the comic's comic: Kyle Cease

Stand-up comedy is not pretty. Case in point: Latest video imagines podcast interview with Kyle Cease

Wasn't sure what to make of this latest installment of the "Stand-up Comedy Is Not Pretty" animation series, especially considering it was labeled as an interview with Kyle Cease about his stand-up comedy boot camps, but did not say Cease participated in the video. Cease later told me he didn't have anything to do with this. So keep that in mind when you watch. It imagines a hipper-than-hip podcaster trying to take down Cease. You know who you are, comedy hipsters.

So watch already! Roll it.

Sep 17, 2010 9:07:36 AM | Kyle Cease

Spend a half-hour with Kyle Cease as he explains the mindset of comedians (VIDEO)

Just watched this new 26-minute interview with Kyle Cease, which isn't really so much an interview as it is an infomercial for his "stand-up comedy bootcamps," although it's not so much an infomercial as it is really the whole thing. In a nutshell.

Did this save you a bunch of money? Did it make you want to spend all of your money on a bootcamp? And by all, I mean all $299, with a money-back guarantee, as Cease himself tells me. Does it change your mindset at all on Cease, hearing what he has to say about the typical mindset of a stand-up comedian, and what it should be instead? Let me know, after you've watched him make his case. And if any of you ventriloquist dummies don't know why I'd ask questions as if this is an issue, then you haven't read any message board debate over this. Also: Kyle Cease himself says in this video that he believes comedians tend to have the wrong mindset, and wants to right it. Did he? Could he? Roll it!

Sep 13, 2010 6:15:32 PM | Kyle Cease

Kyle Cease's stand-up bootcamp, take two (coming in October)

Normally I wouldn't write about a stand-up comedy class, because there are many of them out there in comedy clubs and community colleges, and well, are they really all worth writing about? But Kyle Cease's stand-up comedy bootcamp, and the promotional videos his brother produced for it, caught my eye earlier this year and have generated quite a bit of discussion within the comedy community.

So here is your official update on all of that. If you follow Cease's Twitter feed, you'll know that he is working on a new call-in radio program with John Heffron, and also something else involving giving paid work to aspiring stand-ups. Do you like paid work? Of course you do. His stand-up comedy bootcamp is another thing entirely (I've heard spirited discussion both for and against it), and if you want to rehash all of that, just go back into my archives on it or view the trailer on the Standup Bootcamp site. Fact is, Kyle Cease is putting on a fall edition of his Standup Bootcamp, to be held Oct. 17-21 at the Jon Lovitz Comedy Club in Universal City, Calif. Over the course of 60 hours, participants will hear from Cease and Lovitz, as well as Tom Wilson, Wendy Liebman, Steve Byrne, Alonzo Bodden, Bryan Callen, ANT, Chris Porter and John Heffron, and get to ask questions of and showcase in front of agents and other industry.

The cost? $599-$799-$999

The pricing packages are listed here. You'll pay $799 if you want one-on-one coaching with the aforementioned headliners. It'll cost you another $200 to perform in the industry showcase (and also sit in the front row?). For what that's worth. What is that worth to you?

Sep 9, 2009 7:07:33 PM | Kyle Cease

Kyle Cease's new "Comedy Bootcamp" video

Kyle Cease and his brother, Kevin, have refashioned the video trailer to hype their "Comedy Bootcamp" based upon our previous suggestions, comments, complaints and worries about what's really going on at the Comedy Bootcamp (you no longer can see the original video unless you have such privileges). This video now focuses on what the bootcamp can do for you, the comedian, with more insight from agents, managers, industry folk and fellow comedians -- including Bret Ernst, Brian Scolaro and Chris Porter. With all of the appearances by people in the industry, you certainly would think that this class gives you more access to people you'd want access to than other stand-up comedy classes. What are your thoughts? The next bootcamp is scheduled for October:

Jul 28, 2009 8:02:03 AM | Kyle Cease

Infomercial? Reality show? Kyle Cease's "Comedy Boot Camp"

