Being a Comedian is Lonely
... I don't really mean that in an over arching sense. I've found that having a little bit of a funny knack has been one of the most socially rewarding attributes that I posses. I mean it more along the lines that as far as I'm aware there isn't really a stable community of funny-philanders or mirth-makers. Or if there is I haven't found my way to it yet, at least not in the society outside of my cirlce of friends (Read as UT). In fact at UPS there is an amazing community that is only growing from what appears to be practically thin air. Also as UT has made its jaunt up into the big world that is Seattle. There wasn't really anything before and with just a little bit of structure an a push in the right direction people fly out of the woodworks to manifest merriment. This isn't just people who are close friends or very recent colleagues (though the afore mentioned group to make up the back bone of the opperation) but it's also people who just want to support and be funny. It just seems like people are looking for anything to grab onto.
So this set me to wondering what resources are out there for comedians (sketch/improv/standup/film/written/etc.) and my preliminary survey has turned up what appears to be a nearly fathomless void. There isn't, as far as I've been able to find, a community of comedians that is easily accessable or has any lasting footprint. Now I'm sure there are little groups of people who are very tight knit (they would have in order to survive in a set up like this) and dedicated to what they do but looking around I can only see the smallest ammounts of communication. And this communication is only when the groups are performing together. There really isn't any dialogue about comedy by comedians. There isn't a forum out there for just comedians; there are fan sites for comedians and comedic groups.
I think that if there were something out there people working in comedy would flock to it and it would help out a bunch of people in their persuit of humor. There is a huge gaming community that has all kinds of news, interaction, and self evaluation. Why can't there be something like that for comedy of all shapes and sizes. I think that UT has a bit of this vibe going for it in that it's willing to do just about anything as long as it's funny. This is what I attribute UT's thusfar great growth (albeit a little smaller in scale than what I'm imagining), a connected group that disperses tools to all of it's members. We're not necicarily the most technically/gifted endowed performers/funny-makers (though we are getting better all of the time) but what we lack in individual sillyness-virtuosity it is greatly compensated by the structure and diffusion of the process to the members of the group. So I think that UT (or someone) could spread this vibe indeffinitley outward into the world.
Things I'd like to see happen (My idea for a Seattle comedy community [comedity?]):
1. A forum where people can talk about humor and bounce ideas back and forth.
2. A Database of venues where comedy is performed with not just the capacity and location, but specifics about the area (clientel, location, other acts, humor that worked/bombed, etc...)
3. A calendar of events/shows that are happening.
4. A networking system that would enable larger gatherings of funny people with more regularity that just the occasional multi-troup/artist show.
There are other things that I'm sure this would facilitate, but I've been half thinking about this for over an hour now (work... hmmm). The only issue I have with writing this down is that it's a bit of a catch-22. This would be great to post in a place full of comedy enthusiasts... but it's about the need for such a place.
Thoughts?