Dutch American Comedian Greg Shapiro Premières in De Kleine Komedie Amsterdam
21 October, 2024
In Amsterdam it’s nice to see your name in lights, but it’s even nicer to see your name on the sign at the theater called De Kleine Komedie.
With the help of Impact Entertainment, I was able to perform the premiere of my 2024 US election show LEAVING TRUMPLAND 2.0: No Country for Old Men.
Would I be prepared? I wasn’t sure… We had only done four tryout performances so far – as well as bits and pieces at various open mic night and standup stages.
I performed Leaving Trumpland 1.0 for the US election in 2020. Unfortunately, not many people saw that show – because it was in the middle of Covid. Remember when you could only perform for 30 or 100 max at a time? And half the shows were canceled before that. My tour booker said, “the reviews were so good! Why don’t you just do a reprise of your 2020 show for the US election 2024?” I said “don’t be ridiculous! That would require the exact same to candidates four years ago. What are the odds of that happening?” …And yet for most of this year, that’s what we had. Biden vs Trump: the rematch. Because they both aged so gracefully.
But then Joe Biden dropped out, Thank the Almighty! …And I had to rewrite almost the entire show. WORTH IT.
Leaving Trumpland 1.0 was my sixth solo show. But with Leaving Trumpland 2.0, I can honestly say since it’s 90% new, it is my seventh solo show.
We had a full house for a Monday night. We even had a second balcony! The theater director was happy, the programmer was happy. My theater booker was happy. The audience was great.
Afterward, I made sure to grab a pose with my director, Michael Diederich…
…and my producer/wife Inez De Goede.
Thanks for the excellent photos from Jelle Draper.
Greg Shapiro in Het Parool: “Trump Is Losing the Humor War”
interview by Mike Peek, 21 September, 2024 (translated from Dutch)
In Leaving Trumpland 2.0, Greg Shapiro’s trademark Donald Trump imitation takes center stage. Perhaps for the last time. According to the comedian, Trump’s most effective weapons are now being used against him.
Since 1994, Greg Shapiro has been working with the improvisation comedy theater Boom Chicago. He gained national fame in 2017 with the video by Arjen Lubach in which he imitated Trump’s voice eerily well. Three years later, Shapiro created a satirical show about a polarized America: Leaving Trumpland. Due to the corona crisis, he could only perform his show for tiny audiences. So it’s high time for the 2.0 version. Most of the show has changed. In fact, only one story returns – that of the death of his stepfather, who lived in a nursing home where the COVID rules were ignored.
How do these elections differ from those in 2016 and 2020?
“In 2016, Trump was just a ridiculous character. As comedians, we thought we’d make jokes about him for a few months and then Hillary Clinton would become president. That was naïve. But in 2020 we were perhaps too cautious. Biden kept saying how Trump is dangerous. But now that Kamala Harris is the candidate, she’s calling him ridiculous. The new strategy is to call him stupid again, call him weird. We’ve come full circle.”
Do you think Harris will become president?
“I think she can win, yes. She’s a strong candidate with the right qualifications. I keep thinking about 2008. John McCain was an old white man – and a war hero. Obama was ‘a skinny black guy with a strange name,’ and he didn’t stand a chance. Until – during the debates – Obama turned out to be much more stable. And we saw that same dynamic during the debate between Trump and Harris. He lost his cool, she kept control. I think to many Americans she came across as ‘Presidential.’”
Can it be dangerous to ridicule Trump? “Definitely. All this satire about Trump has brought him even more attention – and he thrives on that. If you make jokes about him, especially as a politician, you have to make sure they’re lethal. So yes talk about how his crowd sizes are shrinking, or come up with labels like ‘weird’ – which clearly gets under his skin. Now the Democrats are showing how you can use his own weapons against him. And let’s face it: up until now Trump has been uniquely good at using humor to his advantage. The nicknames he’d come up with to trash his opponents were sometimes very effective. But now Trump is failing to make anything stick. While the Democrats are successfully labeling him as petty and ridiculous. I think Trump is losing the humor war.”
You say in the show that you are easily distracted. Is that something you have in common with Trump?
