-old straight, virgin male's first attempt at a letter to Hustler. This was intentional. But I still don't know anything about girl parts.

In my defense, Girl Talk is not actually a lesbian story. Slash fiction was invented by straight women and it's almost always about straight male characters, Kirk/Spock, Han/Luke, Frodo/Sam. It's called slash fiction because of the slash in the pairings. The top is always first. So in an Aragorn/Legolas story, Aragorn fucks Legolas. (That little blond bitch wanted it.)

But I digress.

So Girl Talk is not a lesbian story. Knowing I hadn't the foggiest clue about how to get a vagina into a narrative I consciously wrote it as a straight girl on straight girl boob domination scene. This subtle distinction may not matter to the casual listener, but it's the basis for the narrative.

Several phrases captured people's imaginations. Michelle's "Take those off, you're way sexier without them," was a favorite, as were her inspired lines about stubble and pleats in pants.

I particularly liked Michelle's poetic, "Male confusion of belts and buttons and underwear."

My utterly laughable, "moist erotic love knobs" seemed to be a memorable phrase repeated a few times in the show. Like so many lines, I wrote it to be as cliché and ridiculous as possible. Which was the point of the whole thing. Porn out of the context of arousal is ludicrous.

But the phrase that really took on a life of it's own was, "Boob Slave". Several comics, including Michelle, straight boys and a real, live lesbian said they'd all like their own boob slaves.

A new service industry is born.

---

Epilogue
Having watched the videos a few times now what sticks with me most is how flattering Michelle's story is. Not because I ended up on top (I did) or because it casts me in a positive light (it does). Rather, the effort itself is quite a compliment.

What better way to star in your own porno without the awkwardness of having to take your clothes off for the camera?

"Girl Talk" by Dale Sorenson

“Sometimes I’m sorry I didn’t get the double Ds,” Stacy said.

She washed down her Zanex with a wine cooler and more whiskey.

“Oh don’t say that,” said Michelle. “Proportion is so much more important than sheer size.”

“Really?!” Stacy gushed. “God! That makes me feel just so much better. I’ve always been so jealous of your bodacious Ta Tas.”

Michelle nodded coolly as she sipped her vodka. “I’ve got this little tramp right where I want her,” she thought. "Time for a power play.”

“Here, let me show you,” said Michelle

In one rough, swift motion she ripped open Stacy’s blouse.

Stacy gave out a helpless little cry, but Michelle knew the little slut wanted it.

No bra? Hardly surprising. But no resistance? Intriguing.

Stacy’s round breasts curved up, each nipple pert and eager reaching skyward for attention.

Michelle caressed Stacy’s waist with one hand and bounced a playful tit with the other.

Continuing the facade of innocent girl talk Michelle asked, “See how the proportions go so well together?”

“Why yes. Yes I do,” said Stacy. She leaned forward and arched her back to offer better access to her taut supple features.

Michelle fingered Stacy’s moist erotic love knobs and they hardened. Soft moans filled the air.

“Now compare to mine,” said Michelle

“What?”

“Go on.”

Stacy fell into a trace, barely aware of her actions, yet conscious that each button opened brought her closer to those mountainous orbs of wonder. Slowly they came into view. She felt an almost divine presence. She’s dreamed of this moment for so long. She worshipped Michelle’s heaving, undulating melons with her eyes and felt pulsating envy and desire.

“They’re perfect,” Stacey said.

“Yes. I know. Feel them,” Michelle commanded.

Stacy did as she was told, like the good little girl she was raised to be. “My god!” she exclaimed. “They’re so pink. Your areolas are so dark and lovely. And just one of these weighs more than my last abortion.”

“You know it baby!” Michelle said with the confidence of a goddess.

Stacy’s willpower finally crumbled. She was sick of being the good girl. She wanted to be a dirty tramp. She plunged her face into Michelle’s heaving bazooms. She lapped, licked, slurped and squeezed like a mad jungle woman.”

“You’re good at that,” said Michelle with a faint sigh.

Stacy lifted her sloppy, wet glistening face and said, “Oh it’s the Botox. Keeps everything soft and relaxed.” Stacy went back to work, enjoying the role of boob slave.

Suddenly the door opened and a perky little face appeared. It was Emily.

“Is this the room for hip-hop Pilates?”

Stacy tried to look but Michelle’s hand kept her face firmly planted in Michelle’s magnificent womanhood.

