Why I'm not 'Family Guy's' target audience

Last year I wrote an article on the whole Seth MacFarlane at the Oscars furore*. It was, if it had to be said to ultimately swing a certain way, fairly supportive of MacFarlane's performance. It wasn't that I enjoyed it particularly, just that nothing about it was particularly surprising or unexpected and, for that reason, I found the hyped up public backlash following it completely ridiculous. 

The truth is I hardly knew anything about MacFarlane before the Oscars. I didn't know what he looked like or what his style was bar the one piece of his work I'd seen (and not really liked) Ted. I suppose I'd seen odd moments of Family Guy through friends and flatmates being fans but I'd never really being pulled in by the programme in any way. So I educated myself a little and started watching American Dad and Family Guy. The former I warmed to quite quickly. I didn't find it laugh out loud funny or particularly scintillating viewing but I enjoyed the characters, the story lines, Roger the alien's many disguises and the absurdity of the arguments and beliefs of the super patriotic Stan Smith. I 'got' the point of the series and Patrick Stuart was a bonus. 

Family Guy felt like the same programme but with less of a clear point and a lot more crassness, crudeness and unnecessary smashing of taboos. I saw the same 'jokes' being played out over and over again. I saw the humour getting lazier and lazier with the writers resorting to jews, homosexuals or trans people being, not only part of the joke, but the punchline itself. The joke always seemed to be on a minority group, someone with a disability or considered 'freaky'. The point at which a flashback was so shocking I switched the TV off immediately I realised I'm not Family Guy's target audience (Lois tells Peter she doesn't want him to babysit incase it ends up like the last time she left him alone with the kids. There's a flashback to the two of them standing by a graveside crying while Peter bemoans the fact that he shook, and killed, his son.). 

This is okay. We can't all be fans of every TV show. I appreciate that, for many, the pure shock factor is enough for this show to be hilarious. I also know that a lot of people believe the show is intelligent satire, a commentary on the negative aspects of our world rather than becoming a contributor to them. No, despite the fact that, for me it's tacky and upsetting, I wouldn't dream of judging whether or not Family Guy is 'funny' or 'should be broadcast'. These things are subjective and it's the fact that we're all so different that has resulted in such a rich variety of entertainment shows being created. 

Still, I was bothered about what it was I found so troublesome about this programme. I've probably watched the entire series now and, although I've rarely laughed out loud, I've found moments I find amusing, entertaining or clever. I certainly think, though not all that easily shockable to begin with, I've become inured to much of what bothered me in the first place (not that I'm sure I'm pleased about this). Keeping this in mind, realising that it's pretty easy to watch and becoming familiar with the characters and aspects of the show I do like, I couldn't work out what was still bothering me about the show, what was leaving me with a bitter feeling after each viewing. Then I read this paragraph in the novel Beautiful Ruins** (about a musical comedian doing his first show at the Edinburgh Fringe) and it put its finger on exactly what I felt about Family Guy. I don't think this revelation will bother Seth MacFarlane much, nor do I think that it should be applied to everything in order to discover its 'worth'. I don't think that everything has to be 'beautiful', but I do want art and entertainment to, in some way, elevate itself from pure crassness. 

At the other end of the bridge, Pat came across a little quartet - cello, two violins, electric piano - kids playing Bach over the Thames for change. He sat and listened, trying to catch his breath but awestruck by their casual proficiency, by their simple brilliance. Christ, if street musicians could do that? What was he doing here? He'd always felt insecure about his own musicianship; he could chunk along with anyone on the guitar and be dynamic onstage, but Benny was the real musician. They'd written hundreds of songs together, but standing on the street, listening to these four kids matter-of-factly play the canon, Pat suddenly saw his best songs as ironic trifles, smart-ass commentaries on real music, mere jokes. Jesus, had pat ever made anything...beautiful? The music these kids played was like a centuries-old cathedral; Pat's lifework had all the lasting power and grace of a trailer. 

*http://tinydanser-mytheatreblog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/03/seth-macfarlane-at-oscars-sexist.html
**Beautiful Ruins, Walters, Jess, Harper Perennial, p. 159

Chatback Comedy Club: Endings and Beginnings

So we've come to the end of another season for Chatback Comedy Club. 

'Running a comedy club'. It's such a strange thing to say I do. I suppose it's strange not only because I never really envisioned doing such a thing but also because it's difficult to know where it became something I did as a main venture rather than a sideline. When do you decide a hobby becomes a job? As a business advisor pointed out during a reading of our first attempt at a business plan, when you're talking about beer money rather than substantial profit margins you're really partaking in a time consuming hobby. I assume he thought that there was an iota of promise there though because he awarded us a £2000 grant. Sure enough we're gradually expanding, dealing with bigger acts, larger venues, increased sums of money. So while it's certainly not a 'full time job' as of yet I suppose it's now officially something I 'do' rather than something I 'do in my spare time'. 

There have been two outstandingly exciting times in the running of the club. One was at the very beginning when we realised we weren't just running a local open mic night but rather an official, regular gig with a large, loyal audience. Beyond anything we'd ever dreamed this was, quite frankly, the reason the company exists at all today. I can't imagine that, without this early injection of success, we'd have had the confidence or staying power to attempt to run a 'club' rather than a 'night'. The second is right now. Due to the nature of this profession Sam and I have always had to juggle our work for the company with other jobs. With me disappearing off to London on a regular basis and Sam completing a PGCE it's been quite a struggle and finally we had to make a decision. Split or call it quits altogether. 

