Tennis Anyone?

You can deconstruct just about anything and make it seem ludicrous-- ie. in tennis, you  hit a yellow ball over the net so your opponent can't return it.  However, if you continue to analyze tennis, it begins to make sense; if you continue to analyze comedy, it seems more and more absurd. In tennis, you try to win; in comedy, you try to win over. In tennis, you demonstrate your physical prowess and endurance; in comedy, you say ridiculous things to get a rise out of people; in tennis, you get to wear cool designer clothes and work up a sweat from activity; in comedy, you wear anything you want and work up a sweat before you open your mouth.

So, who are these people that call themselves comedians? What is the common thread among those who make, or at least try to make other people laugh? Our races, ages, religions, education and socio-economic backgrounds are diverse. Some are young and just starting out, others are middle-aged and have been doing it for a long time and still others are middle-aged and have just begun. I would like to think of myself in the first category, but I'm not kidding anyone, most of all myself.

Fresh from comedy school and among the newbies, our differences, at least in my eyes, were irrelevant. We traveled in a swarm like kindergartners chasing a soccer ball. It was safe and we might not score a goal, but we couldn't do much damage either. Inevitably, as the days started to turn into months and we started to gain a little confidence, we divided up into much smaller groups along lines of commonality, or went it alone, or just faded away.  Many of us keep in touch through Facebook and come out when we can to support each other, but don't necessarily make plans to perform together.  Some of us do.  It doesn't really matter, though, because when you get up on stage you're alone and it's all yours to kill,  get a C, or fuck up badly.

The number of women just starting out in my age group is small; I can count them on less than three fingers. I performed last night where the next oldest comedian was 33 and I was the only one married, not only among the comedians but the audience too.  I have children who are the age of many of the performers and they may be wondering how many deaths they would die if their mother got up on a stage to crack jokes. Despite it all, most of these comedians are very welcoming. It's unlikely that our paths would have crossed if I hadn't become a comedian myself.

I've also met  comedians at gigs and open mics who are much more experienced. Some are open and others are more cautious. I wish there were a comedians' code of conduct  like a book of ethics in law, but I'll have to find my way and hope I can eventually figure out the secret handshake.

So, we are all kinds of people coming from lots of different places both literally and figuratively. We do something very strange on a stage and there is nothing about it that makes the behavior of those who partake predictable in any way.  I hope I can please more people than I offend both in front of and beyond the spotlight and if not, there's always torts (I have tennis elbow).