I like stand-up comedy; I have my whole life. I think most people like stand-up too, I have yet to meet someone who completely hates it. But stand-up, and most forms of comedy for that matter, are often looked at as lowbrow forms of entertainment. The general consensus is that real, meaningful, thought provoking works aren’t supposed to make you laugh or smile; serious forms of artistic expression have to be, well, serious. I don’t believe that for one minute. In fact, I have found that some of the realest, most meaningful, most thought provoking works have made me laugh and smile; in other words they’re funny. Comedians, sitcoms, and comedy films have had more of an impact on me than any inspirational quote, or “based on a true story” critical darling. But before I get further into all that, let me give you some background on my relationship with stand-up and comedy in general.
I have been around comedy my entire life. I watched movies, old Looney Tunes, and family sitcoms with, you guessed it, my family. And I was also raised in a family of jokesters, constantly making comments and remarks about whatever was going on. I didn’t really start to get into stand-up, however, until high school when my best friend showed me Brian Regan’s Epitome of Hyperbole and from that point on I was in love with the craft. He and I would hang out pretty much once a week and watch a new special and quote our favorite parts to each other until we watched the next one. I was always so impressed with how these people could get up on stage, in front of all those people, and even more people watching at home, and be able to make them laugh all whilst not having a panic attack; it blew my pubescent mind. I was a quiet kid in high school; I was overweight for the first half of it and had a terrible haircut in the 9th grade so I didn’t really have much confidence. Then I slimmed down, dyed my hair blue, and started acting like I was more confident even though I wasn’t. Then, during my senior year, I decided to go out on a limb and audition for my high school’s production of The Wizard of Oz, and I got cast as Uncle Henry and the Gate Guard; and I had a lot of fun. What does this have to do with stand-up comedy you may ask, well I’m getting to that you need to be more patient. First, everyone told me how funny I was, which was something friends and family had told me before but I had never really believed them, but after my performance complete strangers would came up to me and said it and I was starting to think maybe I am funny. But more importantly, I got to experience what it’s like to be up on stage making people laugh. I felt the rush of adrenalin every show night and I understood how those comedians I loved could do what they do; it was exciting and exhilarating and I liked it.
Fast forward to the summer before college began. I was at orientation at Hofstra University, and on the second day my orientation leader comes to me and says that his clipboard is showing him that I had apparently signed up for a talent competition called “Hofstra’s Got Talent” when I registered for orientation. I did not, and still don’t, remember doing this; but I wasn’t going to argue with the man or his clipboard. So I say alright and he asks me what I was going to do for my performance, and I had no idea; all my brain could come up with was singing, which I’m not comfortable doing in front of people, or telling jokes. So I say I’ll tell jokes and he says okay, stand-up comedy. Later that day I did my very first stand-up set, I made all of it up as I went along, I told unfunny jokes about Batman, and my time ended when a fire extinguisher fell off the wall and landed on an orientation leader’s head. It was a strange time.
After the talent show was done, an orientation leader, not the one who got hit with the fire extinguisher, came up to me and said that he was a member of a club called HaHaHofstra, which is a club where students get together and workshop stand-up material, and he invited me to come to the first meeting of the semester, I went, and the rest is history. I went from just being a member to being the co-treasurer to being vice president of the club and I loved every second of it. I made some good friends, laughed a lot, really found my voice as a comedian, and all that time on stage has made me more confident around people. But what’s even better is I found an art form that I am deeply passionate about and I found a way to really, truly express myself. And to top it all off, I met my girlfriend, someone I truly love and want to marry someday, because she went to one of HaHaHofstra’s shows, saw me, thought I was funny, thought I was cute, and added me on Facebook; a true modern day romance.
And so, to sum it all up, stand-up is just as much an art as painting or music or drama. Stand-up gave me confidence, it gave me a voice, and it gave me love. If that isn’t art then I don’t know what is.
