A side note from Shay:  Well, Nicole is in PARIS and Disneyland France as a surprise from her husband for Christmas, so we can all harass her for her good fortune when she gets back.

And Matt's post should have been up ages ago because he sent it to me yesterday and I forgot to post it!!!  Sorry Matt!

Merry Christmas, Everybody!

So it's been a crazy week! I have been hard at work planning Neptune's Comedy Club for next year. I have been spending time more recently finishing up the logo as well as booking comedians for the shows. It has been such an awesome time booking as I will have a lot of excellent and professional comedians performing at the club. Ken Sevara, Pat McGann, Mike Toomey, Geoff LaFleur are some of the comedians performing and many more!

I have also been writing new jokes too! I feel as if sometimes the jokes just jump right out at me. It helps to go through crazy situations such as having a mouse infestation (which we took care of by the way), or dealing with insurance changes! Each experience I go through, whether its a hard experience or not, has the possibility of being a potential joke. So I am definitely looking forward to performing at Neptune's on a weekly basis because I will be able to stay super fresh and on par with my joke writing and performing.

I really feel that 2011 is going to bring a lot of big changes in my life. I am looking forward to seeing what the Lord has in plan but I know it's going to be big! I am in anticipation of something major taking place in the very near future. So keep on checking out the blog and my website! The next couple of months are going to be awesome!!

Until next week, peace out!

Well everyone! I've had a week off. Woot woot. Actually, this past week was great for me. It was nice to be able to relax and spend time with the family. A lot of material to be had that's for sure.

As of right now I am working hard on preparing for my comedy club that opens on February 10th. Neptune's Comedy Club will be at Port Edward Restaurant in Algonquin, IL on Thursday nights starting at 7:30pm. I will be producer/host each Thursday and will feature well known comedians from the Chicagoland and Midwest areas! I really am looking forward to being on stage once a week. I feel that it will really help me hone my skills and keep in a weekly practice.

I am also preparing for my upcoming April show at Gorilla Tango Theater in Chicago. Marty and I will be performing 4 Saturdays in April so be sure to order your tickets!

I am still waiting on a couple things that I have done so far:  America's Got Talent - which I will find out sometime in January, and Dan and Daryl - which is a movie I auditioned for and nailed! Plus I will be back at Zanies in about six months. My material will be really solid so that is going to be a big show. Right now the most up coming show I have will be the closing show at the Comedy Shrine in Naperville. They are moving their location and I will be at the last open mic on December 27th. If you haven't been there you have to go see it! The inside is filled with memorabilia of every comedic show, actor, character you can imagine! Great atmosphere!

Anyways, I am also working on another Christmas album with my good friend Matt Madigan! Woot woot! Stay tuned for when you can download songs and where.

Have a blessed weekend everyone!

Wow! This is way past due. I never thought I'd be able to get a tardy on a blog, but nevertheless life always has a strange way of amazing me. All this to say, sorry for the lateness of this post.

It's time to get my goofy on! Tomorrow I am auditioning for a movie! It's a sci-fi comedy about two friends who have to settle their differences in order to save the planet from an invasion! Yess!!! I love sci-fi! And I love friends... Anyway, I am looking forward to auditioning tomorrow. It's going to be a blast.

Next up, and more importantly, I have my very first Zanies show in Chicago on Monday at 8:30pm! I would love if you all could make it as this is a very important show for me! I am so blessed to have this opportunity and I can't wait to make people laugh. If you want to order tickets please do so! You can CLICK HERE for ticket info!

Anywho, I am really excited to see what happens because of this show. I really feel that the Lord is going to open up some more doors there and it will be interesting to see who I get to meet because of it. I have high expectations for the turnout and for my material. I have been working on a lot of new material which is working out really well. We'll see if I use it or not. Woot woot!

In other news, unrelated to comedy (possibly) I am deep frying a turkey tonight for Thanksgiving with my Dad! Let's hope my next post isn't about how I burnt down my Dad's house!

