Comedy Show Tag

October 3, 2020 In Media

PRESS ARCHIVE

Greg Shapiro Press / Interview Archive

Vanity Fair, 2017 – The ‘Netherlands Second’ origin story

De Telegraaf, 2020 for Leaving Trumpland

Greg & Inez in VARA gids, 2020

Het Parool, 2018
‘Boom Chicago Celebrates with a Scarily Real Fake Trump’

Greg & Inez in VARA Gids, 2016

Pep Rosenfeld & Greg Shapiro in Int’l Herald Tribune, 2003

New York Times, 2017 ‘Netherlands Second’ video inspires copycats

Greg Shapiro in De Volkskrant, 2020

Het Parool, 2020 – Op het Klapstoel

Greg Shapiro in Holland Media Combinatie, 2020

Some text:

VANITY FAIR (February, 2017)

‘Meet the Men Trolling Trump in Those Viral European Videos’ – by Hillary Busis

Greg Shapiro and Shaun Streeter have ace Trump impressions—and they’ve been lending them to a variety of European countries.

It took a full five years after George W. Bush’s inauguration for a comedian to utterly rip apart the president with his words. By contrast, the comic outrage inspired by Donald Trump and his White House rogues gallery has been swift, unrelenting, and thoroughly vicious—and U.S.-based comedians aren’t the only ones getting in on the fun.

Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, a Dutch answer to The Daily Show made the new president a pointed welcome video that quickly went viral, inspiring imitators from across Europe, and, eventually, the globe. (Hello, Morocco!) The clips share an impish sensibility, a tagline (“America first; [insert country here] second”), and narration done in the voice of Trump himself. What you may not know is who’s behind said narration: Greg Shapiro, a comedian from Chicago who’s been living in the Netherlands since the mid-90s, did the voice heard in the very first European parody video.

Shapiro European Origin Story

Greg Shapiro is one of the founders of Amsterdam’s Boom Chicago, a comedy theater similar to New York’s Upright Citizens Brigade and Chicago’s Second City. For years, the theater has served as an informal Dutch finishing school for American comedians—including names like Jordan Peele, Ike Barinholtz, and Seth Meyers.

Since making his move across the Atlantic, Shapiro has written books with names like Going Dutch and How to Be Orange; he also hosts a web series called United States of Europe, a satirical take on European current events. Even so, the comedian has never forgotten his American roots. His resume includes Bush-spoofing Boom Chicago shows called Bye Bye Bush and 9/11 Forever—and, of course, that ace Donald Trump impression, which Shapiro is currently showing off in a new Boom show called Angry White Men: Trump Up the Volume.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/donald-trump-trolling-videos-america-first-netherlands-second-greg-shapiro-shaun-streeter

Click here for Greg Shapiro’s column in Hello Zuidas magazine: ‘Green Cred Makes Dutch People Red in the Face.’
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/green-cred-makes-dutch-red-in-the-face-my-final-column-for-hello-zuidas/

May 28, 2020 In Blog

Greg Shapiro presents HOW NOT TO ZOOM

Greg Shapiro presents HOW NOT TO ZOOM
A Video Conference Mini-Show

A couple weeks ago, I got a phone call: “Could you do 10 minutes of comedy for our weekly video conference, about video conferencing?” I said YES. And it was such a hit, I’ve now developed a 10-minute package I call HOW NOT TO ZOOM.

HOW NOT TO ZOOM 60-second teaser

Lockdown life, 2020. Working from home means video conferencing. And – despite the tutorials – many of us are slow to adapt. Time for a new training strategy?
Comedian Greg Shapiro presents HOW NOT TO ZOOM. Kick-off your next online meeting with 5 – 10 minutes of “Sharing WORST Practice.”

Whether you use Zoom, Skype, WebEx or Teams – Shapiro’s interactive presentation will parody the Seven Deadly Sins of video conferencing. Including: Awful lighting, Unflattering angles, Embarrassing backgrounds AND Yelling at your kids when you think you’re on mute.

Do yourself a favor and start your next video conference with a guaranteed icebreaker. More than that, it’s an effective teaching method: sometimes the best example of How-to is How-NOT-to.

Stay safe, keep laughing.
For bookings please contact my other half at inezdegoede@gmail.com.

https://youtu.be/iIoKuh6giKM

March 18, 2020 In Blog

Did I Get Infected by a Dutch Comedy Show in Brabant?