Emily cocked an eyebrow at the muffled sounds of delight and submission coming from between Michelle’s ample cleavage. But she knew better than to say anything.

“It’s next door,” Michelle said.

“Ok thanks,” said Emily. “You girls have fun and try not to get anything on the carpets.”

She bounced off in her usual way with a little grin that said, “I’m a Jew with a secret.”

Michelle muttered to herself. “That little vixen knew we were in here. That’s it. She’s next. I’ll bet her asshole tastes like strawberries.”

Dale Sorenson with Huge Tits

It's the SuperEgo Comedy 2nd Anniversary Show this Thursday the 17th at 7pm at the Parkside Lounge. Hooray!

At our first anniversary show, New York comics had a blast ripping each other to shreds. I did my impression of Michelle Dobrawsky, trashed some of my buddies and parodied straight boys' bad gay jokes.

So here it is at last ... your chance to see me with *huge* tits.



My victims were ...

• Michelle Dobrawsky, my ample-bosomed comedy partner,
  
• John Morrison, host of several great stand-up shows around town,
• Evan Jacobs, who wears ties constantly for no discernible reason,
• Eudi Paz, a little man with tiny hands,
• Nicole Cunningham, refined, elegant and the only black woman I've ever known who's been to finishing school,
• Dan Upham, whose girlfriend of nine years is his high school sweetheart,
• Stacy Honeycutt, whose had a bit of work done, and
• annoying straight boys ... who deserve all the ridicule they get.
  

Art by Accident

So often art is accident. Take these photos of me taken the fabulous and talented John Morrison for example. The very red lights at SuperEgo Comedy wreak havoc with light balance. And yet, I really like how they look. In fact, rarely in my life have I felt a photo has both flattered me as much as these and captured how I like to think of myself in my own mind.






Thanks for the fab pics and the confidence boost, John. You're tops!

SuperUpdate!

The SuperEgo Comedy, Super web site has been Super updated with a Super new logo and Super graphics and Super color and a Super new list server, all designed by yours truly.



I'm Super, thanks for asking!

We now offer separate pages for comics and audience sign up. That means if you're a fan we'll happily send you updates without bugging you with all that insider show biz stuff.

So sign up already!

I'm pretty pleased with the outcome. This is how I always visualized the site in my head ... bright, colorful, cheerful, almost manic. My graphic inspiration was a box of laundry detergent. Not any one brand in particular. Just that general very loud look.

I was a graphic designer / art director for a bunch of years. So it feels really go to have a chance to dust off those skills and see they still work.

Super Mega Show Report

I'm a smidge behind on blogging about shows. So here's a catch up round up.

PHILLY

Kelli's Farewell Philly Show was awesome. I've performed for Kelli's room twice before and as they say, third time's a charm.

The one-woman marketing bonanza that is Kelli Dunham filled the place. The girl knows how to pack a room.

Right before the show ... "I'm ready for my close up."

Knowing what to expect going in this time I adapted my set list. I have several bits of which I'm very fond which don't play well for straight crowds. But they come alive when I do them for lesbians. Giving up a few fat chick jokes is a small price to pay for this transaction.

I still offended them a few times. But the difference is, this time I did it on purpose. I tweaked their noses with a little twinkle in my eye and a grin on my face.

But mostly we all just had fun together. There were a ton of dykes into polyamory so my riff on that subject brought the house down.

I mentioned the word and then said, "for the two people in this room who don't know what polyamory is ..."

They laughed so hard I had to stop and wait. Sensing an opportunity I dug in deeper.

"... for the two people in this room not actively engaged in the practice of polyamory at this very moment ..."

This got another huge laugh, especially from the people there with several of their polyamorous partners.

It was a good crowd and these were some of the best laughs I've ever gotten ... ever. It's not hard to figure out why. It was about them. It was about their interests. And it was very, very connected to what was happening in the room at that moment.

These connections are difficult to force. But they're easy when I just keep an eye out for an opportunity. As in normal conversation, the best joke is the spontaneous one that is relevant to the topic at hand.

"THAT'S NOT FUNNY!"

After the Philly show I got another PC speech along the lines of, "that joke offended me so you shouldn't do it." This time it didn't throw me the way it did last time. I asked her why she didn't like it. And then in the middle of what was actually a pleasant and stimulating discussion I said, "by the way, that's one of my best jokes and I have absolutely no intention of deleting it." The conversation continued and I was just amused by the whole thing.

