Does anyone listen to National Polish Radio?

When I got up this morning I was excited. It was going to be the second time in as many weeks that I would be speaking on the radio. I was notified of my appearance just 24 hours prior. I had no idea who it was that had invited me and why I was going to be interviewed, aside from the fact that the show would be about Stand-up comedy. I arrived at the Polish National Radio Station early in the morning and notified the station that I was in the lobby. I purchased the worst cup of tea I have ever half-consumed in my life, and waited. A woman at the front desk called, "Anyone here for Channel 4?" I answered and was told to wait some more. After some time a woman finally came downstairs and asked the front desk about me. "Look for the guy with the best smile," was how the woman was supposed to recognize me among the 3 people waiting to get onto the air. She approached me and took me upstairs to the recording studio. I walked in and I was immediately introduced to the dj. After a brief moment in the engineers side I walked into the soundproof (most likely) recording booth and within a few minutes I was on the air. "Ok, welcome back everybody, we've got a guest this morning, and he's doing a one-man show in Warsaw. What is stand-up comedy anyhow?" As the dj asked me these questions I began to think too much. Instead of being in the moment I was somehow just beyond it. Within what seemed like seconds our conversation ended. I was told that the dj, "might check out one of my shows someday," and escorted out of the studio. As I left the building I anticipatedthat the interest in Laugh.pl would skyrocket. Upon checking my online stat system I was surprised to discover that only 24 people visited my main web site (laugh.pl) and as I read these numbers I came to realize that the support and interest of the media is not enough. In order to compete in the cut-throat world of entertainment you have to offer an innovative, interesting, captivating product that keeps people on the edge of their seats. In retrospect I wish I would have had more fun with the interview, and I would have garnered a bit more interest. So that makes 2 radio appearances and 1 television appearance. What does the future hold for Rich Greenfield? Only time will tell, and if I can ever get back into creating multimedia that's entertaining I'll have won half of the battle.

Friends and Comedy Don't Often Mix

In March I met a man from Belfast. He seemed like quite the violent and aggresive sort of person I needed to move my idea of a virtual comedy club along. I teamed up with him in September of 2010. At the start we had a simple idea, "to provide local comedians with a regular evening where they would be able to hone their skills in stand-up comedy." Eventually, the idea turned into something like, "let's run over everybody in town getting to our next gig." Quality went totally down the tubes and everyone was in a dog-eat-dog mood. An organization cannot survive long after the founders are less than friends. All it takes to end an inspiring project (or at least a partnership) is a drunken late-night rant directed at you by your "partner" in the organization. After our little "chat" I decided that it was time to take Laugh.pl back to it's roots. I plan on starting 2011 with a well-defined concept for Laugh.pl with only one rule in mind, my way or the highway. No more partnerships, no more boards of directors. They cliche goes that to get something done you have to do it yourself. Well it seems, that instead of looking for a "partner" I should've just gotten off my ass and talked to some venue owners on my own. However I guess I needed to be convinved by someone else first.

Happy New Year to everyone, and wish me luck as I carry Laugh.pl into a new era in 2011.

Polish Stand-Up Comics Get Demolished in Local Press

In local periodical,Poland's young and ambitious (and sometimes madly self-centered) stand-up comedians were torn a new one by Warsaw based Rzeczpospolita TV in a recent article titled, "Zacięta Walka" (fierce battle). In the article writer Julia Rzemek and Krzysztof Materna cast doubt on the current state of stand-up comedy and write that, "Among the talented [Stand-Up Comics] of Poland's young scene, there are no masters." A painful thing to hear when channels like Comedy Central and Polsat have created shows centered on showcasing the same 10 or so "top-comics" currently active in Poland. When you see the same comic on two tv shows in the USA it means he's got something special, in Poland it means he bothered to go to the audition.

Does Standing Up Make One Funny?

