usc – The Comedy Bureau

November 1, 2018

The University of Southern California not only has the nation’s top film school, but is also one of the most respected institutions in the land to have a specific concentrations on comedy. Not only do they have minors in comedy, but Wayne Federman is teaching stand-up there.

With that being the case, they have been having a comedy festival on campus, specifically at the USC School of Cinematic Arts featuring exclusive panel discussions, advanced preview screenings, and live performances.

This weekend, they’ll have:
a screening of CBS All Access’ No Activity
a special edition of Dead Pilots Society
a Frasier 25th Anniversary Celebration
panels on women comedy showrunners, inclusion, and the stand-up special that include Ian Karmel, Neal Brennan, Natasha Leggero, Kenya Barris, Danielle Perez, JR De Guzman, and more!

Best, of all it’s all free so long as you RSVP. Get in on all of the USC Comedy Festival right here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, screenings, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

November 5, 2017

Uncategorized

bovard, free comedy, jessica williams, live comedy, los angeles, usc

If you are a USC student, faculty, or alumni (or have a good friend of family member of yours that is similarly identified by the University of Southern California), you could potentially go watch Jessica Williams live for FREE this coming Monday night, courtesy of USC Speakers Committee & USC Political Student Assembly.

You can RSVP for the event w/aforementioned USC affiliation and can take one non-USC guest, but that does not guarantee admission. There will be a first come, first served line organized by RSVP guests, then a stand-by line.

Get more details here.

The rest of our listings for comedy shows, events, open mics, maps, and more can be found at www.thecomedybureau.com.

And We Have the First Funny, Inspiring Commencement Speech This Year with Will Ferrell’s Speech to USC Graduating Class of 2017

May 15, 2017

Uncategorized

commencement speech, speech, university of southern california, usc, will ferrell

On top of Will Ferrell giving the delightful, uplifting commencement speech that you’d expect from Ferrell, he is now has an honorary doctorate from USC and we can only hope that he uses that credit all the time, whether applicable or not.

Watch Ferrell’s speech to the USC Graduating Class of 2017 here.

February 28, 2017

Uncategorized

adam pally, fox, free screening, julius sharpe, making history, Q&a, sneak preview, usc, yassir lester

Making History is Fox’s latest comedy and will be premiering this Sunday, March 5th.

Just a few days before that, you can catch two episodes along with a Q&A with the cast and creator for free at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

Attendance is free, but RSVP is required. Take care of that here.

Festival Supreme Moving to the Other Side of the USC Campus at The Shrine Expo Hall & Grounds

August 14, 2014

Uncategorized

exposition park, festival supreme, jack black, kyle gass, los angeles, tenacious d, the shrine, usc

Exposition Park will no longer be the site of the 2nd Festival Supreme, but don’t worry as this does not mean it’s cancelled. The date is the same, the mind blowing, amazing line-up is still the same, and, actually, they’re in the same part of town.

The Shrine Expo Hall and Grounds, another gigantic LA venue, will be the home for this year’s Festival Supreme, which is literally a brief walk from Exposition Park on the south side of the USC campus (The Shrine is on the north side).

Tickets are still on sale for $99.

Morning Debriefing 9/19/11

1) Our 2011 Emmys Summary: Modern Family is the Emmy’s favorite comedy, Louis C.K. didn’t win anything, The Big Bang Theory did win something, Outstanding Guest Actor in A Comedy Series is an award, despite moving to TBS, Conan loses out to NBC again, and we still think awards shows shouldn’t be televised.

2) Kumail Nanjiani, Gears of War 3, Barbara Kingsolver, and a “Make A Wish” Kid can only make for a hilarious Funny or Die sketch.

</p> <p>4) Chris Hardwick’s Ministry of Laughs on BBCA gets a promo…</p> <p><iframe width=“500” height=“284” src=“http://www.youtube.com/embed/0rOTT7GQSHg” _mce_src=“http://www.youtube.com/embed/0rOTT7GQSHg” frameborder=“0”>

3) Patton Oswalt’s Finest Hour is available for purchase or download tomorrow!

4) The Midnight Show debunks the myths of twins in ads.

5) Who wants to fund an animated horror short starring Paul F. Tompkins?

6) Louis C.K. is in the A.V. Club again today in what inevitably be quoted on Tumblr then reblogged throughout the entire blogosphere including right here, which doesn’t bother us in the slightest

7) Oh we forgot regarding the 2011 Emmy Awards: Jimmy Fallon’s angry clap deserves its own statue. Forget an emmy; it needs a life size one.

