the comic's comic

Who wants to sneak a peek at a Lady Comic Slumber Party?

Continuing today's theme of ladies who are comedians and underwear, here's a short video featuring Amy Schumer, Rachel Feinstein, Nikki Glaser and Marina Franklin in nighties. Why? I'm guessing it's because they filmed a stand-up comedy special together. But if you want to guess it's because this is what ladies who are comedians do for fun together, then that's on you.

Roll the clip!

 

Blink 182 times, and you'll see Amy Schumer weekly on Fuse's "A Different Spin with Mark Hoppus"

Starting Sept. 16, 2010, your Thursday evenings will see Amy Schumer on your cable TV as she was named co-host of the upcoming Fuse series, A Different Spin with Mark Hoppus.

Hoppus, the Blink-182 frontman, will lead the weekly look at musicians and music news, while Schumer will provide comic relief both in the studio and out in the field for correspondent reports from concerts, music festival and other related events. "I am excited," Schumer told me this afternoon.

In addition to the new gig at Fuse, Schumer also just filmed a role in an episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm, and will be seen in an upcoming stand-up comedy special with Rachel Feinstein, Marina Franklin and Nikki Glaser.

Here's what Hoppus had to say about Schumer: "She’s super funny, smart, and engaging. And terribly foul-mouthed. And offensive. Everyone is super stoked that she’s part of the crew. She’d better not out-shine the host, though..."

Amy Schumer asks comics at the Cellar to promote her Comedy Central 1/2-hour: What happens next

Amy Schumer made it pretty far on Last Comic Standing a few years ago, and in a few weeks, she'll have her first Comedy Central Presents on the TV. So she decided to hit up her fellow stand-up comedians at the Comedy Cellar in NYC for some testimonials. Should be great, right? Of course, it quickly becomes a sequel to Seinfeld's Comedian, with Colin Quinn, Jim Norton, Darrell Hammond and Jessica Kirson talking smack about her. "Doesn't every comedian have a special now?" Indeed. Schumer gets some outside help from Nick Thune (who already has a Comedy Central Presents and more to his credit), and if you're on the sidewalk in front of the Cellar, of course, there will be a moment with Ardie Fuqua. Of course. Don't worry, none of these are really spoiler alerts. Roll it!

VH1's "Great Debate" week copies familiar concept

Tonight, VH1 kicks off five nights of comedians and celebrities debating pop culture icons in a new series called The Great Debate. Actually, they just completed a live promotional kickoff event this afternoon in New York City's Herald Square, with Ivy League students taking on comedians Pete Holmes and Amy Schumer (and judged by Chuck Nice). The first hour premieres at 10 p.m. Eastern, with further episodes following nightly. Here's a sampling from the fifth hour, in which several panelists offer their opinions on Star Wars vs. Star Trek, Alf vs. E.T., real vs. fake boobs, Jurassic Park vs. Titanic, and in what seems, well, timely and yet also whoops, Madonna vs. Michael Jackson. Watch:

If it seems like it's VH1's attempt to put its own "I Love the 80s" spin on 2008's Comedy Central show, Lewis Black's Root of All Evil, well, then you had the same thought that I had. In fact, the show does come from the "I Love the" folks, so it's not that much of a stretch Even if we feel like we've seen it all before. And we have.

The Reality Bites Back cast

Comedy Central's upcoming Reality Bites Back debuts on July 17. It's a game show spoof of reality show contests. Meta meta. Michael Ian Black hosts.

Who's going to play? Kyle Cease, Chris Fairbanks, Jeff Garcia, Red Grant, Tiffany Haddish, Bert Kreischer, Mo Mandel, Donnell Rawlings, Amy Schumer and Theo Von. Winner gets $50,000. It's like one of those Real World-Road Rules Gauntlet things, isn't it? Which means Von should win, easy. Right? Bold press-release prediction from our host: “I believe ‘Reality Bites Back’ will do for reality television shows what ‘Alf’ did for extraterrestrial puppet shows,” said Michael Ian Black.

If you hadn't seen it yet, here's a preview:

Last Comic Standing advice from Amy Schumer

Callbacks continue today in New York City for NBC's Last Comic Standing, with stand-ups getting interviewed and getting seen multiple times before tonight's final performances at Gotham Comedy Club. There's another round set for 2 p.m. In the meantime, last year's fourth-place finisher, Amy Schumer, took a few moments last night to tell me about what advice she gave to her best friend Jackie Monahan, who's also auditioning today.

