Comedian Jann Karam, Las Vegas Sun, Feb. 4, 2005

Columnist Lisa Ferguson: ‘Seasoned’ Karam content on any sized stage Lisa Ferguson Friday, Feb. 4, 2005 | 8:43 a.m. Lisa Ferguson's Laugh Lines column appears Fridays. Her Sun Lite Column appears Mondays. Reach her at lmsferguson@yahoo.com. You're just as likely to find Jann Karam occupying a makeshift stage at some hole-in-the-wall coffeehouse as you are to catch her soaking up the spotlight at a large comedy club. Audiences at the former are typically "a nice, eclectic group, and they're more open-minded, so you can try out those jokes ... that aren't quite fleshed out; you can kind of nurture it a little bit," says Karam, who is on the bill through Saturday at Palace Station's Laugh Trax. Of course, Karam has also had plenty of experience performing at the latter. The longtime comedian ("I'm a seasoned professional," she giggles when pressed to divulge how many years she's been in the business) has played some of the biggest clubs in the country. She's also enjoyed guest spots on several sitcoms, including "Seinfeld" and "Mad About You"; and displayed her humor on nearly every late-night talk show in recent decades, including a pair of performances on "The Tonight Show" under Johnny Carson's watch. "He was real nice to me," Karam recalled of the late host during a recent call from her Los Angeles home. Backstage, prior to her first "Tonight Show" appearance in the '80s, she says Carson reminded her: " 'If (the audience) could do what you could do, they'd be out there, so you go get 'em,' and he winked at me. The second time I came back ... he gave me the 'OK' (sign) and a wink after my set, so that's a big deal." A big deal, indeed, for the woman who was grew up in the small town of Superior, Ariz., southeast of Phoenix. "I always knew that I just wanted to tell people what I was thinking, that I needed to be heard," she recalls. After graduating college Karam moved to Chicago to study at the famed Second City training center and perform at clubs throughout the Windy City. From there, she relocated to New York, where she became a regular player at the Big Apple branch of the Catch a Rising Star club chain. It was during those years that she met Jerry Seinfeld, who "was really good (about) helping me develop my act," she says, recalling how she once approached Seinfeld with a bit of hers "that was kind of seeming like a mundane idea." His advice, she contends, helped her recognize the need to "keep the bar higher" with her comedy material. In the late '80s, Karam moved to L.A. where, before long, "it seemed like doors were opening," she says, referring to her subsequent acting gigs and other projects. Over the years Karam has guested on a slew of stand-up comedy series, including VH1's "Stand-Up Spotlight" and Fox's "Comic Strip Live." In 1990 she was featured in HBO's "Young Comedian's Special" alongside Dennis Miller and David Spade. The same year she landed a sitcom pilot which, unfortunately, failed to be picked up. "It's been downhill ever since," Karam jokes of her career, which has also included writing, directing, producing and starring in the 1997 short film "Under the Big Muu Muu" for production company Castle Rock Entertainment Inc. The film, which follows Karam's character as she "struggles to survive Mom's weekend visit," was screened at several film festivals around the country and won several prizes. (She'll hawk copies of the movie's DVD following her Laugh Trax shows.) "You know, your mom comes to visit, she drives you nuts," Karam explains of the plot. In the movie, "My mom's always looking for (spare) change" with which to purchase various items. "It kind of sends me back to my childhood of being annoyed that she's been doing this ... but then I'm reminded how she's a caring, loving mom." Though working behind the scenes on the flick was "a lot of fun, it was kind of frustrating, too," she says, as the bulk of the crew was composed of volunteers who weren't the most reliable lot. "Then, I didn't really know what I was doing ... The fact that it came out as well as it did was kind of miraculous." "Muu-Muu" was also been tagged as a potential television pilot for Karam -- another project that failed to come to fruition. ("That's OK, they didn't get me," she quips.) For the past five years Karam has been crafting and intermittently staging her one-woman show, "Reclining Nude on La Cienega." In it, she marries her stand-up skills to another of her passions: painting, a hobby she took up a decade ago. "I thought, 'What if I combined this with my jokes and words? I can express a lot more than I can just with words, through paint, texture, color, movement.' " Using four large canvases, paint brushes and sponges onstage, Karam (who declines to reveal her age) creates "this whole colorful world," and delves into topics similarly covered in her comedy act -- relationships, family and other "daily annoyances" among them. "As we go through life, we get painted on ... and that's what makes us who we are," she explains of the stage show's premise -- "what we do with this paint, and how you kind of find your place in this world." The title, she says, is a nod to Los Angeles' heavily traveled La Cienega Boulevard -- "a busy intersection, crowded, lights, big buildings, urban ... and how do you find a resting place in the chaos? It doesn't sound funny, I know, but it's funny." Karam calls the show "a work in progress," which she edits "as my life changes. I have this whole section about all the bad dates that I have. So, if I wait a year" between productions, "I have like 10 more guys to add to the bad-dates section," she says. "It's like, 'Well, at least I got a joke out of it -- heartache and a joke.' " Out for laughs A new show time -- 7 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday -- is in effect at Palace Station's Laugh Trax, where tickets for Thursday night shows are free to Las Vegas locals. Add the Rampart Casino, 221 N. Rampart Blvd., to the list of local venues giving live comedy a shot. The casino will host a series of free stand-up shows, emceed by Michael Rapport, through Feb. 12. Slated to perfom at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. tonight and Saturday are Andrew Norelli and Ronny Kenney; Keith Nelson and Vic Dunlop take the stage Thursday through Feb. 12. Jamie Kennedy -- who took the stage in November at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay -- is set to guest Monday on "The Tonight Show" (11:35 p.m., Channel 3) to promote his new movie, "Son of the Mask," opening Feb. 18. Time is running out to submit entries for Nick at Nite's Search for the Funniest Mom in America contest. The network (Cox cable channel 23) is hunting for a humorous matriarch around whom it can develop an original sitcom, as well as award a $50,000 prize and one night's worth of work hosting special Nick at Night programming. For details, including where to send videotapes of moms "at their funniest" (which must be postmarked by Feb. 13), visit www.nickatnite.com.