Lyndsay Hailey's "30% Chance of Hailey" Solo Sketch Show

What are you doing Tuesday at 8pm? If you reside in Chicago, do yourself a favor and check out "30% Chance of Hailey," comedian Lyndsay Hailey's solo sketch show.

Hailey's comedy is hard to quickly characterize: The show includes real life stories, hyper-energetic rapping, historical romance, gymnastics, impeccable accents, singing and a lovely dose of audience participation. Hailey is a comedian's comedian- her jokes almost take on a meta quality as she's simultaneously being funny and making fun of the comedic convention being used. (Think poking fun of vague miming or obligatory audience participation... Okay, admittedly less funny when you try to explain it, but funnier when you actually see it!) Her grandiose characters are well complemented by the subtler moments when she plays herself, reenacting her own experiences.

Upcoming shows:

• Tuesday, February 16
  
• Tuesday, February 23
  
• Tuesday, March 02

All shows are at 8:00 PM in the Del Close Theater at iO- tickets are $12 (FREE for iO students)

Women Stand Up and Shoot: A Comedic Film Competition

Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/37899119@N06/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

The phenomenal folks at Women Stand Up! and the IFP Minnesota Center for Media Arts have teamed up to host Women Stand Up and Shoot, a competition designed to promote and encourage women writers, actors and directors in film comedies. Bust out your typewriters, boom mics and dialect coaches... it's on.

Submissions are due by April 21st, and the films will be screened at Minneapolis's Bryant Lake Bowl Theater in May.

Eligibility Guidelines:
1) Films must have a female writer or director
2) Films must feature a female lead or leads
3) Films must be comedic
4) Films cannot be longer than 10 minutes

Films will be judged by nationally-known funny Minnesota-bred women: Lizz Winstead, a writer and comedian, a founding member of Air America Radio and Co-Creator of Comedy Central's "The Daily Show;” Mary Jo Pehl, one of the original writers for Mystery Science Theater 3000, which aired on Comedy Central and the Sci Fi Channel, and a writer for Minnesota Monthly; Jackie Kashian, a stand-up comedian who has toured nationally for over 14 years, has appeared on CBS, NBC, and the Nationally syndicated Radio/TV show Bob And Tom, and has a half-hour special on Comedy Central.

HOW TO APPLY:

THE DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS APRIL 21ST 2010.

Please send the following information in an email to Dana Buchwald at womenstandupandshoot@gmail[DOT]com:

-Your name, address, phone number, and email address
-Title of the film
-Length of the film
-A brief synopsis of the film (no more than 50 words)
-A short bio (no more than 50 words)

You may submit your film on a DVD or as a URL.

If you are submitting your video online, include the link in the body of your email.

You do not need to submit a DVD if your work is available online.

If you are submitting a DVD, you need to send FOUR copies of the DVD. Each DVD must be labeled with:
-The title of the film
-Length
-Your name
-Your phone number

Send or bring 4 copies of the DVD to:

IFP Minnesota
WSU-Shoot
2446 University Avenue West, Suite 100
St. Paul, MN 55114

For more info, contact Lu Lippold, llippold@ifpmn[DOT]org or Dana Buchwald, womenstandupandshoot@gmail[DOT]com

Kudos to Women Stand Up! and IFP MN for creating spaces for comedic women in film.

Rest in Peace, Jean Carroll

Punchline Magazine has a nice obit for Jean Carroll, who passed away on Friday. Also, check out the New York Time's obituary.