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"The Pre Party

circuit, using several agents.
"I've appeared in the cold of Canada,
Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Toledo and
some college campuses in Indiana and
in the warmth of Los Angeles and 100-
plus degrees in Florida;' he says. "I did
a Jehovah's Witness wedding at a golf
club, where I was very clean and soft-
spoken, and opened at some country
music festivals.
"I've been at Meadow Brook Music
Festival and DTE Energy Music
Theatre [both in Oakland County]
several times. I opened for a laser
light show at DTE to empty seats, with
people on the back lawn drinking
and getting high. I felt I had to yell to
them so they could hear me, and they
kept booing until I finished and got
off quickly. There are many ups and
downs in this business."
One time, Konstantin performed in
a tavern during Monday night football,
trying to be funny with the TV sets
blaring. At another concert, the pro-
moter wanted to make sure the person
who introduced him pronounced his
name correctly [Kon-stan-teen]. He
did, but the program booklet referred
to him as "Bruce Constantin?'
"People feel I'm too tough on the
Detroit Lions, our habitual losing
team:' he said, "and I also razz the
Washington Redskins for having a
racist nickname. That's like having
a team called the Brooklyn Heebs,
where they would wear yarmulkes
instead of helmets. By the way, the
Heebs would beat the Lions.
"I try to do some topical jokes at
each performance, but I stay away
from politics because that's really not
my passion?'

Into The Future
Konstantin won a comedy contest
called "Robert Klein and Six Guys
From Detroit:' was named the "Best
of Fest" in the first-ever Detroit
International Comedy Festival, won
the (Detroit) DC Comedy Festival
competition and was a finalist in the
local "Comedy Idol" competition. He
has been featured in Heeb Magazine
and on Sirius Satellite Radio's comedy
station and has made guest shots on
Detroit's WDFN sports radio.
He auditioned and landed a small
role in The Lake Effect, an indepen-
dent movie filmed over the summer
in South Haven, Mich., and played a
delivery man in a commercial for a
pizza maker.
He also supplements his standup
career by doing freelance graphic
design work, designing Web sites and

doing voice-overs for commercials and
promos.
Comedienne Lynne Koplitz of New
York, who stars in Z Rock, a new Web
series on IFC.com , met Konstantin five
years ago when they were both on the
road, booked into an Indiana college
concert. They have kept in touch ever
since.
"Young comedians have to hit the
road to hone their material and get that
`combat' experience and know-how,"
Koplitz explains. "I see a lot of that in
Ben — character, perseverance, writing
ability, motivation, all the trademarks
of a comedian in this tough business.
He's very reliable, and I always highly
recommend him to others?'
While on the road, Konstantin does
a great deal of sightseeing during the
day and works on his act, "but I'm up
practically all night, so I also have to
rest a lot to maintain my energy:' he
says. "It's hard to do any serious dating
anywhere because I'm on the road so
much, but I would like to find a nice
Jewish woman and settle down?'
As for the future, over the next few
years, Konstantin hopes to build his
career to the point where he is a head-
liner in clubs across the country as
well as doing some commercial acting
and voiceover work.
"My immediate goal:' he says, "is to
get on TV as a comic."

Ben Konstantin performs in the
Ha!Iiday Laugh-A-Palooza com-
edy festival 7:30 p.m. Saturday,
Dec.19, at the Palace of Auburn
Hills. $20 reserved/$15 general
admission. (800) 745-3000; www.
Palacenet.com .
You can also catch him Sunday,
Dec. 20, at the Comedy Castle in
Royal Oak as part of Dick Purtan's
Jingle Jokes for Kids to benefit
Children's Hospital of Michigan in
Detroit, beginning at 5 p.m. $25.
(248) 542-9900 or (800) 514-
3848; comedycastle.com or www.
womc.com .
He'll also appear 8 and 10:30
p.m. Saturday, Jan. 2, at the Ann
Arbor Comedy Showcase as part
of the Comedy Showcase All-
Stars. $8 advance/$10 at the door.
(734) 996-9080; www.aacomedy.
com .
For more on Ben Konstantin,
including video clips of some of
his performances and a schedule
of his appearances, go to www.
benkoncomedy.com

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