September 9, 2008

Tributes To The Bastion

Since we shut down The Bastion, I've gotten more nice emails than I've had time to respond to, and people have left some lovely comments on our final post. Other websites have written about us, too. Some sites, like Comedy Central's Insider and Avant Chicago, just made a brief mention, while others went all-out with a little tip of the hat. So nice. I am proud of what Kristy and I did over these last two years, and it's incredibly gratifying to see all the kind, positive things people have to say about our work. Here's a roundup of what's been said so far (I removed the links in each post just so it would look smoother).


Chicago comedy website The Bastion shuts down

The Bastion’s editor Elizabeth McQuern and writer Kristy Mangel announced late Friday that the local-comedy-oriented website is shutting down. Its swansong post largely thanks the Chicago comedy community for its support over the past two years, encourages wannabe comedians to take classes and start performing, and explains that the site is being left behind so its primary contributors can explore “exciting new opportunities.” Translation: Like so many Chicago-trained comedians before them, McQuern and Mangel are moving on to greener pastures. McQuern plans to move to Los Angeles next year; Mangel intends to keep blogging about Chicago stand-up at Five-Drink Minimum.

So why has nobody in the community offered to pick up The Bastion’s torch? According to a post in McQuern’s blog over the weekend, either nobody’s interested or qualified enough: “Since last December, I have been trying to find a replacement editor, and I couldn’t.” So, look out Los Angeles: Here comes someone following her dreams!



The Last Bastion

Sad news for the comedy and improv community: The Bastion is closing down due to the overwhelming schedules of its primary writers, Elizabeth McQuern and Kristy Mangel. McQuern shares more of the backstory as to why it's shutting down rather than switching to a new editor here.

Here at A/C, we'll do what we can to cover the scene, but it will pale, at least in the short term, in comparison to what the Bastion has done. It will certainly be missed.


The Bastion says Goodbye.

As this week wraps up, everyone should definitely pay respect to The Bastion, the Chicago-centric offspring of NY comedy blog, The Apiary. It’s shutting down after today. An Obama fistbump to Elizabeth McQuern and Kristy Mangel who were able to rack up “750 blog entries, 630 comments, and a quarter of a million page views” says McQuern, in its two year run. Best of luck to the both of them in future endeavors.

A hip, hip, and a hooray are in order.


Bye Bye Bastion

Amazing Chicago comedy blog The Bastion is shutting down after two years of dedicated service to the Chicago comedy community. This is sad for a couple of reasons, one is that I know of no other web site that wants my photos of Chicago comedy, and two the Bastion has been a great source of information about the vibrant Chicago comedy scene.

I will try my best to post comedy goings ons here on metblogs. You can also go to the blogs of the Bastions main writers Elizabeth McQuern and Kristy Mangel for their super-fan’s-eye view of the Chicago comedy world.


The Bastion says goodbye?!

Chicago comedy blog The Bastion unleashed a flurry of posts today, then followed that up with an announcement that it was closing up shop. What gives?! We hardly knew ye! Good luck to Elizabeth and Kristy on their future projects, and to everyone else in the Chicago comedy community, too. We'll have to look elsewhere for our Second City news now...

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Kudos to the big move, and to all the great press you're getting. You deserve it! And such a bold step that will surely pay off :)