8) COMEDY CRAWL
SXSW Showcase @ UCB Theatre 4:30PM FREE
SXSW Showcase @ Nerdist Theater 8PM $10
What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
Brunch @ The Park Restaurant 9PM FREE
Keep It Clean @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE
The BEATdown: Los Angeles @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5

9) OPEN MIC RUN
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/$4 min./first come, first served
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish/no purchase necessary/first come, first served
RED ROCK 8782 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/first come, first served
TRIBAL CAFE 1651 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 8PM/no purchase necessary/first come, first served
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Starts 8PM/Sign-up is lottery/no purchase necessary
DANGERFIELD’S 2 2860 Glenview Ave., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up 9PM/starts after booked show/15 spots only/5 min.
GROUND ZERO USC 615 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA (USC Campus)/nestled between three adjacent dorms approximately one block N. of Figueroa & Exposition/USC student sign-up 9PM/Non-USC student sign-up 9:15PM/first come, first served/7 min./no purchase necessary
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/bottled water and coffee provided

10) Oh yeah, the Sheen roast is tonight, isn’t it?

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Morning Debriefing 8/29/11

1) MTV’s scripted horror-comedy series Death Valley premieres tonight and definitely shows some promise and a welcome spin on the “emo-monster genre” that has dominated entertainment over the last 5 years. Let’s give it a chance and watch (10:30PM MTV).

2) Our favorites from Channel 101 that will be moving on to next month:
Intimate Indiscretions

Sex Teenagers

Parent Project

We’re also sad that Everything had to come to an end.

3) Our good friends over at RE:COM Magazine have come out with their latest issue, which we have indeed posted about, but needs to be heard about more in any way possible. It’s really that great and insightful and full of articles about the cutting edge of comedy and yes, we have a piece in there too. Buy one or download a digital copy.

4) Well, that’s just wonderful.

5) “Women” “Pound It”.

6) The Laughter Against the Machine Tour with W. Kamau Bell, Janine Brito, and Nato Green only has 11 days left to reach their Kickstarter goal. If you don’t have money to donate, you can always tell others that do.

7) Laughspin posted a list of the 11 of the funniest stories told by comedians today and while it’s a solid list, we feel the likes of Sean Patton, Kumail Nanjiani, Margot Leitman, Pete Holmes, Moshe Kasher, Marc Maron, and Giulia Rozzi were left out. Also, who could forget the Paul F. Tompkins legendary story about meeting the smallest man in the world Michu on his album Impersonal.

8) Puddin’-“PF Changs”

9) ON THE HORIZON
Comedy at FYF Fest @ LA State Historic Park Sat. Sept. 3rd 12PM $40

10) COMEDY CRAWL
Brink of Extinction w/Bryan Coffee @ Steve Allen Theater 8PM $10
What’s Up Tiger Lily?-3 Year Anniversary for Jazz @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
Garfunkel @ Oates @ Largo at the Coronet Theatre 9PM $25
Keep It Clean @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE
Crash Test @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5

10) OPEN MIC RUN
SAL’S COMEDY HOLE 7356 Melrose Ave., Hollywood, CA/Starts 6PM/$4 min./first come, first served
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish/no purchase necessary/first come, first served
RED ROCK 8782 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/first come, first served
TRIBAL CAFE 1651 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA/Starts 8PM/no purchase necessary/first come, first served
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Starts 8PM/Sign-up is lottery/no purchase necessary
GROUND ZERO USC 615 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA (USC Campus)/nestled between three adjacent dorms approximately one block N. of Figueroa & Exposition/USC student sign-up 9PM/Non-USC student sign-up 9:15PM/first come, first served/7 min./no purchase necessary
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5 min./multiple sets allowed/bottled water and coffee provided

12) Watched 3 comedy shows back to back to back on Saturday. Yeah, I’m not doing that for awhile.

