From 1999 to 2004-ish, I was one of the contributing writers for Garrison Keillor's renowned radio show "A Prairie Home Companion." I learned a lot of things there, mostly how to spell 'prairie." It was a solid gig and I'm proud of my work there. But, like any other job, there were...things...
I've been pulling up these old PHC bits over the last few months and the decided I wanted to look up how I felt about things at the time. I pulled out my old journals from the PHC years and some of what I remember is off a bit. On 9/1/99, I wrote:
"Got a tip on PAGE for someone looking for comedy sketches. Turns out to be Garrison Keillor's NPR show.
I emailed them Othello, Barney and Peace o' Mind. The producer wrote back saying she really liked them. They're off the air 'til October but she'll be getting back to me."
Oh, yeah, PAGE. That was (is?) a writers BBS that was created originally as a space for Writers Guild Members to interact on the internet. I had forgotten that's where I got the lead from. It had been a really nice online presence that made me feel like I was part of the writing community. I lot of advice and help was shared there. Today, things have moved to Writers Action BBS.
On 10/6/99, I wrote:
On 10/6/99, I wrote:
"Prairie Home Companion used a version of Abbott & Othello Saturday on their show! It's now archived on the web. They liked the other 2 things as well. They'll be paying me for the sketch. Then she called today (Christina Tschida, producer) to get to know me better--the next batch of stuff floored her, it was very good and right up their alley. She'll be sending me some scripts and tapes to get a better feel of the show."
You can see why I was so stoked by this new gig. And why I was so bummed as I seem to lose their attention. I got phone calls, I got CDs, I got checks! By 10/20/99 I was already worried that they hadn't used anything else, or acknowledged the submissions. On 11/19, I note I submitted specific material for their Rapid City road show and had gotten no reaction. On 11/22, I wrote they had used my "Mt. Rushmore" sketch and then lamented that it veered into an anti-Republican rant and got away from the apolitical piece of whimsy that I wrote. Plus, nobody told me it was going up. But I had a check coming (which was very important in 1999). I was getting ready to set the next batch of material for their first New York City show of 1999. And I was going to ask if I could attend a performance.
On 12/8 I wrote:
On 12/8 I wrote:
"PHC didn't give me an on-air credit but the bit is posted with the standard "Idea by" credit. And a check is headed my way. No response to my request to attend the show. And none of my stuff has been used thus far in NYC. Very frustrating getting ignored in my hometown."
By 1/7/00 I note that PHC finally posted my credit online for the Christmas material they used. on 2/19 I learn the producer feels my material was missing the mark. I'm told to avoid pop culture, Keillor is clueless. Don't meander, maintain the through-lines. They were headed on the road to Great Britain, but used none of my submitted material there. So I began compiling material for their return, in NY, in March. Which I then managed to lose by somehow wiping clean my special PHC floppy disc. I had to recreate them. I was pulling out the stops at this point, new material, resurrecting and reworking old bits. I scanned the hard copy of an old thing I had rewritten for a revue, Dial M for Marriage, which was a very audio-based bit. I was grabbing stuff from college, typing up material that was all pre-digital, re-working it into radio format. I never would get an invite to attend the show.
Still to do: Groucho song "Medicine and "Style" audition--black out sketches as a Broadway tale--all must be typed.
Tschida kinda likes our Armageddon Married sketch (updated to "Who wants to Marry a Rich Guy) <ed. note: It was a skit about a mass marriage, inspired by a Rev. Moon stunt>. She's worried it's too TV. It's not and I told her that.
Also, she's desperate for jokes for the Joke Show <ed. note: That was out of my wheelhouse>
I'm shocked to see on 4/10/00, that my entry says PHC was interested in my NYC medley piece and asked for a rewrite on the ending. That's been my constant complaint here that I never heard back on them. And he's is evidence I did. They never used it, however. I even wrote that my erstwhile writing partner was working on his own solo piece, after I hooked him up with the show (he was my co-writer on the mass marriage bit). Again, had totally forgotten about that.
Anyway, they didn't use the skit. And I wrote that I was ticked off because they did a Staten Island ferry sketch. I'm from Staten Island! I should have done that sketch!
By June 2000, I'm just recording that I'm still "submitting a piece a week to be rejected by PHC." In July, I must have asked the PHC producer about other radio sites because I say there was no reply. All was quiet for the summer, radio-wise. As they geared up for the 2000-2001 season, I got word the producer loved Radio Olympics. But not enough to use it, as it turned out. I was starting to realize that the producer at PHC was important but labored under the whims of GK. That turns out to be another story, long after I was done...
Anyway, they didn't use the skit. And I wrote that I was ticked off because they did a Staten Island ferry sketch. I'm from Staten Island! I should have done that sketch!
By June 2000, I'm just recording that I'm still "submitting a piece a week to be rejected by PHC." In July, I must have asked the PHC producer about other radio sites because I say there was no reply. All was quiet for the summer, radio-wise. As they geared up for the 2000-2001 season, I got word the producer loved Radio Olympics. But not enough to use it, as it turned out. I was starting to realize that the producer at PHC was important but labored under the whims of GK. That turns out to be another story, long after I was done...
Well, this brings my journal into synch with what I've been posting, so back to the sketches!
