See this invisible radio show

Wisconsin Hybrid Theater is another example of Milwaukee Comedy talent dedicated to entertaining and advancing a craft with little fanfare and a lot of hard, creative work.

This weekend is your last chance to see the troupe’s performance of “Radio WHT presents the Invisible Man.” Shows are at 7:30 p.m., Friday, May 18 and Saturday, May 19 at the Alchemist Theater, 2569 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. Tickets are $9.99 and the seats are filling fast. (Click here to get yours.)

From the web: “You may have enjoyed listening to Radio WHT on WMSE during their monthly live performances, but nothing can prepare you for the ‘mayhem behind the microphones’ as everything that can go wrong does when Radio WHT performs for a theater audience.”

Tell 'em Jimbo sent you.

Wrong Camp? No, WriteCamp!

A big part of comedy is the process of creating the joke.  At some point, a comedian will probably have to write it down some place, like a cocktail napkin.  Luckily, on May 19th there is a great way to brush up your skills: WriteCamp.

Now in it's fourth year, WriteCamp is a totally free 'unconference' designed to connect new ideas and people who are part of the writing world. The day will feature speakers, ad-hoc presentations, networking and free food! Registration and a pancake breakfast begin at 9am, and a full schedule is listed on the WriteCamp website.

So what’s an unconference? According to the website...

An unconference is a facilitated, face-to-face, and participant-driven conference. This means that we organize WriteCamp, but the content of the conference is determined by the people who come. You decide whether you want to be a presenter and which ad-hoc presentations you wish to attend.

WriteCamp4
May 19th, 2012
Mercy Hill at The Hide House
2625 S Greeley St. Milwaukee

Just in time

When last we left Damon Millard, of Caste of Killers Comedy Collective, he was showcased in the monthly Milwaukee Stand-up Comedy Showcase.

But this is another week, and Caste of Killers has had a whole slew of other events, including The Open Mic Under the Stairs, which is at 8 p.m., Wednesday, May 16, at Karma Bar & Grill, 600 E. Odgen Ave.

From Damon: 

“Milwaukee's newest open mic has quickly become a force to be reckoned with. We're getting so popular that I'm going to stress to the comics to get there on time for sign up or just plan on watching from the seats.”

So if you’re a stand-up or an aspiring stand-up or a wannabe aspiring stand-up, get there by 7:30.

If you're late, enjoy the free show.

"...all men for a change"

In homage to Mother’s Day, the compassionate men of T.I.M. (The Improvised Musical) are granting the month off for all of their female cast members. Or at least that’s what I was giving them credit for before co-founder Mary Baird set me straight.

“Because our cast is made up of some amazing local actors, people take a month off here or there to perform in other great shows,” Mary explained via email, “and this month, it so happens that the ladies are both out, and the dudes are in! The genre of musical is usually so female dominated that we thought It was kinda fun and atypical to have a cast of all men for a change!”

Fun and atypical, eh? The best way to find out, of course, is to catch the all-male T.I.M. performance. It’s at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, May 17, at ComedySportz, 420 S. 1st St. And it’s still only $5.

The cast list: Robby McGhee, Jacob Bach, Jordan Gwiazdowski, Patricio Amerena and Nevin Langus.
See them, for mother’s sake.

Taking It To The Next Level

The whole goal of Milwaukee Comedy is to help spread the comedy love in the Milwaukee area and beyond. The Milwaukee Comedy Festival is going on 7 incredible years this August, the best in comedy news and show info on this website for almost 4 years, and we have been offering more live shows with give-a-ways and lots of funny than ever before.

Well, all of that just wasn't enough! So now Milwaukee Comedy has plans to bring even more comedy your way. 


"I want to create a new home for comedy in Milwaukee, a place that all different kinds of comedy can grow," said Founder and Producer Matt Kemple.

To accomplish this, Milwaukee Comedy has taken up residence in the Grand Avenue Mall along with some other awesome creatives to create a brand new comedy and theatre venue with workshop, rehearsal and office spaces.

Stay tuned for plenty of details on upcoming comedy workshops taught by some of Milwaukee's most talented comedians. There will also be all new and original comedy events featuring the best stand up, improv, and sketch comedy around! You can check out the original announcement, but don't take our word for it, check out this great press!

From the web...
Comedy, drama and art groups to share space in Grand Avenue
The Business Journal; Wednesday, April 25, 2012, 2:23pm

...Year-old "Creativity Works Here" initiative at the Shops of Grand Avenue continues to grow.

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel; April 18th, 2012

Mall Art 

Milwaukee Magazine; April 25, 2012

Creative groups to lease 10,000 square feet at Grand Avenue

Milwaukee Biz Times; April 25. 2012 9:00am

Milwaukee Creatives Energize Grand Ave

Footlights; April 25, 2012

Showcase @ Karma

To hear him talk about it last week when he emceed the Battle Royale Finale, you've got to reckon Damon Millard has an extra special set he's preparing for the Milwaukee Stand-up Showcase Friday. See for yourself.


Caste of Killers Comedy Collective is presenting the showcase, with two shows - at 8:30 p.m. and 10:45 p.m., Friday May 11, at Karma Bar & Grill, 600 E. Ogden Ave. 


Ben Bergman is headlining along with Damon. Admission is $10 at the door, $5 online at www.cokcomedy.com.

Comedy Conclave online

Having read here about the Comedy Conclave, I hurried back from a wedding in the Twin Cities April 29 to catch former Twin Cities comedian Erik Koconis orchestrate a fascinating discussion on the role of fear in comedy.

“Fear is the fuel of being funny,” Erik said amid a handful of fellow comics at a Wauwatosa bar. “I think that everybody in the audience is against me until they start laughing.”

The conversation was the latest in a monthly series of insiders analyzing the comedy they practice. As you’d expect, there are humorous asides, but some of the banter gets poignant. For instance, one participant, Allen Edge, talked of how the fear of doing comedy scared him out of drinking.

The point here is not to remind you of the next Comedy Conclave (6 p.m., Sunday, May 20, at Rounding Third, 6317 W. Blue Mound Road), but to direct you to the new Comedy Conclave website, where you can listen to archived recordings of the serious talk about being funny.

Erik, who returned to Milwaukee after a stint in Minnesota, is using the conclaves to reflect on and dissect a performing art form he has been working on for more than a decade.

“(T)he initial reasons for proposing the project are personal and stem from my enjoyment of studying the architecture of individual jokes and identifying the various pieces and devices used in joke crafting,” he wrote in a blog. But he has telling professional and academic motivations for the conclave, too, which you can read more about in his blog.