http://www.storytellingwithchildren.com/2008/03/18/comedy-and-storytelling/ An international conversation of storytellers on the Art of Storytelling with Children Fri, 25 Jul 2008 11:58:43 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 http://www.storytellingwithchildren.com/2008/03/18/comedy-and-storytelling/#comment-34021 Tim Sat, 10 May 2008 04:37:53 +0000 http://www.storytellingwithchildren.com/2008/03/18/on-the-power-and-responsibility-of-comedy-my-lil%e2%80%99-soapbox/#comment-34021 Talking about comedy, or comic performance, is a like dancing about architecture. No, it's like ironing about food. No. That's not it. It's like... like... dissecting a frog. You can learn something about the frog, sure, but then you're left with a dead frog. It's clear David knows his stuff. But without knowing David's work and his style (and I would dearly love to see a Doctor Kaboom show), it's a stretch to apply his knowledge to storytelling. This interview worked best when talking about the big picture stuff, less so when it came down to the nitty gritty, since it wasn't directly applicable to storytellers. Don't get me wrong, I've done comedy improv for nearly twenty years, I recognize what David was talking about, and David only began to scratch the surface of the topic. I'm curious to know how others-- especially storytellers-- reacted to the interview. Was it helpful? Interesting but abstruse? Talking about comedy, or comic performance, is a like dancing about architecture. No, it’s like ironing about food. No. That’s not it. It’s like… like… dissecting a frog. You can learn something about the frog, sure, but then you’re left with a dead frog.
It’s clear David knows his stuff. But without knowing David’s work and his style (and I would dearly love to see a Doctor Kaboom show), it’s a stretch to apply his knowledge to storytelling.
This interview worked best when talking about the big picture stuff, less so when it came down to the nitty gritty, since it wasn’t directly applicable to storytellers.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done comedy improv for nearly twenty years, I recognize what David was talking about, and David only began to scratch the surface of the topic. I’m curious to know how others– especially storytellers– reacted to the interview. Was it helpful? Interesting but abstruse?

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