Did I Get Infected by a Dutch Comedy Show? In Brabant?

I was part of the problem. I was part of Team #DontPanic. Now I’m on Team #StaytheFHome.

On Saturday, 7 March I was hosting a Dutch comedy show in Tilburg (epicenter of the Dutch Corona virus outbreak). In retrospect, I might have been infected with the Corona Virus and COVID19.

That morning, I knew it was a risky move. But I decided to take a risk – because my gigs were already disappearing. I even took public transport to get there. On the way to the show, Dutch health officials advised people in the province of Brabant to stay home, to avoid being infected. But it was a sold-out crowd! They were willing to get infected by the comedy show.

We made fun of the crowd for ignoring the warning. We imitated the drunken Brabanters going to ski in Italy, then celebrating Carnaval & spreading COVID19. The guy in the front row was so proud of his Party Cred I dubbed him “Patient Zero.”

And yes, I posed for a selfie with him after the show.

But in retrospect, it was a stupid risk.

SO – Did I Get Infected?
Luckily for me, I still have no symptoms, and I don’t seem to have been infected. As of this writing, it was 11 days ago.

In retrospect, the show should have been canceled. At the time, I was trying to mitigate the damage: “yes go out, but do it safely.”
Then I saw the data about #flattenthecurve. And I’m convinced: the shortest way through this is full lockdown.

Yes, it’s selfish for young & healthy people to keep going out, since it’s dangerous for older & at-risk people. But ALSO it’s in your OWN interest: There’s no avoiding a total shutdown at this point. But keep it limited. Look at that graph of Philadelphia vs. St. Louis during the 1918 Spanish Flu.

Right now, China is like St Louis. USA is like Philadelphia, and they’ll be feeling the effects for months. Possibly all the way until Election Day…

November 13, 2019 In Media

Press & Reviews

Press

JFK Magazine, Sept. 2024 ‘Greg Shapiro in De Kleine Komedie’

FD Persoonlijk, Sept. 2024 “I’d rather be Trump-free than wealthy”

Het Parool, Sept. 2024 “Losing the Humor War”

Parool Photo Greg Shapiro by Eva Plevier

Playboy, Aug. 2024 “My ADHD & Creativity”

More PRESS in Greg Shapiro PRESS ARCHIVE:
https://gregshapiro.nl/media/press/

Reviews

‘Lively …emotional …tightly constructed performance. 4 Stars’ – De Volkskrant

Greg Shapiro Solo Show Review Pullquotes

‘Sharp Satire of America Under Trump’ – Theaterkrant

‘Superior Trump Bashing’ Theater review Lock Him Up (Boom Chicago)

Theater Review: LEAVING TRUMPLAND
‘A Very Sharp and Dangerous Edge’
ArtsTalk Magazine, October 2020

by Michael Hasted
Greg Shapiro is an American comedian who’s fully assimilated into the Dutch way of life for over 25 years. But like any ex-pat, the ties that bind can never be fully severed. And you can feel his pain and anger at his homeland being brought to its knees by a president who is impossible to respect.

Despite having spent half his life in The Netherlands and having a Dutch family, Shapiro is still unmistakably American. … there is a very sharp and dangerous edge to the man. He has a unique viewpoint from where he can gaze on both sides, subjectively and objectively, all at the same time.

If you don’t know Greg Shapiro, I would highly recommend you buy yourself a ticket for this current tour.
(edited from the original)

For full review, click here
http://artstalkmagazine.nl/greg-shapiro-presents-leaving-trumpland-on-tour/

Book Review: THE AMERICAN NETHERLANDER
‘Sharp eye for detail …hilarious point of view’
Access Magazine, April 2021
by Giulia Quaresima

“With a sense of humour and sharp eye for detail …this is a good starting point to understanding life in the Netherlands. This book tells the story of Shapiro’s personal cultural adventure and assimilation in the Netherlands. …[it’s] a manual to understand the country, using the author’s personal anecdotes for a subjective and hilarious point of view.

The second part of the book is a Dutch assimilation test. [it’s] a collection of all the questions that should be included in the inburgering exams. According to Shapiro, these reveal more than the exam ever intended.
Give it a try and see how Dutch you are!”
(edited from the original)

For full review, click here:
https://gregshapiro.nl/blog/access-magazine-reviews-greg-shapiros-third-book/