The other night as I was walking through the Union Square area of Manhattan, something caught my attention; it was a poster advertising a theater production based on Michael Ian Black’s 2008 collection of essays My Custom Van. Read our review of the book here.

I was surprised first that I hadn’t heard of this thing yet, and second, that in the day of online social media, a small poster on the side of a building is how I learned about it. What, is this 1993?

Anyway, let me get this out of the way. Michael Ian Black is not actually in the production, though he has given the theater company Project: Theater his blessing. “It’s really cool to have the support of someone who knows what it’s like to work his way up from a do-it-yourself program like The State to the ultra-megastardom that Michael now enjoys,” Joe Jung, artistic director tells Punchline Magazine, adding that the show is comprised of 15 of the essays found in Black’s book, acted out by eight performers. “We sent an invite to him to be our guest of honor. It would be great if he came, but he may be too busy delivering baby calves, feeding starving dolphins or hanging out with his numerous celebrity friends at Planet Hollywood to make it, which is understandable.”

But I wanted to know more about this production titled Michael Ian Black’s My Custom Van, which runs April 1 – 24 (get your tickets here!) at the intimate 60-seat Drilling Company Theatre in New York. And Joe was happy to oblige. After the jump, read about how the show came to be.

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Matt Walsh, co-founder of the Upright Citizens Brigade and actor in films such as The Hangover and the brilliant UCB Comedy Central series, is returning once again to television with the new half hour comedy “Players”, debuting tomorrow at 10:30 pm EST on Spike. The show -created, produced and starred in by Walsh- is the latest addition to Spike’s roster, sporting a cast of UCB alumni, most notably fellow co-founder Ian Roberts. In the show, Walsh and Roberts portray two feuding brothers, who attempt to run a sports bar together without letting their conflicting personalities get in the way.

Walsh appears as the sociable and easy-going Bruce Fitzgerald, who mostly lets his uptight brother Ken (Roberts) manage their group of worthless employees who pass time buying sports memorabilia on the internet, sleeping with B-list athletes and succumbing to latent alcoholism. The characters are diverse and interesting, but surprisingly, unscripted. As Roberts recently told Punchline Magazine, “All of the dialog is actually improvised. We rolled out very tight plot scenarios, but everything that’s spoken is come up with by the actors.”

Roberts and Walsh feel this allows the characters to develop more organically, as opposed to the stiffness that can come with scripting, as Walsh explains: “I think each character has a very distinct voice, whereas if it was just written by two or three people, the voices might sound similar. But I think when everybody’s kind of saying what they would say, you can see the differences in the characters’ voices a lot.”

It definitely comes across in the show -for being so early in the season the characters are fairly fleshed out and strong. Roberts told us that he attributes this in part to all the actors’ common background in UCB: “Those guys are amazing, because they’re all trained exactly the same way that we are trained, so it’s just such a short hand, so you don’t have to – you can feel completely comfortable, that there’s no doubt that they’re going to be able to come right back, and know the right thing to say.”

To catch the series premiere, be sure to tune in to Spike TV at 10:30 pm EST March 2.

This week, the Laugh Factory in Hollywood launched their new web series, The Kevin Nealon Show. It’s a simple, but entertaining premise. Every Tuesday at the venue, the Saturday Night Live alum takes to the stage to interview some of the comedy world’s best names. Combine that with live performances from Nealon’s guests and you have yourself a show.

We have to say, it’s a great way for comedy fans to spend a few minutes online. Check out the first two episodes below. The first features one of our favorite comedians, Robert Kelly. The second features comedy legend Paul Rodriguez. Enjoy!

As we reported two days ago, comedian Kathy Griffin is set to guest star on the March 3 episode of Law & Order: SVU, playing a lesbian activist.

We had posted a clip that NBC was happy to post on their site — of Griffin’s character forcing a kiss on Mariska Hargitay’s character — but the network quickly removed it from the site. Did they preemptively act because they knew interest groups would say they’re exploiting the one scene in the show to promote the episode?

Today, NBC shared this with us, a largely serious interview with Griffin, who explains her character in detail and talks about the filming process. Check it out.

A month of comedy fans furiously voting for their favorite stand-up comedians to place in the Top 20 of Comedy Central’s Stand-up Showdown has come to an end. The highest ranked comics had their Comedy Central Presents specials aired throughout Sunday as a prize. But only one person came out on top. This year, it was 16-year comedy veteran Tammy Pescatelli.

We caught up with the Cleveland native after her big victory and chatted abut her campaign strategy, her future plans and more. Check it out.

