Stand-up spotlight: Bobby Crane

July 27th, 2012

One of Denver’s regulars is coming out to play…meet BOBBY CRANE!

Bobby Crane got his start in comedy by doing John Lithgow impersonations for his great aunts bingo club after seeing a particulary inspiring episode of Third Rock From The Sun. He doesn’t believe in 3-D movies and he has an irrational fear of lightbulbs. Look for him every Wednesday at your local post office where he volunteers to lick patrons envelopes for them at a minimal fee.

See Bobby plus other comics at @ Click here to buy tickets.

Stand-up spotlight: Mara Wiles

July 27th, 2012

Meet one of our local comics, MARA WILES!

Mara Wiles is a comic based out of Denver, Colorado. She performs regularly at the famous Comedy Works Denver and is a member of the Impulse Theater improv troupe, the longest running show in Denver. Mara recently won best comic at the Laugh Tracks Comedy Festival and is a founding member of LadyFace, Denver’s first all female sketch group. When she isn’t telling jokes she is usually pretending to get into yoga or reading Real Simple magazine.

Laugh Track: How long have you been a stand-up comic?

Mara: I have been doing stand up for 3 years. I have been performing on this crazy stage called life for 27.

What other comics will you be watching during the festival?

Everybody! My Denver counter parts are always great for a laugh. I am also looking forward to watching comics I have never seen so I can steal all of their secrets. Read the rest of this entry »

Humor Code discussion

July 26th, 2012

It’s a serious question. What makes things funny? The analysis that goes into what’s funny just may surprise you.

Dr. McGraw

University of Colorado Professor Peter McGraw and journalist Joel Warner have launched the Humor Code, an around-the-world exploration of what exactly makes things funny. From trying out Jewish jokes in Palestine to testing whether dick jokes pay off in sex-ed PSAs to getting the notorious Scandinavian “Mohammad cartoonists” to draw caricatures of them, McGraw and Warner are uniting science and comedy, two worlds that don’t always get along. They’re blogging about their escapades for Wired.com, Huffington Post and Psychology Today, and their project will culminate in a book in 2013. In the meantime, the Dr. McGraw will be sharing some of their provocative insights at this special Laugh Track Event To make sure everything is fair and balanced, however, some of Laugh Track’s top comedic talents will be on hand to determine whether they really have cracked the humor code — or if their findings bomb like a bad joke.

http://humorcode.com

From Wired: One Professor’s Attempt to Explain Every Joke Ever

It’s a hilarious afternoon of insights and education. And when’s the last time a doctor talked to you about your laughing problem?

Learn more about The Humor Code at http://humorcode.com/ and read their blog here.

with Dr. Peter McGraw and host Ben Roy @ – $5 Tickets available at the door. (Please note: is cash only) Check out HumorCode.com for more info about the book!

Stand-up spotlight: Chris Miller

July 26th, 2012

Born in the jungles. Raised by wolves. Meet !

Bio: I was born, went to school, and then I started doing comedy after I sold my company. Now I do it more than I used do it, and it makes me happy. I hope to someday be a film maker and or producer.

Laugh Track: How long have you been a stand-up comic?

Chris: one year and 8 months

What other comics will you be watching during the festival?

I am a fan of the FGC – Nate Lund, Sam Tallent, Bobby Crizane.. Chris Charp is one of my favs, he makes me belly laugh. Ben Roy, ACH. Read the rest of this entry »

Shorts spotlight: Guns, Drugs, and Synergy

July 26th, 2012

It’s got guns, it’s got drugs, and whatever that third thing is!

We present GUNS, DRUGS, AND SYNERGY

Synopsis: Guns, Drugs, and Synergy is a short film about Tim Sanchez, CEO of Sanchez Enterprises, a fresh out of business school drug cartel leader, who follows a strict corporate structure. When his company is threaten by a rival cartel, scaring away all his employes, Tim must gather who’s ever left and prepare for the showdown to end all showdowns. Can the company policy survive in this dog eat dog business?

Director: Matthew O’Connor

Laugh Track: How much time and energy did you spend making the movie?

Matthew: Lets just say I went into this project with a girlfriend, and finished as a single man. It was about a year long process, but it felt like forever.

Do you think it was worth all that time/energy?

At the time I was like, what the hell am I doing, but to hear people laugh at the jokes, and everything that happens on screen, it really makes it all worth wile. So yes, yes it was…I think.

No, honestly. Was it?

The film gets me more ladies then I can handle, so YES! Read the rest of this entry »

Stand-up spotlight: Andy Sell

July 26th, 2012

Hey everybody meet !