Telling Jokes vs. Being Funny
Getting on stage, holding a microphone, and telling jokes is all it takes for most people to consider themselves comedians. I have met many hard-working performers who have "polished" their act only to realize that they were polishing burnt rubber. It's important to have funny material, but it's more important for your funny material to matter. It's one thing to make a person laugh, but to make them think is the real challenge.
More than Entertaining Drunks
Comedy can and should be about more than striking the lowest note on the ladder of taste and waiting for the mere shockwave to destroy the audiences ability to think, and instead go for the "gut reaction". If it was more than a bit difficult to make a crowd of strangers laugh at the mere mention of orgasms, or sex, or the church, there would be far fewer operating comedy venues.
Shouting, Swearing and Others Ways to Get Laughed At
People considering careers in comedy should start by reading about what interests them, and getting a real deep perspective on their topic of choice, whether it's masturbation, broken families, or religion. When a performer has nothing to say, and is just reciting things off the top of his shallow head it's not going to get the same kind of reaction (at least not as long-lasting) as when he thinks about the issue, and really let's himself experiment. Why should comedians get to hurry through their work, while playwrites, poets, architects, and even visual artists have to put time (if even just thinking time) into their work? Comedians are not separate from the performing arts, or the arts in general. It's a myth that Stand-up comedy is "something beyond, something else" it's really just rhetoric designed to stimulate our sense of irony. Stand-up is a one-sided faux-discussion about events, issues, and people important to the comedian, and hopefully important to the audience as well. In our desire to entertain people we should strive not to educate them, but to make them think. For when people think and laugh at the same time they change, and when comedy influences change it ceases to be something "else" and begins facing up to the reality, comedy like everything else designed for an audience must be honest with itself, and look at more than just the laugh meter for feedback.
Endnote
I cannot say that I know what comedy is, after all if that was true I'd be getting paid to do it. However, I am certain that as an audience member I am almost always more satisfied when the artist (comic) makes me think, and not just react.

Surprised by an Open Mic

An Interesting SMS
I wasn't planning on doing anything that night. While sitting in the kitchen doing nothing in particular I received a text message, "Open Mic tonight. Want to go?" The message was from Stephen, a friend of mine from the United Kingdom. I responded with a request for details. I killed time surfing the web, and thinking of ways to stay calm. This would be my first solo performance since comming to Poland in May of 2009. I hadn't been doing anything like Open Mic nights for over 18 months, so I was quite rusty.

It's My Time
The host of the evening a bearded man holding a wireless microphone and standing in front of a large LCD screen introduces me, "Rich Greenfield." I fumble up to the stage and grab the mic. I was excited about the peformance not only because it was my first in a long time, but also because I could try and see how I would do performing in Polish. I decided earlier in the evening that I would use a bi-lingual blended method for getting my ideas across to the audience. The people at the show where these hipster-artist types, and probably all lived in lofts. When I spotted their funny hats, and sharp colored outfits, I knew that English would have to be used to wooh them, and Polish to put them into their place. After 10 minutes of rambling and improvisation I was finished.

Post mortem
All in all, I think it was a performance that would of been better had I been really warmed-up. When I would do shows at Thai Joes in Milwaukee I would have a good amount of time (and quiet) to get into "my zone." However, at this cafe I didn't have a place to hide. It was raining outside and I had been fighting a cold for a few days and didn't want it to get worse. I had no place to hide inside as the place was packed. So I just kind of burned myself out talking to people and getting distracted. My main issue was my lack of focus, and a distinct cohesiveness or plot in my performance. In the future I must force myself to warm-up before going on stage, and most importantly to refrain from idle chit-chat prior to performing, as it tends to melt everything in my mind together into a glob of nonsense, rather than a well-formulated tale.

Open Mic Night in Warsaw, Poland

I am going to be hosting the first "Rich & Steve's Non-Stop Laugh Factory" Open Mic Night in Warsaw Poland on September 20th 2010. We are trying to promote English language comedy in Poland and we are also interested in providing a place for comics to test their material. The location is great, we managed to work closely with the owner and got a great deal on the venue. I am excited, and will post a video when I am finished. For facebook users interested in our group visit here"

Booked for My First Poland show since 2002!

I am very excited to announce that I have been booked for my first performance in Warsaw, Poland in over 8 years. When I performed here back in '02 I tried to do a show in Polish, as there wasn't much of a demand for English performers back then. Today the situation has changed quite a bit as many more youth are English-capable. The first show will be this Sunday and the next date is a Tuesday.I will try to post excerpts from both shows.

UPDATE: Both shows ended up being cancelled by the event organizer. I was quite surprised as such things are quite rare (in terms of Stand-Up comedy shows) in the USA. I don't remember the last time a show was cancelled due to low attendance. My group "Scrambled Ed's Happy Farm" performed in front of 10 people in a theatre made to seat 250.

Chłopaki z Taśmy UPDATED

I recently taped an appearance on the Polish dating/reality tv show "Chłopaki z Taśmy" (the boys from the tape). I had a great time, and it was my first speaking role on Polish television. I appeared as myself, however I consider the experience to have been more acting than reality. I had a great time, the other talent was really professional and they treated us to some great food. I can't tell you who won, however I can say that the experience was a lot of fun. The episode should air sometime in May or June. I'll let you know if I find anything out.

UPDATED

I watched the show a few days ago and was pleased with the way that I was presented. I was second in the show to be interviewed. My entire on screen time lasted about 4 minutes and 30 seconds. I have posted three screen captures from the show to give you an idea of what it looked like on tv.

