Comedy Inspo for Your Saturday
5 Comedy Specials I Think You Should See
***In transparency: I wrote this “newsletter” ahead of time because I’m predicting that my brain will be busy while I’m in the Minnesota Fringe. ***
Whenever I talk to people about comedy, poetry, or anything really, I’m kind of judgemental. It’s because usually when I ask people who some of their favorite comedians are, it’s typically always men and usually one of the problematic or boring ones, so I don’t tend to take them very seriously.
I had an interesting conversation recently with a coworker about comedy because he wanted to know what I call myself. Do I call myself a poet? Do I call myself a comedian? The truth is that I’m somewhere in between. A “stand-up” typically means a club comic, but my work isn’t typical “club comic” work. Not to mention the poetry part.
In the last couple years, basically since I started doing Fringe Festivals, I’ve noticed that I’ve been very interested in comedians who come through the Fringe circuit. Those comedians aren’t just doing “stand-up” with their one-person shows.
Given my general obsession with comedy and storytelling, I’m very interested in how comedy as an art form is starting to change. I just read Jesse David Fox’s Comedy Book, which examines the history of comedy since Seinfeld in the 90s. He takes comedy seriously as an art form and explores how it relates to our culture.
He has particularly poignant insights on people who think that comedy is going to disappear because of “political correctness.”
“Sometimes I feel that those who fight to protect [comedy] do so less like warriors and more like helicopter parents so worried about comedy getting hurt and comedy moving beyond them that they stunt its development. To openly allow for critique is to take comedy seriously, and taking it seriously will allow it to evolve and mature.”
All the above being said, here are 5 specials I’ve seen in the last couple of years that I think are doing something interesting with comedy and reveal something about where it is headed.
Not all of them are former Fringe performers, but I think all of these specials have the spirit.
Neal Brennan’s “Blocks” (Netflix)
Hannah Gatsby’s “Douglas” (Netflix)
Jacqueline Novak’s “Get on Your Knees” (Netflix)
Alex Edleman’s “Just For Us” (Max)
Leo Reich’s “Literally Who Cares?” (Max)
If you watch one of these, feel free to let me know what you think.
As always, thanks for reading. :)
If you’re in Minneapolis this weekend or next, come to one of my Fringe shows!
