It’s happening.

Troy Bynum and I are doing a show together! Some awesome lunatic thought it wise to give us complete creative control to do whatever we want for an evening. We’re making magical comedy together and we want you to come and watch us through the peephole of your soul. Troy and I wouldn’t put together a show that we wouldn’t want to see ourselves.  There will be laughter and there will be tears but there will also be no tears and all laughter. Really, we have no idea what it will be like. I should seriously call Troy and ask him. It’s on my list. Here’s what we do know: it will be a fun night that you’ll want to tell your grandchildren about.

Come out and see us:

Tuesday, May 19th, 9pm
The Carrie and Troy Tomfoolery Hour
Richmond Shepard Theater
309 East 26th (Bet. 1st and 2nd Aves)
$9, no drink min!

I’m very excited about this project. It’s like planting a seed that grows into an apple tree and then picking a fresh apple and eating it while you write and produce a comedy show and then invite people to come see it.  It’s that feeling.

Can’t wait!

NOTE:  If for some reason you can’t make this show, I have a very important show at Gotham on May 27th.  It’s industry night so fancy men in suits and nice watches will be there and I could certainly use some audience love.   Look to the right for details.

The business of the business of the business.

People not in The Business often ask me how much money I make doing stand-up. If I were making any money doing stand-up, that would be a rude question. But since I don’t make any money, I can claim it’s because I’m not a sell-out.

But oh, how I long to be offered the option to be a sell-out.

I’m in the interning phase of my stand-up career. And I’m okay with this. For now. Here’s my awesome analogy: say you’re a young fresh dewy-faced recent college graduate and you decide that you want to be CEO of IBM. You can’t simply apply for a CEO job and hope to get it because you’re cute. You have to work your way up. Your first foot in the door will be a terrible post of abuse and torture. You might work in the mail room, you might be an assistant, you might work on an assembly line. It’s thankless grunt work. But you are learning the ropes. And if you’re smart and you stick with it you might move up to some mid-level job where you know a little more and start making better money. You might even have some grunts under you to abuse. Then you move up to a higher ranking job, maybe with a fancy title. Then someone gets malaria and you become CEO. (I’m not sure how the final step goes, but you see what I’m getting at.)

I’m at the interning stage in my career. My payment is knowledge. Knowledge of the clubs, the people, the business and all the while, I’m fine-tuning my act into a torpedo of funny that could destroy a village, hopefully with a lot of carnage and dead animals.

Yes, one day, I will be a big famous star and make a ton of money that I could use to buy and sell your love. But I have to earn it (the money, not the love). And in this business, it doesn’t generally happen very quickly. And yes, it can be frustrating. Comedy clubs aren’t going to pay some asshole off the street. If you owned a comedy club, would you? At this stage, from the clubs’ perspective, I’m still some asshole off the street. In a good way.
I like the learning. I love the stage time. I love making people laugh. It’s like crack to me. And since my other vaguely marketable skills are few, I’m going to make it work for me.

But for now, I’m not a sell-out.

Write my autobiography? By Saturday?

I’ve been asked to bring a “headshot and bio” to my next gig. This is an exciting prospect. I spent a hefty penny on my headshots and I’m excited to possibly hand one to someone. The bio, however, is a little perplexing.

How does this go exactly? Can it be funny? My instinct is to make it funny since I’m branding myself as a funny person — funny enough to make you rich if you play your cards right, sir. But somehow, I don’t feel like it should be funny. So, a serious bio about my experience as a comedian? Where do I start? I’ve been unbelievably balls-to-the-floor hilarious for my whole life. How do I fit a lifetime of hilarity on the back of a headshot? And if I write modestly, someone might think that I haven’t been funny enough. Do I write it in acting resume format? Do I put my measurements? Do I list my many special talents? (Very steady hands, certified scuba diver, can hypnotize a horse in under 12 seconds, etc.) This is quite a pickle.

I think you should come see me at The Laugh Lounge on Saturday, June 7th. That’s what I think.

Laugh Lounge
7pm
151 Essex Street (bet. Stanton & Rivington)
212.614.2500
$12 + 2 drinks

I think I should get a new hair dryer by then. That’s also what I think.

Whycome a new website, Carrie Gravenson?

My dream is to pay the rent with my personality. People would describe me a lot of ways but most of them would agree that I have a razor sharp wit. When I’m searching my soul for a way to make a living and still be true to myself, comedy seems to be the only way I can accomplish that. It’s taken me many years to decide this. Many years of waiting for the self confidence to kick in and make it real. Many wasted years. (Or years developing material, depending on how you look at it.)

Monday, February 11th was my first performance at Gotham Comedy Club. I packed the room with friends and gave it my all. I had practiced hard at home and at various open mics around the city but it was still my first full crowd at a real comedy club. It was like a drug. I scribbled my notes on my hand and I hoped for the best. And it worked. The audience was amazing and I got lots of laughs. I went over my time because laughter takes time. It was the thrill of a lifetime and when it was over, I had the feeling that it was only the beginning.

At the end of the show, some guys in suits asked me if I had a website. The answer was not really. I have a website for my business and a blog for my secret identity but none for me, Carrie Gravenson, the budding comedian. So this blog is for you, strange men in suits. I hope you were talent scouts or rich men who need an heiress or publishers looking for the hot new writer.

I’ll put my upcoming shows at the top and post other information around the site. I’ll post observations about the comedy world and ask opinions about possible jokes. I’ll write my musings on trying to make this comedy thing work for me. I just bought a new camcorder and as soon as I figure out how to use it, I will post clips of myself being hilarious. When I get paid for it, I’ll scan and post the dollar bills that were shoved in my panties.

It’s going to be a wild ride.