For comedians who are a part of the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood, I hope you are taking advantage of the free facilities available for actors at the SAG Foundation. I was very fortunate to get a tour of the facility while I was in town.

The SAG Foundation is a non-profit organization with a beautiful facility that is devoted to assisting actors in their careers, providing a film screening/training area, a rehearsal area, a dedicated meeting area and a computer room for actors to learn film editing.

This organization also hosts a wide variety of high quality training classes for actors. While I was there, I got to catch of bit of training presented by award winning author Dallas Travers, who was speaking on how to market yourself as an actor.

And let me just say this…

That training was top notch. Interestingly enough, many of the basic concepts she was presenting were where right in alignment with of the some of the training I have provided in the past for comedians when it comes to marketing yourself.

But the real treat for me was to get to meet and talk with Mylo IronBear, the Facility Manager at the SAG Foundation. Mylo had come to Hollywood in 1988 and began pursuing an acting career, which he still pursues today. He has been in a number of TV and movie productions, including the movie Dances with Wolves.

It was fascinating to me to hear his stories and his own actor experiences.

I had been told that every A-List actor knew Mylo from the SAG Foundation. After meeting with him and watching all the actors interacting with him during my visit, it doesn’t surprise me at all why everyone admires and respects Mylo IronBear.

My heart felt thanks goes out to Mylo for being a wonderful host for a non-actor like me from out of town.

I have to say that visiting the SAG Foundation during my short time in LA to be filmed in a documentary was definitely a real highlight for me on my trip to Hollywood.

For more information about the SAG Foundation, go to:

www.sagfoundation.org

My thanks also goes out to comedian JR Redwater for making the visit to the SAG Foundation possible!

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

About the Author/Founder of The Stand-up Comedy Professional

Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and author of the content made available in the Comedy Pro Membership Program available on this site.

Over the past decade, Steve has established himself as a leading, globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development, delivery and entertainment business strategies for comedy entertainers as well as speaking professionals.

For more information about Steve, please check out the About The Author section on this site.

I just got back from the Slamdance Film Festival world premiere of the stand-up comedy documentary called I Am Comic directed by Jordan Brady and narrated by comedian Ritch Shydner.

So, what’s the verdict? I am going to predict right now that I Am Comic is going to be a wildly popular film, not just among stand-up comedians, but among anyone who is a fan of stand-up comedy.

Let me start off by saying this—I Am Comic is certainly NOT your typical documentary. This film is not only interestingly informative, it is seriously funny and entertaining throughout the entire film—even in the more dramatic and serious moments that are captured in the later part of documentary.

You won’t find a more fascinating or revealing look at stand-up comedy, not just as an art form but also as a career and a business as told by comedians from all levels of stand-up comedy than you will in I Am Comic.

I Am Comic is not just an expose of life on the road as comedian. The documentary also covers a number of topics including comedy material development, theft of comedy material by other comedians, and the impact of the Internet among others.

Yes, my Comedy Evaluator Pro software was featured in the film and my scenes initially drew some disapproving groans but ended on a funny note. Did my part and my software have a significant impact on the film? Without a doubt! I know that from the level of questions asked at the end of the film.

And yes, I suspect my software will continue to generate controversy as the popularity of the film expands once it is available for distribution.

I Am Comic is so well done and so damn funny that in a perfect world, I would hope that this hard hitting stand-up comedy documentary would have a shot at movie theater distribution before heading to cable TV and DVD distribution. Why?

Because I already know that movie theater audiences will laugh their rear ends off. The world premiere screening had about 80 people watching the film for the first time and they laughed hard during the entire film.

I was also given permission by Jordan Brady to collect an audio recording of the film and the audience reaction while I was there. So, sometime next week, I will actually have the first PAR Score ever for a comedy movie—a great baseline for other comedy movies to shoot for (which I already know will be difficult—this stand-up comedy documentary is just that funny, from beginning to end).

Needless to say, I will be interested to see the relationship between the film’s popularity and its PAR Score.

My special thanks goes out to Jordan Brady for giving me a role in this film and to Ritch Shynder for asking hard hitting, provocative questions during his interview of me that gave my scenes real impact.

I will keep you posted as the stand-up comedy documentary I Am Comic makes its way from film festival introduction into wider distribution.

Am I excited? Without a doubt.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

About the Author/Founder of The Stand-up Comedy Professional

Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and author of the content made available in the Comedy Pro Membership Program available on this site.

Over the past decade, Steve has established himself as a leading, globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development, delivery and entertainment business strategies for comedy entertainers as well as speaking professionals.

For more information about Steve, please check out the About The Author section on this site.