The Michigan Daily - michiganda COMEDY SHOWCASE From Page 1B A community of comics Yet despite the almost didactic atmosphere the comedy club cre- ates for its open mic nights, there don't seem to be a lot of University students present on Wednesdays. "I have no idea," Feeny said. "Last year we had quite a few com- ing in. This year there's not that many. Next year maybe there will be some." LSA senior Jake Fromm, one of the few University students to make regular Wednesday appear- ances, pointed out that the meet- ings for student organization LOL ROFL Comedy Club also happen to fall on Wednesday, so student comedians have to choose which venue is best for them. Fromm (who is a former Daily photogra- pher) is active in both, but noted the value of the Comedy Show- case. "There's something really valu- able about a real room with a mic and a light and a crowd that's paid ily.com Thursday, February 28, 2013 - 3B to see you," he said. "I prefer to go up and do the real thing instead of workshopping." Fromm only started doing standup last May, but it's a passion that he plans to pursue far into the future. He hopes to get a job teaching English in Asia when he graduates and would like to pur- sue comedy in New York at some point. "I don't know what the comedy scene is like in Nepal, but there's probably not going to be any open mics there," he said. Fromm's name was near the bottom of the standby list the first week that I went to see him, but he was hopeful and prepared none- theless. Before the show, he sat at a table by himself, writing in a small notebook and working out jokes in his head. "It's just bullet points and con- cepts. Sometimes I'll have the rhythm in my head and so I'll write down exactly howthe joke is going to go," he said. "But (usually I'm) just writing down points that I want to hit. Onstage you figure out what works and what doesn't work and even if you haven't writ- ten down the exact words, you probably could." The show was running too long that week, so Fromm never gothis chance to perform. But he stuck around anyway, laughing and talking in the back with the rest of the comedians. "There's a comrad- ery," he told me. "A community of comics ... the guys that go up alot - theyall know each other." Convenience and accessibility Like many of the comics in this small community, Fromm is just trying to climb the ladder. Success- ful open mics lead to emceeing, emceeing leads to featuring, fea- turing could get the attention of a booking agent and a booking agent just might lead to headlining - a shot atstardom. Comedians at every phase of the process grace Feeny's stage throughout the year, with the end of the week devoted to the more- established performers: the head- liners. In the last few years, the Show- case has seen comedians with national appeal, like Aziz Ansari, Mas Jabroni and Doug Benson. Joe Rogan, in Detroit announcing a Saturday Ultimate Fighting Cham- pionship fight, asked Feeny if he could drop by the Friday before to do a show. Shows featuring this caliber of comedian are rare on the calendar, but when they do show up, it's usu- ally in a situation like Joe Rogan's. It gives them a chance to work out some rougher material and to have some fun in alow-key setting. "We see them on the wayup and we see them on the way down," Feeny said. "We're not going to see them on the top because we don't seat enough people, to be frank." Most of the week's headliners have a regional or budding popu- larity, and come to spread their name, develop an identity onstage or just work a room with a solid reputation. Comedian David Dyer, who will be performing Feb. 28 to March 2, comes to the Showcase for many of these reasons and shares an enthu- siasm for the club with similar headliners. "That's an excellent room to Comedians like Aziz Ansari have performed at the Ann Arbor Comedy Showcase, which is located beeasth Sevas. work of try new That's o the cou ton ofcc just lov great in are exce In th put his 1 everyn "Late N and AB done c and re "Yowza daughte has fou Tube ar to grow have toi "I ha position to move goingto he said. In th Showca largely sibility. resents honing( ut material - to just really video stuff is to showcase acting things and grow a little bit. and writing," Dyer said. "But if rne of my favorite rooms in you want to do standup ... you can ntry," Dyer said. "I know a do stuff that's funny on YouTube, omics who will tell you they but man, you still have to step up in e working that room. It's a front of 200 people and do it. And timate setting; the crowds that's the only way you're going to ellent - they're smart." get better, is to get onstage." he last 20 years, Dyer has Fromm had his chance to get humor to work in just about better the following week that medium: He's written for I went to see him, when he was night with Jimmy Fallon" among the top-12 comicsoset to per- C's "Politically Incorrect," form for Wednesday's open mic. haracter voices on radio I showed up to the club early corded a comedy special that night, hoping to pick Fromm's d" But with a wife and two brain for anxieties and expecta- rs in Grand Rapids, Dyer tions. Though he would later deny Lnd himself utilizing You- it, you could see the nervousness nd other Internet resources on his face. As I sat down, he gave his name