storytelling

Steve Rannazzisi Shows Us Why The Rock N’ Roll Ralphs in Hollywood Is Rock N’ Roll

February 27, 2015

ari shaffir, cc:studios, comedy central, hollywood, ralphs, rock n roll ralphs, steve rannazzisi, storytelling, sunset blvd, this is not happening

If you live in Hollywood, you learn almost instantly that it’s far removed from the glitz and glamour that’s depicted on stage and screen. One great example of that is the Ralphs on Sunset Blvd. that’s open 24/7, affectionately called the “Rock n’ Roll Ralphs”.

Steve Rannazzisi had an ordeal there that gives you an idea of why this Ralphs is “special” and has earned its “rock n’ roll” status in a story for This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir.

Giulia Rozzi Never Knew That a “Poop Hand” Would Be a Momentous Event in Her Life

February 27, 2015

ari shaffir, cc:studios, comedy central, giulia rozzi, nyc, storytelling, this is not happening

There are many experiences that one goes through while living in NYC that, perhaps, you wouldn’t encounter in most other places in the world. Some of those experiences are good and others involve poop and hands.

Giulia Rozzi tells the story of the latter on the latest installment of This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir.

Ms. Pat’s Titties Saved Her Life

February 25, 2015

ari shaffir, cc:studios, comedy central, ms. pat, shoot out, storytelling, this is not happening

While many a man can be distracted by a well-endowed bosom, that is not the way that Ms. Pat’s titties saved her from a shootout. It’s not a sentence you get to hear everyday, but it’s one that just happens to be singularly true.

Hear her whole story in the latest installment of This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir.

Watch The Various Stages of Marc Maron Learning That He Doesn’t Have Cancer

February 24, 2015

ari shaffir, cancer, cc:studios, comedy central, marc maron, storytelling, this is not happening

Self-diagnosing seems to be a pretty routine habit for Marc Maron, though Marc often goes to the extreme of suspecting that he has cancer.

For his episode of This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir, Maron details the various stages of being slowly convinced that he doesn’t have cancer.

Barry Rothbart’s Dad Gave Him The Atlantic City Experience For His 18th Birthday

February 17, 2015

ari shaffir, atlantic city, barry rothbart, comedy central, storytelling, this is not happening

The latest story on This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir comes from Barry Rothbart and the events that transpired on his 18th birthday.

At this point, we’ll just say that Barry got taken to Atlantic City by his Dad and after everything that went down, Atlantic City lived up to it’s shady reputation.

Tom Papa Tells Us Why Parents Today Shouldn’t Be So Nosy

February 9, 2015

ari shaffir, comedy central, storytelling, this is not happening, tom papa

The latest story from This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir has Tom Papa showing us why being able to intrude into a child’s life as their parent in 2015 hasn’t been a good thing necessarily.

We’re going to guess that you’d wish your parents had seen this story when you were a kid (or right now if you’re currently a kid).

Ali Saddiq Gave a Crash Course on Prison Riots on “This Is Not Happening”

January 31, 2015

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Of the This Is Not Happening catalog of stories, Ali Saddiq’s is one of the craziest ones as it involves a prison riot.

So, for the benefit of us all, he shared his experience and taught us what “Mexicans got on boots” means.

Watch his story here.

As Second Dates Go, Will Weldon Had One of The Worst Second Dates You Could Have

January 29, 2015

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When you think of how exactly a second date could go from a somewhat nice time to horribly awry, Will Weldon went through a gauntlet of many things you were probably thinking up.

Of course, as he’s telling this story after the fact on This Is Not Happening, he didn’t get murdered or kidnapped or anything of that nature, but a second date like this one is still spectacularly awful.

“This Is Not Happening” Makes Its Premiere as a TV Series Tonight

January 23, 2015

ari shaffir, comedy central, storytelling, this is not happening

This Is Not Happening starts tonight at 12:30! We started it as a live show for 12 people with Maron & Diaz 5 years ago. Tonight it’s on TV!

— Ari Shaffir (@AriShaffir) January 22, 2015

Like the host Ari Shaffir tweeted out, This Is Not Happening had humble beginnings here in LA and has built up to one of the best storytelling shows around to a fantastic web series to, now, Comedy Central’s latest show.

Watch the premiere tonight at 12:30AM on Comedy Central.

