Reading this bit I have to admit I don't know what I was thinking. Finding Neverland was in the air, with a movie and play kicking around. They were about the author of Peter Pan. Then there was the whole Michael Jackson legal action going on about what allegedly happened on his Neverland ranch. Sure, there was the possibility of a sketch here. But for PHC? No way! Anyway, I wrote it up and submitted it. They passed on it, which really isn't a surprise. It was short. It was topical. It never stood a chance.
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... Okay, I've been off the grid for a couple of weeks and have fallen behind. If I thought anyone was reading the blog, I might be upset about that. But for now, let's try to catch up. It's no mid-January and I want to post the January 2005 skits I submitted to PHC as we enter the second half of the 04-05 season. Reading this bit I have to admit I don't know what I was thinking. Finding Neverland was in the air, with a movie and play kicking around. They were about the author of Peter Pan. Then there was the whole Michael Jackson legal action going on about what allegedly happened on his Neverland ranch. Sure, there was the possibility of a sketch here. But for PHC? No way! Anyway, I wrote it up and submitted it. They passed on it, which really isn't a surprise. It was short. It was topical. It never stood a chance.
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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... PHC's annual holiday stay in the city of New York was always bittersweet to me. I knew I could right hometown-centric pieces but I also knew there would be no acknowledgment that the show was in my hometown. No invite to see the show. No free passes. No chance to meet the cast I had written material for. My opportunities were dwindling here and even if I had a sudden burst of creative energy, there was little chance it would make a difference. Communication was a one-way street. I submitted things by emailing them into a void. No responses ever. Not even to direct questions. Going into (what would be my final Christmas season with the show) reminds me of an incident that happed a few years earlier. I had a small publisher once interested in my manuscript Lost Claus. Spoke to him on the phone. He liked the book. But he liked the idea that I worked on PHC. Would GK have me on the show to talk about the book. And silly mean gave him an honest answer, "No." I mention how little interaction I had with the staff at PHC. I mean, I once asked him about hosting or presenting at the Writers Guild Award show and got no response. I was blunt with the publisher about my experience with PHC. And I never heard from that publisher again. Granted the only reason he contacted me was to try and use me to get on PHC, so when that wasn't an option, I was useless to him. Anyway, the holidays were here. The show was here, so I went with a silly joke about the Christmas tree and the Ronco Clapper. It's a fine little black-out bit, even if it was trying to do a sight gag on the radio. They passed. Rockefeller CenterFrom 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... Another brief commercials parody. My writing style was getting tighter and briefer. It was a pun off a song title and that's about it. I was losing the ability to flesh out anything much. It wouldn't be until I started writing for TMI:Hollywood years later that I'd really stretch my sketch chops to get back to 5-minute or more skits. PHC passed on it, as did my other outlets. I'm not even sure I'd be able to create a sketch like this, mocking spinsters or engineered cats. Oh, well. We'll see if anyone notices it here. ALLE-CATFrom 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... This is for November, but it sure was inspired by Halloween and watching horror movies. What if you could harass the power of the angry mob for good instead of mobbery? That's what I thought I would explore in this sketch. It didn't pass muster. Or Munsters, for that matter. Rent a Mob
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...
Bob Dylan releases a book. Audio books are becoming a thing. One of the cast of PHC does Dylan and has done him several times. What more natural than a sketch about Dylan reading his own book? I'm sure others came up with it, maybe. I mean, PHC didn't use it. But I took it and submitted to All Star Network. They produced it. I mean, that's what keeps me going; sometimes the no you get isn't the only opinion out there. The next guy could be a yes.