Kyle Cease "won" the 2009 Comedy Central Stand-Up Showdown, which is a testament to his humor, and/or the amount of time one has on his or her hands to get as many people to vote for him during a limited timeframe (which also is a testament to one's humor/charm). Cease had undergone a lot of self-reflection last year on his MySpace blog, and this year, has decided to turn this into an effort to helping others with their comedy. Seems admirable enough, right? So long as you have the time between your own gigs, I suppose. But something also seemed a little weird. One of Kyle's friends, Chase Roper, wrote this post on Punchline Magazine about Cease's decision to teach stand-up. Neuro-linguistic programming? Something about self-help and "programming" struck an alarm chord, and sure enough, just go ahead and Google NLP and Scientology and you'll find 652,000 results. I'm sure all of this works for plenty of people, and whatever floats your boat and doesn't sink mine is a nice libertarian way to think about life in general, but then, well, just watch this. If you were thinking that Funny People would be the most melodramatic look at comedy this summer, then think again...

This is the official promotional video for what Kyle Cease is doing (his brother, Kevin, put this online), with an "inspirational" assist from Ant. Yes. Ant. And remember when you're watching the people crying and providing testimonials, that this is not a reality show, not an infomercial, not a cult religion, but rather, a COMEDY boot camp:

Please feel free to weigh in with your thoughts, comments, and rebuttals!

Jul 12, 2009 5:21:15 PM | Kyle Cease

Video: Melgicians Magician Tricks for Magicians

A tip of the cap to friendly funny blogger Max Silvestri for picking up on this new video offering from fellow friend in funny Kyle Cease (and as always, a co-starring mustachioed role for his comedy roommate, Bob Bledsoe). Here are some secret card trick tips! Also, very much NSFW. Enjoy!

Melgicians magician tricks for magicians

Apr 30, 2008 2:59:59 PM | Kyle Cease

A fresh take on the Seattle comedy scene

The Seattle Times dropped in on its local comedy scene for a random portrait. So, as with most random portraits of comedy, the piece opens with things not going swimmingly at an open mic!

The focus seems to be on the "hipsters" (not my word, nor ever my word) of The People's Republic of Komedy. The male and female halves of Shecky have more experience with them than I have -- I left Seattle in 2001 -- so perhaps I can try to make more sense of what Shecky calls the headscratcher quote from my friend Ron Reid at the Comedy Underground. Reid gets quoted thusly: "It's a little more indie and artsy than it's been in the past. The shows are either free or 5 bucks, so ... there's not this push to be exclusive or 'make it big.' I think the hipsters like it because no one's 'selling out.' "

So how was it in the past? Well, if we're talking about 10 years ago, when I first began frequenting the open mics to make the transition from improv, in Seattle, you had two nights at the Comedy Underground, a night at Giggles, and then random weekly bar nights that would spring up around the city whenever a fellow comic could convince the bar's management to give comedy a try. The open mics attracted just about everyone in the scene, very inclusive in that respect because we all were in the same boat, whether newbies like me or guys and gals with years in the game, merely looking for stage time wherever and whenever we could get it. Maybe that's what Reid means about it being artsier now, because the scene now has a subset that not only encompasses the certain types of comedians at the open mics but also the audiences. We didn't have a specific comedy-savvy audience at our open mics. We had unsuspecting bar patrons, for the most part. So the Seattle comedians now have a more welcoming atmosphere for them to experiment and grow their voices. And that's great news.

The Seattle Times article mentions Mitch Hedberg and Kyle Cease as guys who've used the Emerald City as a launching pad. I saw Hedberg win the Seattle contest in 1997, and not long after that, saw a teenaged Cease (in a suit, as I recall!) already headlining at Giggles. There are many others who've started in Seattle and gone on to bigger and better things (for one example, Joel McHale was a star at TheatreSports before going to L.A. where he now hosts The Soup on E!). And then there's a guy like Reggie Watts, who somehow found a way to start his comedy life in Seattle without the traditional open mics and venues to become an Andy Kaufman Award winner and fixture in New York's comedy scene. Where does he fit into the equation? Just wondering.

What do you think? Your thoughts and comments are welcome.

Dec 4, 2007 11:44:44 AM | Kyle Cease, Mitch Hedberg, Reggie Watts