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chonidale · 11 months

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how would you rank the characters in s7 i assume cheryl and toni take the top 2 spot but everyone else?

yes, they are top two, always.

cheryl: forever my fav, but i think what they've done with her this season is so, so good. the way they've used the 50s to show cheryl's growth is on par with how well they're using it show choni's. i do think the difference in her is also a result of her not having jason related trauma, but it's also obviously showing how much she's matured over the course of the show. i'm just so proud of her every week and pray they can keep it up for just nine more eps.

toni: her best season, bar none. they've finally figured out how to write her and write for her, and it's both so satisfying to finally see and frustrating that it took them this long to do it. but this is the toni i always knew she was, and seeing her perspective and struggles has been so nice. my single complaint is that she's missing so many episodes. anyone that has a bad word to say about her this season is dumb and nasty and has no empathy for black characters.

tabitha: no we haven't seen much of her but i love her so much and i miss her so much and i just can't rank anyone else higher than her, sorry.

reggie: we haven't seen much of him yet but i already love him so much. it's so interesting to see such a different version of him and think charles is doing a great job. best boy for sure.

archie: i do not find most of his plots interesting and he's been kinda meh in the last few eps, but i can't deny that i've found him really endearing for the first time in seasons. i do wish they would pull back on the straight savior stuff a bit, but still. i'm charmed most of the time.

kevin: it's been nice to see him get some meaty stuff to work with again, and to not be made a villain for once. i wish the writers would give his relationship with clay more onscreen development, but i'm glad kevin's journey has at least gotten some focus and has been taken seriously. i really hope they take the time to show that it helped him with his internalized homophobia in the present.

midge: listen is it unserious of me to put midge so high? yes, but i think she's cute and i love her dynamic with cheryl and toni and i appreciate her existence when it comes to fangs and i don't care which way they choose to bring her back to the present (there's a lot of ways i can think of), just that they do.

clay: i really like this guy and think he's sweet and a great match for kevin and a great fit on the show and in the gang. i wish we knew more about him and still think he should have been a topaz to give toni a family as well as kevin a love interest, but whatever.

veronica: i'm happy to see her with a bit of her spunk back, but i will just always struggle to find veronica or her stories interesting. i think she started the season off strong but now she's just fallen back into boring business and family related plots or mooning after boys with betty. meh. still, gets point for variety.

betty: i usually love betty, but find her kinda meh this season. i understand what they've been trying to do with her and i think lili is doing a good job, but it just feels so repetitive every episode, omg. we get it, betty is horny and wants to fuck the patriarchy both literally and metaphorically, can she come up with something else?

fangs: i don't mind him this season at all and i appreciate that he shaved and cut his hair so he doesn't look like the nasty man he was last season, but it's not like he's gotten anything to do for me to enjoy. but i don't hate him so good for him.

jughead: ranking him below fangs... look how they massacred my boy. i grew to love him at lot in the time jump, but i guess i'm just never going to like high school jughead because woof. the fact that i completely forgot about him until i almost hit publish says it all. completely isolated from the rest of the cast, with the most boring storylines on the show that's largely just him and guest stars... it's bad for him. not even tabitha could get me to pay attention to him.

julian: he does his job as a villain well and nick seems lovely, but obviously he's last. the one good thing i can say about him is that i'm glad they went with him over jason because i hate jason and think they've beaten that dead horse more than enough, and i'm actually intrigued by the dynamic between julian and cheryl.

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abysscontemporary · 4 years

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The 2020 Comedy Club Shutdown

The comedy club shutdown of 2020 may one day be known as the Great Vanishing Act of the Coronavirus Era. The disappearance of stand-up comics and live audiences, engaged in the conjuring up of mirth and laughter at intimate indoor venues, has brought a halt to a social economy, marked by the exchange of wit and performative delivery for levity and amnesia of ill fortune.

If you think this opening paragraph is unlike the set-up of a live, onstage comedy bit, you’re right.

It illustrates the situation live comedy is in today.

The spoken word, brought to you live and in-person, is very much different from and livelier than the written or mediated word, and the absence of live stand-up comedy puts into sharp relief how its vibrancy is noticeably different from what has succeeded it (e.g., essays, audio and/or video shows, posts on social media, etc.) Live comedy and its brilliance are sorely missed.

To take a closer look at the distinctions between the conditions of comedy before mid-March 2020 and the lockdown that came afterwards, this writer conferred with a selection of New York City-based comedians in August 2020. They reflected on what their concepts and practices were like before the pandemic and what their outlooks are for the future. All were elegant in expressing how the art of unseriousness is serious business. Furthermore, they portrayed what it’s like to go from being specifically a stand-up comic to being – more broadly – a comedy artist.

What was your routine before the COVID-19 lockdown in terms of writing, rehearsing, performing, pursuing projects, and booking opportunities?

SASHA SRBULJ: Before the lockdown, I would typically conduct writing sessions with my closest comedy buddies towards the beginning of the week and perform one to three shows at various spots in Manhattan throughout rest of the week. In between all of this, there would be dozens of discussions with other comics; we’d brainstorm, rehearse, and generate booking opportunities for each other. This weekly cascade of stuff could all fall under the rubric, “pursuing projects.” Also, by hanging out together during the week, we’d find ways of spurring creativity and ideas.

