The Material

Every comedian knows that there's a line between sharp and cruel, that sad becomes funny at the right angle, that any moment in life, however painful or triumphant, can be turned into a punchline. But at the Chicago Stand-up School, it seems as if the students and teachers are just too wounded, mixed up, self-involved or fearful to land the joke. It's unclear whether the visiting tutor - successful, controversial Manny Reinhardt - will help or hinder their progress. Set over the course of a single day, The Material examines life through the eyes of these misfits bound together by the need to laugh, and to make others laugh even harder.