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Comedic Art
There are various forms of performing arts. Initially things like dance and theater are thought to be the most common types of artistic endeavors, but we see art as so much more.
It's the poetry reading, done with feeling and emotion at the hole in the wall coffee shop downtown; the folk singer-songwriter strumming his guitar on his front porch; the exchange of jabs in boxing (or any other sport even though the "dance" isn't choreographed); and the charisma it takes to perform stand up comedy. Sure, there are others, but something like stand up often gets overlooked.
On February 7, a handful of comedians including Cody Woods (pictured left), Joe Bates, Priya Prasad, Ori Zadok, Gail Williams, Greg "G" Williams (no relation), Alicia Rangel (debuting that night) and Tony Harrison came together to perform their art for a nearly sold out ComedySportz venue in downtown San Jose.
Woods was a superb host, often improvising and going off script to keep the audience engaged. One of his funnier ad-libs involved picking on an Asian man in the audience for his phone's GPS system, when in the middle of the show, the phone claimed the man had arrived at the venue. Utilizing a stereotype to his advantage, Woods had not only the man laughing at his own error (not turning off the device), but the entire audience laughing as well.
Bates (pictured right) also opened with a little ad-lib, climbing onto a chair next to a window on the stage and stating he expected Muppets to start poking their heads out during the show. While not receiving as many laughs as Woods' audience "attack," Bates' unscripted insertion further proves that comedy is an art form. Sure, it can be a little vulgar, as Bates proved with some of his jokes on dating and self-love, but stand up is an art form nonetheless.
Knowing and adapting to your audience is also what makes stand up a form of art. Would Zadok (pictured left) have done a joke about getting blood drawn and "accidentally" squeezing the nurse's breast if he wasn't performing to a room of doctors and nurses? He may have, but I'd like to believe that he performed that specific joke simply because of the kind of people who were expected to be in the audience.
Or what about Williams (Greg, not Gail - pictured left)? Would he have been performing at the fundraiser had he not been a Kaiser nurse? It's possible that he still may have been on the bill, but after the show (in a talk with Harrison, the organizer) it was revealed that because of Williams' connection to Kaiser and Kaiser's connection to JW House, Williams was introduced to Harrison and put on the bill. And, because
of Williams' personal connection to so many of the audience members, he knew exactly how to adapt his performance to his audience as many of his jokes centered around being a male nurse and working with women and children all day.
Even Rangel, a founding member of JW House's Young Professional Advisory Committee, wanted to challenge herself by performing - and she proved that the performance art isn't exactly easy. Sure Rangel received some laughs for many of her jokes, but others bombed horribly (to be fair all of the comedians had at least a couple of jokes that didn't go over so well with the audience). But, comedy and stand up requires a certain type of personality and ability to relate to the audience.
It's clear that not just anyone can climb up on a stage and say witty things. The performance, the art, must be honed over a period of time. The jokes must be practiced and retold in other ways to find the most favorable outcome. A relationship with the audience must be built in a matter of seconds - they'll know if they like you instantly.
This isn't theater or film. There isn't time for a character to grow on you. The audience isn't going to listen to someone for two hours and determine they are friendly, inviting, heartless, cold, the hero or the villain. They're going to listen for 30-60 seconds and decide if they'll tune in or tune out.
And that's why comedy is a performance. An instant connection; an engaging 15 minutes; a laugh; a groan - it's all part of the art.
Key On Arts
An occasional blog of the Santa Clara Performing Arts Foundation.
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