“More accurately, I think it’s like ‘Highly Associative Disorder.’ I’ll start talking about topic A, then make a jump to topic Z – without people following how I got there. Trump has that too, yes. You saw it in the debate with Harris. I think even Trump’s MAGA fans were lost, wondering ‘wait, what? What is he talking about?’”
You also point out the international success of former Boom Chicago colleagues such as Seth Meyers, Jordan Peele and Amber Ruffin. Are you jealous of them?
“I have been jealous, yes of course! In 2001, Seth Meyers was was hired at Saturday Night Live, which is a dream for any American comedian. As a kid, I watched the first generation of SNL comedians, like John Belushi and Gilda Radner, and I wanted to do that too. Now I am doing that – but on a different level. So for my famous former colleagues, I sincerely wish them the best. And, if I’m honest, I once lived in New York, and I recognize that attitude. You have to be super ambitious, you have to be a bit ruthless. I just don’t have that in me. Also, I have to admit I find it difficult to work in a large group, because my brain keeps flying off all over the place.”
In the run-up to the US elections, you’re also making the show Politically Incorrect together with Boom Chicago colleague Pep Rosenfeld. How does that performance differ from Leaving Trumpland 2.0?
With Pep, we focus more on the latest news, and there’s a lot of improvisation. Like we explain how Republicans are already making these preparations to challenge any election result they don’t like. So they’ll lawyer up and take it to the Supreme Court, where six of the nine judges are on Trump’s side. Leaving Trumpland is more about me personally. I tell stories related to politics, topics that are close to my heart.”
There’s the moving story about your stepfather who died of corona.
“That was the reason to make Leaving Trumpland in the first place. I wanted to put it in writing. My stepfather lived in a nursing home in Wisconsin. On July 10, 2020, he got corona, and a week later he was dead. I remember my sister calling, feeling terrible that she hadn’t visited him, because she was following the health and safety guidelines. Meanwhile – though it was a national lockdown – the Republicans ignored the rules, because they said it was about freedom. People were just walking in there unprotected all day long. So no, I can’t prove it, but I’m convinced that’s how my stepfather got corona. I was so upset, and angry. Yes, I like to joke about politics. But suddenly it became personal.”
Hire an Event Organizer for Christmas – by Greg Shapiro 16 December, 2022
Dear Corporate Event Planners, IT’S NOT TOO LATE to HIRE AN EVENT ORGANIZER.
There’s a noticeable trend I’ve observed this year: some of the wealthiest companies in the country are making rookie mistakes at their events.
The good news: Hooray! The Covid lockdown is officially behind us, and we can have Christmas / Year-End events again.
The bad news: No one remembers how to organize events anymore! Remember Marloes / Marlies / Marjolein? The one who USED to know who to call to organize all the events? She left during the Great Reset, didn’t she? And you didn’t replace her yet, did you?
The FIRST thing she would do is: HIRE AN EVENT ORGANIZER. But too often I’ve seen this logic this year: “I’ll organize it myself. How hard can it be?” And now you’re finding out the hard way: HOW HARD IT CAN BE.
STEP 1: THE FOOD.
Recently, I was at an event where I heard:
“We wanted a Christmas party where everyone is invited. Even the kitchen staff!”
Who’s going to serve the food?
“We’ll just use the kitchen staff – they’ll already be there.”
And yes, the food was served – but no one cleared the plates. The half-eaten food just stacked up on the tables, like at a fraternity party. “Merry Christmas!”
STEP 2: THE TECH TEAM.
“I’m sure the location will provide their own technician-?” Yes, and – they know how to set up the gear …but they don’t always know how to run it. I was at a major B2B event, where they’d hired an A-lister TV personality to play host for a crowd of 700. They’d even put up video screens to beam the host to the tables at the back – but they forgot to turn them on. The result: half the crowd couldn’t see, and they talked through the whole show. “We paid enough for the TV star – why should we also pay for extra technicians?”
STEP 3: THE ENTERTAINMENT.
“We’ll get the DJ we hired last time. And we’ll hire that comedian I know from the gym!”
Result: The comedian is expected to perform in front of the DJ set-up. Aka: Amateur hour.
