JEFFREY VEGA DOT COM

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Tue, 29 May 2012 21:09:20 -0400

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Tue, 29 May 2012 21:05:18 -0400

sophiestops: Animazement BITCHES!! I had such an awesome time,...

Mon, 28 May 2012 21:28:20 -0400

Animazement BITCHES!! I had such an awesome time, and if you went you should totally follow me :D

no bt seriously.

someone recognized me from tumblr, andddd it was pretty friggin’ awesome. you can join them, you know.

oh and if you have any pictures of me you can tag me in them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SophieStops

Is this what fame feels like?

Mon, 28 May 2012 03:30:00 -0400

Wow. Okay. I know this is probably going to be a long post, but I need to get my thoughts out now while the weekend is still fresh on my mind. I’m pretty sure this weekend was the best weekend I’ve had in recent memory. There is NO way I can tell you guys everything that happened without sounding somewhat cocky (hence the title), but I PROMISE I’m not trying to show off… okay, well maybe just a little… this weekend was too incredible not to get my thoughts on ~~tumblr~~ paper.

This past weekend I was in Raleigh, NC to perform at Animazement with UGA’s improv group Laugh Out Loud. It was… incredible. It was seriously incredible in every way possible. Not only did I have an ANIMAZING (I get one, okay?) TIME as a con-goer, but I also enjoyed my time… as a celebrity.

Now you’re thinking, “WOAH, slow down there friend! I’ve never heard of this Jeffrey Vega kid!”

EXACTLY! I am NOT famous. At all. I’m just like you, tumblr reader. Except it’s very likely that you are more attractive than I am.

But oh man… if you can make people laugh… people will love you so hard.

I’m going to try and do my best to describe everything as if you were me, because I’m still high on life right now, and everybody should feel this way because it’s amazing and so cool and amazing and AH. Okay. Here we go.

I am a part of Laugh Out Loud at UGA. For every convention that we are invited to, the improv club holds auditions to see who gets to go perform. Usually everybody will get a chance to go somewhere, so it’s not like a horrible thing if you don’t get selected for a convention. Also, our teams can be as small as four (4!) people, because that’s how many badges the convention is willing to pay for us. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that a lot of conventions PAY US to be there. This is because we were invited by them, we entertain their patrons, and they want us to return for the next year. Normally they will give us a badge for the entire weekend (and for all the conventions I’ve been to, a badge is usually around $50), and some conventions will even pay for our gas, hotel, AND give us a cash stipend for food.

So basically I’m a paid comedian.

EL OH EL! Cocky, right? Okay, so that was a “brief” introduction to what I’m doing here. I should have made a post about that before, because I’ve already performed at MomoCon, Furry Weekend Atlanta, and Triad Anime Convention this year. And so now I’m finally making a post about this job I get to do! So anyway: ANIMAZEMENT 2012!

We departed from Athens, GA around 2 AM Friday morning with an ETA in Raleigh, NC at 8 AM. Our first event was at noon on Friday, and it was our “Intro to improv” panel. Basically when conventions invite us, they ask us to do a panel for people interested in doing improv, and then obviously a certain number of shows (either all ages and/or 18 and up). So, we’re pretty busy!

I wish I had fancy pictures to accompany this post, but basically these conventions are in a large… well, convention center. You know. Convention centers! There are ballrooms, and so many rooms, and these conventions release a highly-anticipated schedule of all the events that will take place that weekend. The panels cater to a large audience so there’s something for everybody, and these conventions also usually have celebrity guests. It is all rather exciting! (To see an example of a schedule, here was the one for Animazement 2012)

So noon comes around and we begin our panel! It’s just us at a long table on a stage with microphones (like you see at Comic-Con, etc), and we teach you the fundamentals of improv! Myself and someone else will usually stand up and demonstrate tips and tricks of what we’re talking about at that moment, and then we always wrap up the panel by answering questions and playing some games with the audience, which ALWAYS turns out fun because everybody is nervous at first but once we get everybody pumped up, they all get into it and it is wonderful.

This brings me to the apex of my detailed post: the people.

