rant · moment 4 of 18
Montreal New Faces Showcase and George Wallace's Crowd Work Bit
from Nice Means Nothing · #4
Audio-only archive episode — no video to seek.
3 minTim describes the industry politics of the Just For Laughs New Faces showcase versus the Unrep showcase, including George Wallace's repetitive 'where you from' crowd work bit and the brutal scheduling that pitted new comics against Roast Battle.
- 4:56Tim's Montreal New Faces showcase benefited from being in a large theater that sold 350 regular tickets alongside industry attendees, unlike most years' tight industry rooms in bars.
- 5:31The unrep showcase was scheduled for 11 p.m., directly competing with the midnight Roast Battle on Comedy Central won by Mike Lawrence, the festival's hottest ticket.
- 6:17The New Faces unrep room claimed to be full when industry people tried to enter, though it was never more than 70% capacity.
- 6:31George Wallace came out of retirement to host, using the same crowd work bit repeatedly: asking audience members where they're from, then claiming he was just there yesterday.
- 7:14Between every comic, Wallace would put the lights up and repeat the same crowd work bit about having been in that audience member's hometown the day before.
- 7:30The unrep showcase comics bombed so badly that more industry attendees walked out after each set.