mikefotis.com

Thanks, 6 Years and Softball

Sunday, May 18th, 2008 | Dinner With Fotis, Plugs, Site News, Sports | 1 Comment

Happy Monday!

Thanks

First off, a big thank you to all of you who took the time to listen to the first episode of DWF and especially to those of you who took the time to offer feedback.  I really appreciate all of it.  Also, sorry about the whole “chipmunk” thing that some of you experienced. I have no idea how to fix that, but I’ll work on it.  While hysterical, chipmunks aren’t my target audience.

While I search for the exact format that I want this show to take on, the next few episodes will differ quite a bit stylistically. It should be fun.  Unless you’re the type of person who craves consistency. If that’s the case, the next few weeks will annoy you.  Again, thanks for listening. You’re all tops with me.

6 Years?

Ferrari performed as part of Improv A Go Go’s 6th anniversary show last night and like always, it was a total blast. All of the performers were great and even though  I’m usually our harshest critic,  I have to say I was a big fan of our set. Fast paced and character driven. Like a Clancy novel meshed with a novel by an important author. What?

Softball

Final game of the Spring session of Co-ed Softball is tonight.  If we win we are 3-3 and have all the momentum going into the playoffs. If we lose? Well, we have less momentum and hopefully still make the playoffs. Yikes, huh? I mean, that is a ton of pressure. The ball will surely seem smaller tomorrow as your favorite band of turtles battle nerves and the Vegas bookmakers.  God, I hope we win.

Mike

Dinner With Fotis Is Up!

Wednesday, May 14th, 2008 | Dinner With Fotis, Plugs, Site News | 19 Comments

Well, the first episode of Dinner With Fotis is up. This episode while entertaining, is only part of what I want this show to be. I’ve got the interview part of it down, but it doesn’t have the story feel that I’m really shooting for. Oh well, it’s a process, right? The first episode is with Joe Bozic. It details the history of Ferrari McSpeedy, The light rail and a bunch of other nuggets. Enjoy!

By all means, tell me what you liked and what you didn’t like. Like I said, this is a work in progress.

The theme song is by James Rone. It is awesome.

 

 Dinner With Fotis-Ferrari McSpeedy: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (199)

Morning Of Triumph, Fringe Show

Tuesday, May 13th, 2008 | Solo Show Stuff, Sports | 7 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

Morning Of Triumph

I woke this morning unable to bend my right knee and unable rotate my right ankle. My lower back may no longer exist. It certainly isn’t handling the weight of my upper body as per usual. My head is throbbing and my sinuses are completely shut. Some of this is because I fell asleep on a futon last night. Some of it is because I’m allergic to everything that nature has to offer. But most of it has to do with Co-ed recreational league softball, which I am pleased to announce found the Skirt Turtles dancing in the victory column for the first time.  Oh God, winning is so much better than losing. Sorry kids, but your little league coaches lied to you. The euphoria of actual victory FAR outweighs the wisdom found in moral ones.

The game last night was a ton of fun and over the past few weeks the team has seen some real improvement, which makes the games far more interesting to play. We have one more game left in the Spring schedule. If we win, we will finish 3-3*, shocking our critics and laying the foundation for several years of championships.

Fringe Show 

Serious brain freeze happening here. I don’t have writer’s block as I have plenty to write about, but I am having trouble starting any of the stories. I’m running into two problems:

1. Do I necessarily want all of the stories to be autobiographical? Probably. Ok, so I just solved that problem, but I do have one more problem, which is:

1-a. I am unable to write a simple story. I keep trying to cram a message into it, which seems kind of forced and icky. Or, I keep trying to tie my story, which for argument’s sake is about screwdrivers, to some larger theme. For example, I tell my amusing tale about screwdrivers and college and then try to tie it into the whole issue of college binge drinking.  That’s a perfectly fine thing to do. But I am having trouble convincing my brain that I don’t have to do it. If it’s there, fine.  Awesome. Go for it, find and connect things to a larger problem to your heart’s content, lil’ Fotis.  The problem is, if the connection to something larger isn’t there, then I am doing a disservice to the story I’m already telling. I think a lot of stand ups/storytellers have this issue. The feeling that you have to come up with something new and unique. And to a certain extent this is true, I mean plagiarism ain’t cool, kittens. But the truth is, my goal should be nothing more than to tell a good story. My goal shouldn’t be to connect my story to the greater good.  Just tell the story. Find the connections later.

Ok. Problem solved. Thanks for listening. Have any other writers out there experienced what I’m talking about?

Mike

*Don’t forget the forfeit!

Go Go’s To Remember

Monday, May 12th, 2008 | Plugs, Site News, Solo Show Stuff | 4 Comments

Happy Monday!

Improv A Go Go Anniversary Show

Over the last few months at Improv A Go Go, there has been a glut of new groups trying new and very interesting things.  Last night for example, one group, Musical Pubsicle, did a montage in the form of a… musical. Along with the Mustache Rangers set from a month or so back, it’s probably the best set I’ve seen this year. Another group improvised the opening to a Tarantino film. Very cool. Lots of swearing.  It’s nice to see groups using Go Go as a showcase for new forms and experiments. In my mind that’s what it’s all about.

