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Sunday, February 26, 2017
Against All Performances
Had to ruffle around in my notebook to find my second topic. And voila! Here it is. Today, Tomorrow, Tuesday, or whenever you are reading this I will be discussing comparisons of the stand-up comedy genre to all other live performances. Believe it or not, singing at Madison Square Garden is the same thing as telling jokes at a local Pub. By-the-freaking-way, you can also perform stand-up at Madison Square Garden. At the end of the day, entertainers are entertainers and that is what makes them the same.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2017
Hecklers
Hecklers, heckling, the act of heckle, I am not sure what to call it. If you are not familiar with the term, I will run down a synopsis: There is a performance in front of a crowd. An individual, or group of people, decide to interrupt said performance. There is your standard heckler.
Normally, there is no polite reason as to why a person needs to interrupt the show. Here are some points that I believe a heckler would justify as humane:
Normally, there is no polite reason as to why a person needs to interrupt the show. Here are some points that I believe a heckler would justify as humane:
- They are drunk/using drugs
- They are on the phone
- They do not understand the performance
- Peer pressure
- They are unhappy
- (Personal)They are just a messed up person
Clearly, anyone can be a heckler. I can be a heckler, Jason Bourne can be a heckler, the guy who came up with the word "heckler" can be a heckler, and even a person's flatulence can be a heckler. Now may be saying, "heckle this heckle that", but there is a genuine purpose for hecklers. What their job is intended to do is add or subtract from the performance. Earlier I was talking about hecklers in general, but for the rest of my piece, I will offer up some examples in stand-up comedy.
Additionally... Get it? If you don't, here is the part of the blog where I will discuss what hecklers A-D-D to stand-up performances. I am not that funny. So hecklers interrupt and kill moods fro certain performances. What the average comedian knows is that any rude audience member that decides to participate themselves into their stand-up performance creates a gateway. That gateway creates multiple hypothetical timelines or "gateways" to improvisation. Improv: coming up with new material on the spot. The comedian has a variety of improv options. Questioning the audience member, insulting or "roasting" the interrupter, or making a joke WITH the person. Most outcomes are fairly positive when professionally handling the heckler. Even better, the audience gets more than what they intended for. A win-win situation out of something. Next time you hear an interruption, rub your hand maniacally and wait for the turkey.
What brings me and you together? "Mine-us" I get it the jokes are terrible, but I am trying my best to keep audience retention. Opposite to the last passage, I will discuss the possibilities a heckler can take away from the performance. If the performer fails to add to the act, he/she ultimately takes away from the audience. What that proposes is the heckler did their job too well. An overwhelmingly strong heckler needs to be removed. Due to the large-scale interruption, the show itself will dive into a very different, awkward stage. Jokes will not land as hard and all the crowd will remember is, "That darn heckler!" Comedians need to be prepared for any interruption.
Here are some links for some examples of hecklers in stand-up comedy:
I hope you enjoyed this segment! As I am typing this, I am not sure what is to come next. Stay tuned.
Tuesday, February 14, 2017
An Introduction that is not funny...
Welcome to the show! And coming to the stage... is nobody. This is a blog and the only person here is YOU reading this. Now that the cliches are cliched', let me introduce the Stand-Up Blog. No, it is not a blog about posture. Alright, that was the last joke I make for now...
But this blog is is an informative list piece in which I break down the stuff you would not normally think about, you guessed it, stand-up comedy. The first assumption about stand-up comedy is it is just some person telling jokes on stage. Actually, that is not an assumption but a fact. Although facts also have stretched out details in them. Did I just trigger your mind into a thinking frenzy? Or you possibly clicked this link on accident and are proceeding to leave. Either way, I am writing this for a grade.
Stand-up comedy is planned performance that is developed by a lot of time and experience. Duh. Anything requires time and experience. Also, stand-up comedy is a performance. What I mean by that redundancy is that stand-up comedians plan out their jokes and plan out how they tell a joke. It is similar to how a singer uses a certain tone when singing a note. Think of why you are watching someone tell jokes for a few minutes. Most likely the comedian is conveniently there in a bar setting, and you are actually not even doing what I just said. There's always that one percent that actually does listen to the bar comedian and for that one percent, they are watching for the person. They are watching because of the personality the performer is portraying. We laugh because we can either relate to the joke or relate to the person. Next time you are standing up for comedy(pun definitely intended), knock this idea through your noggin.
And that is just a sample of what I will be discussing in this blog dog(I'm sorry). Like a scientist, I will be dwelling into everything around stand-up comedy; a subject I know way to well. Also, the research process is the only thing that I do that sort of relates to science. Also, I am not a stand-up comedian, nor do I plan to be. I just love to watch stand-up. Stay tuned for now because later on in the month I will give you my thought on my first subject: Hecklers.
But this blog is is an informative list piece in which I break down the stuff you would not normally think about, you guessed it, stand-up comedy. The first assumption about stand-up comedy is it is just some person telling jokes on stage. Actually, that is not an assumption but a fact. Although facts also have stretched out details in them. Did I just trigger your mind into a thinking frenzy? Or you possibly clicked this link on accident and are proceeding to leave. Either way, I am writing this for a grade.
Stand-up comedy is planned performance that is developed by a lot of time and experience. Duh. Anything requires time and experience. Also, stand-up comedy is a performance. What I mean by that redundancy is that stand-up comedians plan out their jokes and plan out how they tell a joke. It is similar to how a singer uses a certain tone when singing a note. Think of why you are watching someone tell jokes for a few minutes. Most likely the comedian is conveniently there in a bar setting, and you are actually not even doing what I just said. There's always that one percent that actually does listen to the bar comedian and for that one percent, they are watching for the person. They are watching because of the personality the performer is portraying. We laugh because we can either relate to the joke or relate to the person. Next time you are standing up for comedy(pun definitely intended), knock this idea through your noggin.
And that is just a sample of what I will be discussing in this blog dog(I'm sorry). Like a scientist, I will be dwelling into everything around stand-up comedy; a subject I know way to well. Also, the research process is the only thing that I do that sort of relates to science. Also, I am not a stand-up comedian, nor do I plan to be. I just love to watch stand-up. Stay tuned for now because later on in the month I will give you my thought on my first subject: Hecklers.
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