Laughter in my Hometown…and May all your wishes come true
Comedy in my hometown:
When I last left you I was doing a media campaign for Papa John’s Pizza at the Mall of America. That week was hectic… (as if that is a newsflash to any of you who know me) Anyway, I got home Cinderella time… stroke of midnight that Thursday.
Now you would think maybe I could arrange for a down day… but why have a day off when I can make people laugh?
When I last left you I was doing a media campaign for Papa John’s Pizza at the Mall of America. That week was hectic… (as if that is a newsflash to any of you who know me) Anyway, I got home Cinderella time… stroke of midnight that Thursday.
Now you would think maybe I could arrange for a down day… but why have a day off when I can make people laugh?
That Friday morning I was up by 8 a.m. working out, and then driving around town doing my “Catch up” errands. (The millions of domestic errands that accumulate exponentially when you are out of town for a few days!)
It was in that local running around that I noticed that posters of the comedy show I had booked were all over town! The laundry mat, the local deli, Curves, Wal-Mart, supermarkets, lampposts etc… signs as far as 15 miles away were advertising the event. In addition, I also sent out a mass email announcing my “home town” show. The truth was I had wanted to do a show for all my “new” Putnam valley friends who felt that Manhattan and Long Island were another country.
That’s when it hit me…”Wow, I better do well at this show tonight or I’m not going to be able to go anywhere in town!” Talk about pressure… if I sucked, I’d have to be a recluse! My food would have to be sent to my home, I’d have to order stamps online, and I’d have to go in disguise to the bank which could lead to a whole other set of problems. The bottom line is, if for some reason the audience was dead and I bombed in front of a group of strangers that’s one thing… but bombing in clear view of people you know… that can scar you for life, or at very least have people really wondering how you really make your living.
The weird thing is you ask any comic, they will tell you that we LOVE the support of friends and family, we just don’t’ want to see them up front in the audience, somewhere in the middle or back is good. It’s like seeing your Mom up front on open school night. No performer wants to hear that sympathetic statement from your friends…”
“Wow that was ah, very interesting… ah I have a few Internet jokes you can use…” So with that being said, I felt the need to warn those around me…. Remember folks this is the night club act… be prepared. Remember I am still sweet Fran… just with an edge on stage oh yeah and I may say an off colored word here or there, it’s not my daytime corporate motivational speech.” They all laughed…”Fran I think we can handle it.”
“Yeah, well just checking.”
About 40 of my local friends bought tickets in advance… Steve (my on-again-off- again boyfriend… had a table of ten from his office), the curves gang had another ten, my new chiropractor friends that I am going to the Dominican Republic with were coming to see me for the first time… plus my neighbor Wanda and her friends were coming to celebrate a birthday.
The show was a dinner/comedy show. Dinner at 7, comedy at 9.
I had booked my Long Island comic buddies;
Ron Tobin, Johnny Huff, and Gemini to co-headline with me. Kevin, the booker was a bit nervous because he had never seen any of us perform. I told him not to worry; we have all been doing it for years.
I arrived at the venue at 8:00. I let Kevin know I was there, and checked the room. There were 300 people! Fantastic… great turnout, they had to open up the back room to accommodate the crowd. I went around and greeted all my friends.
Shortly after my comic buddies arrived and we all hung out in the green room, joking about how hard it was to find the place since one of the signs to get there was on a moving beer truck! Then we told comic “war” stories… that’s what comics do, we catch up, tell each other funny stories about other comics, network about other gigs etc….
Soon it was show time. We made Kevin go up and introduce the show, and put some music to bring us to the stage… I like to make it a whole show atmosphere.
Ron, who is a headliner himself was nice enough to emcee the gig for me… he did fantastic up front, making them laugh at his impressions. Johnny huff who is a straight one liner kind of act (think Steven Wright) got them into his one, two pace.
Then I went up, the only female on the bill, bringing a different perspective. The audience was great, and as it always happens as soon as I get my first big laugh, I’m good to go, and I love going off on the audience and improving.
At one point in my act, I ask for a stud in the crowd… that’s when it got interesting. You see up front was this guy, Ray Price. Ray was the guy who had sold my boyfriend, his present house, the house, which is across the street from where I presently live. Long story, which will be revealed in an upcoming blog but Ray, had seen me on Match.com. Yup, I had put up my picture when I was mad at Steve and decided it was best to see other people. Ray tried to hook up with me, but by that time I was back with Steve, but my picture (was and still is up there). Anyway, Ray in an effort to meet me, had set me up with Kevin the guy who runs the comedy show at Crystal Bay. (Yeah, soap opera-sitcom, reality stuff.) Anyway, when I asked for a stud, of all people, Ray Price was pointed out. The guy who got me the gig! He was sitting up front so he was a perfect target. Of course he lied and said his name was Tom, and I played along. He was a great sport about my poking fun at him. He definitely got his fifteen minutes of fame that night.
