I ENTERTAINMENT
GOING PLACES
I-'
WEEK OF
JUNE 23-JUNE 29
COMEDY
COMEDY CASTLE
2593 Woodward, Berkley,
Paul Kelly, today and
Saturday; Tim Allen,
Tuesday through July 1,
admission, 542-9900.
MISS KITTY'S
COMEDY CLUB
Long Branch Restaurant,
595 N. Lapeer Rd.,
Oxford, Dan Ballard,
today and Saturday;
Ralph Mulliger,
Thursday through
Saturday, admission,
628-6500.
THEATER
DETROIT
REPERTORY
THEATER
13103 Woodrow Wilson
Ave., Detroit, Enchanted
Night, Charlie and Out
At Sea, through Sunday,
admission, 868-1347.
Mark Schiff was inspired by silent film comedians Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
ark Schiff is on an
anti-health cam-
paign. "They
should have un-
health clubs," he
exclaims, "where they give
you ice cream, cigarettes and
you go snooze for a couple of
hours."
Comedian Schiff's observa-
tions came during a recent
appearance at Mark Ridley's
Comedy Castle in Berkley. As
much as he protests against
being healthy, he's still made
some strides in that regard.
"I stopped smoking" he told
his audience. "I smoked 31/2
packs a day. I could've smok-
ed more but I couldn't stay up
that much."
Schiff incorporates much
about himself and his family
into his comedy routine.
"Where Bill Cosby talks from
a parent's perspective of their
child, I do a lot of stuff from
a child's perspective." "It's
about the inner workings of a
child's mind, like, did you
ever have dinner with your
parents, look at them and
think to yourself if these
weren't my parents I'd never
visit these people?"
Like many American Jews,
Schiff traces his ancestry to
Eastern Europe, but he has
an odd way of telling it. "My
grandfather comes from the
old country," he explains.
SCHIFF:1'Y
Mark Schiff makes light
of the all-too-familiar
in his comedy routines.
HEIDI PRESS
News Editor
"Where is this place? I look-
ed on a million maps. There
is no such place."
But where Schiff comes
from is a real place — the
Bronx. He attended business
school to avoid the draft, but
he's done a lot of reading in
philosophy and psychology
and Jewish subjects. As a
youth he studied in yeshivah
and after moving to Los
Angeles, he pursued studies
with Aish Halbrah. He got
the "call" to comedy at age
12.
When he was a youth, his
parents took him to night
clubs. One night's performer
was comedian Rodney Dan-
gerfield. Inspired by the man
who "gets no respect," Schiff
knew the career he wanted to
pursue. "I was given the gift
right there," he explained.
But the road to comedy
stardom was not an easy one.
Stage fright got in the way. "I
started when I was 18 and I
had so much stage fright I
had to stop for five years." It
took 23 appearances at the
New York Improv comedy
club to start building his
confidence.
After he got some club work
under his belt, he began to
get TV exposure. A New York
cable TV show picked up his
act and later he made ap-
pearances on HBO comedy
specials. But what really shot
him to national fame was a
stint on the David Letterman
show. "Letterman helped to
legitimize me," he recalled.
Bob McKeown
Yet, for most comedians, the
greatest achievement is to get
on Johnny Carson's "Tonight
Show," a milestone he reach-
ed last February.
Schiff doesn't see that as a
major accomplishment, only
another stepping stone on a
life-long journey. "I got to
where I am by a series of
small everyday tasks (for a
comedian, appearances in
small clubs) that one needs to
perform," he said.
Schiff still enjoys the club
circuit, and prefers those in
the big cities. "I like working
in big cities, you know,
Chicago, New York, Los
Angeles. There's just more to
do with your day. When you
work in Cuyahoga Falls, you
sit at the trauma center (for
excitement). There's not much
to do. (In the big cities) there's
a heartbeat. You want a little
action."
His favorite comedians are
silent screen stars Buster
Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
"The silent guys could say
more than most people could
put down in words," he said.
But he also is interested in
the work of Lenny Bruce,
Shelly Berman and Woody
Allen, when Allen was a
stand-up comedian.
Schiff would like to be like
Keaton or Chaplin because he
isn't a fan of talking. "I don't
PERFORMANCE
NETWORK
408 W. Washington, Ann
Arbor, Death Drinks a
Beer and That'll be the
Day, through Sunday,
admission, 435-7859.
SHAW FESTIVAL
Niagara-on-the-Lake,
Ontario, Man and
Superman, now through
Oct. 15; Berkeley Square,
now through Oct. 14;
and Once in a Lifetime,
now through July 23,
admission, (416)
468-2172.
HENRY FORD
MUSEUM THEATER
Henry Ford Museum and
Greenfield Village,
Dearborn, The Gazebo,
now through July 22,
admission, 271-1620.
EDSEL AND
ELEANOR FORD
HOUSE
1100 Lakeshore Dr.,
Grosse Pointe Shores, A
Place in Time,
Christopher Reeve and
Jane Seymour look-
alikes, Thrrence Meter
and Debbie Kovelle, 5:30
p.m. Sunday, admission
to benefit Concerned
Citizens for the Arts in
Michigan, 961-1776.
MICHIGAN THEATER
603 E. Liberty, Ann
Arbor, Let's Get Lost,
now through July 2,
Continued on Page 71
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
61