There’s a new twist in the A.I.-generated stand-up comedy discussion.
In response to getting called out by a group pushing for the booking of more female comedians, one Canadian Club owner started adding Sonia Belanger to all his shows.
Never heard of her? Well, there’s a good reason for that. She doesn’t exist.
The club owner used artificial intelligence to create a woman”s head shot, then listed her as a performing comedian on all shows. He got caught, but doesn’t really seem to care. Maybe he’ll take the joke a step further and have A.I. actually create an act for Belanger.
Today’s Stand-Up Spotlight features a couple of comedians – Eugene Mirman and Dante Martinez – and, for those who might be heading to Montana next week, news about the Last Best Comedy Fest.
Keep it funny in the Bog Sky.
STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT – August 29, 2023
Quebec Comedy Club Books A.I.-Generated Female Comic in Response to Misogyny Claims
To be fair, it does make it a lot harder for French Canadian men to harass a woman if she doesn’t exist.
It’s not exactly news that, generally speaking, stand-up comedy is a male-dominated field. Though the history of humor is filled with female artists who stood up to sexism and made their mark on the medium, on any given night at any given comedy club, there’s going to be a lot of dude’s names on the marquee. While most non-neckbeards already know this to be true of American comedy, it may surprise some to learn that misogyny in stand-up spans across language barriers all the way into the frozen French territory of Quebec.
Eugene Mirman Is Ready to Get Back on Stage
Eugene Mirman radiates the energy of a warm, silly camp counselor. Talking on Zoom from his home in Massachusetts, the deadpan 49-year-old comic rocks a beard and a T-shirt while talking about the record label he co-founded last year, PGF Records, which puts out stand-up albums, including Bobcat Goldthwait’s excellent Soldier for Christ. Mirman is telling me about the label’s next release, A Close Shave With Heaven, the album debut of poet and author Derrick Brown. “It’s great,” Mirman enthuses. “Very, very excited for it. Derrick Brown I’ve toured with now for many years — one of the things I always wanted was to start a label, literally, to put out an album of Derrick’s. So, it’s very much like a dream coming true for me.”
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Dallas comedian Dante Martinez’s funny bone is made of Latino pride
Latino Dallas comedian Dante Martinez will host a stand-up and sketch comedy night at Arts Mission Oak Cliff on September 7.
Martinez has performed in other cities like Austin, New York and Chicago. But, he always comes back to Dallas whenever he gets the chance.
Comedy fest set for Sept. 7-9 in four Montana cities
A four-day, stand-up comedy and improv festival will be held Sept. 7-9 featuring workshops and performances in Bozeman, Butte, Townsend, and Helena.
The event, Last Best Comedy Fest, has rounded up more than 80 improv and stand-up performers from all over the country, plus 12 headliners including stand-up comics Josh Johnson of “The Daily Show,” Rich Hall of “Saturday Night Live,” and improviser Craig Cackowski, of “Community” and “Drunk History.”
