Comedy, is it necessary?

[Deleted member 2755]

Comedy has nothing to do with the material performed. It depends on your personality. It is not necessary at all. If your the type of person that does not want to be funny, then by all means go for it. I know when I perform I don't want to be a clown. However, I don't want to be completely serious either. You can take it to either extreme or go in between like me. Comedy is not necessary regardless of material.

-Doug

 

[romeo sierra]

Comedy has nothing to do with the material performed. It depends on your personality. It is not necessary at all. If your the type of person that does not want to be funny, then by all means go for it. I know when I perform I don't want to be a clown. However, I don't want to be completely serious either. You can take it to either extreme or go in between like me. Comedy is not necessary regardless of material.

-Doug

I have to disagree wholeheartedly here. Comedy doesn't equal being a clown or stand-up comic. Comedy simply offers relief and relatability. It allows the audience to see you're still human. It provides the balance that a performer needs to be successful.

I suppose if you worked really hard at it, you can try to be the extremist who is never funny, but you'd have a very limited fanbase and honestly would not be all that successful in the real world. Like I said, even the darkest of performers with celebrity status all use comedy (whether they intentionally mean to or not) to provide some relief from the tension that their act inspires.

I remember reading about Max Maven. He's undoubtedly one of the most serious performers in the magic community, comparable to Kreskin and other greats in mentalism. He walks on to stage with mysterious lighting and candles setting the mood. He stares directly into the audience with his head bowed down giving him an eerie, almost frightening appeal. And he wins the audience over not with this image throughout the show-- but with a simple line of comedy to show he's human: "Pretentious? Moi?" The line always breaks a barrier between the performer and his audience. That's what comedy does.

Without comedy, a magician can never connect with his audience an obtain the reactions he desires to acquire. It's a bold statement, but I doubt anyone can prove otherwise.

In my humble opinion,

RS.