Divine Comedy
And so therefore I did attend a live performance/taping of Schadenfreude, which was thoroughly entertaining. One of the things that makes Schadenfreude entertaining for me, is that it has a significant amount of locally derived humor. They have a character who is alderman of the fictitious 53rd ward in Chicago and various references to local people, places and events. The effect of this, I suppose, is a kind of "irony of truth." It's the comedic principle that makes people think Jerry Seinfeld's stand-up is funny--the "it's funny because it's true," effect. It's as if we, the audience, are incredulous that the real world can be spoken of openly in a humorous context and that this act in itself, constitutes a comedic event.
Digression:
Once, a few years ago I saw Jerry Seinfeld on the Charlie Rose Show and he remarked that no one really understands how comedy works. I was surprised to hear this and thought that surely there must be some scholarly volume somewhere on the theory and structure of comedy. If one doesn't exist, someone ought to write it. Since then, I've developed all kinds of ideas about how comedy actually operates, mostly having to do with language and cognition. Why it works the way it does is an even more intriguing mystery. So if anyone out there knows a linguist, a cognitive scientist, and an evolutionary psychologist, set them to work on this issue. I can help get them started.
End of Digression
Wow, that was a lengthy digression wasn't it? I'm just going to go on writing anyway. Who am I kidding? This whole blog is a digression.
So did I mention also that I won one of three shiny WBEZ lunchboxes that were raffled off following the performance/taping? I believe I was the penultimate person to enter the drawing. I possessed a slight concern that I would have to walk up toward the stage and make myself known if I did win, or worse yet become, as a result of my luck, ancillary to some comic bit. I don't mind audience participation, as long as I'm not expected to participate--I like to sit in the back and contemplate a performance. But all this unnecessary anxiety made me realize how far away I am now from being a performer--farther than I had ever intended to get. I think it's been about five years since I was last on stage (and I literally fell off that stage during a performance), but it isn't as much about time as point of view. Could I still do it? Would I feel too self-conscious and uncomfortable? I don't know. But anyway, I digress.
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