What does winning the Comedy Central Stand-up Showdown mean to you?
It will be nice credit for the MC to say about me. Really nobody cares but my family, friends and fans.

How much of the Showdown did you watch?
TiVo is the best invention ever! I was coming home from a gig. I became a Big Jay Oakerson fan!

A lot of comedians campaign for votes pretty hard. What was your method of campaigning this year?
Truth be told, I actually did embark on a marketing campaign. I wanted to see if I gave it any effort, if it would pay off. I have an e-mail list of 600,000+ names (The years I was on Last Comic Standing, 6.8 million people watched weekly; Internet friend sites were not popular yet, so they signed into my website), I sent out a mass email to one million people-twice!

I did 37 radio station interviews-including Bob and Tom, Todd N Tyler, Dwyer n Michaels and a call in to Opie & Anthony, inadvertently. There were a few newspapers that mentioned me– Cleveland supports its own loyally; ask Browns fans. Allegeheny Productions voted like crazy. I have 16 years in clubs, so several-like The Funny Stop and the Cleveland Improv had their MC’s mention to vote for me everyday. A military base commander in Kuwait had the base “adopt” me.

My brother is a college football coach, so the team got behind me (wait, that doesn’t sound right). And then, of course, my fans, friends and family. No one believed in me more than my husband-he kept saying, “Why not you?” It was like Apollo Creed when he was coaching Rocky- “You can win, Rock. You can Win!!”

Were you paying attention enough to the standings on jokes.com prior to Sunday night that you knew you had won before it aired? Or was it a surprise last night?
I wasn’t paying attention, but my husband was. I thought I might have won, but you never know when it comes to contests. Been there done that.

What’s next on your agenda? Any projects, events we should look out for?
We’re selling a show. I’m working like crazy, and hopefully I’ll have a new special soon. My old one was from 2005! I don’t even do any of those jokes anymore! You can all breathe a collective sigh of relief- there is not one Italian joke in my new hour!

Each year, a handful of comics, who don’t have nearly as big a following, as say, Lewis Black, Jeff Dunham, Dane Cook, et al end up ranking high on the list. It’s a good time for well-respected, veteran comedians to get prime exposure. How do you explain the phenomena—“less popular” comics crushing the widely known comics in the contest?
The Internet changes things, but hard work actually can pay off. Jeff Dunham, Lewis Black and Dane don’t need this as much as I do! I just want to sell more tickets for shows when I perform. Who doesn’t want to do well?

We’ve had a decent amount of readers email or comment on the site that they feel the contest is either rigged or just plain unfair. Some claim Comedy Central try to push “their” comedians. Are people taking it too seriously? And how well do you feel the contest is run?
As someone on your site said, this contest was not “the Funniest,” it was vote for your for “your favorite.” Either way, it was a good time for me because I have a lot of unemployed fans and friends, so they voted for me like it was a job.

Look, I am certainly not in the click. Contests are what they are- Mitzi Shore once said that comedy should not be a contest; you shouldn’t put artist’s up against each other. There were times when I went to vote for the first time and it told me I had exceeded my limit. I did not cheat. I did not have robots. I have been a WORKING comedian for 16 years. Being first is nice, but the real winner is Comedy Central with all the free advertising.

For more on Tammy, check out her official site at tammypescatelli.com.

Veteran comedian and longtime Jerry Seinfeld collaborator and live opener Tom Papa will be the host of NBC’s newest reality series, The Marriage Ref, it was announced just hours ago in Pasadena, CA. Executive produced by Seinfeld, the show will set out to comically examine married couples’ most divisive domestic squabbles and choose which mate is right and which is dreadfully wrong.

Ref will debut with a sneak preview on Feb. 28 at 10:30 pm following the Olympics’ closing ceremonies; its regular time slot will be Sundays at 8 pm, starting on March 14.

We fired a few questions at Papa about his new role on the show. And he kindly fired some answers back. The proof is below.

What exactly, as the host, is your role on this show?
As the Marriage Ref, it’s my job to end couple’s marital fights once and for all by declaring a winner. But at it’s heart this is a comedy panel show with me as the host and three celebrity guests. My role in that regard is to be adorable and hilarious.

Will you be making the judgments as to who is right or wrong or are you mostly there to antagonize each couple?
We watch footage of these couples in their real homes, having real fights and then give them something they desperately need– a declared winner. We’re on their side. They’re married, they don’t need anyone else antagonizing them.

How do you think your role on this show will affect your life at home with your own wife and kids?
I have been telling jokes about my family life my entire career. So from past experience I would have to say that this show will guarantee that my wife and kids are going to be getting a lot of gifts to keep them happy.