Dylan Reads DylanApparently Pepsi is celebrating its 125 anniversary of not being Coke. They are doing many things to mark this milestone, but one of the things they are not doing is showing this video that parodies their famous "Pepsi Challenge." That honor goes to me. First, some backstory. Sometime after college, I signed up for one of those Stand-Up comedy workshops with my college humor magazine cohort, the late John Rawlins. In that class we met a guy who was trying out stand-up. We got friendly, but not so friendly that I remember his name. But he insisted we should meet some people he was dealing with who were trying to put together comedy ventures. So we did. We hit it off and put out a fanzine called "Salvator Deli" for a couple of issues. Then attempted a stage show. A video program was always something the group was looking to do, so when in 1985 one of the members had a friend who was looking to do something on NJ Public access, so we decided we could fit that bill. We gathered up sketches and went to Jersey. We called ourselves "Friends of Leon." We worked on a cold-open together, then did material we all brought in. My contribution was the Pepsi Challenge outtakes. Look, I'm a writer and a bit of a ham, and tend not to pass up an opportunity to perform, so I'm the lead here. What we have here is a bunch of writers performing their own material. I only digitized my two contributions, because I only wanted to toot my own horn when the whole concept of YouTube came about. There were several others sketches and I preformed in them, too. But since I wasn't looking to be an actor, I only copied the skits I wrote. Maybe I'll get into this stage of my writing life and how that led to another venture, Big B's Traveling Sideshow. Frankly, so many of these threads cross and mingle, I don't remember everything as it happened, just flashes of events. But it's something worth revisiting (for me, anyway). Until then, let's present Pepsi Challenge Outtakes! I'm finally getting around to posting the video of the production of my 1-minute version of "Countdown to Love" aka "Countdown to Valentines" aka "The CPHCCVDMF." This is from October, 2021. I really liked the original version of the script that I had written for "TMI: Hollywood" years earlier. It didn't get used there. I turned it into a monologue for my friend's annual Valentine's Day night of monologues for the following year and, as luck would have it, that year she didn't do it. Then I reconnected with a group of friends from my "Pen to Stage" days on Facebook. They announced they were accepting short works for their annual night of 1-minute plays. They have been doing it for years, and I was not really aware of it. So, I pulled out the short monologue, re-inserted the cable TV executive and, ta-da, "Countdown to Love." Because of the pandemic, I didn't attend in person, but I streamed it live at home. It was an eclectic night of material. Towards the end of the show, my piece came up, and it was perfectly cast. Two of my old Pen-to-Stage cohorts, Joan Lunoe and Mickey Ryan were cast in it. When I dropped a note to the director, Rose Bonczek, also from Pen-to-Stage, to thank her and compliment the job she did and the casting, she told me "how could I not cast them!" It was like old times! Here, for your brief viewing pleasure is "Countdown to Love." 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... PHC would do these little musical vignettes from time to time, a series of black-out type scenes alternating with a song. I gathered a series of jokes and opinions I had and cobbled them together using "Grandmother's House We Go" as the thread. I even had to add a few verses of my own to pad it along. Uncle Al's rant I lifted from a prose piece I wrote about the pilgrims. I shoved that in there as well. It did not make the cut. So, here it is, as some Thanksgiving leftovers... To Grandmother's House We GoFrom 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... Yes, I had a recent successful sale with Bag o'Leaves so, naturally, I would try to go for a sequel and maybe create a running bit. I came up with Box o'Pumpkins. Maybe it's a little less ridiculous than a bag of leaves, but really, not much less. Another goofy, fun idea, right? And this time I tried to follow the rhythms of the produced version of my last sketch. Since it got rejected, I didn't bother trying to follow it up with "Box o' Dandelions" or "Pail of Clover" or "Bucket of Sand." Perhaps I should have kept pushing the concept. But, then, as now, I'm easily discouraged. Box of PumpkinsOk, so a new movie just came out and I'm a little bit more excited about it than I usually would be. The movie "Free Guy" is hitting theaters and I'm thrilled that someone I know is in it! Mark Lainer is an actor I met back in 1988 or so as part of a comedy troupe I became involved with. I've written about Style Without Substance many times on the blog. They were a remarkable group of talented people. It really was an exciting and creative time in my life and I was thrilled to be part of a team. Mark was an incredibly funny actor (and totally still is). Any part you handed him--mime, priest, colorizer, beach nerd--were much improved by his presence. We did a lot of sketches together and I was lucky enough to get tapes of some of them. I want to share them here. |
Dan FiorellaFreelance writer, still hacking away. Archives
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