University Daily Kansan / Thursday, August 31, 1989
Entertainment
7
Story by Jennifer Owen
Photos by Stacey Gore
Funny Business
Master of ceremonies Terry McGrath performs for a Saturday night audience at Stanford & Sons Comedy Club in Kansas City, Mo.
Flown in from Lancaster, Calif., six-year veteran comedian Jeet June performs in her first Kansas City appearance at Stanford & Sons.
The darkness of the room enhances the hungry look of the audience. They sit waiting, like cats ready to pounce. In stand-up comedy, the crowd holds the power to reject or approve.
"It's the hardest time I have ever done," said Fred Greenlee, a standup comedian originally from Houstons and is just you and a bunch of people.
"With acting, you can blame the director. With singing, you have a band behind you. But in stand-up, it's all yours."
So why would a person put himself in such a position?
Greenlee has a theory. He said about 50 percent of all comedians were class clowns and the other half were insecure people.
"It is like group therapy." Greenlee said. "You're very insecure and you want all that adoration."
Terry McGarth, a stand-up comedian from Richmond, Mo., said he had been a comedian for three or four years.
"It's hard to make money, but I like the applause," said McGrath, who performed and introduced acts last Saturday at Stanford & Sons Comedy House in Kansas City, Mo.
Both Greenlee and McGrain agreed that they never had dreamed they would become stand-up comedians.
Greenlee had planned to be a surfer. He said he became involved in comedy after he was divorced.
McGrath said he wanted to be the second baseman for the Pittsburgh Pirates when he was younger. He said that a career in baseball or comedy offered the same crowd admiration.
Greenlee said that winning a crowd's admiration could be just as challenging in a club as it was in a television performance.
"TV is a contrived set and you are looking at the camera and working for millions of people, but you can't forget the audience in front of you either." Greenlee said. "The TV audience wants to cooperate so their laugh is different. In a saloon, the audience is more judgmental."
Paul and Charia Riche of Independence College at Stanford & Sonoma Saturday.
"She (Charla) never laughs at the comedians or the tonight she screams at." Paul F. Kidd
"It makes you laugh because it is more personable," Charla Richey
Amy Wright of Kansas City, Mo., said she attended the club because she liked laughing.
said.
Kelly Thorgmartin, also of Kansas City, Mo., said she went to the comedy club because it was better than going to a regular bar.
But, of course, not every audience is favorable. When rejection comes, comedians have their own ways of coping.
"The only thing you can do is suffer gracefully," McGrath said.
"You just do your time," Greenlee said. "It is your job."
Sometimes the job seems like a nowin situation, he said.
"If the audience rejected you, you would say, 'Why do I need the affection of these stupid people?' " Greenlee said. "And if they liked you, you would say, 'These people are stupid. That toke wasn't funny.'
"It is a constant struggle between the stand-up, who is the creator, and the people, who just want to have a good time."
"Competition takes away some of the creativity and the fun." Greenlee said.
Competition is another struggle stand-up comedians face.
He said comparing styles with
other comedians could alter his own material.
"Sometimes you stop using jokes because they don't sound sophisticated enough," Greenlee said. "You can lose a lot of good lokes that wav."
At the same time, competition can make you work harder, he said.
Competition also makes it important to use original material. Greenlee said that comedians usually were influenced strongly by one or two established comedians, but that they needed to develop their own style.
"There is a fine line between steal-
and only being influenced," Gizzi
told.
The jokes that stand-up comedians use range from politics to sex. McGrath joked in his routine about the laws in Kansas.
*Seatbelts are mandatory in Kansas, but motorcycle helmets are not.*
*Wearing a seatbelt is required.*
At the same show, Greenee tried a different kind of humor
"You can't trust anything these
days," he said, beginning his joke. "I got this soup the other day, and everything was fine except for the hair. I'm talking a big clump of blond hair. And I did not find it in the bottom of the bowl. I found it half way down my throat, wrapped around one of my teeth. I tried to pull it out, but I started to gag on it. And the cat in the corner was goin', 'Why doesn't he just go outside to do that?'
But there is also a serious side to comedy. Some comedians talk about such subjects as suicide and racism in South Africa.
Jest June, a California comedian,
also performed at Stanford & Sons
launch.
"What's sad about it is that it's funny," June said in her routine, referring to racism. "Let's just love each other and be a family. And love is letting your neighbor tell you, 'Get that booger out of your nose.'"
Mark Putman, manager of Gammons, 1601 W. 23rd St., said that regardless of the type of material they used, stand-up comedians
seemed to draw a different type of crowd than an average Friday night crowd.
"The people who come to see stand-up are more reserved and not quite the team-goers." Putman said.
"Stand-up comedians have been good crowd-gatherers in the past, but this town is not as interested in them as it used to be," he said. "It is a good deal for Lawrence because we charge about one-third less than clubs like Stanford & Sons where they have drink minimums."
An average comedian who is known among comedy clubs costs between $200 to $300 a night, and big-name comedians can cost between $500 to $100, Putman said.
The cost of airline tickets to bring the comedians to Lawrence and the comedians' own performance fees make the shows expensive, he said.
"It is not what you would think," Putman said. "We usually make enough to cover expenses, but not any more than other nights."
ADVERTISE IN THE DAILY KANSAN FOR ALL YOUR NEEDS
WHITE IS FOR LAUNDRY!
stand out with a healthy looking tan
10 tanning visits for$25
Ask about our unlimited
tanning package
Health Club - $45per semester
Hot Tub - $5per person
EUROPEAN
TAN, HEALTH & HAIR SALON
HOLIDAY PLAZA
25th and Iowa • 841-6232
Have You Seen Gammons Lately?
Thursday:
50$ Draws
No Cover
23rd & Ousdahl in the Southern Hills Mall
FLAVORS
WELCOME TO LAWRENCE!
frozen yogurt & bakery
INDIANA
FLAVORS
701 W.9th
841-6043
10:30 mornings-late night
We proudly serve:
Columbo's Frozen Yogurt
Ice Cream:
Gourmet Cookies and Brownies
Haagen Daz
Edy's Grand & Grand Light
Ben & Jerry's
BUY A LARGE YOGURT
FOR THE PRICE OF A REGULAR YOGURT
OR
BUY A REGULAR SIZE YOGURT
FOR THE PRICE OF A SMALL YOGURT
K0828 with this coupon
---