Bobby Lee Tells Story of How He Got Fired From Mad TV on “This Is Not Happening”

January 17, 2015

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Much of America was first introduced to Bobby Lee through a show known as Mad TV.

Some of you might not know that he got fired from that show for a time and there’s a pretty funny, but harrowing story behind that.

Lee tells that story for This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir and you can watch it here.

Pick Up Dylan Brody’s “Dylan Goes Electric: Live At The Throckmorton”

October 11, 2014

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Along with the great myriad of comedy releases that you should get in on this week, Dylan Brody’s Dylan Goes Electric: Live at the Throckmorton should be added to your list.

This latest album of Brody’s came out this past Tues. and has been our favorite of his the comedian and storyteller’s discography thus far. When Bob Dylan went electric (we’re assuming that’s what Brody is referencing with his album title; our apologies if he’s not) all those decades ago, there was a divide that came between his fans. This particular Dylan and this record definitely doesn’t have that problem as Brody’s ornate storytelling are injected, in this record, with a great playfulness.

Get Dylan Goes Electric: Live at the Throckmorton from Rooftop Comedy here.

Hasan Minhaj and Greg Walloch Selected for The Sundance Institute’s New Frontier Story Labs

October 7, 2014

greg walloch, hasan minhaj, new frontiers, storytelling, sundance, sundance institute, sundance lab

For over 30 years, The Sundance Institute has found and fostered some of the best and most original voices in film. In just the last few years, they’ve started to expand their scope with their New Frontier Lab, helping artists in different mediums develop. This New Frontier Lab has even included a specific focus on storytelling since 2011.

The New Frontiers Storytelling Lab, this year, has selected two great comedic storytellers in Hasan Minhaj and Greg Walloch and Hasan’s solo show to be one of the few to be in this highly exclusive program.

Having seen plenty of Hasan and Greg’s stories, you should be on the watch for what will come from this.

Watch Andrew Solmssen’s Moth StorySLAM Winning Story

September 20, 2014

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For storytelling and stand-up, Andrew Solmssen has been around both scenes in LA for years sharing his very personal, funny, introspective experiences and been a long time coming that he get some recognition for it.

Recently, he won the Moth’s StorySLAM with this amazing story and will be going on to compete in The Moth’s GrandSLAM soon. We wouldn’t be surprised at all if he won that as well.

Here’s Who Will Be Taping for This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir

August 29, 2014

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The latest tapings of Comedy Central’s are indeed set for next month on Sept 9th, 15th, and 16th at Cheetah’s Club and now, their line-ups have just been announced (and it’s going to be pretty damn good).

Set to tell a story of something absolutely insane happening will be:

Cristela Alonzo
Rob Corddry
DL Hughley
Keegan-Michael Key
Bobby Lee
Starlee Kine
Marc Maron
Joe Rogan
Paul Scheer
Ms. Pat Williams
Bert Kreischer
Jay Larson
Ralphie May
Iliza Shlesinger
Cy Amundson
Jay Oakerson
Tom Papa
Steve Rannazzisi
Rory Scovel
Sean O’Connor
Ali Siddiq
Duncan Trussell
Will Weldon
Kevin Christy
Joey Diaz
Barry Rothbart
Giulia Rozzi

So, get your tickets here.

Help Brian Finkelstein Take His Solo Show About Suicide Around the Country

August 25, 2014

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One of the most accomplished and funniest storytellers around, Brian Finkelstein, is trying to take his acclaimed one man show First Day Off in a Long Time on tour as he’s gotten requests to perform it so many places around the entire country. The demand is not only because of how great the show is, but the fact that it delves into the topic of suicide in a way that isn’t often encountered in most shows/movies/etc. or informational pamphlets.

Brian needs money to bring this show to the masses. Specifically, he’s raising $10,000 on Kickstarter by Sept. 19th and is currently at $4,591 as of this post being written. There’s time, but pitch in before it’s too late.

Margot Leitman Set to Write 2nd Book at Sasquatch Books

gawky, margot leitman, sasquatch books, storytelling

Following up her fantastic first book Gawky: Tales of an Extra Long Awkward Phase, the amazing storyteller, author Margot Leitman is coming out with a 2nd book.

Sasquatch Books will publish this currently untitled book in Oct. 2015. In the meantime, you should read or re-read Gawky.

Listen to Mick Betancourt’s Blackout Diaries Now for Free

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The very funny Mick Betancourt is about to release an album soon entitled The Blackout Diaries featuring stories of, well, drinking and, as the title suggests blacking out.

It was recorded almost two weeks ago at Timothy O’Toole’s in Chicago and right now you can listen to it for free for a limited time, which we think you should take advantage of.

Nick Thune Gives a Great Reason for Why He’s Stopped Smoking Pot on The Tonight Show

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This week on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Nick Thune told the story of why he doesn’t imbibe or ingest marijuana anymore despite living here in LA where it’s completely legal.

Watch parts one and two and learn the dangers of just leaving your stash around for your wife or anyone else to find.

Comedy Central Picks Up This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir to TV Series

ari shaffir, comedy central, storytelling, this is not happening

Comedy Central Picks Up This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir to TV Series

Here’s another great case of where a great web series that has cultivated quite a following gets picked up to air on actual TV. The darkly humorous storytelling show This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir has done two great seasons at CC:Studios and now will be a full fledged TV show.

Not only are we looking forward to when this premieres on TV, but we’re excited on how Comedy Central has been expanding their branding over the last couple of years.

Kumail Nanjiani Wanted So Bad To Be Cool

February 5, 2014

ari shaffir, cc:studios, comedy central, kumail nanjiani, storytelling, this is not happening

Like many of us, Kumail Nanjiani wanted so badly to be cool and it would devastate him any set back he encountered from being considered cool.

Watch his story of “cool betrayal” in this latest episode of CC:Studios’ This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir.

The Story of Ari Shaffir vs. Bobby Lee at The Comedy Store with Steve Rannazzisi and Natasha Leggero

January 23, 2014

ari shaffir, bobby lee, natasha leggero, steve rannassizi, storytelling, this is not happening

The latest episode of This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir involves four comedians that all are in the room when this was taped and all subsequently took the stage: Steve Rannazzisi, Ari Shaffir, Bobby Lee, and Natasha Leggero.

The story follows a crazy fight that broke out at The Comedy Store, which isn’t that unusual for The Comedy Store, but they all have amazingly made up and agreed on what happened.

Watch and see what the hell happened here.

The Most Intentionally Funny Videos of 2013 Part 2

December 28, 2013

brent weinbach, comedy central, gangsta, hotline, ifc, james adomian, jimmy kimmel, marc maron, Maron, maron in space, matt damon, nacho vigalondo, nerdist, party line, sean patton, storytelling, this is not happening

The Most Intentionally Funny Videos of 2013 Part 2

This is part 2 of me going through my favorites of my favorites in 2013 as far as videos that made me fall into stuff laughing during our column at Nerdist, The Most Intentionally Funny Videos.

Included are Maron in Space, Sean Patton’s story about being gaybashed as a straight guy, Matt Damon vs. Jimmy Kimmel, and more.

Moshe Kasher Gets Over on Awful Anti-Semitic Audience Member

December 4, 2013

anti-semitism, ari shaffir, cc:studios, comedy central, moshe kasher, storytelling, this is not happening

Moshe Kasher is featured in this latest episode of CC:Studios This It Not Happening with Ari Shaffir and tells the story of he had to deal with an anti-semitic audience member. Spoiler alert (as you can see from Moshe telling the story): the anti-semite lost.

Watch to see the whole story here.

Jay Larson’s Samaritan-ish Story on Conan

December 3, 2013

blind man, conan, jay larson, samaritan, storytelling

Jay Larson’s first story on Conan is one of the most viewed stand up clips for Team Coco (and if you watch it you’ll see why).

If you watch Jay’s great second story on Conan about helping a blind man, kind of, you’ll also see why we’re thrilled to see both Larson back on Conan and Conan incorporating more story based stand up into late night sets.

Kurt Braunohler Beat Up a DJ in a Bar Fight, Kurt Braunohler Style

November 27, 2013

ari shaffir, bar fights, kurt braunohler, storytelling, this is not happening

If the hilarious Kurt Braunohler had to get in one bar fight, it might be with a DJ that’s provoked by Kurt scream spelling and ending up in something much weirder than traditional fighting.

Oh wait, he did get one such bar fight and it’s the only one he’s ever been in. See what exactly happened on this episode of This Is Not Happening with Ari Shaffir.