By Lisa Harmon
This week’s we’re discussing
shows we’ve done with friends, family or coworkers in the audience, hence the
theme “when worlds collide.”
Here is the worst thing that
ever happened to me when my Mom was in the audience once (when worlds collided):
“Lisa, what is a fluffer?” My Mom asked me after a comic said ‘fluffer”
on stage. It was very awkward for me and
my Mom!
Other than this once
incident, I don’t have anything else! I really have never had any other negative
repercussions from having family, friends and/or coworkers in the audience. Thankfully all the people in the “other
world” – the not-comedy world, are very supportive and have good senses of
humor!
Either way, I never worry
about people coming to my shows. Before I
get onstage, I don’t really know what material I will be doing. I just get up there and start talking. I talk.
I listen. Wherever we go, we
go. That is determined by the audience
and me. I don’t avoid certain jokes, I
just go to the material that comes naturally out of the stuff we’re talking
about. I also usually find a place to
stick in my new stuff, because that is my favorite stuff to do.
I don’t know if other comics
are concerned about who may be in the crowd, but maybe this just doesn’t bother
me because of my background.
A hundred years ago when I
became a comedian, I somehow hooked up with this man who put me on these shows
– in churches. I had been a comic for
just a few months. Now I found myself
having to do fifteen minutes, squeaky clean inside these church halls. These audiences were comprised almost entirely
of really old ladies plus and an old man or two and usually a priest thrown
in. And did I mention, we were in a
CHURCH!?!?!
We know the mantra –
stagetime, stagetime, stagetime! So I
did it. I performed for these church
ladies for months! I wrote a whole new
set for these ladies! I clearly could
not do my regular act, which I had been doing mostly at Stand-Up New York. It was not filthy but not clean enough and
probably a little too hip for the church ladies. I wrote a new act just for them that mostly
centered around an argument over a Laverne & Shirley lunchbox.
Did I mention I was killing
at these things? I was. Plus I was getting paid $2 a performance!
Since those days I’ve worked
tons of clean shows and rooms and I’ve even done some kids shows, believe it or
not!
So I really don’t care who
is in the audience. I do my act as clean
or dirty as I feel the occasion warrants, and I generally get a good
response. I’ve never been accosted after
a show and accused of being un-funny or worse, offensive. I’m sure I have offended people but no one
has ever gotten in my face about it.
But, if someone were to do
that to me, I already know what I would say.
Because I have thought about it. I
know there have been times on stage when I have probably offended people. I have said things sometimes that I regretted
saying. And I rake myself over the coals
for things like that sometimes. How
could I say this? How could I say
that? But you know what, here’s what I
would say, and this is the truth: It was
a joke. If I hurt your feelings I am
sorry. But I was just trying to be
funny.
I have always maintained
that putting your foot in your mouth is an occupational hazard in this
business. We can’t let that stop us! We are the last holdouts against hypocrisy,
lies and misinformation, and that’s one of the most important jobs there is!
I confess. I had to google FLUFFER. For those who may not want to admit not knowing and not want to bother looking it up, here it is:
Fluffer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the pornographic film crew position. For other uses, see Fluffing (disambiguation).
A fluffer is a person employed to keep an adult film star aroused on the set.[1] These duties, which do not necessarily involve touching the actors, are considered part of the makeup department. After setting up the desired angle, the director asks the actors to hold position and calls for the fluffer to "fluff" the actors for the shot. Fluffing could also entail sexual acts such as fellatio or non-penetrative sex.[2]
In popular culture
The 2001 film The Fluffer was about a film buff, with a crush on a porn star who is straight, for whom he wound up working as a fluffer in gay porn.[3] A 2003 release also entitled The Fluffer was a four-minute short comedy film.[4] It can work for both sexes as well.
This usage, in pornography, as a hired member of the crew of a pornographic movie whose role on the set is to sexually arouse the male participants prior to the filming of scenes that require erections[5] became a more popular one as result of the film.[citation needed]
So you can see why its awkward, right? lol
At the moment, yes. But after you told her, she was probably the hippest one in her circles, knowing all this stuff. lol