5/17/2005
The Rejection Show in today's Daily News!
For This Show, 'Rejection' Leads to Success!
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...1p-265394c.html
By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ
DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER
Anne Altman's cat toilet-training video was out at 'America's Funniest' but not 'Rejection.'
Anne Altman thought the short film she made about toilet-training* her cat would be perfect for "America's* Funniest Home *Videos."
The producers must have thought otherwise.
"I submitted a hilarious video on my cat, Doodle, being taught to do her business in a toilet a couple of years ago," says Altman, a Manhattan comic.
"But I never heard back from the show. I guess they thought clips of men constantly getting hit in the groin was funnier."
America's loss is now New York's gain. Audiences will finally get to see Doodle do her thing tomorrow night at a monthly event where only also-rans, losers and *wanna-bes are welcome.
Call it Revenge of the Showbiz Rejects.
Altman is one of several comedians, *cartoonists, writers and artists who will turn their failures into funny routines for "The Rejection Show" at the downtown theater space P.S. 122.
"Rejection" gives creative types the chance to thumb their noses at the *publishers, *producers and network execs who gave their material a thumbs-down, says "Rejection" creator/producer Jon Friedman.
"Most of them feel like their stuff is *really great, but for whatever reason it never got a chance to be seen," says Friedman, a *comedy writer and standup from Brooklyn. "They now get the chance to show off something they're still proud of."
Tomorrow's lineup is typical of the cult show, which originated two years ago at The Tank on W. 42nd St.
Participants include a trio of *cartoonists from The New Yorker, who will discuss their drawings deemed unfit for publication, and Nick Stevens, a comedian who didn't make the final cut on the ESPN game show "Dream Job."
"I always look for people who represent different types of rejection, whether it's *literary, standup comedy or cartoons," says Friedman, 28, a former Comedy Central* *intern who came up with the idea after *experiencing his own rejections. His dream of writing a script for a new Comedy Central show ended when "they pulled the plug on the whole thing."
Being on "The Rejection Show" also proved to be therapeutic for comedian and actress Andrea Rosen, one of tomorrow's performers.
A few years ago, Rosen helped create a reality series about party crashers, but was forced to audition to be on the show. Of course, she didn't get the role. Then, *after settling for a job as one of the show's writers, she was eventually phased out — while her boyfriend stayed on as a *producer. She's no longer with him, either.
"The whole thing was a total nightmare," says Rosen. "I never even wanted to think about any of it because it made me feel like a total reject.
"But a show like this is like the ultimate *catharsis, for sure."
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...1p-265394c.html
By ROBERT DOMINGUEZ
DAILY NEWS FEATURE WRITER
Anne Altman's cat toilet-training video was out at 'America's Funniest' but not 'Rejection.'
Anne Altman thought the short film she made about toilet-training* her cat would be perfect for "America's* Funniest Home *Videos."
The producers must have thought otherwise.
"I submitted a hilarious video on my cat, Doodle, being taught to do her business in a toilet a couple of years ago," says Altman, a Manhattan comic.
"But I never heard back from the show. I guess they thought clips of men constantly getting hit in the groin was funnier."
America's loss is now New York's gain. Audiences will finally get to see Doodle do her thing tomorrow night at a monthly event where only also-rans, losers and *wanna-bes are welcome.
Call it Revenge of the Showbiz Rejects.
Altman is one of several comedians, *cartoonists, writers and artists who will turn their failures into funny routines for "The Rejection Show" at the downtown theater space P.S. 122.
"Rejection" gives creative types the chance to thumb their noses at the *publishers, *producers and network execs who gave their material a thumbs-down, says "Rejection" creator/producer Jon Friedman.
"Most of them feel like their stuff is *really great, but for whatever reason it never got a chance to be seen," says Friedman, a *comedy writer and standup from Brooklyn. "They now get the chance to show off something they're still proud of."
Tomorrow's lineup is typical of the cult show, which originated two years ago at The Tank on W. 42nd St.
Participants include a trio of *cartoonists from The New Yorker, who will discuss their drawings deemed unfit for publication, and Nick Stevens, a comedian who didn't make the final cut on the ESPN game show "Dream Job."
"I always look for people who represent different types of rejection, whether it's *literary, standup comedy or cartoons," says Friedman, 28, a former Comedy Central* *intern who came up with the idea after *experiencing his own rejections. His dream of writing a script for a new Comedy Central show ended when "they pulled the plug on the whole thing."
Being on "The Rejection Show" also proved to be therapeutic for comedian and actress Andrea Rosen, one of tomorrow's performers.
A few years ago, Rosen helped create a reality series about party crashers, but was forced to audition to be on the show. Of course, she didn't get the role. Then, *after settling for a job as one of the show's writers, she was eventually phased out — while her boyfriend stayed on as a *producer. She's no longer with him, either.
"The whole thing was a total nightmare," says Rosen. "I never even wanted to think about any of it because it made me feel like a total reject.
"But a show like this is like the ultimate *catharsis, for sure."
// posted by Jon Friedman @ 5/17/2005 
