Always A New Year

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comedy, Networking, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Always A New Year

January, the coldest month thus far, is becoming a tackled month. It is so cold, the walk around aspect of our journey is getting difficult. On the bright side, we have two road shows this month. And that’s important. Each new year must have upon it more growth. We’re extremely happy for these road shows. They are brought to us by our ever growing relationships. We are completely appreciative.

Though the team goes up and down with members, that membership is really a number. Our movement is more important. This year we hope to inspire others to believe in a strong unity of people. Helping one another and working as a team. We have friends outside our Top Of The Bottom Pile brand, but they are very much part of this family. To the exciting doors opening for us all.

Though we are working with Team Rise Together, and oh DEER! Productions on a web series (Dramatic), it is all a part of the growing Brand. With the radio show packed of guests, and more road shows coming up, the Top of the bottom is getting exciting for us all. Our movement is to inspire others to work together as a team. Let us hope we can enjoy opportunity together. Always in a new year.

Top of the bottom pile

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Switching it up

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Comedian, comedy, New things, Roger Skai, Stand-up Comedy, Switch it up, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Switching it up

At times it feels like we are never seen on stage and thus have little value in the eyes of other specific comedians. Is performing the end all be all of comedian or not to comedian? Maybe it is. If you are not performing comedy, then you are not a comedian, you are just a fan of comedy. Walking around and becoming friends with other comedians, club owners, and people who love to laugh.

Sure, it seems, at times that we would appear to be fans of comedy. It comes off that way because we are fans of comedy. That is why we love being around its environment. But we are also comedians; real life stand up on stage and tell jokes comedians. Do we perform as often as other comics? Depends on the season and time of the year. Also, if a tree falls in the forest and no one sees it…

Trees everywhere! Comedy is a skill learned through doing. Perform and you will become. However, truth be told, writing jokes and getting into the business of being a comedian makes you a comedian. Switching it up, we’re going another route. Instead of doing open mics, or bringer shows, we have to change the game by changing how we play the game. Inspire others that process is malleable.

Building Friendships

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comedy, Networking, Relationships, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Building Friendships

Over eight radio show episodes we have continued to build relationships with new people. From Guests to other show hosts on the station where we do the Top of the Bottom Pile Radio show. It is an impressively deep feeling of gratitude that we have these opportunities to being in a business of humor. A sense of gratefulness is added when we realize it is around our friends too.

Meeting new people is only as powerful as remembering to follow up and say hello again. Meeting a person once is only the intro. It is nice to see comedians reach out and introduce themselves. It happens more with beginners than the three and older vets of this scene. Saying hello is the beginning a beautiful opportunity for relationship; working, or friendly!

We believe strongly in introductions. We want to know more people. We want to know what is going on with you and your career. We want to support your success. Because success for one person is a sense of hope and joy that others can make it too. This takes hard work in addiction to hoping. When you see a Top of the Bottom Pile sticker, member, or post, say hi. We are all in this together!

Top of the Bottom Pile

 

Bottoms up!

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Auditions, Chris Hamilton, comedy, Kenny Murdock, Roger Skai, Stand-up Comedy, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Bottoms up!

The success of others is the success of us. What does that even mean? One of our Pile Brothers was passed at Comic Strip Live after his audition. Roger and Thomas have theirs coming up soon. He was passed in a way that made us all a little proud inside. He got no bad criticism from the owner. He was the most confident on stage, and he knew his material.

What makes this event all the more special is he did it the Pile way. The way of changing the game. We want people to explore outside routes from the norm. Because, let us face it, the norm has hundreds of thousands of comedians fighting for their chance. What if there was another way? Well, there is, and our Pile Brother, Kenny Murdock (The guy with glasses) did it another way from the norm.

The idea is that we work to support one another. Either a part of the pile or not. This game is big enough for all of us to be working together. There are other routes to the top, and all the boys are doing it. Staying focused, working their craft, building relationships and even growing a Brand. All we can say is that the Bottom went up the other night, and there is still more happening! To the Top!

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

Another Top Meeting

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Business, Chris Hamilton, comedy, Meetings, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Another Top Meeting

A good meeting makes things great. What makes a good meeting? Conversation, trust, and a willingness never to hold back thoughts, ideas, and brainstorming. This week was the first time, in a while, we met face to face. It feels so much better than Skyping. The physical aspect of it really brings teams together. You get a chance to remember each of us are real.

Our meetings consist of laughing, S.M.A.R.T. Goals, planning out City walks, and really learning about one another. These are people who are going to be working together and making a difference. Changing a game which continues to remain stagnate. A system of ideas which maintain a status quo. We want others to change their game and make a difference too.

There is an amazing feeling when our efforts make others change up their style. Start working as a team, and more importantly, know that we too want to help other people in this industry. What we have planned for comedy is more than just jokes, more than a scene, but an empire to see others succeed. To open doors for ourselves so we can break down walls for other entertainers who deserve a chance. 

Top of the Bottom Pile: The best of the worst, your second best choice!

Comedy Is Funny

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Christopher Hamilton, comedy, Roger Skai, Teamwork, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

Comedy is Funny

The business of comedy starts with a joke. You can be a joke, tell a joke, hear a joke. What is it that makes all that funny? The humor of comedy is a mixture of all three. We can make anything happen as comedians. Top of the Bottom Pile is continuously fighting through change, understanding and the humor of the business. We are all about working together even when we’re not together. That’s one thing we have learned with Top of the Bottom Pile.

In the passing few months people have moved on, others have joined and even more so big moves have been made. The team is working hard at building our personal brands to help explode the power of the Top of the Bottom Pile brand. Some of us have radio shows on Tuesdays, others just got signed with a manager for acting, and even more so, others are getting ready for auditions for comedy clubs. The system is here to allow us all to succeed. The support system is what keeps us going.

