Comedy - The Australian Way October 2012 - Qantas
Comedy - The Australian Way October 2012 - Qantas
Comedy - The Australian Way October 2012 - Qantas
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laughing<br />
all over<br />
the world<br />
If there’s one thing all comedians seem to agree on, it is that no<br />
amount of internet can compete with the experience of live<br />
performance, either for the comedian or the audience. Michael<br />
Kvamme is a young American stand-up and the conceptual brain<br />
behind one of the world’s biggest comedy websites, funnyordie.com.<br />
Produced by a production company part-owned by comedy<br />
superstar Will Ferrell, Funny Or Die is a platform for everyone in<br />
comedy, from unknown stand-ups to the likes of Steve Martin.<br />
Although Kvamme says that the internet now allows comedians<br />
“to find their audience straight away”, he adds that even if they attain<br />
instant stardom they will “eventually have to go through the same<br />
struggle of learning how to put on a live show”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Axis of Awesome’s Lee Naimo also believes that there’s little<br />
substitute for gigging to hone a performer’s skills.<br />
“In this age, you’ve got to be careful of those acts that are just<br />
internet acts. <strong>The</strong>re’s really nothing that can compare to performing<br />
live and earning your stripes. Last year we did a showcase in LA with<br />
a large internet musical comedy act who have millions of<br />
subscribers. Performing with them... they weren’t really a live act.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y basically sucked live. But these<br />
guys are lucky enough to go back and<br />
sit in front of their computers, make<br />
heaps of clips and make money<br />
from YouTube.” That said, he’s careful<br />
Aziz Ansari; Bo<br />
Burnham (inset)<br />
Just For Laughs, Sydney<br />
Opera House Oct 12-22.<br />
Drew Carey, Adam Hills,<br />
Noel Fielding & Rhys Darby.<br />
jfl.sydneyoperahouse.com<br />
For scale and atmosphere,<br />
Just For Laughs Montreal<br />
(hahaha.com) is the biggest<br />
and best comedy festival in the<br />
world. Despite having outlets in<br />
Chicago, Toronto and Sydney, no<br />
other venue can compete with<br />
the festival’s home town: it’s not<br />
just the scale of the event or the<br />
big-name acts, it’s that summer<br />
in Montreal is one big party.<br />
This year’s local Just For Laughs<br />
at Sydney Opera House kicks off<br />
on <strong>October</strong> 12 with Aziz Ansari’s<br />
Buried Alive show, followed by 22<br />
gigs between <strong>October</strong> 18-22. Acts<br />
include Noel Fielding and Rhys<br />
Darby, with the centrepiece an<br />
all-star comedy gala hosted by<br />
Drew Carey on <strong>October</strong> 20<br />
and Adam Hills the next night.<br />
Other major comedy festivals<br />
on the world calendar, or those<br />
with a large comedy component,<br />
include the Edinburgh Festival<br />
Fringe (August 2-26, 2013;<br />
edfringe.com) and Australia’s<br />
own Melbourne International<br />
<strong>Comedy</strong> Festival (March 27-April<br />
21, 2013; comedyfestival.com.au).<br />
For a great weekend without the<br />
ticketing and accommodation<br />
stress, consider the more<br />
intimate <strong>The</strong> Cat Laughs festival<br />
in Kilkenny, Ireland (May 30-June<br />
3, 2013; thecatlaughs.com). It’s a<br />
favourite with comedians for<br />
its laid-back, intimate vibe and<br />
high alcohol content.<br />
In the competitive Los Angeles<br />
stand-up scene, every day is a<br />
comedy festival. <strong>The</strong> LA <strong>Comedy</strong><br />
Festival (<strong>October</strong> 12-18;<br />
lacomedyfest.com) delivers<br />
a fresh twist, with short film<br />
screenings and a comedy<br />
screenwriting competition.<br />
For something a little<br />
more homespun, Lucy Fest: <strong>The</strong><br />
Lucille Ball Festival Of <strong>Comedy</strong><br />
(lucycomedyfest.com) is held<br />
every August in Lucille Ball’s<br />
hometown of Jamestown, New<br />
York, with well-known acts and<br />
special events at the Lucy Desi<br />
Center for <strong>Comedy</strong>.<br />
not to be dismissive of those who have found fame or fortune online.<br />
As far as Naimo is concerned, making a YouTube video is simply a<br />
different skill set. Not so James Smith, who believes instant fame is<br />
a false economy, robbing performers of valuable skills.<br />
“I think the previous formula was better,” he says of the<br />
pre-internet era. “It’s like a diamond – the only way you get really<br />
good is by refinement. I know myself, I wanted to expedite<br />
everything, cut every corner. But here I am, years later, and I realised<br />
you had to do every step of the path to get where you are. It takes<br />
ages to get good. And the best comedians, my heroes, know<br />
that – their degree of discipline is unparalleled.”<br />
Nulman, with his impresario’s eye for bums on seats, has, as<br />
always, a more pragmatic view. “<strong>The</strong>re are one-hit wonders all the<br />
time,” he says. “<strong>The</strong>re’s a lot to be said for having a deep and profound<br />
body of work, but some people don’t. It’s better to have four minutes<br />
of fame that gets you somewhere, than zero.”<br />
c<br />
aziz ansari photography: getty images; bo burnham: corbis australia<br />
140 QANTAS october <strong>2012</strong>