Or – yes they thought of a stage, but no they didn’t think of lighting. Or background.
“And who needs to hire an MC? I’ll just do it myself.”
Last time, our host introduced the first comedian DURING the first course of the meal. Making sure everyone was eating and chatting instead of listening. The result was this:
It was something like a horror show.
HIRE AN EVENT ORGANIZER for Christmas.
Here is a list of event organizers I like to work with. CALL THEM!
And hire back Marloes / Marlies / Marjolein as soon as possible.
——
Aaaaha! Livecommunicatie
Evented
Evers Evenementen
LEF Marketing & Events
Moderating EU
Obsession Evenementen
PINO Evenementen
WOP Events
Anyone I’m forgetting? I’m making my list and checking it twice…
Greg Shapiro Hosts CitizenM TV Episode 2
20 June, 2022
Thanks, Covid! After the 2020 Lockdown canceled Christmas, CitizenM hotel group had to reinvent their annual Christmas party as a TV show in January. Thus ‘CitizenM TV’ was born – with me as the host. It went so well that I was invited back to host the live Christmas party in 2021. But would we be able to have a live Christmas party…?
NO! The latest Covid lockdown kicked in on 18 December, and canceled everything. Which is EXACTLY what CitizenM had predicted when they decided to make CitizenM TV Episode 2. Again, with me as host.
I must admit: when I’d hosted the first CitizenM TV, I’d never stayed at a CitizenM hotel before. I’d been to meetings at the Amsterdam Zuid location, just because it’s a cool place to meet. For Episode 2, I did my homework. I got to do an overnight ‘staycation’ at the Amsterdam Amstel location. And since then I understand their motto ‘affordable luxury.’ More than that, they recognized me from the TV show, and they treated me like one of the family.
The concept for Episode 2 was to show me warming up before the show – IN a CitizenM hotel room. Hence – WARNING: CONTAINS SOME MALE NUDITY. Episode 2 was again produced by Dutch media company GRNDPA. And this time they gave me more to do: I got to interact with CitizenM office staff, dressed as ninjas. And I got to play a mustachioed gym coach (inspired by Ted Lasso’s alter ego Led Tasso). That’s why you can see me yelling at CitizenM employees like Boyan.
Again, I got to chat with founder Rattan Chadha and CEO Klaas van Lookeren, and I noticed that yes they felt even more relaxed and on-message than in Episode 1.
Looking forward to seeing a live Christmas event this year… But if it ends up being CitizenM TV Episode 3, I won’t complain.
Comedian Greg Shapiro hosts CitizenM TV, Episode 2 (Dec. 2021). Produced by GRNDPA, NL.
Remote Meetings Are Dead; Long Live Hybrid Meetings!
7 March, 2022
In February I was called upon to do two separate events for Janssen Pharmaceuticals in Belgium – both remote meetings. Now that Covid restrictions are lifting in the Netherlands and Belgium, you might expect a return to 100% live events ! And you’d be wrong. Looks like hybrid meetings are the New Normal.
The first remote meeting was an expat event, and I was asked to make a 20-minute tailored video.
Would there be enough material about cultural quirks in Belgium? Oh, yes. But how far should I go in making fun of Belgium? I started out with “Who knew one country could drink so much beer? Even the children drink to excess – at least that’s what I assume since the national mascot is a boy urinating.”
I sent in my video – via WeTransfer. Would they approve? Would they even watch it before plopping it into their meeting? I didn’t hear anything back… until after the day of the meeting. The subject heading said “LOVED IT!” Phew. “We used your video at our event yesterday and it was great. It really hit the right note and was enjoyed by all. We hope to see you again – hopefully F2F next time.”
Remote Meetings Are Dead; Long Live Hybrid Meetings!
Indeed, we were hoping for F2F Face to Face next time. But the next time was a hybrid meeting. Which was fine! The second Janssen remote meeting was produced by Co-MANA, who created a pop-up studio in Belgium. There was a giant LED wall, with projections that could change themes for the two-day event.
Also, there was a dedicated screen with a dedicated link to the internal Janssen team leaders. And there was a live monitor – with a prompter screen, which doubled as a link to the Q&A moderator. Then we ended with a live band, who played during the interactive quiz.