Apetyt Na Zycie

I will be appearing as an extra in the Polish language tv show "Apetyt na Zycie" (an Appetite for Life) sometime in 2010. I had a great time filming scenes in the semi-permanent coffee shop film set built especially for the show. I had never been an extra in a professional production and it was a rewarding experience. Everyone else was focused on complaining. I made myself stand-out and managed to get into at least 3 scenes. I am doing an assortment of things while in my role as background-character. In one scene I am reading a book on the steps. At one point I run across the shot and fetch some desert, which I eat. In my second shot I am chatting up a nice looking girl in a colorful dress and drinking some beverages. In my final shot I am seen outside of the cafe playing frisbee. I was glad to be offered so many chances to be on camera. I am not focused on the money ($20) nor the exposure (minimal if any). I had a great time taking part in a project of this caliber, and consider it training towards my acting career. Most of the other extras just sat hidden away in the break-area and most didn't get any camera time at all. I was very eager to get on camera and made myself noticed. I think that is the most important thing in a situation with a "grab bag" of extras talent. You have to make yourself stand out. The crew was nice and we were fed sandwiches for breakfast and for lunch we got served some surprisingly delicious mushroom soup. I'll make sure to post information on when these episodes air.

Another Audition

I recently auditioned for a TV series to be filmed in Warsaw starting sometime in Spring, 2010. The audition was held in a seedy-looking pre-war building that featured an art gallery, an antique shop, and of course the photography studio where the audition was held. The response to my audition was positive, however I am beggining to think that that is how they talk to all the actors in Poland, as I have not gotten any time on-camera for national tv yet. Hopefully this will happen soon, and I will launch my acting career in Poland.

The Only Way I Manage to Get Stage Time: Karaoke

I was inside an office complex and decided to attend a karaoke night at the Irish pub located there. In the USA I don't usually do karaoke and prefer to do open mics, however there is a total shortage of open-mic nights in Warsaw, and I can't seem to find one that is active. The easy solution is to sing some karaoke. I usually sing the same song, Californication by Red Hot Chili Peppers. This song has some very whimsical lyrics including; first born unicorn and many more. It's too bad that this city doesn't offer more options for the amateur actor/performer to hone their skills. This lack of performance venues is one of the things I miss the most about living in the city. Eventually I'll get the courage up to ask a club owner if they wouldn't mind letting me perform in their club on an off-night. It might be difficult as I don't really enjoy performing in Polish, because when I do that I come off as either psychologically challanged, or confused. I shine in the English language and can't imagine having a serious career in Poland, as most work requires one to have a pristine Polish accent, with no hint of foreignness. I'll just keep at it while I can, and someday soon crowds may line up to hear my version of Californication.

My Comedy Journey (extracted from a PDF)

Video Experiments
When I was 9 years old I had access to
my first camcorder. It was a RCA VHS
camcorder built in 1989/1990. I spent
some time learning the basics and was
soon creating short films with my
brother Jacek. Me and Jacek would
recreate movies from our pop-culture
upbrining including our first film with a
semblance of narrative, a play on Bruce
Lee’s bad lyp syncing. That was when I
was 9 years old. My dad Mac would
later “accidently” erase the tape of me
and my brothers first video project, and
most likely several projects after that.
Theatre Performance
I was just twelve years old when I was
cast for the role of Leroy Herdman in
“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever” at
the Performing Arts Center in MIlwaukee
(Currently named the Milwaukee
Center for the Performing Arts). I was
inspired by Jon Layton to persue a
career in performance. Layton later
cast me in two productions all without
having to audition. I would go on to
appear in 4 theatre productions before
finishing highschool.
Stand-Up Please
Although I enjoyed performing in
theatres; I was bothered that I couldn’t
really express myself in this way. I had
things to say (at 16) and was interested
in pursuing alternative venues. In the
fall of 1997 my brother Jacek spotted
an ad in the Milwaukee Journal looking
for “Comedians.” I responded and was
soon performing in front of an
audience in Grafton,WI. It was the first
time I was in a bar without a parent or
gaurdian present. The man who ran the
show was named David.David would
later attend a comedy class with me
taught by Roz Turner.I enjoyed the
adult atmosphere but was releuctant to
stick to my rudimentary act. I finished
one of my performances with an
attempt at improvisation, and failed–I
hated the performance so much I would
avoid appearing alone on stage until
about 2 years later as a student at
UWM.
College or Not?
After taking an 8 hour HSED test I
passed highschool and began planning
for my college studies. I took the ACT
and scored a 22 composite. This was
reasonable considering I had not
learned anything during the last two
years of highschool. I took my [ACT]
score to UW-Milwaukee admissions and
registered to attend the film program. I
attended classes, but soon lost
interest–mostly from an innability to
handle the workload of 15 credit
semesters. I begain hanging out at the
student cafe. It was called the 8th note
and (at that time) was featured as a
smoky haven for everyone on campus
addicted to nicotine.
Don’t Waste the Stage
Feeling highly “intellectual” in the
atmosphere of University I began to
pester the students working at the 8th
note about the lack of performances on
the tiny stage. I managed to gain
permission from one of the students to
do a short 5 minute performance.
Having nothing prepared and no idea
what I should talk about I started
talking about a world made out of
cheese and switched to a tangent about
running. Althoug the performance
basically sucked it motivated me, and
sparked an interest in “raw improv.”
Although I had performed improv in
highschool, this performance had a
differant style to it. While performing I
made friends with a coffee shop
patron/student Robert Rudnick. We
would have countless discussions about
performance, film, and general culture
until losing contact somtime around
2002. College was not for me [at the
time] and so I dropped out after a
single semester.
The Couch and Other Coffee Shops
I would perform in nearly 70 performances
between 2000 and 2005.
These appearances would last
anywhere from 3 minutes to 45
minutes and would most often be
unpaid. I was sometimes reimbursed
for my gas money. I was so excited by
the prospect of living the renegade
performer lifestyle I took little care for
my monetary success. It wouldn’t be
until I turned 23 that I would return to
College, as a student at the MIlwaukee
insitute of Art & Design.

