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Dancing About Architecture

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     Once you've seen X amount of stand-ups and sketch shows and improvised comedy troupes, patterns start to emerge. This is an art form, like sculpture or baroque music, and it has its precedents, classics, techniques and stories repeated time and time again. Comedians are a clever bunch, and they know all of this. Talk to one and you'll feel this experience beaming through, as well as a real love of their chosen profession.
     Sit four of them down for an hour with a talented host, such as in Mark Olver's month-long chat show Dancing About Architecture, and all of this comes to light in a way it never can by simply watching Dave of an afternoon. Olver's guests vary by the day, and many of them are well-known faces on the comedy circuit- Seann Walsh and Gareth Richards today, Russel Howard on Saturday- and all seem genuinely enthusiastic about having an intimate discussion with their small audience in the dark of the Caves.
     This hour's conversation brought out some funny revelations from our peek behind the backstage curtain- like Will Franken's fondness for comedy voices in keeping relationships in check, and Romesh Ranganathan's faked accent at his first ever gig, as well as some odd and slightly darker ones.
     Richards argues that a stand-up comic's constant need for validation through the audience's laughter betrays a psyche far from perfect, and the other comics agree that those deemed 'naturally funny' and confident rarely become stand-up performers, because they don't need to be. Thankfully the dark beginnings of any comedian bring out a wonderful talent, and a real need for this talent to develop and continue to amaze. Walsh, in a show of unexpected passion, explained that he felt he needed the audience to laugh, "not so I can go around saying I'm the man, but so I can breathe."
     The bottom line is that however arrogant, talented, and downright ridiculous a comic may seem, this is far from a walk in the park for them. This is not a hobby, it's a job, and perhaps a psychological predisposition to boot. In events like this, where comedians can talk frankly about their vocation, stage personae are left at the door, so we see not the puppet but the puppet master, and he tells us all about the strings.

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