Well everyone, thanks for reading. I look forward to telling you awesome news on my next post! Peace out!

So this week has been a roller coaster ride of craziness!!! It all started Saturday! What an exhausting day that was. That's right, you guessed it...I woke up at 5am (ON A SATURDAY!!!) and drove to the city with Marty (my comedy friend) where we would stand in line for 2.5 hours in the freezing cold after eating crappy McDonald's!!! Then we would get inside the building and wait until 2:00pm when we would finally get in front of 2 producers for our AMERICA'S GOT TALENT AUDITION!! Yup, Marty and I auditioned for America's Got Talent this past Saturday. It was a blast. We waited for 9.5 hours and only auditioned for 90 seconds. The producers were cracking up at both of our sets and said it was very good! So we'll see. I find out sometime in January whether or not I will be called back to audition in front of Howie, and the rest of the star judges. Good times and this was just Saturday!

This week has been pretty rough. It has been hard for me because I am so anxious about doing my stand up comedy and really going far with it. Patience is a virtue and at times it seems very far away. Luckily I have the Lord and my wonderful wife to keep me in check.

Tonight however was an excellent night. My wife and I went out to dinner with some new friends! I am working on producing a stand up comedy show at a place in suburbs. We met with the guy and his wife tonight and discussed the show. I am soo excited about the show and where it is going! It is going to be excellent. I will be hosting it every week and will be inviting premiere comedians to perform. Here's what I can tell you:

The show is called Neptune's Comedy Club. Our first show is going to premiere on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 at 7:30pm. It is going to be at Port Edward restaurant in Algonquin, IL. And our first guest is going to be none other than Ken Sevara! He is absolutely one of the funniest comedians I have heard and has traveled the country doing comedy professionally for many years! I can't say enough how excited I am about producing this club and can't wait to see where it goes from here! Thanks God!

In other news, don't forget to check me out at Zanies in Chicago this November 22nd. The show is at 8:30pm and tickets are $10. I would really love your support and appearance! This is a very big show for me as Zanies is the top club in Chicago for stand up comedy. For more info go to www.mattsommerfield.com

Finally, I will be a part of the final comedy show at the Comedy Shrine in Naperville. The show is going to be Monday, December 27th. More info soon to come on this!

Thanks everyone for your prayers and support. I really appreciate all the comments and I am excited to see where the Lord takes me. I just may get this goal accomplished yet!

Peace out!

So wow! I have had quite the week. Let’s just say it’s nice to know that I am not crazy with the whole “I want to be on T.V” dream. Well, I’m not on T.V…yet. But I have completed a big step in my goal process!

For the past 5 months I have been emailing back and forth with the booker at Zanies in Chicago. I was connected through a mutual friend (all about connections) and after the long process of being told to email next month, and the next month, and the next month…I got booked for a show! I will be a part of the Rising Stars Showcase at Zanies in Chicago! The show is on Monday, November 22nd at 8:30pm. If you want ticket info CLICK HERE.

I am super excited to see that the Lord has provided such an awesome opportunity for me and I can’t wait to see where He takes me next! There are a lot of big opportunities coming up including the WGNtv contest that I am in as well as my America’s Got Talent audition. Who knows where this will go but at least I am being proactive with my goals.

In other big news I am producing a weekly show next year at a restaurant in Algonquin called Port Edward. I will be Producer/Host of the comedy club which will be called Neptune’s Comedy Club. The club will be in an intimate classy setting that will feature a talented and clean headliner each week. The goal is to bring clean, classy and professional stand up entertainment to the suburbs! I can’t wait to start! The first show is going to be Thursday, February 10, 2011. We will have a show every Thursday night!

Woot woot! I am pumped to get these things rolling! I will find out between today and tomorrow if I made it in the top 10 for the WGNtv Chicago’s Next Big Comic competition. If I make it in the top ten please vote for me!

Well, more to come. Be sure to follow me on Twitter and to stay up to date on my website!

Until next time!

