Wednesday, September 5, 2007

The Cheese Stands Alone?

Stand up comedy, like deli meat, when its good it so so good.. when its bad its just not worth the calories. Whether its a live show or an HBO special, sketch or improv, I've noticed that there is this very specific way that stand up comics end their acts that almost makes it look as if it were an accident or like they are trying to catch you off guard with the fact that the show is over or something. There must be some strategic plan that they have because they all seem to have mastered that nonchalant/awkward ending that leaves me going haha ha ha.. oh wait its over? They'll finish a joke and then before you've even started laughing they go directly into "g'night everybody you've been great blah blah bye.." and then they can't get off the stage quickly enough. I'm not sure what kind of ending I'm looking for exactly but that abrupt switch back to reality isn't working for me. I think I want a more fireworks-like grand finale where in the last 3 minutes they tell as many of their funniest jokes at once.. just fire them out so that the audience can't breathe they're laughing so hard. Or maybe come full circle by bringing back a reference to the very first joke of the night. I'm not sure but I think what I'm looking for here is closure..or a good sandwich.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Well written article.