Since working at Washington, DC’s premiere comedy club for the past eight months, I’ve been noodling a lot about what makes the experience of seeing standup comedy popular. Standup comedy, to me, is truly an elusive art form. As audience members, we crave honesty. We all want to hear wild, hilarious, and real stories from a relatable person onstage. But we also want this honesty to be delivered through the vessel of an entertaining caricature you don’t see everyday, one whose humor aligns with our own specific tastes, and one who can effortlessly navigate the next 10 min with ease and mastery. It tends to be a pressure-some juxtaposition simply because one night we all decided to gather in a bar and listen to someone who claims to be funny. And though I can empathize with the imperfect expectations of being a “good” standup comedian, I still understand and participate in the “DANCE MONKEY DANCE!” of it all.
We as audiences, are so judgmental and eager because we are desperately hungry for connection and for the exclusivity involved in witnessing an experience that is only able to be crafted in one room, in that moment in time. The same stimuli of the space you are in will not repeat. The audience will not repeat either, therefore the same riffs or crowd work is going to vary based upon peoples wild life experiences.
We all seek escapism in different ways- a couple wants to let loose away from their kids, someone longs to laugh without the weight of their impending deadlines,
Young adults need to be busy enough to distract from the all-consuming dilemmas about crafting the perfect text response to their situation-ship.
So while some may say that providing wildness and distraction is the most crucial aspect of being a good comedian, I’ve come to realize that providing truth is perhaps just as equal if not more significant in shaping the overall experience.
Pointing out things how they actually are, addressing topics that we mull over secretly, and experiencing the reality of a comedic situation that is unfolding before our eyes, creates a unique high that happens from the disbelief that the reality of a situation, (or the truth) is enough. Considering we are in a society that is constantly chasing, “more, bigger, and better,” standup comedy can be so fulfilling because it allows us to indulge in the truth of what is happening in the room.
Comments