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Posts tagged as eddie brill

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Just Try It: The Comedy Schools and Programs to Get You Started at Being Funny on Stage

by | July 16th, 2012

this content series is produced in partnership with smartwater. smartwater, good taste travels well. Click here to learn more.

Performing comedy for the first time – whether it’s improv, sketch or standup – can be an intimidating experience, which keeps a lot of would-be first-timers from taking a stab at it. Luckily for panicky novices, though, there are several well-regarded programs that hold your hand through the getting-your-feet-wet process. While conventional wisdom seems to dictate that with standup, it’s best to get started by performing at an open mic instead of taking standup classes, sketch and improv lend themselves more to curriculum and classes, and several well-regarded [...]

Standup

Meet "the Most Influential Comic You Have Never Heard of"

by | January 12th, 2012

This week, the New York Times comedy column takes on Eddie Brill, the booker for comics on The Late Show with David Letterman and one of the "gatekeepers of television comedy." It's interesting to look at how Brill's own comedy preferences play into his decision-making.

In conversations with a dozen comics as well as Mr. Brill about what he’s broadly looking for, two things come up repeatedly: honesty and vulnerability. About honesty Mr. Brill said: “If you have your base in reality, then you can have fantasy and be silly. But if your base is fantasy, then it’s really hard to have a reality.”

…Among some comics “Late [...]

Standup

Eddie Brill Has Been "Removed From His Position" at Letterman

by | January 17th, 2012

Late Show booker Eddie Brill has been let go, following a New York Times article in which he said a pretty dumb thing about female comics being less "authentic" than men. (Brill subsequently claimed that the quote was taken out of context, but the article's author denied it.)

Sure, it's a bummer to see someone lose their job over one or two sentences, but it's also kind of awesome that the incredibly outdated and close-minded sentiment displayed in those sentences won't fly in the comedy community today. Especially on the part of someone responsible for choosing which comics to showcase to a huge audience. Brill, [...]

Spats

Eddie Brill Responds to His New York Times Profile

by | January 16th, 2012

Eddie Brill was the subject of Jason Zinoman's comedy column last week in the New York Times, and he didn't come off looking too good. The most damning part of the piece is the following quote: Among some comics “Late Show” has a reputation for favoring a certain profile. “The types they seem to like are middle-aged white men from the Midwest,” the comic Amy Schumer said. Only one woman (Karen Rontowski) was booked in 2011. “There are a lot less female comics who are authentic,” Mr. Brill said. “I see a lot of female comics who to please an audience will act like men.”

In the comments [...]

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