Okaaaayyyyy! Soooooooo! I have had an exciting week! A lot of cool things have happened. First of all I performed last Saturday at Duke's Alehouse and Kitchen in Crystal Lake. That went really well! I had a great response from the audience and had the second most people show up to see me. Thanks to those who came out for your support! It was nice to jump start the shows again and I used some new material which went over great! I have been writing new stuff and I am really excited about tweaking them. So that was my weekend!

As far as my week goes! Woot woot! Okay, first of all, I have slotted my appointment for America's Got Talent. I will be auditioning on November 6th (Saturday)! I am obviously going to be doing stand up comedy. I get 90 seconds to wow them so I have to figure out which joke to do. If you have a favorite joke, leave a comment and help me decide!

Second of all I am part of a competition through WGNtv called Chicago's Next Big Comic (http://wgntv.upickem.net/engine/Details.aspx?p=A&c=22476&s=5352641&i=1). You should all leave a comment under that page because it will help to show that I have a fan base! Unless you're not a fan...then...don't leave a comment...unless you want to...........

Anyways! Lastly, I am setting up a weekly comedy show at a place I don't want to say just yet because it's still in the works. It's going to be great as I will be hosting it every week and getting professional comedians to come and perform there! I am stoked about it! So stay tuned for more info.

All and all I needed this past week. I feel encouraged by all the opportunities that the Lord has been providing and it's nice to know that I am not doing the wrong thing. Stay tuned for more show date info and head over to www.mattsommerfield.com and poke around through my jokes to give me some feedback!  Thanks!!!

So, this week has been pretty good. I have been able to work on some new material and I have been getting excited about my show this Saturday. It has been nice receiving all the encouragement that I have been getting from the fans and friends of mine. It can get a little difficult trying to encourage myself all the time so that was nice!

I met with Marty this week and we went over some different methods on how to write comedy. Right now we are working on taking current events (that aren't funny) and making them ... funny. I have always been a big fan of late night talk shows (Conan O'Brien!!) so this style of writing isn't foreign to me, it's just something I haven't done yet.

I still have not met with my actor friend who wants to help me out with connections. He seems to have a very busy schedule as his job permits! Well, one day at a time, I guess.

Interestingly enough, I feel that I have accomplished something creative this week. I received a free medium pizza coupon from Domino's the other day and I decided to record my thoughts about the event on Facebook and Youtube.  (An aside from Shay:  I found it, and thus will link to it.  Here!) Sometimes just doing something ridiculous or funny is a good way for me to let out my creative juices and free myself from the agony of a weeks worth of nothing! It's short and to the point. I do feel pretty bad though, I forgot to tip the pizza guy! It was $0. Sorry, the whole time I was thinking... "FREEEEE PIZZAA!!!!"

Anyways, my spirits are high at the moment and I am trying to get psyched about Saturday night's show! If you're interested, I am performing at Duke's Alehouse in Crystal Lake, IL at 8:30pm this Saturday! You can order tickets online by visiting my site: www.mattsommerfield.com

Thanks again fans and friends for your support!

Much love!

This week has been one of the hardest weeks in a while. It started off okay. I had my weekly scheduled comedy writing meeting with Marty last Thursday night. I wasn't really feeling funny before the meeting. Luckily, we always have a fun time hanging out so that helped the writing session. I feel like I am in a bit of a writing slump. I have only had a couple jokes come to me in the past month which has been very frustrating. Motivation to perform has slowed down as well. I have a show coming up on October 16th, so hopefully that will help kick start me back into performance mode.

I have been a little discouraged this week with everything. It is very frustrating watching others succeed while I feel that I am sometimes going backwards; not to mention the unwanted negativity that seems to make its way into any project, whether internal or external. I guess I am just wondering what is going to happen and how. I can only do so much before I have to rely on the help of someone else. It'd be a heck of a lot easier if I had some rich relative or friend who was able to financially support my endeavors so I could focus all of my time towards my goal. Unfortunately for me I have a full time job and other things to worry about. I just feel so trapped and stuck this week.