Amy Schumer's Last Comic Standing advice
Uploaded by thecomicscomic

That video includes cameos from Schumer's mom as well as her friend, comedian Mara Herron. They were all cavorting and celebrating after another intimate live comedy show produced by The Collective, a group of NYC actors who've studied together, making for a show that's both very welcoming for stand-ups and also populated with very attractive actor and model types. Sabina Gadecki, anyone? Last night's show in Gotham City Improv's eighth-floor Flatiron space included performances by Arj Barker, Tony Camin and Laurie Kilmartin.

Want to know how LCS can change a comedian's life? Last year, who knew Amy Schumer? This year, she's a national headliner. From Feb. 13-17, Schumer co-headlines the Sacramento Punchline with the young genius John Mulaney. They head to the San Francisco Punchline the following week, Feb. 19-23. Tickets available via my Ticketmaster widget!

In review, better late than never

As a journalist, reaching the final page of the notebook always prompts mixed emotions. First, excitement at the prospect of starting anew with a clean, fresh pad of paper. Then, a touch of sadness, because you've held this pad literally close to the vest for months, and inside it are memories, written down and kept with you, but nevermore. And you know that even though you keep your notes around for years to come, the odds remind you that you'll likely not open this pad again, leaving it with the other memories of shows and interviews and news gone by. Was there something you'd written that shouldn't be left behind, you wonder? If you're lucky to remember, you flip back through the pages looking for important phone numbers, names and notes to self that actually became notes to self.

I found a few shows I'd seen that made my notepad but hadn't been shared yet. So let's get to it.

Goodnight, OJ: This one-woman show by Livia Scott (directed by Baron Vaughn) has its final performance tonight (Jan. 30) at the UCB Theatre in NYC. In it, Scott re-examines and performs actual letters written to OJ Simpson when he was in jail back in 1994 charged with double murder. I saw this show Nov. 29, 2007, when Simpson had just come back into the news -- and jail -- for his Vegas shenanigans. Scott and Vaughn made a conscious decision to include not only letters of dark humor but also darkly depressing notes. Wasn't expecting that. Scott told me they've shuffled the order of the letters from show to show, and believes the Simpson trial was one of the last things (9/11 notwithstanding) that brought everyone together to watch in shock and awe. I found the Colette letters as well as the notes from children to be quite funny and touching. Still not sure about including some of the darker stuff (one letter is addressed, "Hey, Sambo"), but I suppose that's what makes this more of a theatrical piece than a straight comedy.

We Kate Shelly: Sketch comedy from Kate Hess and Shelly Stover. Stover has such an expressive face and uses it to great effect. The duo has a big musical number finale. At the show I saw, their impact was lessened a bit because, without microphones, some of their scenes were more difficult to follow. They're at the UCB in NYC on Jan. 31, Feb. 4, and Feb. 18.

The Collective: There is a management firm known as The Collective. This is a diferent collective of New York City actors and comedians, and they invited me to see a comedy show they held after a play at Centerstage on West 21st Street. Fourth-floor venue. Very theatrical crowd, obviously most watched the company's play and stayed afterward, and quite welcoming to all the comedians. Amy Schumer hosted, talking to the audience as if she were friends with all of them (which heck, she may have been!). Comedians on the lineup included Mike DeStefano, Jackie Monahan, Demetri Martin, Mara Herron, Maggie Champagne and Jesse Joyce. Schumer told me later that night that they hope to produce more plays and comedy shows, just looking for the right venue.

Ritalin Readings: The Slipper Room had the feeling of a cozy living room before December's showcase of writers and comedians reading, with hosts Lindsay Robertson and Gabriel Delahaye. Delahaye opened with a bang by reading from "The Y2K Personal Survival Guide," with the helpful tips such as stocking up on two-liter soft drink bottles. Didn't hear much from Robertson but hope to next time. The show did throw me for a bit of a loop, though, when the first two performers didn't read at all. Sean O'Connor did stand-up. Elna Baker presented a story she was rehearsing for radio's This American Life about working in toy demonstration at FAO Schwartz. Both funny, but wasn't this about reading? Lang Fisher did have a letter she'd written to a potential employer in becoming an assistant farmer, while Will Leitch read from his upcoming book (now out) based on his Deadspin experiences, and show producer Jon Friedman shared an email he sent to all of his coworkers on his last day as an NBC intern. Patrick Borelli closed the show with crazy, true and quick stories.

I think that gets us almost caught up.