Next week is Go Go’s 6th anniversary show! 6 years? 6 years? God, I’m old.  Age induced depression aside, the anniversary show should be pretty amazing. The lineup is out of sight cats and kittens, out of sight.  Ferrari McSpeedy, Drum Machine, Gay Straight Alliance and Five Man Job. All for $1. This show will definitely sell out. Get there by 745 (at least) to get a seat. The normal Go Go approach of getting to the show at 758 won’t cut it.

DWF

The first episode of Dinner With Fotis should be up by Wednesday.  I like what I’ve got for this first show, but it’s by no means indicative of what I want the show to be. Trying to come up with a cross of The Daily Show and This American Life is waaay harder than I thought it would be.  But, I think you’ll get a kick out of this first attempt.

Mike

Baseball Caps and Punch Out

Friday, May 9th, 2008 | Plugs, Site News, Sports | 7 Comments

Happy Friday!

Baseball Caps

Yesterday I took in my first St. Paul Saints game with my friend Peggy. You’ve got to love Independent League baseball. These guys aren’t affiliated with any Major League club. They are in a very loose sense, a step below the minors. Players in this league may be grasping to the hopes of making it big, but they are for the most part, playing because they love it. Got to admire that.

Field of Dreams-like nostalgia aside, the game was ok. Actually, I was thrilled to learn that both teams playing were actually worse defensively than the Skirt Turtles.

Skirt Turtle daydreams aside, I bought yet another baseball cap to add to my collection. I now have somewhere around 30. Well, 20. I’m missing about ten of them, including my prized and beloved Yomiuri Giants cap. I feel lost without her. If I ever came over to your house with a box of hats and forgot them, please mail them back to me. I will pay the shipping. Anyhoo, I am now the proud owner of a St. Paul Saints home baseball cap. It’s a real beaut, but the cap needed some work to reach full awesome-tude. Pay attention kids. If you want a truly awesome worn in look to a cap, without actually having to wear it everyday for a year, follow these steps:

1. Beat it against something. Anything. Beat the shit out of it. Especially the front of the cap, which has the hard backing. Hard backing is your enemy. Beat the fuck out of it.

2. Take a shower wearing the cap. Just do it. Soaking the cap and then wearing it on your head until it is dry, is the only way to assure a worn in look.

3. Dump a bunch of dirt on it. This is optional, but necessary if you want your hat to look like it has had a bunch of dirt dumped on it.

Punch Out

HUGE (Me, Joe, Jill, Butch BUT NOT NELS) VS. 123 Improv. 11pm. BNW. Tonight. Be there so that you can one day tell your grandchildren about the massacre you witnessed. Your story will start something along the lines of, “Truth be told, 123 Improv never had a chance…”

I’m off to record the first episode of Dinner With Fotis. It should be ready sometime early next week! Woo hoo!

Mike

Martha Stewart and Punch Out

Thursday, May 8th, 2008 | Plugs, Uncategorized | No Comments

Happy Thursday!

Martha, Oh Martha

I ‘m writing this blog while watching Martha Stewart stumble her way through her show. I don’t really think she’s an ice queen like many people do, but she certainly has trouble warmly connecting with her guests. Holy bubbles, her jokes are met with silence and confused stares, she brings up her pets way too much and when corrected by her guest she gives a fairly icy stare. What I’m getting at is that I really hope Dinner With Fotis has a more natural and comfortable feeling to it. Seriously, she’s making me incredibly tense. Her face always seems to be searching for a better answer from whomever she’s speaking to. Weird. Oh my God! She just accused nurses of dressing too casually, making them too difficult to find. You should know that today her entire audience is made up of nurses. That was an awkward moment.
HUGE at Punch Out

Hey guys, HUGE Theater (Me, Joe, Butch, Jill, BUT NOT NELS!!!) will be up against the crazy talents of 123 Improv! All of the shows have been great so far, but this is the one that I have most been looking forward to. It’ll be a bloodbath of comedy. A bloodbath, I tellz ya! The show’s tomorrow night. 11pm. BNW. It’s gonna be fantastic.

Iron Man, Bi-Annual Buddies and Cosby

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 5 Comments

Happy Wednesday!

Iron Man

Saw Iron Man yesterday.  It was pretty fucking great.  I’m no comic book guy. I know nothing of the stories, characters and connections that some people can quote verbatim. So that being said, I didn’t go into this movie worried that some sacred cow of the comic world was going to be slaughtered. What I’m getting at is that I had I had no expectations. No fear that something I loved would be marred. God! Why can’t I get to the point when I write? I should have been able to handle the above section in one sentence. Maybe two. Instead, it took nearly a novel for me to barely make my point.  FOTIs. The movie was awesome.  Jesus, was that so hard Fotis?

