Those Los Angeles people, they’re just too trendy for their own good.
Jason Stuart was calling from his health club, in the middle of a 30-minute sweat-athon on a contraption called a Transporter, which is a combination StairMaster and treadmill.
“In L.A., it just isn’t enough to be just on one thing,” Stuart said. “I’ve got my Out magazine, and I have my Los Angeles Times and my Variety, and my television set with my American Airlines headset that I stole because it is the best to listen to the television.”
However, “I’m really not this hip,” Stuart stressed between huffs and puffs.
Stuart may have gone Hollywood, but when it comes to his standup, he’s taking some less-than-trendy chances.
Stuart for the last two years held question-and-answer sessions at the conclusion of his college sets. It was a chance to discuss topics that didn’t necessarily revolve around comedy, Stuart said.
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He found it so much fun that he incorporated the practice into his club appearances earlier this year.
“People ask me about everything,” the thirtysomething comic said, “from when did I know I was gay — and I always say Thursday (he’s been openly gay for five years) — and about famous people I worked with, like Arnold Schwarzenegger” (whom he met while filming “Kindergarten Cop”).
Sometimes the questions generate comical responses from Stuart, who was seen a few months ago on ABC’s “The Drew Carey Show” and the HBO movie “Gia.”
But sometimes the questions and answers aren’t so funny, which club owners find “a little scary,” Stuart admitted.
Once someone said that a roommate might be gay and wanted to know how he ought to approach the matter. Stuart advised that the questioner should put an arm around the roommate’s shoulder and tell him that it doesn’t matter if he is straight or gay, what matters is that he has all the support in the world.
“If I had someone do that to me, I would be a different person,” Stuart says. “I’d probably have a job working for some big company, and I wouldn’t be running around saying, `Love me!’ “
Club operators wanting to keep the laughs going may get a little skittish with the Q&A sessions, but Stuart is loving every minute of it.
“I find that it takes my show full circle, and it shows I’m not just some funny, goofy gay guy,” Stuart said.
Jason Stuart will take your questions starting Tuesday, through Aug. 16, at Zanies, 1548 N. Wells St.; call 312-337-4027 for show times and reservations.
Ask Charna?
There are many experts you can go to for advice. Charna Halpern of the ImprovOlympic might be last on that list.
But here comes “Ask Charna,” a new improv show that runs Fridays and Saturdays at the ImprovOlympic, 3541 N. Clark St. The premise has Halpern soliciting audience members in need. After she gives her advice, improvisers act out best- and worst-case scenarios.
On using people’s problems as fodder for fun and profit, Halpern says in a release, “I’ve been solving problems for my students, staff and performers at ImprovOlympic for nearly 20 years.”
If you’re bold enough to want your problems aired out in front of a group of strangers, why not bypass “The Jerry Springer Show” and try “Ask Charna”? For show times and reservations, call 773-880-9993.
The standup lineup
Here’s who’s working at the comedy clubs. Current sets are scheduled to run through Sunday; all new acts begin on Wednesday unless otherwise noted. Lineups are subject to change.
– Dave Coulier, the former “Full House” and “America’s Funniest People” star, is making special appearances Friday and Saturday at Zanies’ comedy club at 2200 S. Elmhurst Rd., Mt. Prospect; call 847-228-6166.
– Raise a final toast to All Jokes Aside, 1000 S. Wabash Ave., as the club serves up chuckles for the last time, with the help of many headliners all weekend. Sunday is the day the laughter dies. Call 312-922-0577 for more information.
– Saturday’s your last chance to see Caryn Bark’s “Diary of a Skokie Girl” at Skokie’s North Shore Center for the Performing Arts. Call the box office at 847-673-6300 for other details.
– Jim Kline and Michael Alexander are starring at the Barrel of Laughs, 10345 S. Central Ave., Oak Lawn, through Sunday; call 708-499-2969.