Check out a preview of the show below.

Do you know that there’s an organization that celebrates organization? Neither did I, until I heard about the Fifth Annual Los Angeles Organizing  Awards. It’s being held on January 30 by the LA chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO-LA). If you think that sounds like a complete waste of time, you should know the ceremony will be hosted by the very funny Kim Coles, of In Living Color and Living Single fame.

“We’re thrilled to welcome comedian Kim Coles as the celebrity host of the Fifth Annual Los Angeles Organizing Awards,” says Chantale Bordonaro, President of NAPO-LA. “Kim has an extraordinary charm in developing rapport with her audience and we’re especially thrilled she has personal experience working with a professional organizer. Her skillful comedy has the unique ability to break down barriers and return us to common interest. This year’s Awards will be the biggest and best event we’ve ever produced, complete with a Hollywood-style red carpet. The public is invited to join in the fun, and learn firsthand about the most effective organizing strategies, products and services available.”

The event will take place at Raleigh Studios in Hollywood. The only other thing we know about the ceremony is that it will be really organized. And hey, check out our video interview with Kim from last year below.

If you’re still in the dark about the significance of the Upright Citizens Brigade, GET WITH IT. The UCB has gone from a sketch group with a three-season run on Comedy Central, to a full-on comedic brand.

The UCB Theaters in New York and Los Angeles have been churning out loads of new talent for several years now. Founded on long-form improv performance and instruction, the theaters have evolved into bastions for all sorts of hip alternative comedy. Below, UCB co-founder Matt Walsh talks to MakingOf.com about the origins of the Upright Citizens Brigade, and gives advice to any aspiring improvisers out there. (Try to ignore Matt digging for gold in his ear at the start of the interview).

Last month at Carolines in New York City, Bob Saget and a handful of his comedian friends, including Jeffrey Ross, Colin Quinn, James Smith and Jeff Garlin, came together to raise money for Scleroderma research at an event dubbed Cool Comedy, Hot Cuisine.

The Scleroderma Research Foundation describes the condition as “a rheumatic disease of the connective tissues. It is a chronic, degenerative disorder accompanied by widespread vascular deterioration and tissue loss. Scleroderma can be disfiguring, debilitating, and deadly. In the most serious cases, the disease causes severe damage and severe complications for the body’s digestive, respiratory, and circulatory systems.” Saget lost a sister to the disease; he’s on the board of directors at the foundation.

The good news is that this one event — also attended by Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen, Saget’s former Full House co-stars, raised $525,000 for research. Saget and friends are constantly trying to raise awareness of the disease which is said to affect 300,000 Americans. If you want to donate online go here. For more info on the disease, check out the foundation’s official site. While you’re thinking about donating, check out the video below, wherein Danny Lobell chatted with Saget on behalf of Punchline Magazine on the red carpet of the event.

In an interview that will be posted in its entirety on PunchlineMagazine.com Dec. 7, self-proclaimed “International singing sensation” Tony Clifton, made famous during legendary comedian Andy Kaufman’s hijinks in the late 1970s, claims that he’s recording his first album and that REM will be one of many featured guest artists.

Writer Rob Turbovsky asks Clifton, ‘What else can we expect to see from you?’ Clifton responds:

Oh, this is exciting. We’re going back to Cliftonmere, and I’m recording my first album, my first CD. It’s like, remember when Sinatra did duets? We’re lining up different guest artists that I’ll be recording with. As a matter of fact, I’m going to give you a little scoop right now. Just worked this out the other day: the first group I’ll be recording with – we’re going to do a duet together – is REM. So, we’re bringing people in. Once we do that, then we’re going to go on the road again. We’ll be back in your part of town, and we’ll do it up right.

Clifton is a character that Kaufman created before he died in 1984; Kaufman’s friend Bob Zmuda — played by Paul Giamatti in the 1999 Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon — has now taken over Kaufman’s role and has been touring with his bizarre lounge act Tony Clifton and the Katrina Kiss My Ass Orchestra, known for their sometimes four-hour live performances. REM became forever connected to Kaufman’s memory after releasing their song “Man on the Moon,” in 1992, which eventually became the focal part of the movie’s soundtrack.

The book Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts, “a deliriously strange collection assembled by Kaufman’s girlfriend Lynne Margulies of the late comedian’s best bits of hate mail,” according to Turbovsky, was released this week. Read more about it on Monday on Punchline Magazine’s front page. For now, check out REM’s video for “Man on the Moon” after the jump.

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