In an interview for the Littleton Independent (7/31/2017), Tom Skelley ask Sam Adams a couple of questions of relevance here: one on political comedy, and one on “the toughest part of the job.”
Political Comedy
Skelley asks,
What’s your take on doing political comedy these days?
It’s amazing how one election has changed everything.
I think about what makes people laugh, like, why are you going to a comedy club? Me, I don’t want a 15-minute speech about politics. You can’t please everybody, but you have to realize: “are people coming to get jokes about it or to get away from it?”
I want people to feel comfortable. I never have been a political comedian, so why start now? I still have my political views, I just don’t bring them to work.
Here we see a fairly common view: not wanting to get into it. The reason given is that “that’s not what the people want;” however, Caty Borum Chattoo and Young would have something to say about that: Young said that some people seek out such comedy, and do so because they want political information as well as humor.
I can empathize with never having been a political comedian, as I’m not. The reason, for me is I haven’t yet figured out how to do it well – and it’s a bit daunting to try. Also, I recognize that there’s a difference in the audience when you’re a headliner versus just another person on the bill (or worse yet, an open mic’er!). If they came to see you and your brand of humor, great; if not, maybe steering clear isn’t a horrible idea.
However, Adams talks about “what makes people laugh,” thus characterizing the audience as objects he’s acting upon, and this carries on into the final question of the interview.
Tough job
What’s the toughest part of the job?
For me it’s about coming up with and sharpening my material so that it isn’t just making people laugh, it’s making them laugh hard. I’ll jab you like Muhammad Ali, but I want my punchline to knock you out like Mike Tyson.
Another thing is when people know you’re a comedian, they think you’re just “on” all the time. I always say “I am not funny in real life.”
But for some reason, when the lights go on, and the crowd is there, the fear of not being funny just carries me through.
The boxing metaphor is telling – it’s implicit in the punchline and jabline concepts generally, but Adams goes right after it. This metaphor, however, runs into problems when used in conjunction with the “making laugh” phrase in that the boxing metaphor might imply an equal opponent, and exchange of blows, when we know that the ideal for most stand-ups is to be doing bag-work; bags (and audiences) shouldn’t punch back.
I can relate to Adam’s second point: Much like this blog, Adams isn’t funny in real life. However, also interesting to me is this “fear of not being funny,” that drives him onstage. He feels a pressure not just to act funny or to tell funny jokes and make them laugh, but to be funny, to embody funniness. And the idea of fear on top of it… it’s scary to me to wonder what we are willing to do in the name of being funny.
It’s just strange to me that, in a profession you choose, your performance is driven by a fear of not being something, instead of a happiness and confidence in being the thing. Maybe it’s just me.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions?
