Dubomedy's 3rd Birthday Bash!!!!

Dubomedy's 3rd Birthday Bash- April 1, 2011

COME JOIN US AS WE TURN 3 ON APRIL FOOLS DAY!
Dean Edwards (of Saturday Night Live and Def Comedy Jam), Remy (Saudis in Audis creator), Ali Al Sayed (OSN Producer and local comic), Mina Liccione (Broadway Veteran and Funny Girls front woman), Omar Ismial (Local Comic) and Simone Heng (Virgin Radio.)

TICKETS ON SALE NOW- http://www.timeouttickets.com/

FOR MORE INFO: 050 44 00 99 4 or LOL@vibadubai.com

MIX TAPE is a sell out!

MIX TAPE- Student Comedy & Tap Dance Special really packed them in!

On March 12, 2011 over fifty students of Dubomedy Arts School took the stage to perform for a thunderous crowd! The theater was completely packed and people were actually turned away! Our end of session tradition "MIX TAPE- Student Comedy & Tap Dance Special" has proven to be a huge success time and time again. Beginning next term we will be adding a second show to best accomodate the audience demand! Well done on an awesome show everyone! The next batch of classes start on April 30, 2011 and the final shows will be on Saturday, June 18. See you there!

MIX TAPE: Student Comedy & Tap Dance Special

MIX TAPE: Student Comedy & Tap Dance Special

An Interview with Nicholas Karavatos by Sabina Giado

An interview with Nicholas Karavatos – inter-media spoken word artist, AUS Professor and "From the Page to the Stage" guest teacher.

By Sabina Giado


1. What got you interested in spoken word and specifically inter-media performances?

I am a graduate of New College of California with an MFA in Poetics, and of Humboldt State University. To over-simplify the tendrils of influence, when I was a young teen, The Doors released a new album titled An American Prayer. The band took recordings of their late singer Jim Morrison reciting his poems, wrote new music and blended them into a seamless whole. Listening to that was a crystallizing moment for me in the performance of poetry. Then I grew up. As my experiments in improvisatory music grew more serious, I began blending my poetry with music in spontaneous collaborations.


2. What brought you to Dubai?

As I began to be priced-out of San Francisco during the dot-com boom’s near-class war in the city’s Mission District, I looked abroad for employment that would pay my student loans. I first arrived in the Middle East in 2000 to teach EFL at Fujairah Technical School. The next year, I moved to Muscat to teach general studies at Modern College of Business & Science. After 5 years there, I was ready to return home, but before that, I had to find a job. The American University of Sharjah did its hiring much sooner than US institutions, and since it looked like a real good place, I applied. I didn't return home and have happily been a member of the AUS faculty since 2006. I am currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of English.


3. What do you think of Dubai’s performing arts scene?

Living out in University City, I don’t get off The Island as much as a healthy man should, so I don’t know enough about Dubai’s performance scene to comment. As for visiting musicians, I enjoyed Roger Waters; Henry Rollins, author and Black Flag alum, did some fun spoken word; and the Emirates Literary Festival is wonderful, if unapologetically pop-oriented, and until this coming season was at a complete loss when it came to poetry. I’m looking forward to it this year.


4. Tell us a little about your book No Asylum.

David Meltzer, author of Beat Thing and legendary poet and musician of the San Francisco Renaissance, wrote: “Nicholas Karavatos is a poet of great range and clarity. This book is an amazing collectanea of smart sharp political poetry in tandem with astute and tender love lyrics. All of it voiced with an impressive singularity.”


5. What’s next for you?

After the performance at Dubomedy International Performing Arts Festival last November, I boarded a plane to San Francisco. That weekend I performed with long-time collaborator electronic guitarist Jeff Kelley at JFK University in Berkeley, California. Into middle age and no longer a starving artist with my teaching gig, I like to look forward to something new each holiday. Last summer I booked myself a 20-city reading tour throughout the western US in support of No Asylum. Several of these appearances were inter-media spoken word performances. After a winter tour that’s taking me to Salem & Portland, Oregon with Jeff Kelley and a solo reading in Las Vegas, I return to AUS to teach spring semester 2011, along with a round of guest teaching as part of Dubomedy Art School’s “From the Page to the Stage” Writing and Performance Course.


