Update on pandemics, life and the Berlin scene

Its a crazy time to be producing shows. Normally a somewhat innocent past time, I'm mostly aiming to bring people a little delight, make them laugh, and have a nice night out. But increasingly I feel like the picture above, on the left is how I look, on the right is how I feel!

Even as I write this, I received a call that a show I produce on the weekend must be cancelled due to a covid case at the comedy club last Friday. Every day my plans are made, knowing full well that at any point all the work of advertising, promotion, booking and scheduling may have to be replaced with last minute cancellations, refunds and sending out exposure tracking notifications.

So much more so, I appreciate the support of you guys during this challenging time for live artists! It really plays a big part in keeping me going.

I'd like to update you a little on what's going on here in my world.

BERLIN

Here in Berlin we have been incredibly fortunate. The pandemic has been managed extremely well and we are generally having just 50 or so new cases each day in a city of over 3 million. This means regulations have been pretty relaxed, and have allowed performances to go ahead legally since late June. The downside is, we have to space out the audience with a gap of 1.5m between tables, meaning that usually we can only fit in around 1/3 of the usual number of people. Nonetheless, I am extremely grateful to be here.

DIGITAL 

In the meantime I'm also commited to working on more digital stuff, especially as I'm aware a lot of my followers are not based in Berlin or even Germany. I'm looking forward to sharing with you the works in progress and development stuff here on patreon as I work towards creating a polished product to put out publicly. I would really like your feedback on what you think is funny/great/not necessary so I can make these as hilarious as possible!  That's all part of the creative process for me. 

This is also tied in with me negotiating the pretty prudish rules of facebook, insta and youtube. You never know, in the end it might only ever be published here if they decide to delete my content or account. (unfortunately that happens sometimes!)

SHOWS

I do have a few shows still going ahead. From October onwards my monthly stand up comedy showcase at the Wall Comedy Club should be back up and running. The Richard P Dick Van Johnson show is also planned monthly and should be available for 24 hours via livestream each month (or play anytime for patrons). Overmorrow Berlin is planned at this stage to run until at least the end of October. I have high hopes that my monthly show Clown Slam will be able to also return at some point.

LIFE

In general, I'm good. Still feeling, most importantly, happy and healthy with lots of future projects and potential to look forward to. The weather in Berlin has also been exceptional, which definitely does wonders for the mood. How are you all out there in the world and how can I help you? Shoot me a DM and let me know what's up!

COVER IMAGE 

Artist's note

Photograph is a small snapshot of an installation called  LOCKED IN, LIGHTS ON. It was created by Roni Lugassi, Inga Schmidt, Tünde Szakos and Kim Kong with mental health patients as part of Overmorrow Berlin.