Live-- laugh!

I believe it was the late great George Carlin who observed that when a comic does well, they "kill" and when a comic does poorly, they "die." Hard to imagine, but it really does seem that comedy and laughter are really that important in human existence.

Why is comedy so important? Doesn't it seem trivial? Who's standing over a catatonic man in the street screaming, 'quick! Get Kathy Griffin over here!' Why aren't comedy clubs covered by health insurance (stick that in the Universal Healthcare public option, Obama!) Why does the class clown get in trouble, when he should be part of the Health curriculum? How many people are dying without laughter-- literally?

But it is important. Our existence is the result of emotions, if you'll follow my philosophical path. We are all defined by our experiences and our reactions to those experiences. It's not only what occurs around you, but your interaction and reaction to those occurances. So we must laugh; we must cry; we must be angry; we must be content.

In the words of a rather wise juggler I met several years ago: "We are here for a good time... not for a long time." I think of that statement often, and comedians, as a group, seem to really believe that. There's a Christian comedian who tells his audience, "Life is too short not to laugh; life is too long not to laugh." An interesting paradox, but clearly makes the point.

Getting Started

If I were writing my bio for a play program, it would begin as follows: "Sylvana Budesheim is not funny." It's true: not funny at all.

It all started when I tried to tell my friends stories that I thought were funny, and was met with the blank stare that indicated I shouldn't be done speaking. So I gave up on trying to be funny.. or I thought I had. In college, I met a guy who laughed at everything I said-- not because he was making fun of me, or trying to get in my pants. He thought I was genuinely funny. 'Maybe there's hope for this storyteller yet,' I thought to myself.

Remember that scene in Office Space? Not the one where they demolish the printer (although I'm sure it feels good to be a gangster). The one where the main character is asked what he would do if he didn't have to work. My answer is Stand-Up Comedy. If I could, I'd be on stage telling stories to uproarious laughter. This is where I remind you of the "not-funny" part of my personality. Snappy comebacks, scathing "after-the-fact" commentary-- that I can do. But it blows me away that people can formulate funny scenarios and offer unprompted commentary. As much as I consider it, there's no way I could do what they do.

You know what they say: "Those who can, do; those who can't, teach." My adaptation is "Those who can, joke; those who can't, discuss." I hope you'll read what I have to say. Maybe I'll come out of this a little funnier-- okay, a little funny. Maybe you will, too.