Schadenfreude Rent Party - 28 Shows Down, 72 to Go

Homegrown comedy troupe Schadenfreude (a German word meaning "taking pleasure in others' misfortunes") started the Rent Party a couple years ago to try out new material, showcase their funny friends, have a good time and, as the title suggests, raise funds so they could keep their rehearsal space. I covered the phenom for Chicagoist, then got roped into participating: as a game show contestant, a Harry Potter lookalike and a competitor in their first annual Media Slam competition. And can you blame me? It was a hell of a lot of fun.

On the bill for the mid-May Rent Party that was Show #28 (yes, yes, I'm behind in blogging shows, not so behind in attending them...) was the Second Annual Alternative Media Slam, a guest appearance by local business celeb Tim Smithe, part-owner and pitchman for the Walter E. Smithe furniture stores (he's the guy on the left up there), a guest reading by funny lady Claire Zulkey, and the short film work of Claire's fiance Steve Delahoyde (including some priceless Clinton campaign metaphors). As at every Rent Party, Schad-ers Justin, Kate, and Sandy cycled through an arsenal of new and familiar eccentrics, from fictitious 53rd Ward Alderman Ed Bus to rocker Lita Ford to "Guy Who Spends Way Too Much on the Costume He'll Wear Waiting In Line for the Hit Summer Action Movie." Adam was back from the West Coast to contribute some bits, including a hilarious send-up of pompous but beloved film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum-- spending his retirement rambling about obscure indie film personalities and bumming food scraps from the audience.

Most of the evening was given over to the troupe's new material and the Media Slam. The material was solid and they were having fun with it, even poking fun at the ocassional half-assed bit. The Slam matched the Red Eye, a free Trib publication, vs. Chicagoist, and Time Out Chicago vs. Gapers Block, with Chicagoist defeating Time Out in the finals (holla!). I'm biased of course (seems more fun from the stage), but the first Slam was more fun. That one was more raucous and raw, hell, they didn't know what to call it really. This year's spectacle was more orderly. They had a DJ playing that Slam (de duh duh, de duh duh...) song after most of the insults. The one-joke limit wasn't enforced, for better and worse. And with the Reader bowing out, we had no real villain. The Red Eye is big media, but we like their team captain Mark. Still, it was fun to watch friends insult friends and friends make friends laugh so hard they shoot beer through their nose... or something less disgusting.