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Article: Perfect fools. (stand-up comedy experience)
- Article from:
- Commonweal
- Article date:
- October 23, 1992
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1992 Commonweal Foundation. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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I've always wanted to write a short story with the title "Inside Room 101 ." Remember Orwell's 1984, when Big Brother's guys have caught Winston Smith and they're about to sear his brain by taking him into Room 101, and Winston asks what's in Room 101, and they tell him, everybody knows what' s in Room 10l, what' s in Room 101 is the worst thing in the world? Well, I know what's in Room 101. It's doingstandup comedy.
I want to urge upon you the raw terror of doing standup, among other reasons so that you'll never again, if you catch a bad comic or even a good comic on an off-night, have anything but the most profound and painful empathy for him/her. Look. A ...