As I performed, I gotta admit, I did peer out to see if my friends were laughing… when I saw they were… it further spurred me on. It’s like having an invisible cheerleading squad. I love it.
After I was done abusing the audience, Gemini went up and wowed the crowd with his hilarious comedy/magic/ventriloquism act.
The audience came up to all the comics afterwards and said it was one of the best shows they had seen at Crystal Bay. We were all thrilled. In addition, I sold a bunch of autographed books, and everyone left feeling happy.
Gemini, who was far from home and had a gig in Connecticut the next night, was debating doing the drive or staying local. So naturally, I offered to let him stay on my couch (another thing us comics do for each other- hey cheaper than a motel and the food is better). Plus, Gemini did it for me once years ago when my car broke down. Gemini of course being a gentleman, wanted to make sure Steve was okay with it. He was fine with it, but in the end, my comic buddy, decided to sleep across the street at Steve’s in the guest bedroom. I’m told they spent the night comparing Capo stories!
Making a Wish
The next morning Gemini and Steve were hanging out joking and I wanted to join them, but I had a noon gig. I had agreed to emcee an event at Gold’s Gym for the make a Wish foundation out on Long Island. This was my 54th straight day of work!
I had been contacted by a fellow world record holder, Ron Sarchian out of LA who asked if I’d be interested in helping the event in New York, which was on November 17th, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. I had worked with Make a Wish in the past and was happy to be involved again.
Last time I did my stand up act for the fundraiser. This time my job was to auction off five bachelors to raise money to make five kid’s dreams come true. Anthony Magano, who plays the chief on TV’s hot show, Rescue Me, was also going to come, but he came down with a bad case of strep, and the last thing he wanted to do was get anyone sick.
Prior to the auction, Karine Hollander, president and CEO got up and spoke. “Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has given hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions. From their humble beginnings with one boy’s wish to be a police officer, they've evolved into an organization that grants a child’s wish in the U.S. every 41 minutes. Today our goal here at Gold’s Gym (an event organized by Sue Slack and Frank Massimo) is to raise $65,000, which will grant the wishes of 8 children (2 wishes per club in the Suffolk county area). We are lucky to have our event hosted by this award winning Gold’s Gym of Islip, which was voted best Gold’s Gym Northeast, USA & Worldwide 2007. Pretty Impressive. Today we have increased the Spin-a-thon to a 6 hour ride with 150 bikes and we will once again be running a Dance-a-thon and Yoga-thon simultaneously. To add a little more fun to the event, this year we will be offering five of our eligible bachelor staff members for auction. We have celebrity personalities, Fran Capo and Phathead from the Morning show at Island 94.3 on hand as well.” (We nodded, smiled and waved.)
She continued. “At Gold’s Gym their mission is ‘To positively change people’s lives by providing the ultimate fitness experience’. This event gives everyone a chance to have a positive impact on the life of a child and to 'share in the power of a wish'. What better way to kick-off your holiday season?”
With that she introduced some kids who had previous “wishes” granted. One kid was there with his pet Toucan who had been donated from LA and survived the fires there to make it here.
Another kid was there with her entire family who had been sent to Australia to pet the koala bears. It was all very touching.
Meanwhile, people were spinning on the bikes, bidding on silent auctions, buying items for gifts and everyone was in a generous mode.
At the appointed time Phathead then turned over the microphone to me. On top of a long staircase where five gorgeous hunks offering up their time to go on a date with a potential Ms. Right, to raise money for the kids wishes. It was a fun, sexy way, to raise money, and it added spark to an already successful event.
One by one the bachelors came down the stairs, as I read their bios. Some walked slowly as if modeling, others were more flamboyant, and leaped up on the countertop. All of them proudly showed off their Gold’s Gym physique and their 6-pack tanned abs. ( I laughed… not a bad job I have at all J)
In the end, each one was bid on, and received a complimentary dinner with the highest bidding girl as their escort. All the bidding money went to Make a Wish.
Afterwards I signed autographs for kids, did my “Three Little Pigs” and then drove home.
In the quiet of my car, as I drove home I thought over the past week, from doing the event at Papa Johns, to making my friends laugh at Crystal Bay, to doing this fundraiser for Make a Wish.
I realized then in my rare downtime, just how much I love what I do. I am so lucky to earn a living at this, to be healthy and surrounded by so many supportive friends and family.
I also realized how much the attitude of “Live everyday as if it was your last and one day you’ll be right” really plays out in life. When you do something like Make a Wish, when you see sick children with wonderful attitudes towards the life they do have left… you realize just how much we all take for granted.
That’s why it’s so important to ALWAYS make amends with good friends and family. Tell those you care about how much you LOVE them in words, with a hug, with a card, in an email… or anyway you can think of. Focusing on the love and not the resentments.