Although, I continue to marvel that people have the audacity to make such a request/demand. It's one thing to say, "I didn't like it." It's another thing entirely to demand the absolute deletion of a work so that no one else may ever experience it.

I think I'll start asking joke objectors this question, "If you went to the MoMA and part of a painting offended you, would you demand that part be blotted over so that no one else may ever see it?"

It's not as thought I don't know how they feel. I hang out in comedy rooms full of straight boy comics. So I get offended all the time. A guy actually did some "homo" jokes in my room this week ... IN MY FUCKING ROOM!

You go to the gay comic's show to try out "homo" jokes?!?! SHEESH! That's pretty fuckin' balls-y.

I chuckled and shook my head. But I didn't say anything to him and I certainly didn't demand he stop doing the joke. Moreover, I did chuckle. The jokes were, in fact, funny. It's good to be offended now and then. They're just jokes.

ALL ABOUT KELLI

The Philadelphia Weekly has a great article on the strange and fabulous life Kelli has led. I learned lots of stuff about my favorite dyke that I didn't know. I'm quoted. I said lots of eloquent stuff in the interview about Kelli. Alas, the quote the reporter chose makes me sound like an inarticulate retard. Nothing says stupid like emphasizing a point with "really, really."

Here's the quote I wished they'd used. "Kelli has such a strong, natural charisma, she draws people to her without realizing she's even doing it. Spending a night on the town with Kelli is like chasing a giant, ever-growing snowball down a hill. You start the evening with 4 people and by the end of the night you have a fabulous, interesting, creative group of 20."

STRETCHING TO LONGER SETS

I achieved something I'm pretty proud of at the Brooklyn and Philly shows. I did two, almost 30 minute shows without using a written set list on stage. Before that, the longest set list I'd ever held in my head was 12 minutes. I still had a written set list on hand. But I had resolved to not look at it while performing unless I completely blanked.

The first time, getting ready was really hard. I took 4-5 hours. But I was determined to give up this crutch. The second time ... no problem. The skill has now been acquired. It just takes a certain amount of prep and discipline.

POLYAMORY BIT EXPERIMENT

When I got back from Philly, I decided to see if the polyamory riff could be turned into a bit that stands on it's own. I edited it and tried it at SuperEgo. Mostly it didn't work. I got some chuckles. But, not surprisingly, without the relevancy the material didn't get the response. The one solid laugh the bit did get was when I asked if anyone had heard of polyamory. Only one person responded. So I called her a "slut". That was connected to the room. So it worked.

That's fine. I expected a mediocre response and mostly I was proving a point to myself. I can file that bit away and haul it out when it's relevant to the crowd.

It's fun building a repertoire like this. I've got a nice little menu of bits to choose from these days. It's small but growing. And it helps with crowd work. The larger my bit menu becomes, the better the chance an audience member will say something that provides a hook into a bit.

It's all about looking for those opportunities to create a connection. A mediocre joke can kill when it's relevant.

GAYEST NERD ON THE PLANET

One day at comedy club, Leil David asked my why I carry two PDAs with me everywhere I go. I replied that while I organize my life on the Treo, the only good mobile application for playing the card game of bridge is only available for PocketPC. So, naturally, I need both.

This makes perfect sense to me.

After a moment of considered silence Leil says to me, "Dale your whole act is about being a big gay nerd ... and that is the gayest, nerdiest thing I have ever heard in my entire life."

This struck me funny, so I did what comics do ... I tried to turn it into a bit. Alas, the difference between mobile OS platforms (Palm vs. PocketPC) is too obscure for a general audience to work as a premise. (Guess that's another one I'll have to save for when I headline Linux World.)

But this observation by Leil an some other factors led me to new theme....

"I am on a personal quest to become the gayest nerd on the planet."

This theme has provided fuel for some great writing lately.

Even more satisfyingly, it has provided a link between the opening gay joke in my audition set and the nerd material that comes after it. I have struggled for six months with three sentences and the best segue I could come up with was clumsy at best, and a non-sequitur at worst. I'd been so frustrated with this for so long I finally had to just leave it alone.

But now I've got the perfect link and set up for my nerd material all in one. Prior to this, the nerd jokes lacked cohesion and all just sort of lay together in an unstructured pile, like dirty laundry on the floor. Now they all support an idea.

Thanks for the inspiration, Leil! You rock, buddy.

