the STAGE is one

This Saturday September 29th a new "the Stage" will be held at the O. So if you are looking for somthing to do before Kelly Pavlik beats the spleen out of that other chump, stop on over from 8pm tp 11pm.


$5 gets you in the door. At 7pm a social hour commences with free eats. Arts stuff will be all over the gallery's walls.

7:30pm will be auditioning for the experimental band "before the undead". And then, starting at 8pm will be the official program with...

-- The Zou, with new bassist Murad making his local debut with the band PLUS rocky horror
-- Dr. Ray's Sideshow with NEW assistant, Megan
-- Joe Carrabia's comedy styling
-- Harold Davis' unique blend of blues/comedy
-- Angelo LaMarca's song stylings
-- Chaos of Wisdom, a new-ish band (first time at the Oakland!)
-- Chris Barzak's wonderful words (he'll be rushing in from Clv)
-- Brandon Smith (comdey) vs. Brandon Martin (tap dancing)
-- other stuff still being arranged (will update)

This will be the one year anniversary of the Stage. Congrats to all who made it possible over the past 12 months.

The Oakland is located at
220 W. Boardman Street
Downtown Yo. O.

lots of free parking around.
and again, 5 bucks.
and plenty of Bettys.

Contact Brooke with questions and request to be in the show. Anyone can be on the Stage.
www.myspace.com/oaklandcenter
www.theoaklandstage.blogspot.com

turning comedy into winners

This past Saturday at the Oakland, a "Comedy Showcase" was held, highlighting stand-up comedians from throughout the region.

I sat in the back.


As you can see in the picture, the stage is being set up for the upcoming show "Misery" this weekend and next (his feet are cut off in a bloody fashion in their version). Click here for additional details about the show.

Here's a clip of local comic Murad Shorrab explaining what you gain when you date him:


Local talent such as Murad will be performing at the next "Stage" at the Oakland on friday, march 16th.

Several other singers, belly dancers, performance artists, sword swallowers, and circus freaks will be there as well.

- - -

Fast forward to this week, where the "Funniest Penguin" contest was held at Peaberry's on Youngstown's campus.


What's cool about this event is that they incorporated technology from the Youngstown Business Incubator into the voting process. To judge each of the ten comedians who performed on stage, the audience was provided with wireless keypads from Turning Technologies, one of the companies in downtown's growing cluster of software development companies.


Along with other "professional" judges, the audiences' opinions were factored into the final score and choosing a champion.

stand-up comedy + technology + public engagement = a new way to connect to people

It makes one wonder about all the different scenarios by which Turning's technologies can be incorporated into other forms of entertainment and public engagement . . .