I was particularly excited about Animazement in Raleigh, NC, because just last month I performed in Winston-Salem, NC at Triad Anime Convention and met some cool people who saw and loved the show, and it’s really fun to hear that people think you’re funny when you want to do comedy as a profession. Well those people asked me if we were going to AZ (I don’t know why I just started abbreviating it now so far into the post), and I said, “YEAH!” So it’s really cool because people are fans and want to see us?!?!?!

Friday continues on and I meet up with the lovely people from Triad. From there I meet their friends, and I follow them around because I’m in a different state and I don’t know anybody. Oh… so many good times ensue. I would tell you more about the actual convention, but no words will do it justice. If you’re a fan of anime, cartoons, video games, or the internet, you need to do yourself a favor and gather some friends, dress up as your favorite anything, and GO.

So as far as our show… once our panel at noon on Friday wrapped up around 1:30 PM, our next event was our all ages show at 9 PM on SATURDAY! I had quite a bit of time to do whatever I wanted, which was AWESOME. This entire time I’m trying to make the group I’m with laugh and smile because I absolutely love doing that, and while there were many face palms being had, I MADE THEM LAUGH. AND THAT’S THE IMPORTANT THING!

So here’s where things get exciting for me (thanks for reading this far by the way!). It’s 7:30 PM (our show is at 9 PM) and I walk by the room we’re performing in, and there’s a girl sitting on the floor at the door. I ask her, “oh no, are you waiting to see the improv show?”, and she yells “YES!” In my head I’m thinking oh my gosh someone is already in line. I say, “well hey, I’ll be performing tonight, and thank you for taking the time to get in line!” She then tells me that the only reason she went to Animazement was that so she could see us perform. Apparently she saw us at other conventions and loved us THAT much.

WHAT?! I immediately sat down with her for like 10 minutes and tried to express my shock of how cool that was to hear. I also tried to make her feel bad for putting so much pressure on us. Hahaha, I’m just kidding. I’M KIDDING GUYS! Come on. GEEZ.

I thank her, get up, and run to meet up with the rest of the improv group to discuss last minute things before two back-to-back shows (all ages at 9 PM, and 18+ at 10:30 PM), and I always get super nervous before a show because it’s a show that people have lined up to see and they expect to laugh and MY HANDS ARE GETTING SWEATY EVEN JUST BY TYPING ALL OF THAT. Seriously though, I do get nervous before every show, despite having done this quite a few times by now. But once people begin cheering for the show to start… IT’S GO TIME!

SO THEN THE SHOWS HAPPEN. AND THEY ARE AMAZING. AND IT IS IMPROV. AND WE PLAY SHORT-FORM GAMES AND MAKE EVERYTHING UP ON THE SPOT BASED ON AUDIENCE SUGGESTIONS. AND MANY, MANY LAUGHS ARE HAD.

There were so many people in line to see the show, and we were in a room that could only hold maybe 200 people, and THERE WERE PEOPLE WHO COULDN’T GET INTO THE SHOW BECAUSE THE ROOM WAS AT MAXIMUM CAPACITY! So, naturally, as crazy as we are, held an emergency club meeting to vote whether or not we do a third bonus show at midnight (at the suggestion of Animazement). Saturday night turned into GO UNTIL WE DIE!

After each show people would come up to us and want autographs and pictures. HUH?! WHAT?! We’re just like you guys! I feel cool and famous but REALLY, we’re normal people. It’s so weird, but it’s an incredible feeling. I mean people just surrounded us. I kept trying to get near the back of the room where the group I was with all weekend was, and see how they liked the show, but I couldn’t! RANDOM PEOPLE I DIDN’T KNOW SURROUNDED US. I wanted to make sure I talked to everybody that wanted to say hi. It was so cool. Just hearing everybody say they thought I was funny. I just get so flattered and thank them a million times and try to say something funny and it’s just so rewarding. Everything. Everybody was so nice and friendly, and they kept telling me what their favorite part of the show was, and GAH! IT WAS SO COOL. So… unreal. Is this what fame feels like?

Even today… well I guess technically yesterday (Sunday), at the convention people would stop me and say they loved the show last night. Also… a couple girls gave me their numbers. YIKES! It’s like, what do I do with them?! :B

It’s just so cool to think of the literally hundreds of people I helped make laugh in one weekend. As I said goodbye to the lovely people I spent time with over the weekend, I shed a tear because I probably won’t see them again. It’s the downside to going on tour and traveling to states that you don’t live in. It blows my mind at how many people there are in the world that I’ll never get a chance to meet, but how grateful I am that I got to meet the lovely people that I did, and to give them the gift of laughter. Because life is too short to not laugh.

