stand up comedy

STAND-UP COMEDY : STAND-UP COMEDY by Alleen Pace Nilsen and Don L. F. Nilsen


STAND-UP IS COLLABORATIVE : STAND-UP IS COLLABORATIVE Jason Rutter says that 'Like conversation,, stand-up is a `collaborative production’…[and] is made possible by the active involvement of those that make up the interaction.' (Rutter 92)


THE VOICE AS A COSTUME AND AS A PROP : THE VOICE AS A COSTUME AND AS A PROP When worn as a costume, 'the voice is used by the comedian to create a character which they play for the entirety of a narrative sequence.' At other times, the comedian may use the voice as a prop for a limited time, as either a 'quotation' from a character, or as a caricature by itself. (Rutter 234)


JIM BACKUS : JIM BACKUS Milton Berle visited actor Jim Backus in the hospital a few months before Backus died. Berl told jokes for two hours. As he got up to leave, Berle said, 'I hope you get better.' Backus replied, 'You too.' (Nilsen andamp; Nilsen 255)


MITCH HEDBERG : MITCH HEDBERG An authority figure warns Hedberg that he is blocking a fire exit. Hedberg responds, 'As though if there was a fire, I wasn’t going to run. If you are flammable and have legs, you are never blocking a fire exit' (Deleski 11).


GERI JEWELL : GERI JEWELL Geri Jewell has cerebral palsy, so she has a lot of involuntary muscle movements. The builds this into her act. 'I used to have a job as a waitress, but they didn’t like the way I tossed salads.' And when she’s having sex with her boyfriend, 'I just tell him it’s one long orgasm.' (Nilsen andamp; Nilsen 106)


PAUL McILVENNY : PAUL McILVENNY '`Working the room’—constructing the homogeneity of the group for the audience itself—is essential if laughter is an expression of shared values is to occur' (241). 'Comedians will quiz club owners of an unfamiliar city for key pieces of information with which the audience can identify; an example of this behavior would be the seeking out of community names and other references for contrasting socio-economic classes of that specific region.' (241).


DOROTHY PARKER : DOROTHY PARKER Dorothy Parker remarked on Katharine Hepburn’s performance in a Broadway play: 'She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B.' (Nilsen andamp; Nilsen 244)


STEVEN WRIGHT : STEVEN WRIGHT Steven Wright has the world’s largest collection of sea shells. He stores them on the beaches around the world. He says he has a microwave fireplace that he lies in front of every evening for eight minutes. He used to work in a fire hydrant factory, but could never find a place to park. One night a burglar broke into his apartment and stole all of his furniture, and replaced it with exact duplicates. (Nilsen andamp; Nilsen 172)


Slide10 : STANDUP COMEDY WEB SITES DAVE CHAPPELLE: http://www.comedycentral.com/shows/chappelles_show/index.jhtml PAUL McILVENNY http://paul-server.hum.aau.dk/research/cv/pubs/stand-up93.pdf


Slide11 : References # 1: Allen, Tim. Don’t Stand Too Close to a Naked Man. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1994. Bernhard, Sandra. May I Kiss You on the Lips, Miss Sandra?. New York, NY: William and Morrow, 1998. Carlin, George. Brain Droppings. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1997. Chappelle, Dave. Def Comedy Jam: Dave Chappelle. DVD, 1992.


Slide12 : References # 2: Cosby, Bill. Kids Say the Darndest Things. New York, NY: Bantam, 1998. Deleski, Ronnie. Stand-Up Comedy and Linguistic Variation. LIN 515 Research Paper, Tempe, AZ: ASU, April 11, 2006. Foxworthy, Jeff. No Shirt, No Shoes, No Problem! New York, NY: Hyperion, 1996. Goldberg, Whoopi. Book. New York, NY: Avon, 1998.


Slide13 : References # 3: Greenbaum, Andrea. 'Stand-Up Comedy as Rhetorical Argument: An Investigation of Comic Culture. HUMOR: International Journal of Humour Research. 12.1 (1999): 33-46. Hedberg, Mitch. Comedy Central Presents Mitch Hedberg. DVD, 1999. Horowitz, Susan. Queens of Comedy: Lucille Ball, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Joan Rivers, and the New Generation of Funny Women. New York, NY: Gordon and Breach, 1997. McIlvenny, Paul. 'I Really Wanna Make You Laugh: Stand-Up Comedy and Audience Response.' Oahu, HI: University of Oahu, April 11, 2006. Martin, Steve. Pure Drivel. New York, NY: Hyperion, 1998.


Slide14 : References # 4: Nilsen, Alleen Pace, and Don L. F. Nilsen. Encyclopedia of 20th Century American Humor. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2000. O’Donnell, Rosie. Kids Are Punny 2: More Jokes Sent by Kids to the Rosie O’Donnell Show. New York, NY: Warner Books, 1998. Rivers, Joan. Don’t Count the Candles: Just Keep the Fire Lit! New York, NY: HarperCollilns, 1999. Rutter, Jason. 'Stand-Up as Interaction: Performance and Audience in Comedy Venues.' Ph.D. Dissertation, Salford, England: University of Salford, 1997. Spade, David. HBO Presents David Spade: Take the Hit. Tempe, AZ: Improv, 1999.