Check out Carl’s article, “Human and Robot Humor Get Big Laughs at AMPLYfi,” Originally Published in the Larchmont Ledger
MELROSE AVENUE—Greg the robot’s eyes light up on the AMPLYfi stage just east of Larchmont Boulevard and the crowd in the basement-level venue laughs before the show has even started.
Greg is a homemade robot and the host of HUMANS!, a monthly standup comedy show produced by 26-year-old Silver Lake comedian Mikey Heller.
The thinly painted Lowe’s moving boxes taped together to make the robot’s cartoonish blue body are a clear sign Heller is not an engineer. But Heller’s comedy chops shine as he works Greg’s robotic failures and emotional shortcomings into the act.
“It’s so funny. Mikey’s one of the funniest people I know,” said Matt Kiel who plays Greg the robot’s intern in the show. It is the intern’s job to reposition Greg when his wheels catch on a microphone wire or to restart the robot on the frequent occasions when it powers itself off.
These interactions between Greg and Kiel draw some of the biggest laughs of the night.
Carl Robinette 