6. Any advice for budding spoken word artists?

Never self-censor. Don’t fall in love with your own writing. Engage with the polyphony of society. Don’t fear the dark, but don’t avoid the light. Speak up. And read, read, read!

Audio clips on Karavatos’ work can be found at http://nicholaskaravatos.tumblr.com/

More information can be found, including photos, at http://nicholaskaravatos.blogspot.com/

Dean Obeidallah: Being Funny is no joke!

Dean Obeidallah: Being funny is no joke

‘I can’t teach anyone to be funny,’ says Arab-American comedian Dean Obeidallah, who recently led a stand-up comedy workshop in Dubai

• By Samia Badih, Staff Reporter at Gulf News
• Published: 17:04 December 23, 2010

Sitting in the audience of a stand-up comedy show, you’d think being funny is easy. Well, not really. Going up on stage and making people laugh can take days, sometimes months, of writing and rehearsing.

That certainly was the case for the students of the stand-up comedy workshop organised by the Dubomedy Arts school in Dubai, the first comedy school in the region.

Led by Arab American stand-up comedian Dean Obeidallah, almost 20 students took part in the workshop to learn how to write a joke, perform, and the ethics and business of comedy.

“It’s hard work,” Obeidallah, who was in Dubai for the workshop and a public show last week, told tabloid!.

“I can’t teach anyone to be funny,” he said. “What I can teach is the structure of stand up, the idea of a joke, and how you can build on a stand-up comedy foundation that is good.”

He said that stand-up comedy is not about being the funniest person at work, among a group of friends or at school. “Many people who are hilarious off-stage, are not good stand-up comics.” It’s like learning a new language, he said. It’s about learning how to tell jokes to strangers and making them relate to it.

Following the workshop, students were put to the test by performing in front of a real audience. The best two were in for a treat — the opportunity to open for Obeidallah’s show.

It was interesting to see students who had not done comedy before progress and get over their fear in just three days, which is why it was tough to make a choice, he said. “We were really torn,” he said. “We went with experience and having a diverse line-up.”

Mohammad Fahad Kamal, a Qatari stand-up comedian, was one of the winners.
Pioneer Kamal who’s been doing stand-up comedy for the past two years is the first to do it in his home country. He said he feels like a pioneer with a bull et-proof vest because a lot of people have been criticising him for what he’s doing.

“Comedy is new in the Middle East. We don’t have enough clubs and people interested in comedy and that’s why we need to connect with all the comedians in the region and have a platform where we can travel around and do our gigs,” he said.

Brent Jenkins, an aspiring stand-up comedian from the United States, was the runner-up. He said he took a comedy class about nine months ago and had only been up on stage three times before Obeidallah’s show. “It was kind of accidental,” he said speaking of how he got into it. “After taking a class, I started to write more and the more fun it was. Now, I’m hooked.”

For the past year, Obeidallah has been making it a point to work with local talent in the Middle East and while it’s new to the region, he says it’s really growing. “We need more Arabs doing comedy,” he said. “From Oman all the way to Amman, from Cairo to Riyadh people are doing comedy and I think it’s great. Some are really really funny and some need more work.”

Locally, Ali Al Sayed and Mina Liccione, have been doing just that. The two started Dubomedy Arts three years ago with only 12 students. Today, they have over 200 students from different nationalities.

Stereotypes

“Comedy breaks barriers. The closest distance between two people is laughter and to have a room of all those nationalities laughing at stereotypes and laughing at themselves — this is it,” said Mina Liccione, head teacher and co-director of Dubomedy.

