Stand-Up Comedy

Since I've been watching a lot of Seinfeld, I've been thinking a lot about how much I admire the art of stand-up, comedy that is. Jerry Seinfeld's brand of comedy can be summed up as the "Do you notice when..." "What's the deal with..." type of stand-up, or more technically referred to as observational humor. It must be so difficult to make seemingly mundane observations funny. That is why I believe stand-up to be such a creative art form. It takes a pretty creative and intelligent mind to make those observations and word them in a way that makes people laugh.

Of course, comedians that perform in comedy clubs have a distinct advantage over street comedians or casual atmosphere comedians (see work place comedian, dining comedian, etc.). Being in a comedy club, people are expected to laugh and expect to be made to laugh. So already, the comedian has that going for him/her. Also, I believe in the goodness of the human spirit. I feel like there aren't too many people that go out to comedy clubs simply to heckle. Nor do I think that many people enter a comedy club having made a clear choice to resist laughter. Imagine a rogue audience member who comes to see a show with a "I dare you to make me laugh, there's no way you can make me" attitude.

That was my pretty lame attempt at some observational humor. I think the beginning had some promise. I'm just not any good with the wording, at least not yet. I'm working on it. In my defense, I'm not standing up at the moment, I'm sitting in bed. Hit me with some feedback if you feel like it. I feel like my brand of comedy is more about knowing my audience and being comfortable enough around them to say some pretty silly/weird stuff.

For example: "Mel Gibson stole my sandwich" was written on a T-shirt I wore for a few hours. Only about 3 or 4 people would think that was funny.
I also tried my hand at writing comics once and came up with one about David Hasselhoff. I thought it was pretty funny but, to my knowledge, only one other person has read it and thought it was genuinely funny.
I once nicknamed my left and right arms Law and Order, respectively, as a joke. I don't think anyone, including myself, thinks that is funny.

Moral of the story is comedy is tough stuff, and comedians have my respect and admiration for their tireless efforts to fill our lives with laughter. I'm sure I'll pay tribute to doctors and other professions, still haven't seen all the House and ER episodes.