Thank you Animazement 2012. You were very kind to us, and I hope we returned the favor to you guys.

Until next time… KEEP LAUGHING! L O L!!!!1!1!1!!!11!1

Get Ready, Raleigh.

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:30:00 -0400

UGA’s Laugh Out Loud is coming to make you cry (of laughter).

(Check out our performance times on my “Dates” page)

Will we see you there?

#a moment of silence for the cameramen who died for these...

Wed, 23 May 2012 21:52:43 -0400

#a moment of silence for the cameramen who died for these shots

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Tue, 22 May 2012 17:33:32 -0400

The Cast of Parks and Recreation at the 71st Annual Peabody...

Mon, 21 May 2012 19:05:00 -0400

The Cast of Parks and Recreation at the 71st Annual Peabody Awards

The home of the Peabody Awards is in the same building I’m taking classes in. WHY CAN’T THEY TAKE THE PICTURES HERE IN GEORGIA?!

T-They’re just so beautiful.

lizayzay: I still can’t believe they fired Dan Harmon....

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:17:48 -0400

lizayzay:

I still can’t believe they fired Dan Harmon. I still can’t believe it.

36-37/100 Joel McHale

Sat, 19 May 2012 20:12:14 -0400

36-37/100 Joel McHale

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Sat, 19 May 2012 20:02:45 -0400

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Sat, 19 May 2012 19:16:03 -0400

samspratt: “Dan Harmon is Community” -Portrait Illustration by...

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:02:10 -0400

samspratt:

“Dan Harmon is Community” -Portrait Illustration by Sam Spratt

A quick tribute to Community’s lost showrunner. Brilliant mind. Can’t wait to see what he makes next.

Dan Harmon Poops: HEY, DID I MISS ANYTHING?

Sat, 19 May 2012 19:00:00 -0400

Dan Harmon Poops: HEY, DID I MISS ANYTHING? :

danharmon:

Kids:

A few hours ago, I landed in Los Angeles, turned on my phone, and confirmed what you already know. Sony Pictures Television is replacing me as showrunner on Community, with two seasoned fellows that I’m sure are quite nice - actually, I have it on good authority they’re quite nice, because…

I read this around 3:30 AM when he posted it online. It felt like a bad dream. I still can’t believe this is all real. :’(

criticalfilmstudies:

Sat, 19 May 2012 00:59:00 -0400

criticalfilmstudies:

Dan Harmon Is No Longer Showrunner on 'Community' | Vulture

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:35:00 -0400

Dan Harmon Is No Longer Showrunner on 'Community' | Vulture:

popculturebrain:

Dan Harmon will not be returning as showrunner of NBC’s Community, and whether he’ll remain involved at all with the series he created at remains very much in doubt. Sony Pictures Television, which produces the series with Universal Television, has closed a deal with Happy Endings writers David Guarascio and Moses Port to join Community as showrunners and exec producers.

This is very disheartening news. Vulture also explains that Sony hired new showrunners without discussing with Harmon, which leads to the notion that he won’t be in a minor consulting role either.

Vulture hears that now that Sony made its deal with Guarascio and Port, it plans to ask Harmon to remain involved as a writer and consultant — but not as the person in charge of the show. (He’s expected to remain a “consulting producer” no matter what). Given Sony’s decision to make a deal for Harmon’s replacement without telling Harmon directly, it seems a longshot that Harmon will agree to a diminished role.

Click through for Joe Adalian’s full, detailed write up.

OH MY GOD NO. WHY WHY WHY.

Fri, 18 May 2012 23:13:36 -0400

OH MY GOD NO. WHY WHY WHY.

havingchanged: No, thank YOU! #tears

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:40:11 -0400

havingchanged:

No, thank YOU!

#tears

COMMUNITY IS PERFECT! #tears

Thu, 17 May 2012 22:15:46 -0400

COMMUNITY IS PERFECT! #tears

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Wed, 16 May 2012 20:28:08 -0400