This holiday season, no matter what you are celebrating; Chanukah, Christmas, Ramadan… and every other politically correct term… just make sure that you do what the spirit of the season calls for… spread love, laughter, peace and joy. Celebrate the life we are given, for that is truly the meaning of the season.
Happy Holidays!
For more 'Wish' information visit www.wish.org or www.makeawish-suffolkny.org.
It was in that local running around that I noticed that posters of the comedy show I had booked were all over town! The laundry mat, the local deli, Curves, Wal-Mart, supermarkets, lampposts etc… signs as far as 15 miles away were advertising the event. In addition, I also sent out a mass email announcing my “home town” show. The truth was I had wanted to do a show for all my “new” Putnam valley friends who felt that Manhattan and Long Island were another country.
That’s when it hit me…”Wow, I better do well at this show tonight or I’m not going to be able to go anywhere in town!” Talk about pressure… if I sucked, I’d have to be a recluse! My food would have to be sent to my home, I’d have to order stamps online, and I’d have to go in disguise to the bank which could lead to a whole other set of problems. The bottom line is, if for some reason the audience was dead and I bombed in front of a group of strangers that’s one thing… but bombing in clear view of people you know… that can scar you for life, or at very least have people really wondering how you really make your living.
The weird thing is you ask any comic, they will tell you that we LOVE the support of friends and family, we just don’t’ want to see them up front in the audience, somewhere in the middle or back is good. It’s like seeing your Mom up front on open school night. No performer wants to hear that sympathetic statement from your friends…”
“Wow that was ah, very interesting… ah I have a few Internet jokes you can use…” So with that being said, I felt the need to warn those around me…. Remember folks this is the night club act… be prepared. Remember I am still sweet Fran… just with an edge on stage oh yeah and I may say an off colored word here or there, it’s not my daytime corporate motivational speech.” They all laughed…”Fran I think we can handle it.”
“Yeah, well just checking.”
About 40 of my local friends bought tickets in advance… Steve (my on-again-off- again boyfriend… had a table of ten from his office), the curves gang had another ten, my new chiropractor friends that I am going to the Dominican Republic with were coming to see me for the first time… plus my neighbor Wanda and her friends were coming to celebrate a birthday.
The show was a dinner/comedy show. Dinner at 7, comedy at 9.
I had booked my Long Island comic buddies;
Ron Tobin, Johnny Huff, and Gemini to co-headline with me. Kevin, the booker was a bit nervous because he had never seen any of us perform. I told him not to worry; we have all been doing it for years.
I arrived at the venue at 8:00. I let Kevin know I was there, and checked the room. There were 300 people! Fantastic… great turnout, they had to open up the back room to accommodate the crowd. I went around and greeted all my friends.
Shortly after my comic buddies arrived and we all hung out in the green room, joking about how hard it was to find the place since one of the signs to get there was on a moving beer truck! Then we told comic “war” stories… that’s what comics do, we catch up, tell each other funny stories about other comics, network about other gigs etc….
Soon it was show time. We made Kevin go up and introduce the show, and put some music to bring us to the stage… I like to make it a whole show atmosphere.
Ron, who is a headliner himself was nice enough to emcee the gig for me… he did fantastic up front, making them laugh at his impressions. Johnny huff who is a straight one liner kind of act (think Steven Wright) got them into his one, two pace.
Then I went up, the only female on the bill, bringing a different perspective. The audience was great, and as it always happens as soon as I get my first big laugh, I’m good to go, and I love going off on the audience and improving.
At one point in my act, I ask for a stud in the crowd… that’s when it got interesting. You see up front was this guy, Ray Price. Ray was the guy who had sold my boyfriend, his present house, the house, which is across the street from where I presently live. Long story, which will be revealed in an upcoming blog but Ray, had seen me on Match.com. Yup, I had put up my picture when I was mad at Steve and decided it was best to see other people. Ray tried to hook up with me, but by that time I was back with Steve, but my picture (was and still is up there). Anyway, Ray in an effort to meet me, had set me up with Kevin the guy who runs the comedy show at Crystal Bay. (Yeah, soap opera-sitcom, reality stuff.) Anyway, when I asked for a stud, of all people, Ray Price was pointed out. The guy who got me the gig! He was sitting up front so he was a perfect target. Of course he lied and said his name was Tom, and I played along. He was a great sport about my poking fun at him. He definitely got his fifteen minutes of fame that night.
As I performed, I gotta admit, I did peer out to see if my friends were laughing… when I saw they were… it further spurred me on. It’s like having an invisible cheerleading squad. I love it.
After I was done abusing the audience, Gemini went up and wowed the crowd with his hilarious comedy/magic/ventriloquism act.
The audience came up to all the comics afterwards and said it was one of the best shows they had seen at Crystal Bay. We were all thrilled. In addition, I sold a bunch of autographed books, and everyone left feeling happy.