so he doesn't me a quick smile, a quiet hello and travel too far from home. returned to his notebook. ve a family and I'm not in a But onstage, Fromm was cool to nor do I have any plans and relaxed, which was one of the e, so you know what? I'm reasons that his setstood out from do abunch of stuff myself," many others.Alot ofhisjokeswere new or going throughtheir second is way, the value of the trial run, but you wouldn't have se for Dyer becomes one guessed it from watching him. of convenience and acces- He had a strong stage presence, At the same time, it rep- smooth delivery and an intuition something greater about for timing. His jokes were largely one's craft. observational, and accurately so. It was clear that he had figured It'sjust comedy out, on a fundamental level, how to make a room laugh. reason that I'm doing that Even when he stumbled over one of his jokes, and when an audi- ence member chose to engage him after a spur-of-the-moment remark about the Pope, Fromm maintained composure, impro- vised and came out of both situa- tions unscathed. "It wasn't as smooth as I would have liked," he told me after the show. "It was an organic ener- gy, and the interaction with the crowd was good. I'm tryingto get better at performing - just being onstage and beingnaturally funny not with stuff that I've written." Fromm was specific and articu- late about his improvement, his goals and what kind of performer he wanted to be in the next open mic. But even with his improve- ment, wouldn't Fromm and other young comedians be better off in a town like, say, New York? Chi- cago? L.A.? Is Ann Arbor and its Comedy Showcase the right place for a young comic? Fromm wasn't entirely sure. "It's the only comedy town I've really experienced,"he said. "It's a good town to make comedy but I don't know if it's a great town for buildinga career around." Feeny's answer seemed to sum it up best. "That's pretty deep," he said laughing. "It's just comedy." "The Every Wednesday. crowds gather to enioy comedy at the Ann Arbor Showcase. ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ELL LURIE INSTITUTE for Entrepreneurial Studies University of Michigan's 30th Annual Michigan Business Challenge sponsored by the Zell Lurie Institute at the Ross School of Business Awards more than $60,000 to Promising Student Startups The 30th annual four-month, multi-round Michigan Business Challenge began in the fall with nearly 200 students from across the University representing 72 teams. On February 22 nine semi-finalist teams were narrowed down to a field of four finalists that presented their businesses in an interactive session with investors and competed for the top Pryor-Hale prize of $20,000. $20,000 Pryor-Hale Award for Best Business Focus - The Focus bracelet+app system automatically identifies and records repetitions, sets, rest periods, weights, and exercis- es/motions. Workout data is then uploaded online where users can track progress, compete, and share results. Cavan Canavan (MBA '12), Grant Hughes (MBA '13) $10,000 Pryor-Hale Runner up. $5,000 Williamson Award for Outstanding Business & Engineering Team Exo Dynamics is a medical device company dedicated to creating the next generation of spinal orthoses. These devices, will drasti- cally improve treatment processes for people afflicted with spinal ailments. Maren Bean (MBA '13), Sam Beckett (BSE '12), Jorge Sonz Guerrero (ME '11), Daniel Johnson (PhD '12), Pat Milligan (BSE '14), Mushir Kwaja and Joungwook Lee (MBAs '12) $2,500 Best Undergraduate Team $2,000 Outstanding Presentation Go Tickets is an innovative digital ticketing and promotional platform that provides college athletic programs with the tools necessary to more effectively control their ticket market and fan base. Ari Luks (BBA '13), Tarrence van As (CSE '13) $2,500 Marketing Award sponsored by Mark Petroff Password Patterns is a company that seeks to use innovative designs to make it easier for people to remember their passwords. Benjamin Bagazinski (MSE '13), Bradley Kowalk (BA '13) $2,000 Outstanding Presentation PhaslO, Inc. is a biotechnology startup that develops, manufac- tures, and markets multiplexed protein biomarker tests to life scientists in academic institutions and pharmaceutical companies. Arlyne Simon (PhD '13), Josh White (PhD '13) $2,000 Best Written Plan $2,500 Marketing Award sponsored by Mark Petroff Torch Hybrid LLC is an engineering service provider that offers marine hybrid powertrain manufacturers design and development support in order to make boating cleaner and more sustainable. Justin DAtri, Matt Lankowski and Sid Menon (MSs '12), Nate Henschel (BA '14), Sammit Nene (BS '13), Swapna Potluri (MS '13), Rob Peeler (MBA '14) $7,500 Erb Award for Sustainability Centricycle is a non-profit working to improve healthcare in rural India through the implementation of sustainable diagnostic tech- nology and education. Carolyn Yarina (BSE '13), Alex Thinath (BSE '13), Michael Bodden (BBA '13), Harish Kilaru (BS '16), Amin Haririnia (BA '13) $200 was awarded to each of the 18 teams that advanced from Round one and competed in Round two. $500 was awarded to the five teams that competed in the semi-finals and did not advance to Round two: Dinner With, DiscoverREAD, Password Patterns, Torch Hybrid, and Universal Vaccine.