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comedian -- author -- public speaker |
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comedian -- author -- public speaker |
       
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SAMPLES Here are a few snippets of copy
Paul Frisbie has written for various clients. You can scroll down or use these
bookmarks: Golf
Outing Brochure Radio
:60
Customer:
Telephone Voice |
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Promotional
Brochure Sales
Card Magazine Nineteenth Century Americans approached live entertainment with deviltry on their minds, bloodlust in their hearts, and, if Mark Twain is to be believed, dead cats hidden under their coats. Whether anyone ever actually threw a dead cat at an entertainer is uncertain, but a newspaper from the period does report the case of a hypnotist who was knocked out cold when a member of the audience hit him over the head with a live dog. Most audiences weren't quite so creative, but pelting an act with rotting fruit and vegetables was considered to be perfectly reasonable behavior. Heckling came straight from the heart. In Nevada City, California, an incompetent actor concluded a monologue by handing his sword to an actress and baring his chest. The disgruntled crowd saw the situation as an obvious case of opportunity knocking. "Kill him!" they roared, "Kill him!" Out in the boomtowns of the American West, the territorial governments often had trouble providing facilities to keep up with the expanding populations. As a result, the local theater usually did double duty as a courtroom. In 1882, the miners of Leadville, Colorado dragged two unfortunate wretches into the local theater to try them for murder. The men were found guilty and hanged, for a packed and enthusiastic house. Later that evening, on the same stage, the poet Oscar Wilde was scheduled to lecture on "The Practical Application of the Aesthetic Theory to Exterior and Interior House Decoration, with Observations on Dress and Personal Ornament." You would think that Wilde was setting himself up for trouble, but apparently he knocked 'em dead. Some entertainers can follow anything. With no radio or television to distract them, people were hungry for any kind of entertainment at all. The audience might decide to shower a performer with their surplus produce, but they'd be there to see the show -- whatever it was. A Gilbert and Sullivan production ran for 130 nights straight at the Bella Union Theater in Deadwood, South Dakota, during which period eight spectators managed to get themselves shot. The Union Spy sold out for a solid month in Wichita, Kansas: population 3000. In Helena, Montana, the local jail was still under construction, so the sheriff brought his only prisoner to the theater for opening night. The prisoner -- a Flathead Indian -- escaped. Audiences were astonishingly parochial. Steven Wright says it's absurd that ballerinas stand on their tiptoes all the time, and suggests hiring taller women. In 1879 The Leadville Chronicle interviewed a miner who said precisely the same thing -- the difference being that he was perfectly serious. Another theatergoer must have been impressed with the lavish furnishings, stunning sets, and colorful costumes at Leadville's Tabor Grand Opera House. He came right out and admitted that he liked "op'ry" just fine. However, he felt obliged to be brutally honest. "The stage is hansum all right," he explained, "an' the fiddlin' fuss rate. But so much singin' spiles it all." There's been a lot of gloomy talk in the comedy business lately. People keep telling me that live entertainment is going to hell. I disagree. When I played the Bella Union, nobody shot anybody, and the only vegetables I saw were sitting in front of slot machines. You never have to follow a hanging anymore, and modern audiences don't collect roadkill on the way to a show. In fact, they're even prepared to tolerate a certain amount of singing. I think things are getting better. Newsletter Moral issues aside, gaming remains a controversial subject. Enthusiasts say that casinos generate jobs, enhance investment, promote development and increase tax revenues. And there are places where that's exactly what's happening. Success Story ? The city of Deadwood pulls in about $5.5 million a year in gambling license fees and gambling taxes. The state of South Dakota gets a similar amount. The taxes generated by restaurants and hotels in Deadwood have grown at a rate that is eight times the figure for the rest of the state. And even though the opening of the casinos pushed many of Deadwood's retail businesses into surrounding communities, retail sales have expanded by 16.8% per year, more than doubling the rate for South Dakota as a whole. Some 2100 new jobs were created in just the first two years. Investors have included the likes of Kevin Costner, who named his casino "the Midnight Star." Of course, there have been some growing
pains. Nestled in a valley in the Black Hills, Deadwood has limited
space for development. So when casino operators started to buy the
existing buildings, Deadwood's indigenous business owners either
relocated in neighboring towns or closed down entirely. There were soon
81 gaming establishments in Deadwood, all of them tiny by Las Vegas
standards, but together they managed to occupy most of the available
space. Main Street in Deadwood has become a smaller version of the Las
Vegas Strip, and there isn't much room for anything else. Deadwood
residents have had to get used to doing much of their shopping in nearby
Spearfish, where taxable sales have grown by 25 percent each year." |
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| Paul Frisbie works out of Chicago, IL. He's a regular at clubs like
Zanies', the Improv and the Funny Bone. He appears at casinos,
colleges and corporate events all across the United States, and also
works the cruise lines upon occasion. He has performed in all 50
states and in six foreign countries.
Frisbie is a
regular guest on the nationally syndicated "Bob and Tom Show"
and was recently the subject of a feature story in the "Chicago
Tribune Magazine." It's believed that Frisbie was the first
comic on the planet to post a web site, which was subsequently
featured in the nationwide bestseller, "Netmarketing."
Frisbie's own book, "The Chicago River Out Your Window"
is currently available at Barnes & Noble Booksellers. |
into
various creatures of the forest. As a fox, Arthur learned to be
nimble and creative, and left the hounds (encumbered with their pack
mentality) baying up the wrong trees. As a bird, Arthur observed
that the borders painted on human maps don't really exist, and realized
that human minds create their own restraints and limitations. As a
raccoon, busy and nocturnal, Arthur realized that even common concepts
like "the workday" can be artificial and inaccurate.
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