Monday, August 20, 2007

Series: Comedy as it relates to Sex (Part 2 of ?)

3) The buildup, and finally the release
Say the opposite scenario from #2 happens. So far you've taken the audience on a journey. It's been a little shaky--a bit of a roller-coaster ride. You were a bit nervous at first. But you caught your stride, your rhythm, and now you can feel the moment at the horizon. You're at the brink. You've been waiting all night for that one joke that will send the audience. The single solitary moment that will make the whole night worthwhile. You've been having an okay night and you're waiting for the exact moment when you finally, uh, well, can climax. But remember to get the audience there first, before you do so! (It's only polite.) It's the highlight of the evening, so to speak. And audiences finally gets there, standing-O, perhaps. And now it's time for your release. Bliss! Absolute bliss!


4) One night stands do apply
(If I need to explain this one, then you might want to find another blog.)

Fine! Fine! I'll explain it, dammit!

Most comedians, mainly experienced ones, will do a show unexpectedly at the drop of hat--no warning, no precursor, no subtly dropped hints. They just walk into a club, hop on stage, do a set, and get off---stage, I mean. But it's just one show. No more. It was a random deviation from the set plan. It was a good night. It went well. And there are no regrets. The audience is satisfied. You're feeling good about it! And you may never see that audience again, despite things going so well. So yes, in comedy, one night stands apply and are in fact encouraged. (Unless, there's a baby conceived, and in that case, you should be responsible and speak to your audience about that.) I'm disappointed in you! I can't believe you didn't use protection!


5) Compensation for services

You can pay for it, but paying for it is lot less satisfying than if you get it for free.

In New York city, it's very common to walk into a restaurant or bar and find a comedy show going on almost any night of the week. Most of the time it's in a back room. My point is that it's not difficult at all to find open mics and amateur comedy shows that are free. Mainly because the need for audience--real audience--versus a comic audience, as discussed in a previous post, is strong.

And sometimes, albeit sometimes, you will attend one of these weak open mic nights (because even I'll admit, as an amateur, we're not experienced and hence, not funny) and a surprise big time/headliner comic will do a little stagetime to work on their set. What do I mean by "big time"? Oh, I don't know perhaps, Chris Rock, Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, oh, and I don't know perhaps... Grammy award winner, John Mayer! As of late, Chris Rock has been spotted at two of clubs I frequent, but unfortunately, due to my perfect timing, I am never there to witness his performance.


6) Sweaty palms, heavy panting, cries of ectsacy

Every time I take the stage, I'm a little bit nervous. And most comedians will admit to picking up the microphone and having it slip thorough their hands because of the sweaty buildup.

Believe it or not, every performer should be a bit nervous. (If you're not, you're on something and you might want to consider heading slowly back offstage before you hurt yourself or someone else.) If you do get the honor of playing a booked show in front of real paying audience, then you shouldn't feel so nervous that you're petrified. By then you should have worked out all your jokes and be comfortable with your routine.

Once you've gotten into the groove of things, that's when the magic happens. Ideally, the heavy panting and the cries of ectascy are a result of the delirious laughter from the audience members. The heavy panting is sometimes residual from a knee-slapper, post-a killer joke. And it's okay if the audience remains quiet, with heavy panting to break up the silence. (The audience sometimes need to recover from the last joke to prepare for another of its caliber. Trust me, in this case, silence is a good thing, for a comic. It means you've slayed and the audience isn't sure they can go for another round.) A good comic will notice this and bring the energy down a level, giving the audience a refractory period, if you get my double entendre. Thereby the recovery time can be shorter giving you more time for fun on stage.

Don't go! There's more Comedy and Sex, Part 3!

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15 comments:

Steve said...

Gosh darn it! So there is more to life than vanilla!

Unknown said...

hi Lucy... it's girlabout town here! Just checked out your blog, which is VERY entertaining to say the least! Hope to hear from you soon, meanwhile keep up the good work!

Best regards,
N

RW said...

Hi Lucy ;D hey I wish for you to climax often and climax good ;D

Sgt said...

I'm guessing people faking their laughs can be traumatic as well.

Oh, and those comedians who seem more interested in making themselves laugh than you.

raffi said...

so, this post isn't going to actually gloss over sex... you mean it's only a metaphorical analogy of sex to comedy?! man, i need some debbie does dallas right about now.

Anonymous said...

Raff is right again! Whats that all about? We even had our dicks out ready...

Free fer all Paul said...

That reminds me of the time I shit my britches in traffic on I95.

Anonymous said...

Why do comedians gravitate to NYC like flies on shit? Is it really easier to make money, or is it just easier to find a stage?

Ha Ha Sound said...

I don't know whether to laugh or feel turned on.

Ha. =+)

Constance said...

Good Monday evening to you, Lucy ! How are you ?

I liked your post and the comparisons ! It's much more proper than my erotica blog, and much more titillating than my nice girl blog !

Thank you for coming by my nice girl blog to visit, and leaving a comment !

I appreciated it, and you are always welcome, shoes on or off !

Loving Annie

Akelamalu said...

Thanks for the insight and thank you for visiting my blog and taking the time to comment, I hope you'll call again. :)

Paul said...

I love the double entendre! Also, I'm guessing that the one night stand is fairly anonymous as well?

I really enjoy your blog!

Magdalene-Sophie said...

funny- quite creative actually :)

SafeTinspector said...

I have no refractory period, baby. I can tell the same joke five, six times a night.
And all to the same person.
They can't even laugh the last three to four times, but I persevere because I am not a quitter.

Dan said...

The heavy panting is sometimes residual from a knee-slapper, post-a killer joke.

Actually for me, as an audience member, the heavy panting is usually because of the hot blonde sitting to my side who is advertising the fact that the AC is up a bit too high. (I'm bad, I know.)

Thanks for visiting my blog. You're way cool for doing that.