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Morning Debriefing 3/28/11

1) 150 Best Jests via NY Post/@manydstadt-LA’s well represented with Kyle Kinane, Marc Maron, Maria Bamford, Paul Scheer, Rob Huebel, TJ Miller, Rob O’Reilly, Joselyn Hughes, Richard Lewis, Conan O’Brien, Morgan Murphy (whose coming back to LA), Andy Kindler, Jamie Lee (will hopefully come back to LA), Bil Dwyer, Alec Sulkin, Josh Comers, Dana Gould, Michelle Buteau, Kevin Nealon, Rob Gleeson, Jon Huck, Drew Droege, Jackie Kashian, Jen Murphy, Kyle Dunnigan, Jeff Ross, Whitney Cummings, Felipe Esparza, Doug Benson, Richard Lewis, and a few more I can’t remember off the top of my head.

2) Plop List-a brand new website dedicated to wrangling the best in comedy podcasting thanks to our friend Joel Mandelkorn.

3) The last chance to vote for the Scoomies-a comedy awards ceremony recognizing the best of people who were the best in the hometown and decided to come to LA to make it and are on their way up.

4) The beginnings/makings/refurbishings of the Nerdist Theatre, one of my favorite places to watch live comedy.

5) ON THE HORIZON
WTF! Podcast LIVE @ Steve Allen Theater Tues. Mar. 29th 8PM tickets now only available at door
John Oliver’s NY Stand Up Show Thurs. Mar. 31st 11:59PM on Comedy Central w/Maria Bamford and Moshe Kasher

6) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
Cartoon Dump @ Steve Allen Theater 8PM $10
What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
Safehouse @ Lot 1 Cafe 8:30PM FREE
Keep it Clean Comedy @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE

7) OPEN MIC RUN
RED ROCK 8782 W. Sunset Blvd., West Hollywood, CA/Starts 7PM/multiple sets allowed/$5 min.
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM
TRIBAL CAFE 1651 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA (Echo Park)/Starts 8PM/call (213) 483-4458
D’AMORE’S 8369 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 8PM/Purchase required
GROUND ZERO USC 615 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA/USC Campus/Nestled between 3 dormitories approximately a block away from the intersection of Figueroa and Exposition/USC student sign-up 9PM/non-USC-student sign-up 9:15/Starts 9:30PM

9) If you perform comedy, you can be very happy. EX. Paul Jay marrying Jen Goldberg

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NOTE: Tip of the Hat Article coming today as last night the office wi-fi was down (i.e. Starbucks and any other coffee shop was closed)

Morning Debriefing 3/21/11

1) Really, Austin, TX? No love for Brody Stevens?

2) Results for the second round of March Comedy Madness

3) Greg Proops just spoutin’ off to Huffington Post, which is smarter and funnier than what most of us think of in a week.

4) Interview w/the guys behind the alt/indie comedy concert film, “Tell Your Friends” via Huffington Post.

5) The Tip of the Hat to Paul F. Tompkins.

6) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
Good Humor @ Mom’s Bar 8PM FREE
What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
No Class Comedy @ Tommy’s Place/USC 9PM FREE
Melgard Mondays @ Melgard Public House 9PM FREE
Keep It Clean Comedy @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE
Crash Test @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5

8) A reader of the Comedy Bureau asked if the Comedy Bureau was a venue. Anybody want to make the answer to that question a “yes”?

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Morning Debriefing 3/7/11

1) NY Comedian Mike DeStefano was just reported of having died of a heart attack. Though this site is mostly dedicated to LA, our condolences go to a comedian that overcame and brought laughter to many though his unflinching honesty.

2) Last night, I took part in my first roast and unfortunately most of my act deals with roasting myself, which is the angle that I took while dishing out insults. I’m pretty sure the only person that appreciates this approach is the guest of honor being roasted, to all those planning on partaking in a roast in the near future.

3) The LA Times thinks its great that Aziz Ansari thinks Kumail Nanjiani is really funny.

4) Tip of the Hat: Ron Lynch

5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
What’s Up Tiger Lily? @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
4 & 20 @ All Star Lanes 8PM FREE
Tig Notaro Has Friends Taping @ ACME Comedy Theatre 8PM FREE (RSVP after link)
Keep It Clean Comedy @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE
Crash Test @ UCB Theatre 11PM $5

5) OPEN MIC RUN
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM/Starts 8PM
PUKA BAR 710 W. Willow St., Long Beach, CA/Sign-up 8PM/10 min.
HARLEM PLACE CAFE 124 W. 4th St. (in alley between Main and Spring St.)/Starts 8PM/e-mail speakeasyopenmic@gmail.com for spots
D’AMORE’S 8369 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 8PM/Purchase required
GROUND ZERO CAFE 615 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA (USC on campus nestled in between dorms near intersection of Figueroa and Exposition)/USC student Sign-up 9PM/Non Student Sign-up 9:15PM/Starts 9:30PM
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5 Cover/Free coffee & water.