Audition Week

I am having a great week auditioning. I have managed to score three auditions this week. The first one was for a commercial for the bank BPH. They were looking for smart/business people so I showed up in a sweater and made an ass of myself. Needless to say, no one called be back for a chance to appear in the ad. The next audition was for the Szymon Majewski Show. Both of the auditions took place in the same building, at a company called "[...]One". I didn't think I would make any headway in either of the auditions, however on Tuesday I managed to get a call-back audition for the Szymon Majewski Show. I went to the headquarters of the production company in charge of the show. There I ran into a man named Piotr, who was the first one to show up. Eventually a 7 people showed up for the call-back. We calculated that about 90 people were in the first audition, so some of us took that as a sort of small victory. A few people voiced the opinion, "At least were better than the 93 people who didn't get call backs." However I wasn't so happy about it. The fact that only 90 people showed up made me realize that the casting process was far from over. When I checked out the web site, I was a bit distraught to discover that they are asking for submissions for talent all the way up to the end of February. The audition involved some screen tests taken in a small conference room, and some "on the street" interviews in the mall below the office. I didn't think that my performance in either segment was anywhere near my abilities, however I haven't really figured out the language (Polish) yet, and feel I may never reach the same proficiency in it that I have in English. At the end, the last thing anyone said to me at the company was something quite lame, "Um, how do they say... I'll call you!" I felt a bit like puking at that moment, as that is just about the lamest statement to make to someone. I am excited however, because there is always another audition to conquer, on Saturday I am due to "try-out" for a dating show.

Warsaw Improv Lessons

I recently participated in a 3-hour-long improv workshop held in the basement of a club in Warsaw. About 25 people showed up to the improv lesson led by Michał of the Warsaw improv/sketch troupe "Klanczyk". I had a bit of trouble with the Polish language, as I spent 23 years living in Milwaukee. It was interesting to try to do improv in Polish, and watch as everyone reacted to the guy with the American-accent who seemed a bit "slow." In improv you generally have to move fast, think fast, and speak fast. I had trouble with the third one. I am planning on attending more improv workshops with this group, and am also planning on performing at an Open Mic. Warsaw's comedy scene is very immature when it comes to Improvisation/Stand-Up Comedy. Although Poland has a rich theatrical and burlesque tradition including a very popular style called "cabaret" the country is quite far behind the UK and USA when it comes to fresh, young, stand-up and improvisation talent.

I'm in a book! Well it's an Ebook.

Philip M. Parker the inventor of a system to automatically write books on hundreds of topics "assembled" a book entitled "Dialogues: Webster's Quotations, Facts and Phrase" published 2008 by ICON Group International, Inc. you'll find an interesting article about yours truly. I was excited when I found it, but when I realized it was auto generated, and an e-book I was kind of bummed. However, you'll notice I am on the same page as Reservoir Dogs and ROM Hacking. You can find the mention here:

Another Film Appearance Found (Who is Russ T?)

I was able to get a link to one of the two movies I have been unable to find a clean copy of for some time. I contacted the director of the movie and he was kind enough to send me a link to the video so I would be able to embed it in my blog. I haven't watched it and am not sure if I will even be in it. I am quite well known for being cut out of film projects (e.g. Star Monger, and Scare Me). I'll watch the rest of it and let you know if I managed to survive the edit suite. This is my first appearance in a documentary since "Underground Comedy", a video I am unable to currently find online. However this is differant in that I am an actor recreating past events in this video, where in the "Underground Comedy" video I appeared as myself.