Positive growth is an idea that no one person is bigger than the other. When your mind finds fear in being overshadow opportunity is lost. Success for one is success for all. One thing that has to maintain the fuel of Top is keeping our standards pure and purposeful. Respecting possibility in teamwork, individuality, and supporting the life of us entertainers is the goal. All the greats work together, why would doing it on your own as an unknown work differently? The best part of the bottom is the top!

Top of the Bottom Pile : The best of the worst, your second best choice!

The Whole City

Tags

comedy, Networking, top of the bottom pile

Another round of Comedy Clubs this past week. The Pile loves frequenting spots as many times as we can because of all the camaraderie and new people we meet. There’s a million stories, all with something to relate to and you always come out finding a little bit of yourself in them. This past week we had the pleasure of meeting with Richie Tienken, owner of The Comic Strip Live, which has been slinging the laughter since 1975. Richie has helped comedians such as Eddie Murphy, Gilbert Godfried, and Adam Sandler get their starts and even lent a helping hand in guiding some of their careers.

After a nice sit down, Richie was nice enough to impart his wisdom from being in the business so long, and even shared a few inside stories including how Eddie Murphy almost didn’t make Saturday Night Live. This is a prime example of someone who doesn’t owe anyone a lick of time giving a few upstarting Comedians a little heart to heart, something the Pile is very big on; sharing experiences and giving back. Richie had a plethora of memories, and I hope he saw in us the excitement to hear them, as we saw the passion in which he recited them.

We can now add The Comic Strip Live to an ever growing list of places that are truly homes for Comedians. The Staff reflects true professionalism and a lot of the values that we’ve built this brand on, and there’s always a great line up of Comedians trying to give you the best experience possible. This, among numerous other things, is exactly why it is becoming a place we love to frequent.

Stay Piled, friends

–Top of the Bottom Pile

Support Systems

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Advice, Business, Comedians, comedy, Entertainment, Funny, Kenny Murdock, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile, tour

This past week we checked out a show at Gotham Comedy Club called “The Sisters of Comedy”. It was a showcase of talent where every comic was of African descent. We weren’t just hanging around hoping to get a spot as there would be nowhere we fit for the obvious reason; we’re not females. We were there to experience a different side of Comedy, with material we can not possibly write ourselves since we have no experience as Women. It was a time to just sit back and enjoy our colleagues work on their craft.

It was a terrific experience. Every lady was just as funny as the last and it really showed how we support the cause more than exploit it. We don’t have to be put on stage every time we pop into a performance because there’s much more going on off stage than there is on. Making our peers laugh is almost as valuable as making an audience laugh, to us anyway. The friendships we built that night are going to blossom accordingly with how we treat them, and much like flowers, that is a beautiful thing.

You don’t have to be a Comedian to follow the advice we give. Your job in itself can utilize a lot of the teachings throughout this blog. Be nice to everyone, talk WITH people and not TO them, and learn the importance of building the foundations for relationships. The more people you know, and the strength of the bonds of that network can only help you, not hinder you. There will be no snakes in the grass, because snakes don’t build relationships, they exploit shortcuts and easy moves. In the long run however, they will fall, and on the way down no one will be there to catch them.

Stay Piled, friends.

Steve Winwood be Jealous…

Tags

comedy, Kenny Murdock, Roger Skai, Thomas J. Bellezza, top of the bottom pile

The Pile is back in the high life again.

After a brief hiatus to get ourselves situated and cozy in our new digs, the Pile hit Manhattan to once again work at cultivating our relationships with our colleagues and peers. Hopping on the subway, hopping off, and making our way around the square that is this Gotham of ours, we hit a few of our favorite spots. Naturally, there were laughs to be had with old friends and new friends alike.

It was nice to be welcomed back, even after such a long absence. Which is of course, the value of building these relationships. It shows us that the Comedy World is just as receptive to us as we are to it, and that’s a good feeling. Especially when it’s so important to the basic principles of the Pile. A nice validation comes from seeing our friends in Comedy welcome us back with open arms.

This of course can only lead to doors opening as these people we talk and keep in contact with will be the the ones holding them open. We will do the same for them when the time presents itself because if there’s one basic, underlying theme through all these blogs, we return the favor. Take that into consideration, ladies. If we’re so generous with the people that our supposed to be “our competition”, just think of how we could send waves through your tight little bodies.

Stay piled, friends.

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This Guy…

Tags

comedy, Networking, This Guy, Thomas J. Bellezza, Thoughts

•  “This Guy…” Entry 2 – Thomas J. Bellezza

About every other week the Top of the Bottom Pile team goes into the city. It’s exciting, adventurous and most of all it is a wonderful learning experience. We meet so many new faces, and get to be embraced by our familiar friends in this business of comedy entertainment. Over the past 8 months clubs have gotten to know us and let us become a part of their family.

There is one thing I keep finding myself bothered by in the community, which leads me to believe in what Top of the Bottom Pile is working hard to accomplish… is when I hear talented, smart, educated people bring themselves down. Both on stage and in this business. A joke goes bad, they say on stage “Well that didn’t work” or “Come on, that’s hilarious!” Keep the commentary down.

The audience loves the confidence in you, trust me. Just work your material and enjoy the ride. For the beginners especially. You may kill, but expect mostly to learn the first few years. Which brings me to the second part. Those who won’t make the necessary moves to create a foundation for when they are ready in their heads to make the leap from local to professional.

Network, Market, and Practice even if you feel you are not ready.

Come be the best of the worst on Top of the Bottom Pile