THE JOY OF RANT

Last week was really frustrating. (Don't ask.) So when SuperEgo came around I wasn't sure what to do. I'd written some material about how I'm too old for gay pride. As the day wore on and the show drew closer my personal emotions began to mix with the material and it hit me that I was in the perfect mood to do an angry set.

So I dug up a few angry jokes and did a whole anti-gay pride rant. It hit the jackpot. Much funny was had.

Angry material feels both dangerous and powerful to me. It's fun and scary to wield such strong emotions. The smart and super funny Sue Ball said to me after the show, "I like the angry stuff. You seem like a ranter."

I am a ranter. In real life, I rant almost constantly. It's pretty much my default mode of communication. I have opinions about virtually everything. It's a constant battle trying to keep them from getting me into trouble. And yet, this is a component of my personality I rarely bring into my act.

The thing I'm trying to wrap my brain around is how to integrate the ranting with my other material which is much more cute and charming. When I've tried to put both into the same set in the past, the audience seems to get emotional whiplash. Not surprising, I suppose, when I can go from endearing to jackass in 2.0 seconds flat. I'm not sure how to guide them through that. So they end up recoiling at the sudden hostility and I lose them.

Charming works by itself. Angry works by itself. I'm not sure if charming and angry can ever meet.

Maybe I should just give up all the nice stuff and become the gay Lewis Black.

One way or the other, the fact that this stuff scares me means I should probably explore it.

That is all.

SuperUpdate

I updated the SuperEgo Comedy website with a new photo logo I made with my cell phone. This lame effort and the stunning change from center justified to left justified upgrades the design from "vile" to merely "butt ugly".

"One day mens' courage will fail when they behold the beauty of a site with actual graphics and stuff, but it is not this day!" (I think I heard that in a movie.)

The show, on the other hand, is anything but ugly. Going into the summer, Michelle and I were worried about turn out dropping off. But with the Tuesday Motel on break for the summer we've got more awesome comics begging to play than ever before. (Thanks for all the good times, John Morrison!)

I've begun to think of our little baby as, "the show that doesn't suck for comics that don't suck." Now there's a slogan that'll sell!

Sibling Rivalry (Hear My Brother Trash Me On Stage!)

I'm dying, just once, to be the top comic over on Comedy Soapbox. Won't you please help? If you have a blog, post this link. If you don't, just send this around:

http://www.comedysoapbox.com/comedianblog.cfm?ComedianID=1367

So what in it for you? I put a special little treat over there for you....

Sibling Rivalry
My totally awesome, tall & handsome little brother, Neil, is in town this weekend. (Yes, I still call him my "little" brother even though he grew 1" taller than me ... the little brat.) We're having a blast. At my SuperEgo Comedy Show on Thursday night, I roasted him and then dared him to take the stage and retaliate.

He was awesome ... a natural on stage! The crowd loved it.

So go listen to the recording and you'll get to find out what our super embarrassing childhood nicknames were.



Come and get it ... hot babes and pretty boys.
Do ya want the gay one or the straight one?

We be tall!

Cheap, Cheap Shows

SuperEgo Comedy is going gang busters and has expanded, picking up another night.

And I'm doing my first show in Brooklyn on Memorial Day as the "featured headliner" (25 mins!) at Catharsis ... because how better to commemorate our heroic dead than with dick jokes?

So my current comedy schedule is all about cheap, cheap shows!

Check it out ....

Catharsis @ Cattyshack (I'm headlining!)
Monday, May 29, 9pm, $3
(Signup for performers is at 8pm.)
249 4th Ave, between President & Carroll, Brooklyn, New York
Featured Headliner: Dale Sorenson
Host: Athena Reich
"Cattyshack is hosting CATHARSIS, an Open Mic where you can showcase your rawest-newest-oldest-weirdest-craziest work in a safe, listening room environment. All grrrls, boys, trannies, dykes, fags, freaks & straights welcome."

SuperEgo™ Comedy (Expanded!)
"The Comedy Show for EgoManiacs!"
www.superegocomedy.com
Every Thursday of the month except the first one (so that's a weekly show with a monthly break)
Parkside Lounge, Lower East Side, NYC
317 E. Houston Street, between Aves B & C
No cover for audience, only 1 (cheap) drink minimum

What do I do with this egg on the stage?

I've been thinking about hosting a lot lately.

Much has been written about how to handle bombing, as a comic. And comics frequently discuss the burden of following an act that bombs. But really, isn't handling this problem a host's job?

