Superman's Voice...

This may be too esoteric to explain in a written blog entry, but something I heard cracked me up and I have to give it a try.

I downloaded some old (1940's) Superman radio serials on iTunes, and I've been having a ball listening to them (they're free at "Old Time Radio Hour," if anyone's interested). In these old episodes Bud Collyer uses two distinct voices -- a more reasonable, higher-pitched 40's-businessman voice for Clark Kent and a lower, more serious voice for Superman. You'll hear things like "this looks like a job FOR SUPERMAN."

So in the episode I was listening to recently, Clark, Lois Lane and another character were trapped in an old mine by a cave in. Clark couldn't move away the rocks with them standing there without giving away his identity, even though they had no light and it was pitch black dark in the mine. So Clark concocts some ruse to get the other folks to go off elsewhere in the mine, and then starts clearing enough rubble away for them to get through.

He's alone, presumably still dressed as Clark and talking to himself out loud.

And he says, "now that they're gone, I can clear these rocks away AS SUPERMAN." And there are a few minutes as he narrates his actions to himself -- "A FEW MORE... THERE -- THAT SHOULD GET IT" -- all in the Superman voice. Then in the Clark voice: "now I just have to wait for the others to return and explain the rubble wasn't as firmly in place as we'd thought..."

I guess in 40's radio, the closest thing they had to a special effect was the wonderful vocal talent of Bud Collyer (who voiced Superman from the 40's radio show through Saturday morning cartoons in the 60's), but it cracks me up thinking about this man alone in a cave in street clothes changing his voice so he can talk to himself heroically about what he's doing.

 Alone. By himself.

Hah. Here's a page with a .wav file of Bud Collyer doing both voices in one sentence.

Benefit Flyer

FightBreastCancerFlyer -

Video for Rocky Top Comedy Contest

Here's the video my wife and I made for the Rocky Top Comedy Contest.

My New Comedy Plan

My comedy's been feeling a little flat the last few weeks, and I think I know what to do about it. It comes down to taking comedy more seriously, and that means showing up prepared like a professional (which I'd love to eventually be).

Here's what showing up prepared means to me:

• Have five to ten minutes (depending on venue) ready every time I go on stage.  No more "this is what open mics are for."  Open mics are for new material, but that material should be ready for a test run, not a wisp of a concept to elaborate from on stage.  It has to be written and gone though at least five practice rounds.
• Never drink before I'm on.  Then get wasted and enjoy everyone else's set.
• Write at least two minutes of new material a week.
• Stop showing up naked.
• Never take a notebook on stage.  It's important to try new stuff; I just need to have it ready.

I'm not saying I won't improvise or that I'll have a set memorized word-for-word like a sonnet, but I do believe knowing all your points and their order gives you the freedom to play around with what's going on in the room.

Looking forward to some fun sets.

The Name Thing

Well, I’m all confused. I don’t know how to introduce myself or what to tell people to call me. Half the time, I don’t know to respond when people are calling me by name. And friends aren’t sure what to call me.


A stage name is important to me. I love doing stand-up comedy, but it’s unlikely to supplant the income I’ve made from sales and management over the years. In this Google age, hiring and promoting managers routinely search applicants’ names. A hit that shows me doing political or blue material could kill my prospects without my ever knowing why. It could also cause headaches in my current position.

So I’m Art. At least on stage or on the internet.

I can make things simpler, though. I can start with introducing myself by my real name and then explaining that I use a stage name. Feel free to use my real name when we’re talking, or in any non-stage context. Or keep calling me Art, if that feels right to you.

Here’s the cool part: I never thought any of this would be an issue! When I stepped out on Coffee Underground’s open mic stage in January, I never imagined comedy would be a regular part of my life again, or that I would have to figure out how to communicate with dozens of great new friends. Thanks for that, ladies and gentlemen. It’s a great problem to have.

Thursday Night at the Vortex

Becca and I did the Vortex last night. Great crowd, except one guy who felt his participaiton was required.

Pineapple Jacks

I open Becca Steinhoff's wonderful "Occasional Acts of Brilliance" show at Pineapple Jacks. My primary motive for posting this clip is to show off my unparallelled cinematography skills.