I keep asking myself, "Where do I go from here?" or "What's the next step?" Who knows? I don't even know if there'll be a next step. What if this is it for me? Playing in small unknown Chicago suburb clubs and bars for no pay. Watching others get discovered due to their closeness to LA and  connections. What if I never get discovered?

You all have the privilege of seeing the inner workings of the mind of a struggling actor/comedian. I wish it could always be about jokes on stage and smiley faces. Unfortunately, this is where I am at right now.

I had hoped to have achieved some big step in my "dream" process. Instead I feel like I've gone backwards.

Until next week.

Well, I'm Matt Sommerfield. I'm an actor, comedian, writer and director. I have been a performer for the past 11 years, and this year I have decided to put things in high gear.

In the past year, I have been focusing on my stand up comedy career and have performed in many different clubs, bars and venues so far. I have created a marketing campaign for my comedy and have written a good solid 30 minutes of jokes that have been lasting me for a while. My goal for this next year is to get a speaking role in a Hollywood film or television show. So far, it seems like Hollywood is still unreachable.

Here are my thoughts. I am hoping that I will be able to establish myself as a successful stand up comedian in the Chicago area. I want to become one of the "Go To Guys" in Chicago for comedy so when famous comedians are in town, I will be a top choice as an opener. From there, I am hoping to continue developing my fan base to make me marketable as an actor. Small time goals include performing at Zanies and the Improv. I can gain a lot of exposure at these places and hopefully get critically reviewed. If the higher-ups in the business hear about me, I may have a better chance at making a connection in the film/television area. I already have two agents in Chicago right now… but auditions in the city seem impossible to squeeze in with my full time suburbs job.

Fortunately, I feel pretty confidant in my comedy and my acting abilities. Everyone that has seen me perform has always enjoyed the show. I do feel that I have a leg up in a couple areas. There is so much trash out there nowadays, guys dropping F bombs and talking about genitalia, and I think a lot of people are coming to expect more from the comedians they see. It is my priority to develop creative, funny and CLEAN comedy. And you know what? It works! People still laugh when you're clean. Bill Cosby, Jerry Seinfeld, Brian Regan, Kevin James! Clean, funny and successful. I also think that my perseverance and my marketing abilities will really help to set me above the rest. You may be funny, but if you can't market yourself (especially in a huge city like Chicago, New York or LA) then you wind up in a club populated with crickets.

I think that spirespire is going to help give me the accountability and boost that I need to continue towards my goal. I need the fans! Fans of the blog, my fans, just fans in general! It is your support and laughter that helps to motivate this comedian to continue on his journey!

How am I going to start doing all of this, you ask? First, I have scheduled weekly meetings with a comedian friend of mine. We write once a week together to continue adding and fixing material. My goal this week is to come up with some new jokes. Also, I have a scheduled meeting with a professional actor who wants to help me make some connections in the business. I am going to schedule a time to meet with him ASAP this week.

There are two anti-heroes at play here. One is the difficulty of the unknown. Though I may seem like I have it all together and have a "plan", there is no telling what is actually going to happen. The acting business is probably one of the hardest, most exclusive businesses to break into out there. The problem that I see is that few people spend time helping others break into the business (especially if they're already in) because they are far more concerned about their own careers. Besides, who am I? I'm an unknown. I believe I am an unknown with an undiscovered fresh bit of talent, but I am still an unknown. This reality is probably the most discouraging thing out there for me right now. It brings an emptiness and loneliness to the table that bites at your heels every time you think you're going somewhere. It's hard to get past it. That is anti-hero number one.

Number two is myself. There is a part of me (that I frequently try to drown out) that believes that I will never make it in the business. It's too late for me, there's no chance, no one will ever discover me or give me a shot, I don't live in the right area… It is this part of me that I battle with the most. An inner letdown that constantly bewilders me because I know that the Lord can do anything and I can do anything through Him.

So where does this leave me? My journey. To break through the personal barriers that I have as well as the barriers that I cannot control. Can I do it? I believe so. Will I? Ask me in a year...