6) I wonder if anybody reads this part or if this just look at the listing of shows.

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Morning Debriefing 2/28/11

February 28, 2011

Uncategorized

bridgetown comedy festival, comedian, comedy, comedy central, comedy crawl, comedy show, hollywood, los angeles, morning debriefing, nbc, open mic run, oscars, really funny tweets, snl, usc, zach galifiankis

1) THIS IS THE LAST DAY TO SUBMIT FOR BRIDGETOWN COMEDY FESTIVAL!!!! Details here.

2) Love’em or hate’em, the Oscars took place last night and several of us watched it, and plenty tweeted about it. Handpicked, hometown (LA/Hollywood) favorites were retweeted last night and are now featured here:

“@shanenickerson "Who are you wearing?” ‘Some guy named Ken I murdered.’-serial killer up for an Academy Award, being interviewed by Tim Gunn. #oscars"-Shane Nickerson

“@Puddinstrip I’ve seen Jake LaMotta do a better monologue. #oscars”-Puddin’ Comic Strip

“@kirkfox Strange. Not one nominee was wearing jc penny.”-Kirk Fox

“@NickYoussef "Anne Hathaway thinks Anne Hathaway is hilarious” – Anne Hathaway #Oscars"-Nick Youssef

“@FojasBradley Are the refs watching the #oscars? They don’t seem to be watching this game. #heatvsknicks”-Bradley Fojas

“@sbellelauren "hey everybody, go fuck yourselves” – james franco being interpreted to foreigners"-Lauren Ashley Bishop

“@thatRamosgirl Mandy Moore and Zachary Levi do NOT make me want to pledge money to this telethon. #Oscars”-Vanessa Ramos

“@FrankConniff Billy Crystal at the #Oscars got a standing ovation for everything except his work in movies.”-Frank Conniff

“@pattonoswalt Daniel Day Lewis has the depth of commitment to the craft of acting to die just to liven up next year’s death montage. #Oscars”-Patton Oswalt

“@MrsRupertPupkin I’ve already cried 3 times during the Oscars – Once because I’m out of wine and twice because I’m single. #Oscars”-Lauren Caltagirone

“@moshekasher Who is this jew? #OSCARS”-Moshe Kasher

“@normmacdonald you guys were the 83rd best hosts ever.”-Norm MacDonald

“@paulcibis If the hosts are operating at the level of a high school talent show, why not end with a grade school choir recital? #Oscars”

3) March 12th will probably be the first time in over a decade that I might actually watch SNL in a decade. Zach Galifianakis is hosting. How about that? Someone that has been paid to be funny on a consistent basis to host a program that’s supposed to be funny… what a novel concept… It just might work. Mar. 12th.

4) Recent Articles written by the Comedy Bureau: Tip of the Hat-Eddie Pepitone, Into the “Heart of Darkness” of an Old Fashioned Good Time.

5) Tonight’s COMEDY CRAWL
What’s Up Tiger Lily? On The Pulse Showcase @ Hollywood Studio Bar & Grill 8PM FREE
Cartoon Dump @ Steve Allen Theater 8PM $10
No Class Comedy @ Tommy’s Place on USC Campus 8:30PM FREE
Keep It Clean Comedy @ 1739 Public House 10PM FREE

6) OPEN MIC RUN
CLUB 705 705 Pier Ave., Hermosa Beach, CA/Starts 7PM-ish
JAKE’S 38 W. Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 7:30PM
HARLEM PLACE CAFE 124 W. 4th St. (in alley between Main and Spring St.)/Starts 8PM/e-mail speakeasyopenmic@gmail.com for spots
D’AMORE’S 8369 W. 3rd St., Los Angeles, CA/Sign-up (lottery) 8PM/Purchase required
GROUND ZERO CAFE 615 Childs Way, Los Angeles, CA (USC on campus nestled in between dorms near intersection of Figueroa and Exposition)/USC student Sign-up 9PM/Non Student Sign-up 9:15PM/Starts 9:30PM
MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC 7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel past Big Mama’s and Papa’s)/5PM to 11PM/$5 Cover/Free coffee & water.

