February 2024
Our free monthly newsletter, featuring an abundance of digital content that made us laugh recently...
Hi everyone,
Welp, it’s February. This wintry month’s newsletter is heavy on the digital offerings, inviting you to stay inside, wrap yourself in a blanket up to your eyes, and warm up the best way we know how: laughter. :)
With that, let’s ride.
New York
It’s been mentioned in the newsletter before (and recently!), but comedy-loving New Yorkers (and anyone from LA with the means to take a worthwhile trip) should not miss Cole Escola’s brilliant OH, MARY! at the Lucille Lortel theater. Deep tip of the hat to Mike and Carlee Productions, who are consistently populating the New York theater scene with outstanding live comedy.
“If you tape it, they will watch…” is the clear motivation behind We’re Rolling at the Gutter on February 15th, an enterprising two-show taping featuring emerging comics doing what they’ve been told works: making live content available online.
Beloved improv duo Zach Reino and Jessica McKenna are bringing Off Book: The Musical to the Bell House on February 23rd, and if the fact that it’s in Gowanus (and sold out) could keep you from attending, the show will stream live on VEEPS.
Newly acquired by The New Yorker after premiering at Tribeca last year, Proof of Concept by Max Cohn and Ellie Sachs is a delightful meta riff on the short film "business" that readers of this newsletter may appreciate. Starring Richard Kind!
Filmmaker Kristoffer Borgli practiced lucid dreaming for months to prepare for the world's first attempt at interviewing a person from inside a dream. The results are available for viewing here. The completely serious tone makes the central turn of this piece even more delightful - great writing and execution.
It is our delight to premiere The Musical, Alex Heller & Giselle Bonilla's short about an elementary school teacher who finds out that his coworker ex is now dating the school principal. The end result of his breakdown is best left unspoiled. Heller has a feature adaptation in the works for those interested.
Adult Swim Smalls blessed us with SQUIGGLE GOES FOR A WALK, a new creation from Dan Britt that's as weird, trippy, and surprisingly insightful as we've come to expect from Britt (he created the Adult Swim cult favorite SPACE MAN). The designs are simple, but the color pallett and style is incredibly vibrant. The comedy comes from Britt's voiceover and gives us gems like, "In this universe, the earth is flat...just like in ours. "
A slow build to a surprising ending, David Malone’s DEER HEAVEN (animated by Melaniia Kalilan) follows a father taking his kids into the woods for father's day, only for the kids to face a moral dilemma when faced with a deer. What happens next is a fun bait and switch that helped elevate the short overall. The animation is crude but complements Malone's comedy nicely - he's someone to watch.
A poignant mixed media animated short from Berlin-based American filmmaker Maxwell Rousso, the short is a great reminder of the art and comedy that can come from speaking truth to power. The short takes place during the WGA strike and shows a (not-too-kind-but-maybe-kinda-accurate?) depiction of Bob Iger and his endless quest for money. The short could be, well, shorter and make the same point, but there are some really great, weird, and funny moments scattered throughout its entirety.
In November, comedian Dylan Adler and his (as Dylan describes) gay twin brother made a video we’re entitling “It’s Not That Simple Sir.” We’re happy to report “It’s Not That Simple Sir” is now a recurring bit that has not lost its luster or eccentricity. It’s even taking on new locales!
If you haven’t caught Allison Reese’s Kamala Harris impression in the past, don’t worry. She’s back for this election year, and she’s having a lot of fun this primary season.
When Rachel Samples, Emma Pope, and Aliki Raisis get together to make a video, you know you’re in for something very silly and very, very real. Such is the case with their re-enactment of women leaving the house. Their timing with each other and in the edit adds an extra, rhythmic layer to their videos that make the viewing experience that much sweeter.
Having originally gone viral for satirizing the stop-people-in-the-street "what do you do for a living?" videos, Benton McClintock’s signature upward lilting line delivery works well with his sharp writing.
Kam Edwards is a TikTok comedian who brilliantly calls out every one of us, like when we think we're heroes for sleeping less or braver than most for refusing advil. His most popular videos are relatable to a signinficat audience, garnering millions upon millions of views.
New York based comedian Harris Alterman is taking brilliant advantage of the algorithm’s thirst for crowd work clips. Look further than the reels that have gone viral, and you’ll find a bright comedic premises with unexpected payoffs. His latest sketch features the always funny Michael Rowland.
That’s it for this month.
Thanks!
*This newsletter features contributions from a team of comedy tastemakers:
Carly Hoogendyk
Emily Kochman
Keelin Ryan
Casey Hodgkinson
Natalia Ramirez