It would have been nice to have the team leaders on location, as well as the band. Heck, it would have been nice to have a fully live event. But if Hybrid Meetings are the new normal for now, I gotta say this meeting was great.
Greg Shapiro Hosts Second ‘CitizenM TV Show’ 19 January, 2022
Previously, on CitizenM TV…
CitizenM Hotels: “Greg, help! Our annual offsite event is going to have to be a livestream. Can you host it and make sure it’s not boring?”
Greg: “Yes And – What if the interviews feel like the executives are on a TV show?” CUT TO – December, 2021.
CitizenM: “Greg, help! Again, our annual event is going to have to be a livestream! Are you available for…”
Greg: “CitizenM TV – Episode 2? YES.”
Again, CitizenM HQ hired Dutch production company GRNDPA to make the livestream something special.
PRO-TIP: Your Livestream doesn’t need to be Live! Again, we had 3 days of production, with plenty of time for me to meet the C-level execs and get to know everyone – and get the best out of everyone.
Episode 2 didn’t just use 4k screens to patch in remote guests. This time we had an enormous video wall.
The script went high-concept for Episode 2. This time, I got to demonstrate the new contactless user experience with the help of Kabuki / Ninja actors in morph suits. (Actually, they were employees on the CitizenM team, and they were surprisingly good.)
And I got to play the World’s Worst motivational speaker – a cross between Ted Lasso’s alter ego Led Tasso and Yosemite Sam.
Most importantly, I convinced the lighting team to let me use the LED tubes for their obvious purpose: light saber battles with the director Victor Zwiers.
The priority on-set was to keep the vibe of a normal offsite event, as much as possible. Guess what? Top management is always going to be too dry – in the first take. But with a couple of retakes – and me more actively engaging them – the managers managed to loosen up and feel like they were talking to their team, in person.
Again, the studio set required a negative Covid test – hence, we employed the ‘Bubble’ protocol. And we were able to give at least a one-arm hug. Hopefully next time we can do it in person!
Greg Shapiro Mini Standup Special ‘LEAVING TRUMPLAND’ 4 January, 2022
I wrote a comedy show about America during Trump and during Covid. It’s called LEAVING TRUMPLAND. And it’s partly about how Trump and Covidiots killed my stepfather.
Most of my performance dates were cancelled due to Covid. But thankfully, a Dutch performance series asked me to perform part of my show for them, at the ITA International Theater Amsterdam. And here it is:
GREG SHAPIRO’S LEAVING TRUMPLAND on ‘Cultuurexplosie Live.’ (link below)
My previous show was called The Madness of King Donald. This show is more personal. Ever since I moved to the Netherlands, my family and friends keep asking “When are you moving back? When are you coming home?” And now, since 2020, they’re asking “What is it like in the Netherlands? Maybe we could come live with you?” And I tell them “Nee! Vol is vol!”
And yes, I wrote new bits about President Biden. Did you hear what he said today? No. No one did. No one cares! And it’s wonderful!
We don’t have the mental space to pay attention to Joe Biden. We’re still recovering from 4 years of Post-Traumatic Tweet Disorder. America is like a toilet clogged with 4 years of toxic dumps. Biden is the plumber. And as happy as we are that Joe the Plumber is on the job, I hope he knows it’s not like we’re not going to WATCH, right? Just let us know when you’re done.
We can’t pay attention to the current president, because some of us are still mourning. As for me, I found out in the summer of 2020 that my stepdad had Covid. In a nursing home at age 75. And the nursing home was in Trump country, aka ‘Trumpland.’ And my stepdad had a roommate. And the roommate was like many Republicans in the US: they believe in Freedom more than Science. In fact they believe in “Freedom FROM Science.”
And for the rest of the story, you’ll have to watch:
Q&A: Why EU Vaccine Strategy Is Not as Bad as You Think
On my YouTube channel, I have a long-running show called ‘United States of Europe’ – Making fun of the EU the American way. So of course, I had to make fun of the EU’s comically slow Covid vaccination rates, as compared to the US and the UK. BUT along the way, I realized – it’s not that simple. In fact, in many ways EU vaccination policy is not as bad as you’d think.
