Thursday, February 24, 2011
Saturday, February 5, 2011
Feature Spot with Kevin Nealon
Working with an "A" List Comedian who is featured in a very popular TV show ("Weeds") and formerly a very hilarious part of Saturday Night Live might seem like a dream come true. On many levels it is - especially since Kevin Nealon is a wonderfully nice person. However, in addition to it being an exciting venture it is also stepping into the unknown of basic audience reaction.
An audience that comes out to see a particular performer is generally locked into the appearance of that celebrity. The m.c. of the show as well as the feature act are on very shaky ground under these circumstances. The position of "feature" in case like this is glorified only on paper.
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The 7:00 p.m. show at Zanies was a feature act's dream. The crowd was older and more mannerly than the average Saturday night crowd. These folks seem to know Kevin from the good ole' days of SNL TV. I could not have asked for a warmer and more gracious audience. We had fun and it was a great set up for Kevin Nealon.
The 9:30 p.m. show was a different story! This cast of characters seemed to have walked right off the set of "Weeds" still waving the smoke from in front of their eyes. The average mental age seemed to be about 13.
Although a comedy club is supposed to help in crowd control this was not the case. Screaming, yelling, and ranting set the bar for attentiveness. They came at me from either side and I was ready. Well almost ready. I could only calm the craziest of the crazies. One bold heckler broke through so I gave him the microphone to see how he'd handle his dream of taking the stage. The audience "booed" and screamed "get off the stage." After that warm encounter, my heckling friend may reconsider his dream of telling jokes. I escaped unharmed and the night ended with Kevin Nealon pulling it all off like a pro.
An audience that comes out to see a particular performer is generally locked into the appearance of that celebrity. The m.c. of the show as well as the feature act are on very shaky ground under these circumstances. The position of "feature" in case like this is glorified only on paper.
----------
The 7:00 p.m. show at Zanies was a feature act's dream. The crowd was older and more mannerly than the average Saturday night crowd. These folks seem to know Kevin from the good ole' days of SNL TV. I could not have asked for a warmer and more gracious audience. We had fun and it was a great set up for Kevin Nealon.
The 9:30 p.m. show was a different story! This cast of characters seemed to have walked right off the set of "Weeds" still waving the smoke from in front of their eyes. The average mental age seemed to be about 13.
Although a comedy club is supposed to help in crowd control this was not the case. Screaming, yelling, and ranting set the bar for attentiveness. They came at me from either side and I was ready. Well almost ready. I could only calm the craziest of the crazies. One bold heckler broke through so I gave him the microphone to see how he'd handle his dream of taking the stage. The audience "booed" and screamed "get off the stage." After that warm encounter, my heckling friend may reconsider his dream of telling jokes. I escaped unharmed and the night ended with Kevin Nealon pulling it all off like a pro.
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