Wease Family Circus
Mark Ippolito walks into the Circus. The man behind every major comedy show in Rochester. The guy who turned a dinky pool hall into a 190-seat club in Webster, then convinced Shresh Gowell to break into an abandoned warehouse and build Comedy at the Carlson, one of the best clubs in America. This is the origin story of Rochester comedy Mark started at Comics Cafe in the box office. Then security. Then clearing tables before bottles became weapons. Then bartending. Then management. Then JJ bought the place and Mark became the guy. 11 years in Webster. 190 seats. Drew Carey. Dice. Super Troopers. Impractical Jokers. All on a tiny stage that got too small when Buffalo opened Helium and Syracuse got an Improv. Rochester was the tent pole. Goldilocks porridge. Right in the middle. They just needed a bigger room. Shresh and Sheryl sat in a booth every Friday saying "we gotta do something." Morgan Stern was opening Radio Social. Wease made the intro. Mark and Shresh literally broke into the building next door. Drew the whole thing on a napkin at Salvatore's. Then they built it. Comedy at the Carlson. 325 seats. Private parking inside the building. Private hallway to the green room. Speakers everywhere. A monitor and clock for every comedian. The kind of setup that makes pros say this is one of the best clubs in the country. Nikki Glaser played the Carlson before she became Nikki Glaser. Tiffany Haddish was in Wease's studio the same week her movie played across the street, six months removed from living in her car. Theo Vaughn. Jamie Foxx. Jim Norton. The Jim Norton story. Montreal festival. JJ owned Comics Cafe but didn't know comedy. Norton mentioned he'd do NYC sets for 50 bucks. JJ thought that's what comedians cost. Offered Norton 200 to come to Rochester. JJ also wanted to book "that Seinfeld guy." Had no idea who Seinfeld was. The Rickles Room. 100 seats. Intimate. For comics who can't fill 325 yet but can pack a small room and kill. Earl David Reed this weekend. Mark expanded again. Took over the Irish dance studio next door. Built The Carlson event venue. Weddings. Fundraisers. A church rents it Sundays at 6 a.m. Van Halen plays while they set up. Maximizing square footage. The first annual Rochester Comedy Festival. July 16-19. Multiple venues. Carlson. Radio Social. The Vault. Photo City. Artisan Works. The Wease Show Reunion Friday night, multiple mics, surprise guests flying in. Proceeds go to the Rochester Cancer Alliance. Funniest Person in Rochester finale kicks it off Thursday. 124 entries this year. CHAPTERS * 00:00:00 Welcome and Sponsor Introduction: The Contractor Store * 00:00:41 Introducing Mark Ippolito: Rochester's Comedy Kingmaker * 00:03:14 From Comics Cafe to Comedy at the Carlson: The Journey * 00:05:51 The Comedy Club at Webster and Finding the Perfect Location * 00:07:11 Breaking into the Carlson: Drawing Dreams on a Bar Napkin * 00:10:58 Building a Headliner's Room: Green Rooms and Low Ceilings * 00:13:41 Nikki Glaser and Tiffany Haddish: Before They Were Stars * 00:25:48 The Rickles Room: Intimate Comedy for 100 * 00:28:14 Earl David Reed and the Art of Crowd Work * 00:30:45 Sports Talk: Giants, Knicks, and Philly Sucks * 00:23:09 The Carlson Event Venue: Maximizing Every Square Foot * 00:45:51 Rochester Comedy Festival Announcement: Four Days of Laughs * 00:47:39 The Wease Show Reunion: Friday Night Anchor Event * 00:50:12 Comedy for a Cause: Supporting the Rochester Cancer Alliance * 00:56:00 Funniest Person in Rochester Contest: 124 Hopefuls Compete Then sports. Mark talks Giants, Knicks, Bills. Micah Hyde befriended his nephew before he passed. Played video games with him every night. Brought him to the suite. Mark owns every Hyde jersey he could find. Hyde just launched a THC drink called Hyde's Hail Mary. Mark's bringing it to the club. Philly tried to block Knicks fans from playoff tix. Buffalo's doing it to Montreal fans. Mark says let them come. Best games are sitting next to a rival fan, breaking stones all night, high fives by the end. Mark's a Giants fan because his father was. Western NY was Giants territory before the Bills existed. His dad was a bookie. Hated the Yankees. Mark inherited that too. John Sterling died. 85. Yankees broadcaster 30+ years. John DiTullio hated him. Wease used to torture DiTullio with Sterling clips on the air. Vinnie Marcus walks in. Lost 65 pounds. Treadmill 3.1 miles a day. Looks like a different person. Jim Florentine in Endicott this weekend. Rob's Comedy Playhouse in Buffalo Saturday. Rochester Comedy Festival. July 16-19. Tickets on sale this week. Proceeds to the Rochester Cancer Alliance. It's nice to be important. But it's more important to be nice.
22 episodios
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