Keith Alberstadt in “Stand Up 360”, on “comedy.tv”, at the Great American Comedy Festival

Keith Alberstadt on set of "Late Show with David Letterman"Nashville-native nationally touring comic Keith Alberstadt continues to amaze and astound us with the quantity and quality of projects he’s working on. He is featured in “Stand Up 360” – a movie about New York stand up comedy, has been invited to the Great American Comedy Festival, and has been filmed for Byron Allen’s “comedy.tv”.

Keith recently wrote a guest article for Rooftop Comedy about the comedy.tv project:

It was a big surprise to get the call, especially since in my emails to the producers, I kept calling him Brian Allen. I felt like my mom, who calls comics things like Kathy Mandarin (Kathleen Madigan), Jack Jergensen (Jake Johannsen), and Bill Saguine (possibly Conan O’Brien).

The only bad thing about this whole experience was the timing. I got the invite Thursday last week and had to be in LA Sunday. A trip cross country, connecting in Detroit, sitting in the middle seat between two middle-aged women who laugh out loud at the in-flight movie “Bridal Wars”. . . All of these things are tolerable. What’s not is finding a reasonably-priced plane ticket with only two days notice.

The best rate I could find was $410 which I paid for with 10,000 shares of GM stock. But it was well worth it.

Forty-two comics doing six minutes each. Of course not everyone stuck to six minutes, because there’s still a mentality of “hey, I’m killing so that red light in the back of the room can suck it”. But overall it was amazing. Events like this are fun because it’s like a comedy convention. Comics from all over can catch up on what they’re doing, where they’ve been, and which comedy condos have been de-loused lately.

The Great American Comedy Festival takes place June 14-20 at the Johnny Carson Theatre in Norfolk, Nebraska. Created as a tribute to the legacy of native son Johnny Carson, the festival’s competitors were booked by Late Show with David Letterman‘s Eddie Brill. This year’s line-up features Keith along with 24 other fast-rising comics including Nashville’s own Jesse Case and friend of N’Sup Pat Dixon.

“Stand Up 360” is a series of new big screen productions in theaters now. It’s hosted by Caroline Rhea and spotlights some of the best comics in New York City. Keith’s part of the series will be in theaters June 1-14. Visit www.Stand-Up360.com for more information and to purchase tickets while they last! Check your local listings for select theaters, dates & times of the limited engagement showings.

For more from Keith, visit KeithComedy.com.

Skiptracers: Southern-Fried Brains Make for Comic Take on Real Life in the South

Southern-fried brains and more populate “Skiptracers” – a Southern comedy feature film filled with hilarity and, sometimes redneck vulgarity, rock music, fugitives, sordid affairs, and pee wee football.

The fried brains here are not the kind you eat, but those of people we deal with in everyday life – and this film is full of characters you’ll recognize from the church pew to the jailhouse.

Cooked up by Alabama-born film makers Harris Mendheim and Andy Stuckey (best known as half of the NYC-based “Stuckey and Murray” musical comedy team), with writing help from their friend Brian Saliba, SKIPTRACERS embodies the underbelly of a South we all know but seldom see played out on screen.

Accompanied by a winning soundtrack featuring artists Langhorne Slim, The Defibulators, The Avett Brothers and others, the story revolves around the Trawick family. The Trawick’s are a family steeped in south Alabama tradition of bail-bonding and pee wee football, with sons J.D. and Tucker leading the pack, and overbearing father and coach, Big Donald at the helm, backed by the born-again Baptist and former bootlegging matriarch, Nanny.

Their nemeses include trailer-park crack-head Rusty, a fugitive from the law with a penchant for strip clubs and rock music, and their arch rival in both bail bonding and pee wee football, Cletus Yoates.

“Skiptracers” and the Trawick legacy make for a raucous good time at the movies resembling a coupling of “Dukes of Hazard” and the Coen Brothers’ quirky takes on rural life.

Here’s a trailer for the film:

“Skiptracers” has already received several accolades including the Rome International Film Festival’s Audience Award; Best Comedy, Best Actor in a Comedy (Andy Stuckey as Rusty McAndrews) from the Dixie Film Festival; and the Excellence in Feature Film making award at the Accolade Film Fest in La Jolla, CA.

Tennesseans have several chances to see “Skiptracers” from April 20th -26th at the following theaters:
THOROUGHBRED 20 – FRANKLIN, TN
NORTHGATE 14 – HIXSON, TN
WYNNSONG 16 – KNOXVILLE, TN
CARMIKE 14 – JOHNSON CITY, TN

For more info visit the following interweb thing-a-ma-jiggers:

Skiptracersmovie.com
Myspace.com/langhorneslim
Myspace.com/thedefibulators
Myspace.com/theavettbrothers