I've never seen anything written about what to do when a comic lays an egg and you're the host. Yet it's vital for the host to keep one bad set from killing the energy for a whole show.

So I thought I'd start with a few thoughts and invite everyone to chime in. I don't pretend to have all the answers here. In fact, most of these thoughts are embryonic and half-baked.

A while back, I was playing a show I love. It was being hosted by a comic I love, a guy I learn from every time I see, a guy I watch with something approaching awe.

I bombed.

I bombed hard.

I bombed about as hard as anyone has ever bombed.

I came off stage with my ears burning. I was just relieved it was over. But it wasn't. There was one last bit of suck to come.

The MC said, "Dale Sorenson ladies and gentlemen. A very funny man. Not tonight. But usually a very funny man."

My humiliation was complete.

I understand a host's dilemma when a comic bombs. The energy in the room is his responsibility. He wants to bring it back up before putting up the next comic. So a quick cheap dig at failed set gets a laugh, relieves the tension and it "calls the room". That is to say, it acknowledges what has just happened and what the audience is feeling.

But getting laughs at another comic's expense is bad policy ... and not for the touchy feely reasons you might be expecting me to launch into.

It's bad, because it makes other comics nervous. When they see someone else getting trashed, they're gonna play it safe. The anxiety may even cause them to have a bad set as well. And then there goes the show ... spiraling down the crapper.

So what's a host to do?

If you can find a way to "call the room" and acknowledge the situation without trashing the comic who just bombed, I think in the long run, it's better for the show.

An example ...

At a show I hosted recently, "Comic X" did an entire set about taking a shit ... different takes on taking a shit, observations about taking a shit, thoughts he's had while taking a shit, highlights of different shits he's taken over the years.

It was awful. No one laughed. I was sitting there thinking, "Yeah ... this set is gonna make you famous ... definitely. Lemme look at my watch here ... oh look ... he's still talkin' about takin' a shit! Fantastic!"

So he finishes and I get back up. I didn't want to make another comic come up to that painful vibe. I could see in their eyes just how badly they wanted to be released from their discomfort. So I said, "Comic X, ladies and gentlemen ... and his hilarious bowel movements!"

This got huge laugh. More importantly, I think I found a way to walk the fine line between letting the audience off the uncomfortable hook they were on but not slamming the guy who'd just bombed. He knows. Or maybe he doesn't. In which case he'll keep bombing until he figures it out or gives up comedy. Either way, I don't think saying, "What a loser!" is going to help either him or the show.

(BTW, Comic X, if you're reading this, for fuck's sake, write about something else! No one's going to book your takin' a shit material. NO ONE!)

When I was new at this, I usually went to rooms where the hosts were nice guys like Steve Rosso, John Morrison and Dave Baldwin who I knew wouldn't trash me if I tried something new and it didn't work. Thanks guys! I felt a lot safer blundering around in the dark knowing that at least if I tripped, the host wasn't gonna whack me with a bat while I was down.

It's particularly important for a host to be supportive at an open mic. But what about "real" shows?

The temptation to slam a failed set is mighty strong.

One night at a Caroline's bringer I saw one of the worst comics I've ever seen bomb a packed house. The pro who went up after her absolutely killed by mercilessly ridiculing her ... lampooning, mimicking, saying he'd commit suicide if he was her. It was savagely funny. The audience agreed and they roared with laughter.

I don't know what he'd planned to talk about when he arrived, but....

Wait! Stop!

I don't know what he'd planned to talk about when he arrived ... and I'll never know.

His set was completely derailed by mocking the previous failure. Sure I laughed. But I don't remember his name or anything about him.

Which leads me to this....

You can't make a name for yourself by trashing other comics. Sure you can get transitory laughs. But unlike the great routines of comedy, no one will be quoting your bile afterwards, they way they do with Eddie Izzard, Ellen and Bill Cosby.

And I think that is probably the best reason to leave other comics alone. It'll never get you anywhere. Can you think of a single comic who got famous trashing other comics? I can't.

(Insult humor and celebrity commentary doesn't count. That's different. It's "material".)

Don't get me wrong. I'm not some goody-two-shoes. (What the hell does that mean, anyway? OK. Nevermind. I looked it up.)

I love dark, harsh, condescending, sarcastic humor. But why not direct that energy at the things in life you feel deserve to be mocked? There's no shortage of them these days.

Jim Mendrinos once said to me, "Comment on your own universe."

Good advice.

