Sofla all shook up over prankster

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on September 4th, 2010

“Sofla” is the portmanteau– or is it simply a contraction?– that’s short for South Florida. And it refers to the community of comedians who toil in that region roughly bound by West Palm on the north down to Miami on the south.

We theorized that the video mini-phenomenon “Stand Up Comedy is NOT Pretty” came from somewhere in Florida, specifically from South Florida. While investigating that connection, we stumbled upon the whole Crackenberry phenomenon.

There’s a person calling himself “Harold Crackenberry,” who is, in the words of one comedian, “terrorizing” the comedians of that market, through a series of Facebook status updates, videos and personal appearances. He’s also put Harold Crackenberry stickers on cars and in other places and has, according to one member of the community, “come up with creative ways to tell South Florida comics that they suck.”

A typical Crackenberry Facebook posting:

Here’s an idea for all of you aspiring South Florida comics…walk away. No one would notice except for a few friends that would get over it faster than you would like to admit to yourself.

There follows the embed of the now-famous “Stand Up Comedy is NOT Pretty” xtranormal video we posted about on the 23rd of August. Says Crackenberry of the video: “The clubs have to use techniques like this because you suck.” (He follows up with the cryptic message that he has “made a deal with the Improv for my very own show. I’ll let you… know when the show is so you can experience what real entertainment is like.” The Improv referred to here is the one inside the Seminole Hard Rock Casino, also known as the Ft. Lauderdale Improv.)

Theories abound. One has it that Crackenberry is not merely one person, but a group of people.

He (or one of his co-conspirators) even went so far as to appear at one open mike show, wearing the head of a fox (ostensibly as “Harold Crackenberry’s lawyer”), and mount the stage to play an audio tape (ostensibly from Crackenberry himself) which insulted comics and contained a filthy, confrontational poem.

We’re mystified as to why the emcee didn’t just reach over and rip the fox head off of Crackenberry!

Not all the comics are terrorized, however. Some admit that many of the stunts and postings are clever and that they demonstrate a knowledge of the scene and it’s denizens. At least one comic wrote on Crackenberry’s FB wall and practically begged the hoaxster to review his set and “give me your worst. I mean, your absolute worst.” So, it seems that one’s annoyance level at Crackenberry may depend on how long one has been plugging away at standup or how much confidence one has in one’s act.

One Sofla comic, Johann Luna, has even posted an answer rap, called “Crackenberry’s A Little Soft Bitch,” which challenges the Foxheaded one to reveal his identity or at least get up onstage and do some jokes.

It’s been going on since February. We only found out about it recently.

One Sofla comic, Will Lopez, going by the name of “Soflunny,” posted an “answer video,” using the Hitler Downfall format:

We must say this might be one of the strangest things we’ve ever seen in standup. We also must say that we’ve never been fans of anonymous criticism. We can only hope that, after some time has passed, that Crackenberry will reveal his true identity and “take the heat.” As it now stands, the entire hoax is causing the Sofla comics to speculate as to who Crackenberry is and accusing this comic or that comic of being the man behind the vitriol. It’s never a good idea when a person or persons is falsely accused. But we suppose that people need someone to blame. The idea of an anonymous, seemingly omnipotent entity that appears to know everyone– and has no compunction about saying mean things about members of the community– is disconcerting. And it has the potential to cause deep, permanent riffs in what seems to be a healthy, somewhat vibrant scene. It’s not too much of a stretch to believe that the perpetrator is a member of the community he is tormenting. Rather like an arsonist who is a member of the fire department and who seeks great pleasure in not just setting the blaze, but witnessing the aftermath and helping to put out the fire. What fun would it be to cause such turmoil among the comics if you weren’t there to see and hear the results of your handiwork?

Why doesn’t this guy go the route of Patrick Milligan of CringeHumor.net? Milligan says the most ghastly things about the comics he doesn’t like. But then he fiercely promotes those acts that he enjoys. And he produces shows that feature those acts.

We just hope that Crackenberry doesn’t have plans to franchise the venture. Something like this has the potential to destroy some of the less robust open mike/up-and-comer communities around the continent.

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