For the past couple of months, we, the boys and girl of Sketch22, have been feverishly preparing for our brand new production: a Christmas-themed show of all-new material.
Yes, if you've ever wondered, or cared, what five mostly-atheist comedians have to say about Christmas, this is your chance. We give the whole Birth of Jesus story a good-old Sketch22 re-telling, and we've got some pretty funny sketches on Modern Christmas too. You know, the Christmas that revolves more around Santa than Jesus. Of course, what would a Sketch22 show be without video? We've got a handful of new videos which will make you laugh, and one which may very well make you cry as you laugh (please note: Neither laughing nor crying at video is guaranteed. I mean, we can't anticipate everyone's personality and likes and dislikes who come to our show, right? And who's to say that you plan to come to the show, full of laughter and ready to use it, and then, just before you go, you learn that your Uncle Bud passed away, and then you go to the show all sad, and don't laugh once because all you can think about is Uncle Bud? But Uncle Bud wasn't so close to you that his passing would make you cry, so you don't cry either. Really, it's not Uncle Bud's passing that preoccupies you while at our show. You know, you only met him maybe seven times, and one of those times you are pretty sure he tried to hit on you. No, it's not Dead Uncle Bud that keeps you from laughing and/or crying. It's the whole notion of death and your mortality. You're getting up there in age and there is still so much left to do. What have you done with your life, really? A job you really don't like, but you feel you're stuck in it because you got to make money. And, shit, all those Christmas presents you still have to buy! Where's the money gonna come from for those? Surely to God it's not gonna be another year of giving out white t-shirts with some stupid iron-on stencil, is it? Well, at least you don't have to buy for Uncle Bud this year.... Hey, there's a show on here! Forget about your sad life and look at the funny sketch and/or video! Why aren't you laughing? Or crying? What? Are we supposed to anticipate everybody's frame of mind, and create a show that appeals to the great unwashed majority? We're not freaking Air Farce, man!... so, yeah, laughing and/or crying is not guaranteed).
The rehearsal period has not been without incident. (only two of the following incidents are true) First of all, while shooting our opening credits video, Graham fell down the escalator at the Confederation Court Mall and broke a bone in his "piggy went wee wee wee all the way home" toe. He's been hobbling around ever since and has been pretty grouchy. An interesting side-note: Every time we've filmed opening credits for our shows, at least one of us has been kicked out of the Confederation Court Mall. Second, well into the rehearsal period, Andrew (with tears in his eyes. Seriously.) tells us he can't be in the show because he's moving to Saint John for a few months. As a replacement, our very own Jason Rogerson is adding "actor" to his current Sketch22 resume which already includes Writer, Producer and Masseuse. Third, Dennis has had strep throat and has only been able to communicate at most rehearsals through navy signal code (which he learned, he told us, during a stint in the Canadian Navy). It took the rest of us quite a while to learn the flag and lights language, but we can pretty much decipher his petulant wants and demands now, so all is good there. Fourth, I have been on jury duty (maybe I shouldn't say this, but I'm one of the Saddam Hussein jurors!) and making it to all the rehearsals has been tricky, what with all the attempts on my life by Husseinites. And fifth, Josh has been living in Toronto and, suffice to say, he hasn't made the daily commutes to rehearsal (I mean, the city's new bus service is only so good, right?)
Despite all these rehearsal setbacks, we've come up with what I think is going to be a kick-ass show. Lots of funny stuff. And like Nils told me once: I know funny. Yeah, it's probably sacrilegious, but only to the point where we question whether the birth of Jesus actually happened like it says in the bible, and you know, whether God would be brought up on rape charges, were he to impregnate a modern-day Mary. If that's sacrilegious to you, well, then come to the show and allow yourself to be infuriated.
Sketch22's Christmas show runs Dec.8-Dec.11, and then again Dec.15, Dec.16 & Dec.18... basically, runs two weekends: Thursday, Friday, Saturday Sunday, Thursday, Friday, Sunday...
Hey, we'll also have a Sketch22 DVD for sale at our shows. Believe it or not, a Sketch22 DVD makes the perfect stocking stuffer.
3 comments:
i thought nils said "you do the funny."
As I remember it, the exact quote was "You know, you look funny."
That said, I'm lookingm forward to the show - as always.
Actually, it was "do the funny thing, with the thing and the thing". He was impersonating Jerry Lewis, as Nils is wont to do. It's even better than his Tom Waits.
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