Boston Globe
Navigating the winding road toward local headlining status
By Nick A. Zaino III, Globe Correspondent,
December 19, 2003
Becoming a headlining comedian in Boston can be a grueling process. Take the case of Ira Proctor, who headlines Nick's Comedy Stop tomorrow in Brockton. Proctor worked his way through the open mikes, through the MC spots introducing other acts, and to spots "middling" for national acts Robert Schimmel and Jim Norton at the Comedy Connection. With a glut of headliners such as Steve Sweeney, Don Gavin, and Kevin Knox as permanent fixtures in most Boston clubs, a lot of local comics might assume that the middle is the highest they can go. They either hover there or move on to another city. Proctor says that's flawed logic.
"I don't want to get all caught up in worrying I can't ever do it," he says, just "because somebody else is already there doing it. Somebody gave those guys a chance, and I think if you work hard enough, people will give you a chance."
After working at it for six years, developing his manic Everyman persona, Proctor says he's getting his chances. His days in the trenches, taking every gig within a 10-hour drive, are starting to pay off. He's headlining smaller rooms such as Kelly's Row in Dover, N.H., and the Acton Jazz Cafe, and he's making inroads at Dick Doherty's China Blossom club in North Andover and other suburban rooms.
To Proctor, it's just a matter of doing the work and having the guts to ask for a spot. "Your act needs to be really tight, and you have to do really well constantly in front of the people who are booking the shows, you know?" he says. "And then you have to push."
He's playing the college circuit, writing as much as he can, and keeping his profile as high as possible. After most shows, Proctor can be found talking to the crowd, doing his own PR work.
"I'm out there shaking hands like I'm running for office after the show, trying to get everybody to remember my name," he says.
The bottom line is that even hard work can't make you funny. Sharpening your skills helps, but you have to get the laughs. So what makes Proctor deserving of headliner status?
"That's a tricky thing, because I think everybody thinks that they could do it," he says. "I know in my head, 100 percent, that I'm good enough to headline, and I'm good enough to make it.
"But I know there are [other] people who believe that."
Boston Globe
to raise funds
By Maria Cramer, Globe Staff
January 29, 2004
A rumor was floating around that the pastor of St. Bridget's Church was going to attend comedian Paul Nardizzi's performance at a Framingham fund-raiser. Nardizzi, a Dedham native who has appeared on television's ''Late Night with Conan O'Brien," knows how to keep his routine clean, but in this case maybe not clean enough.
It is a typical concern for comedians who perform at Parent Teacher Organization fund-raisers, youth soccer benefits, and Catholic charity events.
As school budgets become tighter, fund-raising organizations are looking for edgier, hipper entertainment to attract bigger crowds and generate more dollars.
The Norwood Parent Teacher Organization has booked Nardizzi to perform at a fund-raising event Feb. 27. The group hopes to raise $5,000 to $10,000 for school supplies for Prescott Elementary School.
''I did four of these [school fund-raisers] from September to December," Nardizzi said. ''Now I'm booked for two more."
Nardizzi got the Norwood gig through a friend who serves on the PTO, but usually fellow comedian Teddie Barrett lines up performances at school benefits through his company Teddie B. Comedy.
Barrett, who supports himself as a computer programmer in the health care industry, started the company 11 months ago. He said he got the idea five years ago, after he organized a comedy night to raise money for his daughters' softball team. The event raised about $4,000.
As he picked up more business, Barrett said, forming the company became a logical step.
''My goal is to see these organizations I do shows for make as much money as possible," he said. ''Our number one goal is that they raise as much money as possible so they want to do another show and spread the word."
It is not enough to abandon his day job, but Barrett, who has contacted schools and town governments throughout the region, said he expects to double the number of shows he books this year over last year, to roughly 40.
Joan Briggs, a Norwood resident who has two children attending Prescott, recommended her high school friend Nardizzi to her PTO, because it was a different approach to fund-raising.
''Another school had done a silent auction, and, personally, my husband wouldn't want to go to something like that," Briggs said. ''The mothers all know each other, so the husbands have to make conversation for four or five hours. With a comedian, you still have the silent auction, but there are breaks in between with the comedian."
Briggs said she envisions comedians becoming a staple at school benefits.
''Schools are so old now. Things are breaking and falling apart and there is no money in the budget," she said. ''I'm hoping this will be good. It could be a flop, I don't know. But with all the cuts in the state, we really need to try and find a way to raise money for schools."
The South Coast Scorpions, a girls' soccer club in Braintree, hired comedian Ira Proctor of Canton to entertain about 300 parents and coaches at the organization's annual general meeting Jan. 17.
Fred Marks, president of the organization, said he would hire Proctor for a fund-raising event.
''We have a fund-raising arm and it would work fabulously," he said.
But Marks said he believes more traditional techniques, such as selling candy bars and calendars, are still more profitable.
''You can raise $15,000 selling candy bars," he said. ''With a comedian, you'd have to sell out an auditorium of 1,000 people paying $15 each. But I do think asking kids to sell candy to their neighbors is kind of tedious and they resent it."
Proctor said he sees the trend growing.
About 20 percent of his shows are for parents raising money for schools, he said.
''It's always adults raising money for kids, which I guess is really raising money for themselves" so they can avoid higher taxes, Proctor said.
Depending on the event, Proctor, who also receives a lot of work from Barrett, said he has to adjust his routine.
Once, Barrett booked him to perform at an event called ''Liberians for Peace and Reconstruction." Only a dozen people were in the audience and they were all recent refugees, Proctor said.
Fortunately, he found inspiration in the event's concession stands.
''They had salted whole fish and gnarly beef that was like a jawbreaker," he said. ''I'm doing these jokes and I didn't think they would get it, but they did." And while some youth groups are sensitive about racy or political jokes, other organizations clamor for dirtier humor, he said.
''You can't swear, but some audiences kind of want it, they'll tell you," Proctor said. ''I find that hockey parents are crazy. They're madmen. I don't want to profile my crowd, but hockey parents are nuts so you kind of have to spice it up for them."
Boston Herald
Ira Proctor drops dimes on Diet Pepsi Machine ad
By Sean L. Mccarthy Boston Herald Feature Writer
Thursday, January 19, 2006
Getting a Screen Actors Guild card is a rite of passage for any performer.
Stand-up comedian Ira Proctor of Canton might get his SAG card by shouting: “Machine! Machine! Woo-ooo!”
The millions of fans who watched the New England Patriots and other NFL playoff action recently have seen Proctor appear again and again in a head-scratcher of an ad for Diet-Pepsi touting "Diet Pepsi Machine" as NFL rookie of the year.
Proctor plays a crazed fan, standing with a cardboard sign declaring his love for the machine.
"It's kind of embarrassing," he said. "I feel like an idiot every time it comes on. But I'm happy. It's good money."
This isn't Proctor's first time on TV as a crazed fan - he said he did a commercial for Bob's Stores last year as a Red Sox junkie, "I'm in my slippers gettine way to pumped up for a game."
Proctor performs this weekend at the Comedy Studio in Harvard Square.