Gemini, who was far from home and had a gig in Connecticut the next night, was debating doing the drive or staying local. So naturally, I offered to let him stay on my couch (another thing us comics do for each other- hey cheaper than a motel and the food is better). Plus, Gemini did it for me once years ago when my car broke down. Gemini of course being a gentleman, wanted to make sure Steve was okay with it. He was fine with it, but in the end, my comic buddy, decided to sleep across the street at Steve’s in the guest bedroom. I’m told they spent the night comparing Capo stories!
Making a Wish
The next morning Gemini and Steve were hanging out joking and I wanted to join them, but I had a noon gig. I had agreed to emcee an event at Gold’s Gym for the make a Wish foundation out on Long Island. This was my 54th straight day of work!
I had been contacted by a fellow world record holder, Ron Sarchian out of LA who asked if I’d be interested in helping the event in New York, which was on November 17th, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. I had worked with Make a Wish in the past and was happy to be involved again.
Last time I did my stand up act for the fundraiser. This time my job was to auction off five bachelors to raise money to make five kid’s dreams come true. Anthony Magano, who plays the chief on TV’s hot show, Rescue Me, was also going to come, but he came down with a bad case of strep, and the last thing he wanted to do was get anyone sick.
Prior to the auction, Karine Hollander, president and CEO got up and spoke. “Since 1980, the Make-A-Wish Foundation® has given hope, strength and joy to children with life-threatening medical conditions. From their humble beginnings with one boy’s wish to be a police officer, they've evolved into an organization that grants a child’s wish in the U.S. every 41 minutes. Today our goal here at Gold’s Gym (an event organized by Sue Slack and Frank Massimo) is to raise $65,000, which will grant the wishes of 8 children (2 wishes per club in the Suffolk county area). We are lucky to have our event hosted by this award winning Gold’s Gym of Islip, which was voted best Gold’s Gym Northeast, USA & Worldwide 2007. Pretty Impressive. Today we have increased the Spin-a-thon to a 6 hour ride with 150 bikes and we will once again be running a Dance-a-thon and Yoga-thon simultaneously. To add a little more fun to the event, this year we will be offering five of our eligible bachelor staff members for auction. We have celebrity personalities, Fran Capo and Phathead from the Morning show at Island 94.3 on hand as well.” (We nodded, smiled and waved.)
She continued. “At Gold’s Gym their mission is ‘To positively change people’s lives by providing the ultimate fitness experience’. This event gives everyone a chance to have a positive impact on the life of a child and to 'share in the power of a wish'. What better way to kick-off your holiday season?”
With that she introduced some kids who had previous “wishes” granted. One kid was there with his pet Toucan who had been donated from LA and survived the fires there to make it here.
Another kid was there with her entire family who had been sent to Australia to pet the koala bears. It was all very touching.
Meanwhile, people were spinning on the bikes, bidding on silent auctions, buying items for gifts and everyone was in a generous mode.
At the appointed time Phathead then turned over the microphone to me. On top of a long staircase where five gorgeous hunks offering up their time to go on a date with a potential Ms. Right, to raise money for the kids wishes. It was a fun, sexy way, to raise money, and it added spark to an already successful event.
One by one the bachelors came down the stairs, as I read their bios. Some walked slowly as if modeling, others were more flamboyant, and leaped up on the countertop. All of them proudly showed off their Gold’s Gym physique and their 6-pack tanned abs. ( I laughed… not a bad job I have at all J)
In the end, each one was bid on, and received a complimentary dinner with the highest bidding girl as their escort. All the bidding money went to Make a Wish.
Afterwards I signed autographs for kids, did my “Three Little Pigs” and then drove home.
In the quiet of my car, as I drove home I thought over the past week, from doing the event at Papa Johns, to making my friends laugh at Crystal Bay, to doing this fundraiser for Make a Wish.
I realized then in my rare downtime, just how much I love what I do. I am so lucky to earn a living at this, to be healthy and surrounded by so many supportive friends and family.
I also realized how much the attitude of “Live everyday as if it was your last and one day you’ll be right” really plays out in life. When you do something like Make a Wish, when you see sick children with wonderful attitudes towards the life they do have left… you realize just how much we all take for granted.
That’s why it’s so important to ALWAYS make amends with good friends and family. Tell those you care about how much you LOVE them in words, with a hug, with a card, in an email… or anyway you can think of. Focusing on the love and not the resentments.
This holiday season, no matter what you are celebrating; Chanukah, Christmas, Ramadan… and every other politically correct term… just make sure that you do what the spirit of the season calls for… spread love, laughter, peace and joy. Celebrate the life we are given, for that is truly the meaning of the season.
Happy Holidays!
For more 'Wish' information visit www.wish.org or www.makeawish-suffolkny.org.