Andy Sell was born in Iowa, went to high school in Colorado, college in Santa Fe and currently resides in Los Angeles where he hosts the best open mic ever at Silverlake Lounge every Sunday and can be found every other night aggressively hugging comics outside of bars. He transitioned to comedy from the cutthroat and glamorous world of spoken word poetry. Andy likes beer, horror movies, early 00s screamo, and watching kittens torture insects in the way that death playfully stalks all of us. Andy recently performed three nights at the Hollywood Fringe Fest, one of which actually went pretty well. Anybody else really lose it during the Roseanne series finale?

To see Andy plus other funny people, go to @ Click here to buy tickets.

Stand-up spotlight: Amy Miller

July 26th, 2012

Today we’re meeting AMY MILLER!

Amy Miller has been instrumental in producing independent comedy in the San Francisco Bay Area. A kind of homeroom mom, she likes to plan shit and boss people around and tell jokes in an orderly fashion and make sure IS EVERYBODY HAVING A GOOD TIME?! Amy’s a Bay Area native, a classical soprano/ occasional pop punk back-up singer, a fancy business lady and a lead producer in Sylvan Productions. As seen at the Noise Pop Festival, Five Funny Females, the SF Punchline, Cobb’s Comedy Club and as a regular headliner at The Purple Onion, Amy is not only a San Francisco favorite, but a fast rising star in the comedy world.

Laugh Track: How long have you been a stand-up comic?

Amy: 2 years

What other comics will you be watching during the festival?

The Grawlix boys and Abbey Jordan Read the rest of this entry »

Shorts spotlight: Webbed

July 26th, 2012

The virtual just got more real.

Today’s spotlight is on WEBBED

Synopsis: JoeTheLegend323 seeks connection and community through a webcam until a termite infestation in his building forces him out of the virtual and into the reality.

Director: Zack Windheim

Laugh Track: How much time and energy did you spend making the movie?

Zack: We knew that if we wanted to make an entertaining film about video bloggers, we needed to spend more time and energy than the average video blogger does to tell you what their lunch tasted like. It took close to a year to finish the movie.

Do you think it was worth all that time/energy?

Was Titanic worth making?

No, honestly. Was it?

Was The Last Airbender worth making?

What’s the funniest thing that happened on set? And by funniest we mean the most horrible thing.

The strangest thing to happen on set was that our main actor had to improvise his own viral dance for three minutes in his boxers and that nothing accidentally popped out. When you watch the wide range of his dance moves in the film, it is pretty mind-blowing how that never happened.

Convince us why your film should win our top award. Best answer wins the award (joking…or are we?)

Webbed is a completely unique film that is based on the completely unique and bizarre world of vloggers on YouTube. It manages to make audiences laugh without the use of drugs, sex, or violence – all it needs are termites.

How to see Webbed? @ Click here to buy tickets.

Stand-up spotlight: Matt Monroe

July 26th, 2012

This year we’re bringing in tons of comics from all over the country. But we’re also inviting Colorado’s best comics to the show, because, well, we might run into them at Whole Foods and we don’t want them to get mad at us.

Meet MATT MONROE!

To those that know him, Matt Monroe is a bit of a risk taker (no iPhone case) and someone who has accomplished a great many things in his lifetime. (not vegan) But the people who Matt keeps closest to him (women) know that above all else, he is the finest lover one could ask for (will go downtown).
Matt runs a monthly comedy showcase at Lannies Clocktower Cabaret (16th & Arapahoe) the last Sunday of every month and can be found pandering for your approval on the following social media websites. (will go downtown)
Laugh Track: How long have you been a stand-up comic?

Matt: 1 year
What other comics will you be watching during the festival?
I plan on watching everyone, since I have no social life to speak of.  In particular though, I’m looking forward to sets from out of towners Jay Washington, Ron Babcock, Ed Galvez, and Alex Mesrobian.

If you could give yourself advice when you first started out, what would it be?
Write a lot of facebook jokes, like EVERYONE is on facebook so its totally relatable! Read the rest of this entry »

Shorts spotlight: The Night of the Falling Star

July 25th, 2012

The filmmaker built a space station to make this one…helmets off to that!

Synopsis: Captain Oldelaf is an astronaut in a mission around the Earth whose plans are turned upside down by an unexpected cosmic encounter…

Lost in deep space, he will have to deploy all his ingenuity and dig deep in his bag of tricks to come back home to his loved ones.

Director: Jean-Marc Deltorn

Laugh Track: How much time and energy did you spend making the movie?

Jean-Marc: Hard to put a number on this one, but try convincing your wife/husband/partner that building a space station in the living room of your 2 bedroom flat is really a great idea… and living in it for the next two months will be such fun!… Well, that’s about how much energy/commitment that little movie required!

Do you think it was worth all that time/energy?

If living in a space station for 2 month isn’t, what is?… Honestly, some people are paying crazy money for that. Read the rest of this entry »