When Joe Rogan made a much-publicized move to Austin during the pandemic, he brought along his friend and colleague Tony Hinchcliffe. Apparently they didn’t get the memo that Austin wants to stay “weird,” not racist. Hinchcliffe is a successful comedian who’s been a staff writer for Comedy Central and currently…
Thursday, May 13 Official Watch Party & Music Festival of the AT&T Byron Nelson The long-anticipated AT&T Bryon Nelson golf tournament is here. Watch the action unfold at Craig Ranch Fitness and Spa during the watch party, which will have music and outdoor games. The four-day event runs from Thursday,…
Wednesday, May 5 Cinco de Mayo on East Oak St. Still stumped for Cinco de Mayo plans? Head over to East Oak St. businesses East Side, Miss Angeline’s and Oak St. Drafthouse. East Side will have food trucks and drinks to make sure the celebration is done right. Also, 5%…
Comedian Erik Myers, a Florida native, died on Tuesday in a car accident in Amarillo while he was traveling to Dallas to perform at Hyena’s Comedy Nightclub. Myers could do something very few comics are capable of doing: He could make audiences and comedians laugh. “You kind of get jaded…
Exactly a year ago, theater director Kara-Lynn Vaeni was helping Dallas build and maintain a flourishing theater scene packed with stellar and wide-ranging productions. Dallas and Fort Worth theaters were showing us some of their best work during the 2019-2020 season before the promising future for local theater was struck down, like…
The silence of comedy stages has been deafening. The coronavirus outbreak has made it hard for comedy venues (and all others) to pack the house for headlining comedians and for local comics to open for traveling acts while working on new material. “Until we get a vaccine in the majority…
There’s a certain experience that you’re probably familiar with at this point in the pandemic: You log into a Zoom meeting and are greeted by your own horrendous face. You needed a haircut a month ago, and it shows. The cruel, uncontrollable lighting does you no favors. Beauty is lost…
It only takes 15 minutes for Kara Cannella to choreograph a dance seen by millions. Addison Rae Easterling and Charli D’Amelio, the two most-followed creators on TikTok, recently performed Cannella’s choreography to Megan Thee Stallion’s “Cry Baby,” granting Cannella a few thousand extra followers and bragging rights. “It was definitely crazy to…
When Jessica Zeller went to a show at Pocket Sandwich Theatre for the first time three years ago, she thought she was settling in for a night of serious theater. Then the popcorn started flying. “The first show I saw was a melodramatic comedic reimagining of Jekyll and Hyde for Halloween,”…
Madison Shepard and her dog Lexi sit on a couch in their home in Los Angeles, where it’s 75 degrees and sunny on a late November day, just like most days of the year in California. The multi-hyphenate comedian-writer-actor is currently “unemployed” during the pandemic, but for an artist, that’s…
Thanks to a military coup and a brutal dictatorship with 60 years of oppressive experience, Egyptian comedian Bassem Youssef had to move with his family to America because he dared to openly mock governmental authority. Not long afteward, Youssef found himself standing on the floor of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse…
Comedy clubs are in uncharted territory thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. Places that once attracted sold-out crowds are having to cut their audience limits in half or close altogether. The Backdoor Comedy Club is a little more familiar with the struggle to stay open. It has opened and closed 12…
Four women accused actor and stand-up comedian Bryan Callen of sexual misconduct as far back as 1999 in a Los Angeles Times story published in July. This news came on top of revelations that Callen and his partner Brendan Schaub on their former podcast Fighter and the Kid tested positive for COVID-19 following…
Comedians may be fearless enough to get on stage and perform, but steel nerves and supernatural bravery don’t help when facing a particular kind of audience. We’re not talking about talent scouts from major cable networks who sum up entire careers based on two minutes of material nor about mobs…
The 46th season of Saturday Night Live was christened over the weekend with musical guest Megan Thee Stallion and the show’s legendary alumnus Chris Rock as host, and in typical SNL fashion, reception among fans and critics was mixed. In the show’s defense, however, its season premiere is notoriously awkward…
There’s no question that the coronavirus pandemic shutdowns of clubs and venues have been a hard hit on comedy communities, from open mic performers in coffee shop corners to headlining acts who are unable to pack theaters. Comedian Steve Hofstetter used to spend most of his year on the road…
2020 has to be one of the worst years for live comedy. The coronavirus is, among other things, preventing live audiences from feeding a comedian’s innate need to be the center of attention. Some annual showcases, such as the Dallas and Fort Worth Comedy Festivals, had to postpone or outright…
What does podcast sensation and certified buff man Joe Rogan have in common with Glenn Beck and Matthew McConaughey? They are now all residents of the great (yeah, why not?) state of Texas. Back in July, Rogan announced his decision to move his massively popular show, The Joe Rogan Experience,…
Meagan Pravden can recite every word people have said to her about her body: “You kind of physically look stockier;” “she’s got more curve down the back of her thigh;” “today we had a little bit of thigh and butt running together, so we’re calling it a thutt”; “Meagan had…
NFL cheerleaders and mascots will not be allowed on the field for the 2020 season, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. “Per NFL and NFLPA protocols, there will be no game-day entertainment personnel on the field on game days,” says Joe Trahan, the Cowboys media relations and corporate communications coordinator. “The…
Improvised comedy scenes have what is called a “cut.” A performer runs across the stage in front of whatever is happening on stage to signal to players and audience members that the scene has reached its logical, or sometimes illogical, conclusion. As with all things in improvised theater, predicting what…
A Dallas comedy institution just announced it will be closing its red doors for the last time. Amanda Austin, the owner and founder of The Dallas Comedy House (DCH) in Deep Ellum, announced on her Facebook page that she’s made the difficult decision to the close the comedy theater. “I…
