Year in Review: 2008

When I was 27 (and, after 10/25, 28), it was a very good year…a very good year, for Ultimate Gossip Girl Summits, imitating insane Alaskan governors, listening to comedians tell nutty family stories (and then giving them cookies), making web videos for teh EmTeeVeez, and getting a brand spankin’ new website and a jibba-job in radio.

It was not a very good year for reading entire books or even entire magazines. Nor was it a very good year for housekeeping. I was a pretty bad housekeeper in ‘08. And I found it difficult to follow my friend Kambri’s lead and buckle down and write an entire book proposal (okay, I got one finished and out, but it was for a quickie humor book…the one I’ve been working on for several months ain’t done yet. Oh, but soon!)

It was not a very good year for performing at other people’s shows. I did some of that, but mostly stuck to my own comfortable basement storytelling bonanza. I want to change that in ‘09, which is why Family Hour will now be held the final Saturday of each month (at 7 p.m. at Ochi’s Lounge–first show is 1/31!) rather than each and every Saturday. If you just stay in your comfort zone and never bomb at other people’s shows (or, presumably, do well at times), you never grow as a performer and you certainly never get to sample the magic of other clubs’ bathrooms, which is a shame. I got lazy with stand-up, while pouring energy into web videos. I think it makes sense to go where the money is, especially when you haven’t got a lot of it, but it’s time to hop back on the fucking bicycle.

I do hope to take Family Hour with Auntie Sara on the road in ‘09, specifically to Los Angeles and, I hope, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston. If you’ve got suggestions for venues and/or performers for Family Hour in your city (whether you have a personal relationship with the performers or the venue or not) leave a comment or email me at sarabenincasa@gmail.com.

It was a very good year for travel. I got out to L.A. twice, had a great time performing with Danny Leary and friends in San Francisco, and had a whirlwind weekend in Berlin, where I met some amazing people and ran around acting the fool in front of various German monuments.

I’m looking forward to performing at Fifty First Jokes at Webster Hall on Saturday, January 3rd, at 7 p.m. This will be my third Fifty First Jokes, and I love that Jiwon Lee, Claudia Cogan and John F. O’Donnell put it together each year. It’s a blast, and it’s FREE! Info is here. Please come by and party with us! If you’re looking to network/make out with NYC comics and show producers, this would be the place to do it.

It will be most fun.

Oh, here’s some more info:

Saturday, January 3, 2009 – 7:00 PM

Fifty First Jokes at Webster Hall!
125 East 11th Street
New York , NY
Cost: FREE

Fifty of NYC’s best comedians showcase their very first joke of 2009 in a super fast-paced, party atmosphere. It’s a show that’s a party that’s a show. Jon Friedman (Rejection Show), Tom Shillue (Comedy Central Presents), Amy Schumer (Last Comic Standing), Victor Varnado (Adventures of Pluto Nash; The Awkward Kings of Comedy), Pete Holmes (Best Week Ever), Joe Garden (The Onion), Michelle Buteau (Bumbershoot, MTV), Baron Vaughn (Live at Gotham), Jackie Monahan (LOGO), Myq Kaplan (Open Mic Fights), Matt McCarthy (Montreal Comedy Festival), Sam Brown (Whitest Kids You Know) and Sara Benincasa (MTV, CNN, 236.com). Those and heaps more phenomenal comics and some special secret surprise guests!

Finally, on a sadder note, I want to remember my great-uncle, who died on Monday. He was a part of our family for over 30 years, and he will be missed. I’m glad I got to see him and talk to him, albeit briefly, before he passed away. He remains the only dude I’ve ever known who could explain the manufacturing process of the female diaphragm (because he helped make them for years and years.) He was a cool fellow and I’m very sorry I won’t see him at any more Christmases. He and my great-uncle always threw a kickass Christmas party. They had all this cool Victorian stuff that fascinated me as a kid. I’ll remember him as a talented storyteller.