Monday: Trivia and juggling, together again

Give it up for Brooklyn: Monday night, 8pm, I'm once again taking part in Bindlestiff Open Variety, the monthly show of grab-bag performance delights presented by everyone's favorite traveling circus folk, the Bindlestiff Family Circus. Last time, I shared the stage with a unicyclist, a knife juggler, and a comedian, and the best part was, they were all the same guy.

I'm planning to whip out some Breakfast Cereal Haiku for a few lucky volunteers; these one-man quickie performances are always a barrel of fun, and a great spicy side dish to any variety show (read: hire me). The venue is Galapagos Art Space, in Dumbo, which is exceedingly beautiful, and just may be—may be—a future BQT venue. Stay tuned.

Prizes and Calendar: Faster monkeys! Scamper! Scamper!

Another comment about Monday: Thanks again to our sponsors, 92YTribeca, the beautiful venue that's been generous with the movie passes. This week, we gave away two seats to this Saturday's screening of the trashily delightful Russ Meyer classic, Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! I'm ashamed to admit I've never seen this beacon of American cinematic enlightenment—this Saturday is the day, mayhaps. Who's in?

Meanwhile, speaking of 92YTribeca, I will certainly be there this Friday for Kevin Geeks Out About…Monkeys!, this month's edition of Kevin Maher's nerdily good variety show. Prepare for movie clips, academic lectures, music—and, of course, trivia—about simians of all stripes, not just monkeys. (And to answer a question from Monday night: Yes, monkeys, not Monkees.) Be warned, as I do in these variety-show appearances, the quiz is played by three lucky audience members, though it's a delight for everyone in the room guaranteed.

As always, do you have (a) a business that would like the sponsor the Big Quiz Thing or (b) a variety show that would like to feature a trivia challenge from Quizmaster Noah? E-mail info@bigquizthing.com and savor your good judgment.

UPDATE: Kevin Geeks Out is sold out! All thanks to me, right?

Quizmaster live: Geeking Out + Dark Neverending Adventures

Coolness: On December 18, I return to 92YTribeca, which is a classy yet eclectic venue (with a pretty fine café—I had an extremely tasty bowl of penne last time I was there), for not one, not three, not even 50 events, but two different shots of BQT-style trivia on the same night.
First, I'm taking part in an event that really, really has my name all over it. Kevin Maher's monthly series, Kevin Geeks Out, is a lot of fun, especially for people like you (and I know who you are). He and I have been trying to collaborate for some time, but the stars align for the December event, a holiday grab bag. I'll be doing a brief trivia spot with audience volunteers, for prizes, naturally.

Then later that evening, same venue (though possibly a different actual room—92YTribeca is rather labyrinthine), I'll be doing the preshow for a screening of that fondly recalled childhood distraction, The NeverEnding Story (I respect the CamelCase). It's part of the December film series Dark Neverending Adventures, a cavalcade of '80s fantasy films (before you click the link, see if you can guess what the other movies are; I know, not that much of a challenge). I'm going to be doing a set of questions about a variety of films, and these have been fun to put together; I find myself researching some wacky films I hadn't thought about in eons. Even The NeverEnding Story—haven't watched that since Amanda Saslow and her girlfriends forced me to sit through it after school one day in eighth grade (they thought the actor who played Atreyu was cute, coincidentally named Noah).

December 18, check the 92YT site for ticket info. While we're at it, I love doing as many events like this as possible—variety shows, unusual screenings, etc.—so e-mail noah@bigquizthing.com if you're in the booking business (and I work cheap, of course).

The Third Annual Menorah Horah

Your quizmaster is back on the variety-show tip, in December. Check this out…

Ah, yes, the Schlep Sisters. On the right that's burlesque performer Minnie Tonka, co-originator of the long-ago Big Jewish Quiz Thing, and one of my coperformers at last spring's "You Bet Your Ass: The Rock & Roll Variety Quiz Show." She's asked me to take part in this season's Menorah Horah, as part of an impressive roster. (I meant to go to see Kiki & Herb on Broadway, I swear.)
What will I be doing? A couple of brief guest spots, featuring some Hebraic trivia with audience volunteers. On Friday, December 11, we'll be taking it up to the Two Boots in Bridgeport, one of Connecticut's most trivially intriguing cities: Not only is it CT's most populous town, P.T. Barnum was once the mayor, and the Frisbee was invented there. Then on the 12th, it's to Brooklyn for a gig at Southpaw on Fifth Avenue in Park Slope.

And hey, a promo video!

The real thing

To be clear…

My performance this Friday night—as part of Sound Fix's Doris Yeltsin variety show—will be pretty much nothing like the regular BQT at Crash Mansion. I'm just one of several very talented and entertaining guests as this event, wackying up the comedy proceedings with a smidgen of trivia. The link again is right here.

I had an e-mail query on this subject, so I apologize if my onstage and on-blog hyping was unclear. But, on the plus side, it gives me an excuse to blog again, which I'm trying to do more in '09. So perhaps I didn't mess up at all—maybe it's a New Coke–type conspiracy, making it look like I screwed up in order to achieve my ulterior goal. I'm a sneaky one.

The BQT in the BKLYN

Here's something amazing…in the six-plus years of the Big Quiz Thing, no version of the game has ever been been performed in an NYC borough other than Manhattan. We've been to California, New Orleans, Minnesota, a barn in rural Pennsylvania, but never the outerboroughs. Fuckin' snobs.

This is changing: Friday night, January 9, Quizmaster Noah (me, of course) will be making an appearance at Sound Fix, Williamsburg's hybrid record store/performance venue, as part of the comedy show Doris Yeltsin. It's cohosted by Claudia Cogan, BQT regular and erstwhile guest sidekick, and I appear to be the only man involved in this event. Stunning.

Details here, but know that it's 8pm and it's free, and I will be giving away prizes. The plan is to revive an old favorite special round, "TV Themes Retranslated." I've done a handful of these things—a little quiz as part of a variety/comedy show—and it's always been oodles of laughs. I'm hoping to do more in 2009, so feel free to hook me up through your copious connections.

CORRECTION: The Don't Touch Me There comedy troupe, also on the bill, is mostly men. My testosterone will not be alone.

Also, here's the flyer: