Blogging With Kerry gives great updates on Calgary’s stand-up comedy community
January 28, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
The backbone of the stand-up comedy world is its fans, and there is no fan out there more dedicated than the lovely Kerry Rasmussen. Kerry has become a fixture of the Calgary stand-up comedy scene with her dependable presence at Comedy Monday Night and a source of great information with her amazing comedy blog.
Kerry takes notes on all the performers during the comedy shows and writes her blog the following day. What amazes me most are Kerry’s thought-out commentary and blunt honesty. There were a few comedians who didn’t wish to be reviewed for sure, but my opinion is that if you’re going to perform (even at an open mic) then you are opening yourself up for people’s opinions, otherwise just stay at home and talk to your mirror.
Since moving away from Calgary to Toronto, I have been reading Kerry’s blogs every week, and it has made me feel good to know what’s happening in my home comedy scene. Keep up the great work Kerry!
Blogging With Kerry
http://kerryrasmussen.wordpress.com/
Review Score: ★★★★★
Straight guys are difficult to replace after you leave the Winnipeg ghetto
January 27, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Five days are left before this year’s Super Bowl matchup between Arizona and Pittsburgh. It’s usually at this time of year that I miss my straight guy friends the most. Now, I love my gay friends lots, but there are just times in my life where it’s not the same without the straight boys. I used to host an annual Super Bowl party at my parents’ house in Winnipeg that I haven’t been able to host since moving.
Since leaving Winnipeg, I’ve been able to fill in the gaps as far as school friends and gay friends and girl friends, but it’s been extremely difficult to find a new group of straight guy friends who love to watch sports. You see, in Winnipeg I was surrounded by straight guys and am quite comfortable around the sporty jock testosterone-heavy scene. I’m not really sure how I will be able to really find a new group of friends now.
Don’t get me wrong, I do have some straight guy friends, though most of those friendships are superficial and come by way of my dayjob as well as fellow stand-up comedians. I could also get back into the competitive videogame scene, though that group of straight guys aren’t exactly sports-friendly.
I’m kind of lost as to how I’ll find a new “crew,” but I am open to suggestions.
Second City’s Level A improv class, week two, proves worth every penny
January 18, 2009 by vongsundara · 2 Comments
I’m only two weeks into my improv class at Second City, and already I’ve gotten my money’s worth. Sunday night improv is starting to become a big highlight of my week.
This week, we focused on specific techniques to help flesh out an improv scene. The biggest challenge was about identifying the what, where and who of the scene. For instance, the first person up establishes what the activity is. The second person establishes where the scene takes place, and the third person establishes the relationship between the three people.
We were also given some great tips on what not to do in improv. One of the big no-no’s is entering a scene with a question.
It was funny, though, that no matter how many times I was told, it was a habit I could not shake. Whenever I came into a scene, I’d ask the person who started the scene a question instead of making a statement. I suppose it’s just human tendency.
I absolutely love how improv is pushing me in new directions creatively. It’s given me lots of ideas for my stand-up, which is why I joined the class in the first place. Unexpectedly, though, it’s also given me a love and appreciation of improv that kind of makes me want to push forward and learn more and more. I haven’t felt this excited since I first discovered stand-up.
Second City’s Level A improv class, week one, packed with great info
January 13, 2009 by vongsundara · 1 Comment
My first-ever improv class at Second City’s training centre went extremely well. I had a lot of fun, and it’s gotten my creative juices flowing again, which is why I took this class in the first place.
You see, improv is quite the opposite of stand-up comedy. Improv is all about feeding off of an ensemble and going beyond yourself with multiple characters (think Mike Myers) while stand-up is about working on your own to be as believable as yourself as possible.
My class is made up of a dozen students. My teacher is quite hilarious and almost exactly like I’d imagine an improv teacher to be like. She’s very outgoing, talkative and agressive in the best ways possible. There are a couple of students who have already shown a lot of potential, and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop.
Our first class was made up of a series of improv exercises. We kind of went through all the improv techniques in one day. Over the next six weeks, we’ll be going deeper into each of the techniques, and on our final day we’ll go through all of them again.
My favourite exercise consisted of having to answer questions in tune with a partner, speaking at the same time. My team decided to speak very slowly to try and figure out what the other person was saying. We ended up veering off in interesting directions, and some of our answers ended up being quite funny.
Improv class at Second City has taken over my Sundays, goodbye football
January 10, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’m excited to start a new chapter of my comedy life this week. Today, I went to take a tour of the Second City training centre, where I’ll be taking improv classes for the next year. My classes will be on Sunday, which is perfect timing since NFL football is coming to an end and my Sundays will soon be open.
At first, I was hesitant to take a class on improv, since it seems to be the polar opposite of what my stage style is. Stand-up is generally about being able to portray yourself and make it believable. Improv and sketch are more about suspension of disbelief and playing many different characters.
I’m still definitely a stand-up at heart, but with my creative juices stagnating as of late, I’m hoping the challenges brought about by improv will help get some ideas flowing through my head and get me excited about comedy again.
Today was orientation day, so I was able to meet the artistic director, Kevin Frank. I thought it was a nice touch that it was someone important as Kevin Frank to be the person leading orientation day.
I’m looking forward to meeting my instructor tomorrow, and I’ll give weekly updates on how my improv training is going. Who knows? Maybe improv will add a whole new dimension that I can bring to stage during my stand-up performances.