The first plan was to do the latter. The company was our baby, we've had a good run and we thought we'd do a final season, go out with a bang and that'd be that. We took a six month hiatus to prepare the final shows and, coming back from it, Sam, myself, the production team, the designers and our regular audience all had one resounding plea. 'Give it one more go!' 

So, officially the original terrible twosome - Sam Gardner & myself - who started the nights together have had to split. Amicably...don't worry. Although madly proud and thrilled by being part of Chatback, Sam finally had to call it quits when he got his first official job as a teacher (Herne Bay High School - Drama & English!) but has given me his blessing to carry on. Joining me as Production Manager is an existing member of the tech team Faith Austin. 

Since we were having a fresh start we figured it was a good time to take the time to sit down and think about how we wanted to go forward as a company, what we wanted to do, to be and how to become a business rather than a society. Hopefully we'll have plenty to announce in the upcoming weeks and months and, more to the point,  we make a success of it all. ALL OF IT HEAR ME!?

It's been a lovely start and, to keep you in the loop, here's what we've been up to over the last few months. 

Monthly gigs at The Parrot pub in Canterbury. 

(Pictured above clockwise from top left: Jessica Fostekew, Anil Desai, Bec Hill & Thom Tuck) 

Chatback Comedy Kids' Hour at intu Lakeside Shopping Centre

(Pictured above clockwise from top left: Nish Kumar chats to a young fan, Meeting the giant ShakeAway milkshake, Paul Sweeney & the front row texters, Paul Sweeney creates the 'I don't know' song live on stage with his kids' chorus!)

Chatback Comedy at Lounge on the Farm

(Pictured above left to right from top left: Dan Simpson and Paul Sweeney launch Stand Up & Slam!, Phil Nichol, Little Lounge, poets meet comics in round one of Stand Up & Slam!, the sign at Little Lounge for Tiernan Douieb's show, Team Comedy at SU&S!, Tiernan Douieb does Chatback Kids' Hour, Play It By Ear's Breakfast Improv show, Paul Sweeney steals blankets from children.)

LOTS OF LOVE, 

Lucy Danser (Company Director) & Faith Austin (Production Manager) 

www.chatbackcomedy.com 

Why my thespian heart belongs to England

When I was younger I knew in my heart that I'd fly this nest. That I'd leave the wet and windy British weather behind, that I'd go somewhere with clean air, frequent sunshine and exotic accents. My lifestyle would be healthier, property would be affordable and I'd cook delightful meals daily from local ingredients. I'd still work in theatre. Of course. Or, failing that, writing. I wasn't planning on going crazy. We're talking California here rather than Cuba. South Africa rather than the Solomon Islands. Yup I'm unstoppable. Last week I went to North Wales for three days and began mentally planning my future there. My Dad always told me that you should take the opportunity to travel, to see the world, when you're young and it's still an option. You know, before you get bogged down with all this mortgage, job, children business. I've done a fair bit of that travelling malarky. I love it. I also lived in Indiana for a year. It was incredible but of course the time then came to return.

I honestly thought I'd be living elsewhere now. But I'm 26. And I'm still, very much, here. More significantly, I've started a business here. Okay so it's small, minute even, and should I decide to leave then I imagine it might not, at this point, have a major effect on me. But that's not the point. The point is that I have chosen not to look further afield but to stay right here and put down roots. Maybe it's just the way things turned out. Perhaps I'm jumping the gun and my time to move has yet to come? Or is it possible that I'm here because my three true loves are here? 

My family, the theatre and comedy.

The former is ultimately a private concern but suffice to say that I imagine there's a possibility I would follow my family around the globe if it came to that. I don't mind short term separation, travelling and so on but I do not wish to envision a future without tangible access to my family and nor, I believe, do they.

But theatre? And comedy? Well these are slightly less obvious choices for an individual to make when determining where to base their lives, although obviously pertinent when you wish to work in the self same fields of course. But does England still lead the pack? Yes, England has great theatre and we're within spitting distance of the biggest arts festival in the world but plenty of other countries have thriving arts scenes nowadays. Including those which are potentially easier to break into than the over subscribed world here. Chicago and New York both play host to incredible theatre and actors while Cape Town and Johannesburg companies are producing some beautiful work. Australia's cities feature some of the biggest theatre and comedy festivals in the world and European theatre has long been admired for it's grace and beauty.

However the truth is that I've still never found anywhere that quite compares to here. To our history, our people, our plays. To the companies that choose to come here with their wares and to the deep respect people have for our industry. I'm not always, rarely ever actually, in the 'in crowd' of British theatre but I still delight in so many of the opportunities available and possibilities still out there. There are so many problems, not least with funding, payment and lack of work, but right now I'm hopelessly in love with the world that theatre always has, and still does, represent for me.

I love the fact that since January I've seen West End musicals, fringe plays, stand-up comedy, works in progress, South African productions, Joanna Lumley performing in late night Pinter shorts and an incredible adaptation of an award-winning novel. I love that in eight months my friend's debut play has been performed above a pub, at a festival and in a West End theatre. I love that Sir Ian McKellen went to see my grandmother's amateur dramatic's society production of Waiting for Godot and stayed for tea afterwards. I love that although it often feels like a hopeless struggle for those of us in the profession there are scattered moments when opportunities are tangible and everything, albeit briefly, falls into place.

For me they're both addictions. Comedy and theatre. Watching and creating. And I haven't yet found a better place to be than here.