3 questions for...Beth Stelling and Dan Telfer

Local comics Beth Stelling and Dan Telfer are up-and-comers to watch for; they will both certainly explode onto the nation scene before long.  In the meantime, neither is resting on their laurels (so glad I got to type that). 

Chicago's mistress of all things deadpan, Beth runs the wildy successful Sunday night showcase and variety show Entertaining Julia along with those ramparts of wacky, the Puterbaugh Sisters.  Started in collaboration with Chicago ex-pats Jena Friedman (off to NY) and Sarah King (in LA), literally anything might happen at one of these shows including all manner of costuming, a drop-by set from Robin Willaims, or a fully staged five minute late night talk show - complete with Paul Schaffer-esque band.

Dan is a producer at Chicago Underground Comedy, a long-running Tuesday night show staged at the Beat Kitchen.  Basically, the shows have rock club energy to spare, and a killer cast of jokenormous comics (read: I am a cast member at this show).  And that man knows how to tame Twitter.

But what do they have in common?  This weekend both are opening for Melinda Hill at the Lakeshore Theater.  I checked in with them before Friday's show:

1. What are your thoughts on performing in a large, theater-type venue like the lakeshore?

• Beth: Lakeshore is one of my favorite places to perform because it seats 300+ like a concert    hall but has an underground dive bar feel

• Dan: Hecklers can hide easier and interactions with the crowd in general are a little tougher, but I love the Lakeshore because it's just big enough to feel special and small enough to feel intimate.

2. Is there a difference between hosting for a female headliner and a male headliner?

• Beth: Male or female, it depends on the headliner's personality and social skills more than anything. Guy and gal comics have both been generous and encouraging.

• Dan: I doubt there's a real quantifiable difference between working with dude versus lady comics, but by some coincidence I've been featuring for female headliners a lot lately and they've been extremely gracious and friendly across the board. As a general geek and wuss I do appreciate a general lack of machismo and competitiveness.

3. Those tortilla chips that are always backstage at the Lakeshore-do you eat 'em?

• Beth: I usually don't eat the chips before showtime but I look at them and tell them they're going to see a lot of me after the show. And they do. Almost all of them. It's a chip feast.

• Dan: They are a vessel for guacamole, which I cannot resist under any circumstance.

Hmm...so they both eat the chips.

Beth Stelling and Dan Telfer will be opening for Melinda Hill June 4-6, lakeshoretheater.com for showtimes and tickets