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The Indiana Daily Student

arts

‘Scream’ star to do stand-up at Buskirk

Comedian Jamie Kennedy

Jamie Kennedy comedy performance
When: 7 and 9:30 p.m. today
Where: Buskirk-Chumley Theater, 114 E. Kirkwood Ave.
More info: Tickets are $20 for reserved seating.


Actor Jamie Kennedy brought the role of horror-movie geek Randy Meeks to life 12 years ago in the hit slasher movie “Scream.” But now he does not consider himself to be strictly an actor. He’s an entertainer, and he’s bringing his stand-up comedy to Bloomington today at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater.

The show was originally scheduled to take place Oct. 9, but was postponed several times because of scheduling conflicts with the filming of “Ghost Whisperer,” A CBS show in which Kennedy is now a cast member.

Nordic Productions, LLC, an Indianapolis-based production house, helped bring Kennedy to Bloomington for a show, in part sponsored by the Indiana Daily Student.
“We liked the Buskirk-Chumley because of its location to IU as well with it being on the main strip of Kirkwood,” CEO of Nordic Productions Justin Libak said in an e-mail.
Kennedy accepted the offer to come to Bloomington.

“Basically, it’s a really good venue – a lot of people have played there,” Kennedy said. “They made me an offer, and I was like, ‘OK.’ I’ve heard it was a really good spot.”

Kennedy will perform stand-up and show a clip from his comedy-documentary film “Heckler,” which was released in early September. “Heckler,” produced by Kennedy and directed by Michael Addis, follows Kennedy as he explores the world of hecklers (people who harass a public performer) and the entertainers who put up with them.

As an entertainer, Kennedy considers himself to be everything. He draws inspiration for his comedy from everyday life and everyday people.

“I don’t try to put myself in a box,” he said.

A native of Upper Darby, Penn., Kennedy found his calling for entertaining others early.
He discovered his love for acting at a basketball game at age 9. His team was losing, he got hit in the head and he pretended to be hurt by bursting out crying.

He then started scoring points, and the other team didn’t mess with him after that. His team eventually won the game.

In his sketch comedy show, “The Jamie Kennedy Experiment” on the WB (now known as the CW), Kennedy used his knack for characters to create hilarious, real-life situations for unsuspecting people caught on camera.

B97, a Bloomington radio station, is promoting the show.

“We thought it was kind of neat, because obviously we’re aware of his work,” said Sandy Zehr, vice-president and general manager of B97. “We thought our listeners and Bloomington would be interested in the event, so we got involved and helped promote the event.

Along with his Bloomington show, Kennedy will stop in New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Canada, California and Texas. Libak said he hopes Kennedy’s show will help bring more comedy to Bloomington.

“People can expect a great show,” Libak said. “We are doing this not to make money but to bring comedy to Bloomington.”

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