Marking boundaries

Julie Seabaugh

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007 | 10:52 p.m.

Julie Seabaugh: Depends. Are we talking about people like Criss Angel, Steve Wyrick and Lance Burton, or ... you know what? Doesn’t matter. My answer will always be an emphatic “no” as to whether any of these forms of entertainment should be considered the bastard children of comedy.

Sure, such shows can be very funny, but calling their practitioners “comedians” would be like calling the very funny Will Ferrell a stand-up. There’s a subtle but very undeniable difference in both cases.

It takes serious guts for an individual to stand, essentially stripped bare, onstage, with just a microphone stand to share the load. For the most part, there are no strobe lights, no pulsating soundtracks, no beautiful assistants. Nothing to distract from the material.

The very best comics offer a specific viewpoint; a brutally honest look at what makes them uniquely them and how it affects their outlook. They just may influence your outlook in the process, and if you laugh so hard an overpriced beer shoots out your nose, all the better. It’s not about sharing laughter, it’s about sharing humanity. Does hypnosis offer a viewpoint? Do magicians offer brutal honesty? Do ventriloquists share humanity?

Perhaps it all just comes down to semantics, but I for one am a stickler for keeping the definitions clear. Don’t even get me started on improv and sketch groups.

The exception to this opinion is Penn Jillette, whose Aristocrats has done more for the Art of the Joke than a trunkload of puppets ever could.

Curtis Tuttle: I’m a tough audience. But if you can break me up, I don’t particularly care how you needed to do it. The credo: “If it makes me laugh, it’s comedy.”

I’m not always proud of the stuff I’ve laughed at, but I can see why these so-called bastard forms are comedy in disguise. Particularly with hypnotists and ventriloquists. To my mind, those are just secondary skills. The impressiveness of a person throwing their voice earns a two-minute well, that’s something from me. But you need something else if you want to keep me in my seat. Would I like to hear some jokes? Yes, even if they are about “woodies.”

Hypnotism is similar. “Wow, the guy’s under. Look at that.” Pause. “So aren’t you going to abuse that power for my amusement? Or can I go check out the buffet?” There’s not much there as entertainment otherwise. Inducing their false memories of being touched by Uncle Rick wouldn’t be a crowd-pleaser. Instead, have them molest their chairs.

Magicians are tougher to defend. You can do a serious magic act. But we’re long past the days of The Prestige. When the cell phones in our pockets are more magical than the illusion onstage, it’s best to be forthcoming with some snappy patter. A devastating line can be just as surprising as a card produced from a volunteer’s pocket/spouse/ass.

Sure, none of these are as pure as being nearly naked onstage with just a microphone. Or, often, as funny. But if you’ve got the gimmick, you’re halfway there.