Since the start of the lockdown, almost all of these in-person activities have stopped, and they’ve become much more rare because the clubs are closed. We do try to maintain as much online and text-messaging contact as possible - but that's only one element, and it can’t replace the whole experience.

VERONICA GARZA: Before the lockdown, I was performing almost every day, doing shows or going to open mics. If I wasn’t at a show I was booked on or at a mic, I was supporting a show. Also, each and every day, I would try to write or to come up with at least three premises to work on. January and February 2020 were actually really busy months for me, and I was very excited to see where this year would go for me in comedy.

EMILY WINTER: Before Covid, I'd spend all day writing at home for my various writing jobs and script pursuits, then I'd do standup at night. I'd usually write new jokes on my way to shows or just work out new ideas when I got on stage.

CAROLYN BUSA: I’m realizing a lot of my routines happened for me on the train, and that’s the same for writing. Either on the way to a gig or on the way home from one. Those were always the times I was most inspired. Especially after experiencing how a joke hit.

After gigs, I would usually come home from a spot and fall asleep with my notebook in my bed, trying to perfect a bit about submissive sex right before bedtime.

The same goes for seeing a good show. I’d know a show was really good when I’d come home inspired and want to write a bunch of new premises.

Booking opportunities kinda happened naturally at countless weekly and monthly shows. Surely, some months were slower than others. (Cute, how I thought THAT was slow compared to now). During those times, I focused more on writing; my own show, Side Ponytail; or pursuing open mics.

I feel like I always have and always will have a million project ideas spinning in my head, but, without money or deadlines behind most of them, I complete and pursue them more slowly than I’d like to.

DARA JEMMOTT: I was really just moving and flying by the seat of my pants - taking any and every gig to make it work. I would do most of my writing on stage. With working 10 hours a day and then doing two to three shows a night, it was very difficult to sit down and find time to write. However, quarantine has allowed for me to write way more and in different areas.

MARC GERBER: I never made a set time to sit down and write, the way a novelist or a journalist might. My jokes come to me spontaneously, either through stream-of-consciousness - while daydreaming, that is - or in conversation with others.

My jokes generally start off as amorphous drafts. I have either a punchline that needs a strong opening premise or a premise that will need a strong punchline. About 10% to 20% of the bits that I come up with make it to the stage.

Before the lockdown, I would meet with comedian friends, and we’d polish and improve our jokes together. I’d rehearse only before a big show – such as one for recording an album or headlining a major gig. By this point, doing a 10- to 15-minute set had become rote. If I had a brand new bit, I might rehearse it in isolation several times before it performing on stage.

I typically don’t pursue projects or booking opportunities. Primarily, I am reluctant to ask people for opportunities, unless they are big, and I am ready for them. For example, I recorded my first album in November after aggressively pursuing a record label and convincing them to produce the album and release it. (Happily, the album debuted at Number One on the iTunes comedy chart and it’s been on heavy rotation on a major Sirius station). In terms of getting spots and other smaller opportunities, I generally take what I’m offered if they’re legitimate. However, I don’t ask for much, and I don’t implore people to put me on their shows. I think my approach is tactful.

ROBYN JAFFE: I stepped on stage for the first time just nine months before the comedy clubs and the city shut down, and I quickly became hooked.

I’m a teacher by day, and, over the summer, I was planning to explore more open mics, bringer shows, and auditions because the comedy scene doesn’t lend itself to the preferred early bedtime of someone, like myself, who works in a school during the rest of the year.

How have you responded to the lockdown? Did you initially see it as brief hiatus? Did you make it an opportunity to pivot to new projects? What have you missed most about stand-up comedy, so far?

SASHA SRBULJ: The lockdown was a shock, and, within the first three months, the only shows I did were on Zoom. I've since seen people doing park shows, parking lot shows - anything to fill the void. Aside from Zoom shows, I've done shows on Twitch, which was new for me.

I’ve done game-type, interactive audience shows. (There are online games now that are comedy-centric. An algorithm throws out some phrases and premises, and then, several comics try to make jokes out of them. The audience votes, participates, comments, etc.)

It's a format that provides a different kind of audience feedback. On Zoom shows, you generally can't hear the audience and mostly can't see them; so, it's hard to gauge and impossible to improvise much. The Zoom shows are improving, though. Even in five months, there's been tremendous progress.

I've pivoted to writing more - both bits for the stage and for writing in general. The time has also given me an opportunity to strategize the narrative for my next special/album. Planning basically. It's an opportunity to think things through deliberately.

What I've missed most about comedy was my friends. I thought it would be the laughter or the crowds and my own douchey desire to be at the center of attention; but what I actually miss the most is my friends.

(Note: My douchey desire to be at the center of attention is running in close contention.)

VERONICA GARZA: Overall, I’ve been generally concerned about my health, so I’ve done what I can to stay inside and avoid crowds.

