Rejection Receives Recognition

Thanks to comedy superfan Rachel Kramer Bussel's sharp eyes*, I was alerted to this story. Some Associated Press reporters were at the performance of The Rejection Show I mentioned previously, the one that featured a short film by my old fake boss Sara Schaefer (in which I had an approximately 20-second cameo), and wrote up a piece about it.

It's a nice article, and it even comes with a little video you can check out.










*which you can witness, bespectacled, in the aforementioned video.

The Onion, Regarding Tonight's Show

Tonight's Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You is one of the featured weekend events in The Onion's NYC Calendar. I quote, via handily offset text:

Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You: Sara Schaefer, Neal Pollack, The Last Town Chorus, Juvie Hall 8 p.m., $8

Though he recently shook off the heavy, made-up mantle of "Greatest Living American Writer" in an essay in The New York Times Book Review, it's hard to believe that Neal Pollack's "irony years" are over. In fact, Pollack's funny essay inadvertantly started a minor literary catfight with Dave Eggers over using fake quotes in a real article about a fictional persona-- which is basically the equivalent of irony folding in on itself. Here, Pollack will submit to a round of relentless interviewing by comedian Sara Schaefer during her excellent talk-show/ office party hybrid, Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You.

Thanks, The Onion! The last remaining tickets are sure to go fast, after this extra press, so be sure to snag one now if you want to go. And if you want to read more SSIOWY praise, from The Onion and elsewhere, go here.

Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With NEAL POLLACK this Friday the 29th!

That's right, at this week's Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You, Sara will be interviewing the most important American author himself, Neal Pollack (former McSweeney's contributor, and the author of The Neal Pollack Anthology of American Literature and Never Mind the Pollacks). He's sure to delight and amuse with his metafictional hijinx.

The musical guest will be The Last Town Chorus, a lap steel and acoustic guitar duo, with a singer who's been favorably compared to Gillian Welch and Rickie Lee Jones. You can sample their music here. And, as always, you can expect a special Law and Order guest, plus our usual office shenanigans. Last week we broke into an unexpected, highly choreographed, Bollywood dance number. Who knows what might happen this week?

The show is this Friday the 29th at 8 PM, at Juvie Hall . Tickets are $8., and they can be purchased here, via Juvie Hall, or at the door-- but be aware, we do sell out.

You want critical acclaim? Check it:

"A compelling, funny take on the boxed-in conventions of both television and office work."
- The Onion "

Much more fun than anything you'd catch on basic cable."
- Amelia David, Backstage

A TimeOut New York Critic's Pick; Emerging Comics of New York Award Winner; Featured on the New York Post Hot List; more praise here.

BACK STAGE Couldn't Love Us More on Their Lovin'-est Day if They Had an Electrified Lovin' Machine

Today's "Back Stage" (the newspaper for actors) listed two shows I'm in as part of their annual list of comedy profiles, or "Comedy Best Bets 2005: 10 [Comedians] Worth Watching."

Firstly, the lovely Sara Schaefer graces the cover, in her traditional "I'm strangling two businessmen with their ties, while I gaze at you in a sultry manner" pose. Her picture is essentially the only one on the cover, taking up about a fourth of the page-- just to get the whole strangling/ sultry thing across. The article inside is terrific too. Sadly, (since I'm an attention whore) I'm not mentioned in the list of writers, since the press materials the writer was working from pre-date my time on the show; but really, who cares? It's great publicity, and I couldn't be happier for Sara, who deserves all the accolades she gets. She puts her heart into that show, and she's Aces.

Also, Erik Marcisak, the manager/ producer of Juvie Hall is profiled, with a special focus on Saturday Night Rewritten. I'm glad that Erik is getting the attention he deserves for providing an up-and-coming alternative to the big comedy houses in the city, and creating the only theater in NYC with a special focus on sketch. I would also like to take special note of one particular part of the article, which singles out one SNR bit to highlight:

"We especially liked a sketch in which a man was cursed with an ever-present voiceover narration, which was particularly funny in a bar, as he tried to socialize and hook up. It was fast-paced and had some very charismatic and funny performances."

Who wrote the sketch that so delighted Back Stage? Dear readers, I cannot lie. It was me. (Well, I cannot lie when lying would mean I'd miss an opportunity to brag. I can lie like a fiend otherwise.)

Anyway, thank you Back Stage for writing about us. We can only hope the publicity leads to us... y'know... actually getting paid for this nonsense.

We're Rocking the Free Newspapers

Sara Schaefer is Obsessed With You is featured in today's Metro. If you live in New York City and are pondering which give-away to read during your subway commute, make it Metro!