Supercute.ca finally back on first page of Google results for “Canadian comedian”
January 6, 2009 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Back when I relaunched this website a couple of months back, my web presence was in shambles. I used to be on the first page of Google results for “Canadian comedian” with my first website a couple of years ago. I then went through a phase of transitioning between several different websites. This knocked me off Google search results almost entirely.
A couple of months ago, I made the goal to get back on top and back on page one. This promise to myself was a part of a larger overall strategy to get back to my success in the comedy field that was great early on but has lately stagnated.
Well, today is a HUGE day for me, as I am finally back on page one of Google’s search results for both “Canadian comedian” and “Canadian stand-up.” Go to Google and try searching those keywords, and you’ll see me. Now, Google rankings are fluid, so I’ll have to work hard to keep my current position form now on.
I’m so happy that one of my main goals has come to fruition. I hope this is the beginning of my other comedy goals coming to life as well in 2009.
A stand-up comedian’s Christmas can be a lonely affair
December 25, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
Another year, another Christmas spent alone, thus is the the life of a stand-up comedian. I ended up having a somewhat boring day, but at least there was some great NBA basket ball on television; Celtics vs. Lakers is always a fun matchup (unfortunately, my Celtics lost).
I suppose a bit of loneliness is never too terrible a thing. Being alone today reminded me of the sacrifices I’m making to pursue my career out in Toronto and be separated from my friends and family. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m having a great time in Toronto, but today reminds me that I have to focus on why I am here in the first place, otherwise I’m separating myself from my family for no good reason at all.
I got quite a few updates done to my website. I re-intregrated Twitter feeds and fixed a few of the WordPress and Facebook interactions. I’ve also been researching Podcasting and will be introducing those into my blogs hopefully very soon.
The most important part of today, though, is that I’m finally going to get off my ass and start writing again. I’ve been resting on the material I wrote while in Calgary, and as proud as I am of that material, I know I can be much, much better.
I’m sure everyone makes lots of New Year’s resolutions, but I think my re-dedication to comedy in the new year will stick. All it took was a bit of loneliness to remind me why I’m out here.
Why am I so boring at my dayjob when I’m paid to be funny at night?
November 24, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I went to a work outing tonight at a local pub, and I was incredibly boring. I mean, totally, completely no personality at all. It was almost exactly like I was at my dayjob. It’s strange, because I know that having personality can be quite helpful at work, and it’s not like I don’t have personality (otherwise, why would I be a stand-up comedian?).
I think my mindset comes from my inclination to compartmentalise different aspects of my life. The way I am at work is similar to how I am around my parents. The way I am on stage is similar to how I am with my friends. It would be helpful if I could find some middle ground between my ghetto personality and my boringness at work. In fact, more than a few people at work have said I need to come out of my shell (these people of course did not know much about my night life).
When I’m in a party situation, and also when I’m on stage, I have enough personality to take over an entire room. It’s basically my job to do so, and it comes rather naturally. My nickname in university was “The Vong Show,” because I basically brought the party with me wherever I went.
It’s a shame then that working in media where there are a ton of personalities, I can’t seem to express myself other than being 100 per cent business-like at all times. There’s no easy fix, as my behaviours are ingrained, but I do hope that someday I can come off as something in the middle: not boring and not the centre of attention but someone who’s interesting.
Facebook to fame, how free ads have resulted in good traffic
November 7, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I received $50 of Facebook advertising credits when I recently switched my web host to GoDaddy.com. I never really thought about advertising on Facebook before, but now I am totally hooked. In fact, I’m already starting to budget some money toward Facebook advertising each month after my free credits run out.
The great part about Facebook advertising is that I can target specifically the audience I want to reach. It’s amazing how much detail people will give in their Facebook profiles. This information then helps advertisers like me target our audiences specifically. For instance, I can have my ads served only to people who have listed “Stand-Up Comedy” as one of their interests. This way, I know that I am not wasting my advertising dollars on people who aren’t comedy fans.
To coincide with this new campaign, I have also started a Facebook page at the below URL. The Facebook page allows my fans to follow my career by clicking “Become a Fan.” If you haven’t done so, please visit my Facebook page and “Become a Fan.” The more fans I have, the more chance that my page can spread virally throughout Facebook.
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Vong-Sundara/38315545624
My first target is to reach 100 fans. After 100, I’ll re-evaluate my goals and hope to move up in the listings. The great part about having fans is that I can send messages directly my those who sign up regarding upcoming performances and television appearances. This way, I know that the people who are supporting my career are going to be the first to know about important information regarding my career.
Itsy Bitsy Spider similar to how my website has fallen
November 2, 2008 by vongsundara · Leave a Comment
I’m trying my best to get my website to climb back up the ladder to where it used to be, having thousands of visitors in a month. A lot has changed since my website had that much traffic, and I am learning a lot about how to to get back there. In all this struggle, I’m learning that I am in the same position with my comedy career.
As with my website, I peaked at an incredibly high point in my first year in the business. I was showcasing, working multiple shows a week and was well known in the community (at least the local comedy scene). Now I feel like I am struggling to climb back to where I used to be after relocating to a new city, similar to how my website is trying to rebuild an audience.
Luckily, I’m a patient person, and I believe that once I get back up there, I’ll continue to grow as a performer. I can’t be impatient, or I may risk never getting back to where I want to be at all.
VS
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