Jessy Delfino's Blog

A WORD (or 371) ON my ALL YOU CAN TAKE show

This mostly only will concern you if you ever intend on performing at ALL YOU CAN TAKE, my weekly show at Apocalpyse Lounge at 183 E. 3rd St. between aves A & B. It's free, and it's from 7-9 pm. Now, to my points.

I've been doing my show ALL YOU CAN TAKE for a few weeks now, and it's going okay so far. Every week, the show is getting bigger and better, and I'm getting a more clearly defined idea of the direction I want to go in with it. But, I'd like to be more frank about what I want to happen with the show.

I arrive for my show each week around 6:30 pm. Last week when I arrived, there were already about six or so people there, and they had started a list. I understand why they did this, as that is a typical open mic protocol, perhaps, but this isn't supposed to be a typical open mic.

The idea I have in my head for this show is more a weekly gathering of funny-minded smartasses for delinquent thought sessions. So, from now on, what I'm going to do is set up the show like this:

There are going to be eight open spots per show. This means there is a chance you might not get to perform two weeks in a row. There is a chance you can, though, also, and these factors will affect that:

d) if there are less than eight performers that week
e) if you are doing something completely different than the week before
f) you bribe me with homemade brownies
g) you stay for the speed round

THOSE ARE THE RULES. But there are also more.

There will be a VERY few (like two or three, depending) advance open spots. Those spots can be reserved by
e-mailing me in advance only. But, you can't simply e-mail me. You have to explain why you are so great you deserve an advance spot. You get points for:
p) being funny
q) having the best response (whatever that means)
r) having the most unique, interesting sounding act
s) having a really good reason why you MUST get an advance spot
E-mail at jessdelfino@yahoo.com for advance spots.

Advance spot performers will be slotted and will not need to sign up before the show, but will need to arrive in time for the show to start at 7 pm.

For all performers after the ten advance and open mic spot acts have performed, there will be a speed round at the end where anyone left over can have one minute on the mic. If, at the end of one minute, the audience chants ONE MORE MINUTE! ONE MORE MINUTE! They can have one more minute. (The entire audience has to chant it, not just the one or two friends the performer brought along.)

You may come early to get a table or wait for the show to begin, but don't start your own sign- up list. Spots won't be given out until I arrive and are subject to selectivity based on time frame and my judgment on whether or not the audience might want to see your act. (For example, there's this guy named Mikie who comes and he likes to talk incoherently for a bit, and then I think fall asleep while standing up. It's funny for about thirty seconds.)

Interesting comedians, unusual musicians and other odd acts especially encouraged to apply. But please, no crazy shit-filled Mr. Shit-in-pantses. The show is every Sunday, 7-9 pm at Apocalypse Lounge, 183 E. 3rd St. btw. Aves A & B.

This show is not plainly an open mic, nor is it a coddly support party. If you're a comedian or performer who is only interested in trying out hacky crap we've all seen and heard a hundred times, try the New York Comedy Club's open mic, or there are plenty of other open mics in the city who caiter to stand-up schlomedy. I'm sick of watching it, and I don't want my audience to have to watch it, either.

This show was created to allow performers, especially comedians and musicians, a chance to push their own creative boundaries and for audiences to see something not mainstream in the frame of a mainstream performance style. I encourage performers to try something you might not normally do, and for audience members to be open-minded.

If you are a performer or just a regular Dan or Ann, curious to see something unique and worth watching, come to ALL YOU CAN TAKE.

E-mail jessdelfino@yahoo.com to be added to the mailing list.

If you'd like some interesting examples of artists I think push boundaries and do cool things, read below:

Patrick Borelli - hosted Eating It last night. He invited this keyboarding spanish lady on stage with him who I've only ever seen on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Funny, and wierd. NEXT:
Reverend Jen - Makes puppets one day, reads from a book written from the perspective of her dog (which she wrote) the next. Mixing mediums - thumbs up!
NEXT:
The Shark Show Guys - have a mid-show reviewer review the first half of their show in the middle of their own show. Clever and original!
NEXT:
Liz Maher - Did a character of a legless chimney sweep boy with a can-do spirit who, with great determination (dragging herself by her arms) passed out colorful paper to audience members. Hilarious, and fucking art!
NEXT:
Invite Them Up Guys - They have a comedian do sixty seconds of stand-up in their show. Cute, funny, DIFFERENT.
NEXT:
Dimitri Martin - Made a poem using all the words on a Rolling Rock bottle. Impossible, unexpectable expectations from the layman, but fucking pretty cool.
NEXT:
Todd Barry - Created a 'receipt museum' on his website. Awesomely funny, and unheard of.

YOU TOO can do something different and unique. To say "well, everything's already been done!" is just another way of saying, "but I'm too lazy!"

So, here's the Jessica Delfino promise: I promise to do new material at every single show. I can't do all new material every single week, but I promise to do MOSTLY new material at every single show. I hope you will, too.

Also, by NEW, I don't necessarily mean material you just wrote, but that's ideal. I mean material that you've never done at my show.

HOPE TO SEE YOU NEXT WEEK...