Bi-Annual Buddies

Last night, I had dinner with my friend Kelly. Kelly’s a friend from back when I spent my days in the world of the call center.  She’s one of two people who kept me sane while I was yelled at for hours at a time by people who were mad because they couldn’t return shoes that they’d worn everyday for 5 months.  Twice a year we talk/email with each other. Last night, we upped the ante and actually saw each other in person.  Anyhoo, it was great to catch up. She is truly the sassiest person I know. She also remembers EVERYTHING. Mind like a steel trap. Amazing.  Her nickname should be The Sassy Trap Of Steel.

Random Thought About Bill Cosby

During dinner, Bill Cosby somehow came up.  We were talking about how sad I would be if Bill Cosby saw some show I was doing and afterward told me that he didn’t like me.  And I don’t mean he didn’t think I was funny. I mean that he didn’t like me as a person.  I have to tell you, I was rattled.  The thought of Dr. Huxtable not liking me was really devastating.

Mike

Well, That Happened

Tuesday, May 6th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 6 Comments

Happy Tuesday!

Well, That Happened

I had written a much longer far sappier blog about last night’s 5/5ths event, but like an idiot I deleted it. Here are the finer points:

*Joe Bozic has brass balls. After seeing the crowd that had amassed for the evening, I was pretty sure we needed to change some of our dialogue. Joe refused. And he was totally right. BRASS FUCKING BALLS.  This is the first time that Joe and I have worked together on some comedy in a long time. Of course, the cast added tons of invaluable stuff to the script, but being able to sit down with Joe and create a script was really nice. We’ve been doing more co-writing lately. That makes me really happy.

*The BNW cast did awesome. They took the stage with a “Who gives a fuck? We’re funny. We know we’re funny.  You’re going to take it and like it attitude”. I was just ridiculously proud of them.

*All of the groups performing did great, but I want to give a shout out to The Rockstars and 4 Humours for their segments. They were awesome.

*Last night was also a little strange because it marked one of the few times that my fringe life and BNW life have overlapped. I was in a room filled with some of my favorite people on the planet. People, that whenever I perform for or with them, I just want to impress. It was great, if not a little stressful.

Like I said, there was more to the original blog, but it’s 130am and I want to go to bed.

Mike

Nerves, Trivia and Dinner

Monday, May 5th, 2008 | Plugs, Site News | 5 Comments

Happy Monday!

Nerves 

Tonight, the Brave New Workshop will be participating in a benefit for The Minnesota Fringe Festival. Every year the festival picks one classic play, divides it into chunks and gives those chunks to five different theater companies for them to interpret in any way they choose. This year’s play is Romeo and Juliet, which is an obscure play written by some guy. The Brave New was given the final act to re-interpret(slaughter).

I am really nervous. For one thing, I love the Fringe. It has been very good to me and I want to do right by them.  On top of that, I also want to do right by the Workshop, which I also love. As it turns out, too much love can be stressful. Look to be straight,  Joe and I were given this responsibility and I really hope we don’t screw the pooch. If this goes well, Joe and I will be given other neat challenges. But if this goes bad? Well, he and I will probably be selling apples on the side of some road near some town that doesn’t matter.  I think what we wrote is funny, our cast  is comprised of some of the funniest, smartest people I know, and we are pretty prepared.  But it’s no secret that Ferrari’s (Joe and I) sense of humor can be an acquired taste.  Anyhoo, we will see how it goes over with the fundraiser crowd.

Trivia

I am bad at trivia. Not only am I unable to come up with the correct answer to a question, but I also talk teammates out of the writing down the correct answer. I am a double threat in the most dubious sense of the phrase.  The 331 Club has a pretty cool trivia night. It’s laid back, and the hipster overload is nicely balanced with specials on PBR and Polish sausages.

Dinner With Fotis

Look for the first episode of DWF by the end of this week or early next. I am so excited. I think this is going to be a great experiment.

Mike

Plugs and April Teases

Friday, May 2nd, 2008 | Plugs, Sports | 2 Comments

Happy Friday!

Plugs

I have good news for all of you. There’s almost too much to do tonight. Almost. One thing I respect about all of you is your creativity. With a little elbow grease, I’m sure you can figure out a way to attend all of the following:

1. The Brave New Workshop At 50: Old Enough To Know Better

It’s a best of show presented by some of the funniest people this city has to offer.

8pm-BNW-Click the link for ticket prices.

2. Improv Punch Out

This week it’s Larnyx vs.  The Unstoppables. Both groups are dangerous. Dangerously funny!
11pm-BNW-$10

3.  Rockstar Storytellers

This month’s topic is stories of rejuvenation! It will be amazing. Seriously, if you’ve yet to see one of these shows, you should. The people performing are amazing, I tells ya! Amazing!

10pm-BLB-$10? (I’m not 100% sure of the cost. I’m the bad member in this group. I already know. Don’t rub it in.)

April Teases

I can’t talk about it because I don’t want to jinx it. It’s early and success in April doesn’t mean anything. All I’m going to say is that I’m getting excited. It could be a nice summer. Maybe. Hopefully. Oh God, I haven’t been this optimistic in years. Oh God, could this be for real? Should I give in with all my heart? I’m still playing coy, but they’ve more than caught my eye.

Have a nice weekend.

Mike