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Is Stand-up Comedy Storytelling?

July 30, 2010 by Nabil 5 Comments

Last Tuesday my workshop mates and I each took the stage at the Improv Hollywood and delivered a five minute stand-up routine. As we worked through our sets, I marveled at the fact that in an era of smartphones and instant gratification, an audience of people willingly unplugged from the world and for one hour focused all of their attention on one stage, one microphone, and one voice. Storytelling lives, I thought. Or is stand-up comedy really a form of storytelling?

Fresh off of a four-week stand-up comedy course, my answer to this question is yes, it is. However there are subtle differences between the two: Traditional storytelling tends to be longer form; stand-up tends to be shorter. Traditional storytelling tends to focus on one journey; stand-up is often about several disjointed experiences.

That said, the similarities far outweigh the differences. Both forms of expression are delivered without technology: just a stage and a mic. Both can be formulaic in their structure (traditional storytelling: beginning – middle – end; stand up: premise – opinion – act out). Both are inherently funny – and more gripping – when the performer is vulnerable with their audience.

I’ve always defined storytelling very broadly — from a tale told around a campfire to an epic projected onto a theater screen. That said, my stand-up experience was a neat reminder that storytelling, in its purest most basic form, can still cut through the most modern distractions and capture the imagination of a room full of people.

Standup Comedy

Filed Under: Stream Tagged With: comedy, los angeles, standup, storytelling

Comments

  1. Karen Chace says

    July 31, 2010 at 9:13 pm

    Wonderful post Nabil. I love the ending statement, a perfect definition of the magic of storytelling.

    “… storytelling, in its purest most basic form, can still cut through the most modern distractions and capture the imagination of a room full of people.”

    It seems as if you are having a grand time on your summer journey! Thanks for sharing it with us.

    Karen
    http://www.storybug.net

    Reply
  2. Carlos says

    August 1, 2010 at 10:07 am

    I guess stand-up has two extra challenges: 1) expectancy: people expect you to be funny throughout and have a punchline, thus making the buildup process more difficult. 2) exposure: you are exposed to the audience’s projections. By inviting them to interact, you are a medium for catharsis. Interaction is not always with the best intention and it could get ugly.

    Reply
  3. Nabil Laoudji says

    August 1, 2010 at 4:17 pm

    Carlos: agreed — I didn’t consider the interaction part (I avoided too much of it in my routine b/c I was nervous / didn’t know how to handle it;). The expectancy bit is interesting — of course people go to comedy clubs to be entertained and I’ve also found that comedians who don’t try to funny, but rather are really honest about their point of view tend to do really well- thanks for your comments-

    Reply
  4. Nabil Laoudji says

    August 5, 2010 at 2:00 am

    Hi Karen — thanks for your comment and yes, the journey has been grand indeed ;) I hope NE is treating you well-

    Reply

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    August 1, 2010 at 11:01 am

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