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Lizz Winstead and Patton Oswalt to perform in D.C.'s Bentzen Ball comedy festival
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Lizz Winstead (co-creator of "The Daily Show") and Patton Oswalt ("Big Fan", "Ratatouille", "The King of Queens") answered some of my e-mail questions about themselves and their upcoming performances as part of the inaugural Bentzen Ball comedy festival. Click here if you want to buy tickets to see them on stage.
Also, make sure to read my first story about the Bentzen Ball and check out the responses from Aubrey Plaza and Nick Offerman who share the screen on NBC's Parks and Recreation. 
Lizz Winstead
BS: Your wikipedia page says you got your start in the Minneapolis standup scene. What is the Minneapolis standup scene like?
LW: It was great because the comedy scene and the music scene were intertwined so one day you would be opening for a national headliner like Seinfeld or Richard Lewis and the next day you'd be opening for Husker Du or The Replacements. You really learned to work all kinds of crowds.
BS: What are your thoughts on the closing of the Metrodome?
LW: If anyone would have listened to me, the f***ing thing would have had a retractable dome to begin with and we wouldn't be having this conversation.
BS: You come into D.C. with some frequency. Do you like performing comedy here? How is D.C. different than other cities?
LW: DC is my perfect comedy town, you can talk about politics a little more in depth and I normally work at The Arlington Draft House, which I believe is one of the best stages in the country, in fact I will also be headlining there the last week-end in January. I love the audiences. They read. Most of em anyway.
BS: What are your thought on coming in for this festival?
LW: So excited to share the stage with such awesome talent and to see shows I rarely get to see because I am a NY comic and so many acts are west coast based. It's a real thrill to perform but also to hang and watch so many great comics.
BS: Is working in a festival any different than working on your own?
LW: It's like doing Top Chef Masters. All the comics are top notch, doing shorter sets and working in a fun environment. Hopefully a lot of people will be trying new things and having fun.
BS: Why should someone buy a ticket to see you instead of one of the other comedians?
LW: I think if you want political comedy, you will like me, I will be doing material from the weeks and even that day's news so you will see stuff that is current and that I probably won't be doing again so it's a great show if you like comedy that responds to the news of the day. Literally. . . . [P]art of the fun of seeing my show is that it can be totally different a month, or sometimes even a week later.
BS: Besides being a comedian, radio and television personality, and blogger, what else are you? What else do you do?
LW: I am a writer, currently working [on] a book of essays for Riverhead Press. I am a producer, I co-created The Daily Show and was one of the founders of Air America Radio. I love scrabble, yoga and a pretty decent amateur chef. I also have become twitter obsessed. Ouch.
Patton Oswalt
BS: Why should people pay $30 to see you when almost every other show costs $15?
PO: Because I possess the Staff of Hash-Vendum.
BS: Will you big time people because of Big Fan and Ratatouille?
PO: Not only will I "big time" people, I will also "high hat" and "glad hand" them.
BS: Do you like performing in D.C.?
PO: D.C. is in Hawaii, right? If so, I love it.
BS: Did working on Big Fan change you at all? Did it help with your comedy at all?
PO: Yes. And no.
BS: Considering how terrible the Redskins are now, any shot you'll stick around after your show and replace Jim Zorn?
PO: The Redskins is a bowling team, right? I don't follow sports.
BS: Is performing in D.C. much different then any other city?
PO: There's way more cherry blossoms, which profoundly changes your comedy.
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