In the video, I started with:
“The World Health Organization (WHO) has criticized the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in Europe as being ‘unacceptably slow.’ I’m in the Netherlands and as of April, even my friend who works in health care can’t ‘get a jab.’
I know the Dutch are famous for the ‘Netherlands Second’ video. But now it’s more like ‘we know it’s going to be the rest of the EU first, but can we just say NL 27th?’
When it comes to vaccinations, you have to think of the German poet Heinrich Heine who said: ‘When the end of the world comes make your way to Holland. There everything happens fifty years late.'”
…SO that was where I would normally end the video. BUT this time I decided go a bit deeper.
One of the people who appreciated my video was Trendwatcher Vincent Everts. Vincent is a longtime friend of Boom Chicago, (and he hosts a weekly online show with America expert Charles Groenhuijsen). Vincent noticed that my EU vaccine video was a lot longer than usual. Because there was a lot more to cover! So we did a deep dive interview. Well, it wasn’t supposed to be such a deep dive, because it was on a Saturday morning. And he totally missed his slot on the tennis court.
For more regular updates on The United States of Europe, check http://youtube.com/gregshapiro .
Typical 2021: “Will the Covid lockdown end in time for our AGM Annual General Meeting?” In the case of CitizenM Hotels, nope. Every year, these guys have an off-site event for their whole, global team: Someplace exotic; someplace inspiring; something to keep them going for the rest of the year. But in 2021, it was time to face the ugly truth: they were going to have to livestream it.
Luckily, CitizenM HQ hired Dutch production company GRNDPA to make the livestream something special. And they hired me to host the ‘First-Ever CitizenM TV Show.’ Luckily, I have some history with the CitizenM folks. I was at one of their 2018 off-sites, to perform my ‘Dutch Culture Shock Therapy’ masterclass. It was a good show! I liked these guys.
PRO-TIP: Your Livestream doesn’t need to be Live! We had 3 days of production, with plenty of time for me to meet the C-level execs and reassure everyone. We pre-recorded the transitions, and I spoke in the voiceovers. The priority on-set was to keep the vibe of a normal offsite event, as much as possible. And yes, the top management were way too dry in the first take. But with a couple of retakes – and me more actively engaging them – the managers managed to loosen up and feel like they were talking to their team, in person.
I really appreciated hearing it back in the comments, like “You made us feel comfortable Greg, it was a joy. Many thanks!”
Was everyone nervous? Of course. But not me. Which is why I also appreciated hearing “Your years of experience shine through, seeing how smooth it went.”
HOW DID IT GO? See for yourself:
BACKSTORY
Do you know CitizenM? It’s a Dutch start-up, launched in 2008 with the slogan ‘Affordable luxury for the people.’ They were most notable for the things they didn’t provide, like bellhops. They provided automated check-in, so you could skip the check-in chat and just go straight to your room. They basically designed their dream hotel, based on the years they’d spent traveling for fashion brand Mexx. And by ‘they,’ I mean Mr. Rattan Cheddha and family. I’d performed for them at corporate events with Boom Chicago for years.
[In fact, I think it was 1997 when Seth Meyers and I performed a birthday show at the Cheddhas’ house. That was the time we did an improv scene, where Seth had to guess the word ‘Mallorca’ – a place he had not heard of, at that point. Have you ever seen an improv guessing game performed so brilliantly that you wonder if it’s all pre-planned? Well, this was one of those times we proved conclusively it was definitely improvised. To this day, Seth will still grind his teeth anytime someone brings up the Mediterranean Island of Mallorca.]
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.
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.
I performed Leaving Trumpland 1.0 for the US election in 2020. Unfortunately, not many people saw that show – because it was in the middle of Covid. Remember when you could only perform for 30 or 100 max at a time? And half the shows were canceled before that. My tour booker said, “the reviews were so good! Why don’t you just do a reprise of your 2020 show for the US election 2024?” I said “don’t be ridiculous! That would require the exact same to candidates four years ago. What are the odds of that happening?” …And yet for most of this year, that’s what we had. Biden vs Trump: the rematch. Because they both aged so gracefully.