The school is looking at expanding its programmes from January 6-10 next year, said Al Sayed, the CEO of Viva Arts, which runs Dubomedy, also a stand-up comedian. While most classes have been in English, he said they plan on starting some Arabic programmes.

Different voice

The reason is to reach out to the Arabic speaking community and to create comedy with a different voice.

“I believe the format that’s been used has been exhausted and people are stuck in a place where creativity has been very limited and everyone’s been looking from a commercial stand point,” Al Sayed said. We want Arabs to let down their guard and try to make each other laugh, he added.

Fifteen years ago, Obeidallah decided to put his law degree aside and pursue a career in comedy.
He said he’s been inspired by comedian such as Richard Pryor, Jon Stewart and Chris Rock, who talk about political and social issues.

“I love Jon Stewart and The Daily Show,” he said. “I like the guys who are smart and talk about smart stuff.”

Top Tips from the Dean

•
1 Try it. Don’t give yourselves excuses for not doing it. Just do it. Take a class. Go to open mics or small shows.
•
2 Watch comics on YouTube and write a couple of jokes down verbatim to how the joke structure.
•
3 It’s hard work. You have to write, rewrite, perform, rewrite and perform again.

Dean’s Best Joke

When asked to tell us his best joke, Obeidallah said it’s usually his most recent one. This is the one he told.
“Here’s the difference between Arab men and American men when the bill comes after dinner.

There’s a group of white guys and the bill comes, so they divide it up and they’d be like “Okay you got two sodas; here’s your bill.” But when a group of Arab guys put the bill down, it’s like throwing meat into a shark tank.

They’d be like “No, no, no, habibi, I’m going to pay. Habibi, I will pay this.” The other guy says, “If you pay this I will never speak to you again; I swear we are not talking.”

Another guy says, “If you pay this, I will defriend you. I will block you from my Facebook.” One says, “If you pay this, I will divorce my wife. I swear I will divorce my wife.”

It makes me wonder about this expression. Does this ever happen? Does the guy go home and tell his wife: “I’m sorry. You gotta go. My friend paid for lunch. Bye bye now. Nice meeting you’.”

WINTER SESSION: Comedy, Improv, Tap Dance, Writing and Arabic Classes!

DUBOMEDY ARTS SCHOOL (D.A.S.) is proud to announce their Winter Session! New classes and guest teachers have been added to the bill! Please see full class schedule below. LOL@vivadubai.com for more questions and registration.
We offer professional training in Comedy, Improvisation, Stand-Up, Writing for Performance, NYC Tap Dance and Body Beats all year round. From just to fun to professional coaching! ...Our classes were rated “...Best Classes in Dubai” by Time Out Dubai Magazine. Dubomedy’s Head Teacher is Stomp and Cirque veteran, MTV Alumni, Award-winning American Comedienne; Mina Liccione. Classes are also lead by a team of professionals. Please see class and teacher details below.

WHAT: It’s time for Dubomedy Arts School’s Winter, 2011 Term! Each session runs 9 weeks and commences with a final performance in the Kilachund Theater at DUCTAC. Please reserve your place now!

WHEN: Winter Session runs January 22- March 18, 2011. ALL Classes commence with a Final Performance!

CLASS SCHEDULE: January 22- March 18, 2011

SATURDAYS AT DUCTAC:

11:30-12:30pm- NYC Tap & Body Beats: Level I for Teens and Adults.
This class is perfect for beginners or those who haven’t tapped in a long time and need a refresher.

12:00-1:15pm- Comedia Bil Arabi! *NEW!*
This unique comedy course is the first of it’s kind in the UAE. It will focus on beginning improvisation, Stand Up Comedy, Sketch Comedy building all in Arabic. This course will be taught by Ali Al Sayed.

12:30-1:30pm- NYC Tap & Body Beats: Level II for Adults and Teens.
This class will focus on more intermediate level technique and choreography. This class is open to those who have completed Level I or by permission of instructor.