Still, if you're gonna host, it's a good idea to have a few techniques in your back pocket for handling a failed act. Sooner or later you'll need them ... probably sooner.

So here's another one from a friend with truck loads of MC experience.

Kelli Dunham was hosting when a musical act whose band members perform as various animals ended their bizarre, incomprehensible set with one of them swinging from the rafters.

The audience was dumbfounded.

Her comment ... "Now there's something you don't see every day."

Simple. Funny. Honest. Gentle. Perfect.

And finally ... the best thing a host can do after someone bombs? ... Tell some jokes that are funny.

Do chime in with your thoughts and suggestions of how to handle it when someone else bombs, won't you?

Being a Good Host

One of my goals in starting SuperEgo Comedy with Michelle was to get more experience hosting.

Mission accomplished ... I've been hosting ... and not a moment too soon. Turns out MC'ing a show, like so many things in life, is more work than it looks.

You're "on" all night long and you have a lot of competing responsibilities.

Here's what happened my first night hosting SuperEgo.

GOAL & ATTITUDES

• I'm going to do 10 minutes of whatever I want at the top of the show, after all, I'm the host.
• I'm going to have lots of funny things to say in between acts.
• I'm gonna rock and everyone's gonna see how awesome I am.
  

OUTCOME

• Many of my forced attempts at humor died horrible deaths.
• The crowd was bored by my long, self-indulgent set of experimental stuff.
• Many comics had to come on stage to a lack of energy because of my floundering. This affected their sets. Which in turn, brought the show down.
  
• I put a fair amount of pressure on myself to succeed, which did not give me a good stage presence.
  
• I did succeed at one thing spectacularly. I made the show all about me. Specifically, I made it all about me not doing a very good job of hosting.
• The show wasn't a failure, per se. But my poor effort gave it a weird vibe.

REALIZATIONS

The difference between just doing a regular spot and hosting is very much like the difference between going to a cocktail party and hosting one.

As a party guest, I get to talk about myself. I get to be fabulous and flirty and get attention and "have fun".

As a party host, I feel a responsibility to make sure other people have fun. I make sure their drinks are full and that they're involved and ask them to a talk about themselves. As a host, it's not uncommon to actually not have a lot of "fun" at my own parties. But I still get a lot out of hosting. It's deeply satisfying seeing my guests having a nice time and to know I made that possible.

It's a different sort of experience. "Fun" is exchanged for "satisfaction."

I went into hosting SuperEgo with an attitude of ... "It all about me, me, me!" Note the completely lack of mention of both responsibilities and anyone else in my goals.



In retrospect I realized how deeply wrong this was. I thought of MCs I admire, like Jim Mendrinos and Guy W and going into my second time hosting the show, I gave myself a major attitude adjustment.

Dale Hosts SuperEgo ... Take Two!

GOAL & ATTITUDES

• I'm gonna do everything I can to help the comics have a good show and the audience have a good time.
  
• I'll do a few, short, warm-up bits at the top of the show and then get right to the line up.
• I'll do my best to draw the audience in and keep the energy up.
  
• I will make an occasional joke or offer an occasional tag when it will add something to the show. But if I have nothing interesting to say, I will say nothing.
• I will keep things moving along.
  
• I will not make the show "all about me."
• I will make the show "all about the comics."

OUTCOME

• Success!
• I did everything I could to try to deliver the audience to each comic, primed and ready to laugh.
• The comics had great sets.
• As the energy waned toward the end of the show (as it often does) I made sure to pump it back up so that no one had to come up to dead air.
• By making fewer tags and doing fewer bits in between acts the things I did do were far better received.
  
• I put almost no pressure on myself and had almost no expectations. So I was relaxed and casual, which allowed me to be occasionally spontaneously funny.

It's amazing the difference a little humility makes!

Your thoughts about what makes a good host?

(The illustration I stole is by my very talented friend, Tyler.)

SuperEgo Smash

The launch of Michelle's and my new booked-mic show last week was nothing short of an absolute smash hit! We were hoping for 12 people. We got 35 with a full line up of 16 comics and a full house. The huge "real" audience was awesome and all the comics brought their "A Game" delivering great set after great set.

We're humbled and a smidge overwhelmed by the response.

And it shows no sign of letting up. We have a full line up again for this week. And again, we've got comics beating down the door to be in the show. Sorry to those we had to turn away. Please keep trying.

Check out the updated web site and check out the show!

www.superegocomedy.com