In an interview for Access Atlanta, Najja Parker asks Amber North some questions about her monthly show, “Wake Up!” (8/3/2017). The material “tackles race, class and other controversial topics, with live sketches, stand-up and music.”
Learn-medy
North tries to keep it balanced, matching terrible things with praising of excellence. She says the show is unique:
No one is doing this whatsoever. There are couple of shows that talk about current events, but no one is keeping the theme of awareness throughout. People are learning. Some even come up to me at the end to say “thank you.”
So “Wake Up!” can be placed into a category of comedy (including stand-up) that would educate – what Sarah Silverman once awkwardly dubbed “Learn-medy.”
I wonder about the content and tactics in the show – whether they fall to Caty Borum Chattoo’s recommendation of keeping the comedy separate from the message, or whether they mix the two, and how much.
Medicine
North notes that “laughter is the best medicine,” and so we can posit that she’s looking to use it as a cure. She began this metaphor early in the interview:
Right after Tamir Rice (the 12-year-old shot by a Cleveland police officer in 2014) was killed, I got sick of not saying anything and using social media as my platform. I thought, ‘I have a microphone and a stage to do the same thing. Let’s try it out.
So maybe laughter is the cure for her sickness, and we can hope that this spills over onto us, the audience. To prepare people for the show, North advises: “come in with an open mind and prepare to leave enlightened.”
Allies
When asked how white comedians can be “woke,” North says,
Listen. If you’re being called out about an issue, just listen. Be a friend. Be a comrade, and don’t make the plight of the oppressed the punchline.
Sound advice.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions?