7) Couldn’t have said it better myself: “@kylekinane The idea that art has to have a "best of” category destroys the whole concept.“-Kyle Kinane

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Daily Report 11/12/10

1) Holy Fuck! @ The Downtown Independent Theatre deservedly earned it’s name last night. Despite it being on a night that it isn’t usually scheduled on, the presence of the Downtown LA Artwalk, another live stand up comedy show also in Downtown LA, Holy Fuck! told the odds to go seriously FUCK themselves as an entire movie theatre (over 100 people) showed up to see some of LA’s heaviest hitters in comedy. In fact, show producer/awesome comedian/all around great guy Dave Ross proves that, if done correctly, you can make a great comedy show in a completely non-traditional comedy venue at the ultra-hip Downtown Independent Theatre. When Louis CK dropped in a few months ago, he pointed out the high ceilings, the deep stadium seating, and several other obstacles comedians would have to fight while perform and got HUGE LAUGHS will doing it. On this edition of Holy Fuck!, the huge crowd that told the artwalk to fuck off were almost spoiled with performances from cross-dressing/straight-man (you read that right)/host for the evening Rye Silverman, Zach Ames, Ed Salazar, Susan Burke, Howard Kremer, musical duo Limo Driver, Dave Ross, Laura Kightlinger, and the one and only (and the Comedy Bureau uses that phrase sparingly) Eddie Pepitone. OH, DID I MENTION IT’S FREE?!? It’s a completely free show that you should never miss on pain of kicking yourself in the face. Holy Fuck! is usually on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of the month. 9PM. HOLY FUCKING FREE! @ Downtown Independent Theatre 251 S. Main St. Stay tuned here for details.

2) Hopefully the COMEDY CRAWL will put the Artwalk to shame. We can start off to that goal tonight by going to Ron Lynch @ Flappers Yoo Hoo Room 7:30PM $10/2 drink min., then go to Jimmy Dore @ Flappers Claremont 8PM/10PM $15/2 drink min., then go to Race Riot @ The Hollywood Improv Lab 8PM $5, then go to Garfunkel & Oates Hour @ UCB Theatre $10 (stand by only), then go to 10 Comics in the Lounge @ Comedy and Magic Club 8:15PM $10, then go to Tremendosaur and Friends @ Tommy’s Place/USC 9PM FREE, then Stood Up Friday Night @ Moving Arts Theatre 10PM $5, then finish off with Hot Toddy @ iO West 10:30PM $5. Once again, you’re welcome.

3) OPEN MIC RUN: SILVERLAKE LOUNGE-sign up (lottery) at 6:30PM/starts at 7PM/2906 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, CA (Silverlake), iCANDY-sign up at 6PM/starts at 7PM/1708 E. Broadway, Long Beach, CA, GLENDALE DAYS INN-8PM/450 Pioneer Dr., Glendale, CA, NEWPORT BEACH RADISSON -9PM/4545 MacArthur Blvd., Newport Beach, CA/message host David Marley for sign-up, MARTY’S/THE OPEN MIC-5PM to 11PM/$5 cover/7351 W. Sunset Blvd., Hollywood, CA (walk up Martel, past Big Mama’s & Big Papa’s)

4) The Ultimate Free & Cheap LA Comedy List strikes again for 11/14-11/20… in a for-the-good-of-mankind way. Thanks Wisepix.

5) The Comedy Bureau tips it’s non-existent/metaphorical Twitter hat today to Lizzy Cooperman. RT @lizzycoooperman You call him a bad dancer. I call him a handicapped centipede. #twoleftfeet. Follow her here.

6) It has been brought to the Comedy Bureau’s attention that actual people read and appreciate the reviews featured here. As this is the case, there will be a REVIEWS archive in case you were ever wondering which are the hot shows to check out in the vast decentralized amazing place that LA is AND you didn’t want to scroll and search through all these posts looking for it.

7) Whatever the Comedy Bureau is doing tonight in comedy, with comedy, or any other preposition related to comedy will be live tweeted here. Please follow.

8) If you like Morning Debriefings more than Daily Reports, donate to the Comedy Bureau as it needs to make money doing this in its spare time AKA pretty much every waking minute. Again, donate.

9) Doing comedy every night literally stretches time as two weeks ago seems like two months to me, which makes me feel better as it seems I’ve been doing this blog a lot longer than I actually have. Though, it also makes it seem like I’ve been alone a lot longer (i.e. years seem like epochs)

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