Welcome to the debut of Addicted To Comedy!
I’ve been a fan of comedy all my life. I decided to become a comedian in April 2010. Then I realized that a crash course was required on my part to learn quickly, if I wanted to become successful. I was a late bloomer entering this game and recruited experienced comics to help jump start my career. So I co-founded Starting Stand-Up: A Comic Beginning as a way for comedians to network and learn from each other. The first event was so successful that I decided to host an additional “Starting Standup” event in 2011 at Riot Act Comedy Theater.
In January 2011, I co-founded the Washington DC Comedy Writers Group (WDCCWG) with Mandy Dalton. We wanted to create a safe and fun space for comedians (and those interested in writing comedy) learn from each other and provide feedback. Our initial focus was stand up comedy, but within a few months we had members looking for feedback on scripts, sitcom pilots, and more. We adopted our meetings to accompany those additional requests. The key to making this group successful was a consistent date and time. Members may come and go, but they knew our schedule (as I quote the 60’s version of the television show Batman):
Same Bat Time!
Same Bat Channel!
Dedication and consistency was the key to making the WDCCWG a success. Our members recognized the challenges we faced maintaining this group, and assisted Mandy and myself with the writing exercises, website articles, and volunteering for some of our special events. It was a total team effort, and I thank each and every member for providing their time for the success of the group.
Not another comedy blog? Damn!
Everybody and his / her brother seem to have a podcast these days, but how many people take the time to write? People can talk out of their asses all the time! Taking the time to write, edit, and re-write…that takes real work. Creating a dedicated writing group prevented me (and other members) from becoming lazy writers. It also created a team that helps avoid procrastination. Our group is thriving on meetup.com. After the launch of our website, we took our initial meeting of five members and created a network of over 300 writers within a year. We are currently at 400+ members.
I discovered that sometimes my opinions may not be in the best interest of our group. Often, I may want to vent on comedy related issues that are not directly related to writing, but still needed to be addressed. I found it necessary to separate my opinions to keep the integrity of the group and maintain my sanity. Make no mistake about it – comedy is the one forum when anyone should be able to discuss whatever they want without backlash. But I decided that if I’m going to make statements that may be considered outrageous, I would make those remarks in a separate dedicated space!
I follow a lot of comedy bloggers, several comedy podcasts, and read a lot of comedy books. So you can expect me to express myself on a variety of what is going on in my little world of comedy. While I don’t expect you to agree with everything I post, if you’re involved in comedy – I hope we can share experiences and learn from each other.
Who the hell is Wayne Manigo?
After a career in IT, I decided to follow his passion and the advice of everyone who ever met him. After performing at my first open mic show, I rapidly advanced to emceeing shows for Tony Woods, Clay Miles, Kevin Lee, and other national touring comedians. After being a participant in Magoogy’s 2010 record breaking event for “Longest Running Comedy Event,” I continued working as an emcee and feature on several comedy showcases.
So that’s who I am and the types of topics I will blog about in a nutshell. I’m still a new comedian, but I will take the time to gather research from people, books, and comedy related events, and more. I look forward to sharing those adventures with you, and I hope you’ll enjoy them. When your day is sucking wind, hopefully you can turn to this blog for a quick laugh or two.
Wayne Manigo is a comedian and co-founder of DC Comedy Writers Group. He is the creator of “Addicted to Comedy,” and the ‘brainchild’ behind the annual comedy conference, Starting Stand Up: A Comic Beginning. He also produces the show, Bellylaughs in Bethesda at Caddies at Cordell.
