Truth 'n Comedy

since Oprah can do it. . .

A departure from my Discovery Channel and Food Network ways, last night I tuned in to Oprah. And though she wasn't giving away cars, saving babies in Africa or asking Dr. Oz about fecal matter (you know you're ballin' when an entire show is about sh!t), I did learn something.

And Oprah did improv.

Improv, you say? Don't you mean stand-up's bastard cousin? Yes and no.

The segment was a promotion for NBC's Thank God You're Here, a new series that features popular actors as players in fully improvised, live sketch scenes. The show has a cast of regulars and is hosted by a long-time actor and comic David Alan Grier, who you may know from In Living Color, or remember from such films as I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, Jumanji, *cough* Little Man, and Boomerang (every blind date should be that hilarious). It was Jason Alexander, however, who demonstrated the show's improv premise by donning a wig and purple suit and walking into a foreign set. And being funny.

Even Oprah, decked out in a red apron and made temporary manager of a hardware store, did remarkably well. And it got me thinking. I've made fun of improv before, but not because I despise it--because I'm afraid. Does it hurt? How do you know when to pull out? Is it safe to be on stage without protection?

After seeing seasoned performers pull hilarious scenes from "steel cut Irish oatmeal", I realize all the more how much work it is to build a career in comedy. Sure I've never "done" improv (that speech on Jurgen Habermas doesn't count), but I'm willing to try. I know going in that it will take time to trust instinct and be com-fort-able on stage, and that's fine. I guess the trick now, Johnson, is to direct funny thoughts, one-liners and $295 towards a 101 session.

I might like it. I might hate it. I might get embarrassed when my dad sees me do it on stage. But it doesn't matter, because I'll learn something. And step out of a comfort zone. Like Oprah.

Besides, it can't be any worse than the seven minutes last week I spent doing stand up ("What's with the weather? One day it's hot, the next day it's cold. It's like mother nature has menopause").