1:30-2:55pm- Comedy 101: Saturday Afternoon Funnies!
Our signature open level Comedy Class for Adults! This course will teach you the basics of Improvisation, Stand Up Comedy writing, delivery and performance. Each student will also get a private coaching session as well as a chance to perform in a energy packed end of session festival at Dubai Community Theater.

3:30-5:00pm- The Graduates!
Intermediate to Advanced Stand Up Comedy for those who have graduated Comedy 101 and wish to continue their training and get more performance experience. These are semi-private coaching sessions lead by Ali Al Sayed.

4:00-5:00pm- NYC Tap & Body Beats: Level III.
This is an advanced level training course as well as Performance Troupe a.k.a. Dubomedy Sole Steppers. The troupe’s latest tap & body percussion piece won an award at this year’s Dubai Dance Festival!
*Please note: This class is by audition only

MONDAY NIGHTS:

“From the Page to the Stage”: Writing & Performance Workshop
All Star Team of Guest Lecturers: Mina Liccione, Nina Hein, Nicholas Karavatos, Jamal Iqbal and Jamil Abu Wardeh
Dubai Community Arts Center
7:30-9:30pm

This course will focus on diverse genres of writing geared towards performance. The workshop will emphasize on the balance between text and performance- how they build upon and interact with eachother. A team of professional writers, directors, poets and performance based artists including: Nicholas Karavatos, Nina Hein, Jamal Iqbal, Jamil Abu Wardeh as well as Mina Liccione will co-lead this course. There will be a series of unique writing sessions along with assignments that allow the students to explore a variety of “individual writing voices”. Writing genres and seminars will include: Script writing for Theater, Poetry and Spoken Word, Storytelling- from fiction to non-fiction, Character development tools, How to transform personal stories into TV Scripts taught by a longstanding TV Producer. The final few classes will focus on ways to take your words from the page to the stage- hence PERFORMANCE skills including Acting Technique, How to direct actors, Physicalization of stories and Rhythmic Training. This workshop will commence will a final reading of the works created during this creative process. The “best” works of the bunch will be chosen to develop into full length performance pieces as well as considered for a new series of short film projects set for 2011.

TUESDAYS NIGHTS:

Marhaba Arabia- Learn to speak Emirati! *NEW!*
Dubai Community Arts Center
7:30-9:30pm

This course will teach you all the basics of speaking Emirati in a supportive environment! Classes will be taught by Shaima Al Sayed.

WEDNESDAY NIGHTS:

WEDNESDAY NIGHT IMPROV!- Improv Games, Theater Sports & Circus Skills!
Co-Lead by Mina Liccione and Sol Abiad
Kadomz Studios in Marina Mall
7:15-9:00pm

Intermediate- Advanced level improv training with Basic Circus Skills as warm up! All improvisation, all the time! As per popular demand, we will warm up with a Circus Skill each week then focus on improvising in character, competitive theater games and improvisational structures for team performance “matches”. The goal of this class is to create a performance based Improv Troupe that will perform around the UAE at different events and venues including volunteer work with Clowns Who Care Project. Each session includes a Public Improv Performance as well as a final match performed in the end of session show. This is the perfect class for those who wish to perform improv as well as want to join Clowns Who Care as excellent improv skills are required.

UPCOMING:

NEW WORKSHOP FOR ADVANCED STUDENTS- Beginning in Feb, 2011
Sketch Comedy and Comedic Acting for TV
Sundays, 7:30-9:30pm
Studio- TBA

This new course is for intermediate-advanced level students and is by audition only. This is an on-camera class focusing on Sketch Comedy Acting, Directing and Performance. This core Sketch Troupe will also perform in front of a live studio audience.

MORE INFO/REG: LOL@vivadubai.com

REGISTRATION: All Classes will be posted on www.Timeouttickets.com for online registration. We will also be holding open registrations in the DUCTAC Lobby. To secure your place please send an e-mail to LOL@vivadubai.com with your name, contact info and which class/es you will be attending.