Joe Schroeder Wants To Take His Act To A Whole New Level
Posted
David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Local comedian Joe Schroeder plans to keep busy over the next few months.
He made the finals for the Midwest Comedy Competition, and got a small role in a movie set to film in April.
According to Schroeder, if he wins the comedy competition, he'll not only win $500, but also get an entry into the Detroit Comedy Festival.The finals for the Midwest Comedy Competition, he said, are Nov. 19 at 8 p.m. at Morty's Comedy Joint, Indianapolis. Cover charge is $2 if you tell the door man you know Schroeder, he said.
To get to the finals, Schroeder said, he performed twice at Morty's in one month's time. He said competition is down to the final eight from 40.
Each time they perform, the comedians have to do different material. "They sort of spring that on you, to keep you on your toes, the day of," he said, adding it wasn't a problem for him.
Along with $500 for first prize, second prize gets $350. Third place wins $147.88 and an early pregnancy test.
"I'm still saving some good stuff for the finals," said Schroeder. "I've been writing some really good stuff on family vacations, an alphabet soup joke and I have Obama material."
Each performer will have seven to eight minutes for their routines. They will be judged on originality, writing, stage presence and "funniness."
For his movie debut, Schroeder will play a waiter in "Bluegrass Run." Schroeder said he has to go to Chicago in late December for filming of the HBO Behind the Scenes. The actual filming of the movie, he said, begins in April in Louisville, Ky.
Schroeder said he got the spot after actor/writer Charlie Wagner saw one of his shows. They became friends on MySpace and stayed in touch. Schroeder said Wagner then gave him the opportunity to be in the film.
Schroeder's role as a waiter includes 2-1/2 pages of script and Schroeder gets to be in a scene with the leading actors, Wagner and tentatively Ashley Judd. Schroeder said Judd is only a possibility at this stage, but likely.
In Schroeder's scene, Wagner's characters loses a tooth because of food Schroeder's character serves him. The tooth loss creates a scene. Schroeder said the scene was extended through an idea of his.
The film, he said, is set to premiere in September.
