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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1985)
Funnyman talks seriously about comedy The cigarette smoke curled strange apparitions through the spotlights illuminating the stage. Chortles and chuckles still lingered from the last joke during the slight pause in the comedian’s routine. “1 wonder about those really religious guvs: some shave their heads and wear sheets; other guys wear blue suits and ride bicycles all over the city. The guys that really bug me. though, are the ones that go to street corners and campuses and scream un wanted sermons.' The crowded room quieted except for the clinking of bot tles and glasses. “Ever think that Heaven must be one hell of an annoy ing place?” So went one joke by fun nyman Rick Reynolds Monday during Comedy Night at the Factory. Jokes are for laughs, but for a professional, comedy is serious business. ‘‘Comics don’t just go up on stage and say funny things. They work it out long before the lights go on.” says Reynolds, winner of the 1984 San Francisco Standup Come dian Competition. “It takes years to develop a routine, and parts of it. in one way or another, stay in your current routine for a long time. It s like any creative process.” The styles of standup com edians have changed a great deal in the last 20 years. Reynolds says. The styles of comics like Milton Berle and Jack Benny weren't all that dif ferent: they told jokes that other writers developed. The style of Old Comedy can be performed anytime, anywhere and with or without an audience because all the jokes are of a stock type. Reynolds says. But New Com edy is written by the per former. The jokes are things that the comedian himself sees funny about life, and that is where style can vary so greatly. "Both are funny.” Reynolds says, “but the New Comedy has a different rela tionship to the audience. New Comedy is hipper; it’s written by the performer himself, so it’s more personalized and more stylized.” What makes standup com edy appealing is the direct relationship between comedian and audience, and making the audience be an integral part of the act, according to Reynolds. But. he’s quick to note, it has its risks. "I used to piss everybody off,” he says, "and it makes for a really bad set. But if you're a nice guy. you can get away with a lot more. You don’t want to make fun of anybody who doesn’t unders » The Very Best 5,yy From CBS!!! lp or cassette Hot Sounds For Cold Ears! Through 3/3/85 LP or Cassette Through 3/3/85 CYNDI LAUPER SHE'S SO UNUSUAL including: Money Changes Everything Girts Just Want 1b Have Fun Whan feu Wars Mina Tima Altar Tima All Through Tha Might HUEY LEWIS AND THE NEWS SPORTS mdudma Heart And Soul The Heart Of Rock And Rofl I Want A New Drug/Tfun Line PA1 liKNATAK TKOPICO including We Belong/Ooh Ooh Song/Takm H Back Pamied Desert / Temporary Heroes ANDREAS VOLLENWEIDER WHITI WINDS Plus the Hit Albums from these other Great CBS Artists! Eddie & the Cruisers Soundtrack, Billy Idol, Julio Iglesias, Michael Jackson, Billy Joel, Wynton Mar salis, Toto, Molly Hatchet, Quiet Riot, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Eddie Murphy, Culture Club, Richard Clayderman, Barbara Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Marie, Philip Baily, Bob Dylan, Eurogliders, Scandal and the New Solo Album 1 From MICK JAGGERi. . A Hult Center Ticket Outlet Records Tapes & Video “An OREGON TRADITION” 5th & Willamette • 687-0761 Valley River Center • 683-8330 Mon.-Thurs. 10-9 Mon.-Fri. 10-9 Fri.-Sat. 10-10; Sun. 12-6 Sat. 10-6; Sun. 11-5 tand their role in the context of the routine.” This ability to read the reaction of a single member of an audience is, of course, a matter of common sense, but is also the sign of a veteran com edian. Reynolds notes. “There's a fine line to walk between insult and just having some fun. And it’s not an easy one to walk." There exists a certain amount of mysticism surroun ding the lifestyle of a traveling comic. Reynolds is quick to dispell any romantic notions. ‘The life of a road comic is really scummy." he says with frankness. “But when you're a com ic. you make a living saying and doing what you used to get slapped for when you were a little kid. It makes people happy, and. if you're good, it makes them think." Mike Duncan COMING ro THE LONE ★ STAR NORTON BUFFALO AND THE ROY ROGERS BAND NO OPENING ACT! 2 HOURS Of NORTON & THE BAND! FRIDAY, MARCH 1 • 8:30 PM '7 00 Advance • $8 00 At Door Tickets On Sale At The tone Star ONE NIGHT ONLY! SATURDAY MARCH 2nd 9:00-11:00 P M. "AFTER HOURS ROCK" 11:30 PM TO 4:00 AM with “JUSTIN SAYNE’* LONE ★ STAR 160 SOUTH PARK 484-7458 Read Emerald Sports
