Dog Flashlight

purns:

I think I actually read this many years ago, but it’s definitely worth checking out for the comedy nerds out there. I got to meet Mick this winter and had a freakout the likes of which haven’t been seen since Dave Pasquesi complimented my scenework in a DCM workshop.

The Paradigm Lost Journal: History!

By Rob Kozlowski

Reading Tina Fey’s book made me wonder whether Mick Napier’s Paradigm Lost journal is still out there. And it is.

Backstory: Paradigm Lost was a revue on the Second City Mainstage that opened in February of 1997 with a cast consisting of Scott Adsit, Kevin Dorff, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Jenna Jolovitz and the late Jim Zulevic. Truly absurd talent there.

In the nascent days of the World Wide Web, director Mick Napier decided to post a journal all about the entire rehearsal process from November 30, 1996 all the way to opening night on February 13, 1997. The journal was a big hit long before the days of Blogger. And it’s still up at the Annoyance Productions website in all its 1997 HTML glory. To those of us now accustomed to flashy websites, it’s sort of nostalgically primitive in its presentation but is still an absolutely valuable document in Chicago comedy history.

(via Brian “King of Facebook” Stack)

Man, I’m a big comedy and history nerd, so this is right up my alley. I met Mick Napier once, and as I read his journal I can hear it in his distinctive voice. A bit unsettling, actually.