Last night, I produced the first ever edition of Geekomedy, a show intended to incorporate aspects of media & technology into works of comedy. I myself made a silly intro with the Voice Plus voice-changing app on my iPhone (my BROKEN iPhone!) and later incorporated the technological element of the George Foreman Grill to my show, by making an audience member a panini.
See what a difference technology adds to humour, folks? Paninis!
The wonderful and dynamic duo Laura Bailey and Josh Bowman improvised a conversation on Facebook chat for a segment they called “IM-prov.” Proof that some of the funniest writing people can produce is at home in front of a computer screen IMing to friends/family/ex-lovers recently escaping the confines of the closet.
I heard a comment from someone who walked into the segment late, about how strange it was to walk into a dark space lit only with a screen, to complete silence, and to still be entertained thoroughly simply through the act of reading a comic scene take place right before their eyes.
See kids, reading CAN be fun!
Next up was a PowerPoint presentation by Ashley Moffatt – hilarious as usual, Ashley incorporated elements of her regular routine, but added some flash to it with amazing photos of her famous plant wigs and, dogs. Dogs everywhere. I think PowerPoint stand-up is such a great idea, similar to the way SNL’s Weekend Update’s jokes are amplified by silly graphics, or Jon Stewart & Stephen Colbert’s stuff – it adds to the joke. The joke itself is funny, but with the right animation, it can take a chuckle to a full-blown guffaw.
Camille Côté was up next, regaling us with the tale of an incredibly awkward textual encounter she got in after meeting face-to-face and talking to him for a whole of 10 minutes, who later make very bizarre assumptions about her in txt form. She made a good point about how some guys can be really brave, but only behind some form of screen. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go back to eating my bagel now. (wink wink)
Finally, the fabulous physical comedy of Jorge Viveros brought to the stage a real-life Angry Birds game, where members of the audience could throw Jorge, the angry bird, into stacks of cardboard boxes for FUN!
Many thanks to the audience members who came out to support the show, even though right off the bat, the host told us we all stunk. (Thanks a lot, Bob Banks!) It’s OK though, he was referring strictly to our hygiene and not to the quality of our comedy, which makes it better, right? Right?…
Anyway, here’s hoping there’s more interest in tech-themed comedy down the line. I think the next logical step would be installing a transporter directly in the Comedy Bar, saving time AND the need to dress according to the climate. (And allowing for an easier stumble home post-alcohol-consumption.)
Robo-Brie OUT!