What I Thought Comedy Was (Part 7) by Anthony Corvino
The older comics. When I was just getting into comedy, there was a group of older, more experienced comics. Comics just like me in the sense that they said they were comics which was probably something they felt proud of during family functions when their jaded uncle would ask what they were up to and they finally had something that sounded cool enough to say. These people took me in because I sucked therefore I was not threatening, and I was also willing to listen to them expound on their theories of comedy and joke writing. They sat me down and explained to me what they had been told by comedians that had come through the club. They spoke about comedy in exhaustive detail over shitty diner cheeseburgers around 2am. The comedy hour. Looking back on these memories the teenager in me was starstruck. “I can’t believe the guys that are standing outside barking for stage time would actually take the time to talk to me about what they think is important.” Oh comedy, you clever bastard you.