I took the whole thing as an opportunity to work on other stuff. I finally made a full draft of my solo show about my dating men and even performing it over Zoom for two festivals. I have worked on an entire new half-hour of comedy. I’ve also considered this as an opportunity to work on scripts I’d intended to write.

I miss performing live. I miss seeing the audience - or even the lack thereof - and figuring out what I’ll do on stage. I miss seeing other comics and having that one drink after the show where we bitch about a show or a venue, but also just catch up. I noticed shows popping up randomly in New York City, and, honestly, I don’t think it’s safe enough for them yet.

EMILY WINTER: I absolutely thought it would be a brief hiatus, and I was excited. As both a writer and a standup, I feel like I never have enough time to dedicate to many of my writing projects. I saw this as the Universe forcing me to concentrate on my writing projects for a while. Since coronavirus, I've written two new pilots, rewrote an old one, wrote a movie with my husband, and got a book deal. I’m about halfway through the book-writing process. My two new pilots still need a lot of work, though.

I do miss stand-up. I miss the feeling of connection that you have when a set is going well. There's just this beautiful buzz in the air. It's magical.

CAROLYN BUSA: Oh brother. This is THE question isn’t it? Are you waiting for me to say, “God, I miss the mic!! Get me on the stage! My blood and bones need it!! Punchlines! Laughter! Applause!” Not quite.

I definitely did see it as a brief hiatus but kinda like how I adjust to traveling super quickly. (Every hotel or Air BnB feels like home within hours.) After a short time, NOT getting on stage felt freakishly normal. It kinda freaked me out and made the last ten years of my life feel like a fever dream. Maybe I'm already on a ventilator.

I, of course, miss having a great set, applause, and people telling me I'm funny. I miss the thrill of finding the line that makes whatever wild idea I have relate to the majority of a crowd. Or, if not relate, at least understand where I'm coming from.

I also miss parts of the socialization that came with comedy. My good friends, those that I'd see every now and then, the bartenders, the Barry’s! My social life was my day job and comedy, both of which are now gone.

Admittedly, there's a part of me that feels relief. The hustle has really beaten me up, so to kinda put that aside does not feel horrible. I thought I'd have more pockets of success at this point in my comedy career, and, even though I really like who I am as a comedian, not having to prove it for a few months feels ok.

So,...(shrugs shoulders) I'm still writing, and I'm still making goofy videos, but, more importantly, I'm really trying to figure out what makes me completely happy.

DARA JEMMOTT: At first, I responded to the lockdown with annoyance and fear, and, then, I enjoyed the fact I got to sit down for a second. Afterwards, I had to grieve a life I once knew.

I am getting to enjoy doing nothing because who knows when that will come again? I did realize that maintaining my mentals would be a top priority and that it was important for me to find projects to distract and dive into. So, I wrote my first pilot. Never would I have had time to do that before.

MARC GERBER: I initially saw the lockdown as a brief hiatus. Fortunately, I had my album coming out, and it gave me something to promote and look forward to. The success of the album’s release was encouraging, and I was able to do a number of online shows to promote it.

Since then, I have focused mainly on my other career as a psychologist, as the online shows are somewhat underwhelming, and I have been living outside of the city and thus, not getting the opportunity to do any of the outdoor shows that clubs and independent producers have been putting on.

What I miss most about stand-up comedy is the camaraderie of my comedian friends. Of course, there’s also nothing better than making 150 people laugh on a Friday night.

ROBYN JAFFE: I wanted to keep up with comedy-writing and joke-sharing during the lockdown, so I started a Twitter account. I also began to post a video to my Instagram account every Sunday night, and I call it “Pajamedy Sunday.” I may not have been able to get on stage all of these months, but I’m trying to make people laugh during a difficult time.

I did one Zoom show but otherwise haven’t performed.

What do you envision yourself doing before comedy venues fully re-open? After comedy venues fully re-open, what do you most look forward to doing? When live stand-up comedy fully returns, what do you expect the dynamic will look like between you and your live audience?

SASHA SRBULJ: While comedy clubs are closed, I hope I use my time productively. Aside from ironing out some aspects of my set, there's a writing project I want to try out and see if it has legs.

After comedy venues fully re-open, I am most looking forward to performing and seeing the community come back, which I hope it does. This lockdown has lasted long enough that things may not just snap back into place like before. I'm hoping that the thirst for comedy and just fun in general helps bring the community back quickly.

Frankly, until we have full herd immunity - either via a vaccine or just pandemic spread - I can't imagine things going back to the way they were. Brick-and-mortar comedy clubs are physically intimate spaces, especially in New York City, and laughter is an involuntary response that can spread aerosols. Unfortunately, comedy clubs, along with bars and night clubs, will be among the last establishments to reopen.

In the meantime, outdoor venues, virtual shows, and socially distanced shows are our only way. Once it's safe again, I think people will resume their lives as before. It may take a while for 100% of the people to be comfortable again, but, once the green light is given, most people will revert to the norm.

I initially thought this would permanently scar an entire generation of people and scare them from social interaction. However, as it turns out, the hardest thing about this crisis was getting people NOT to socially interact. So, I think when it will finally be safe, people will come back.

With both the positive and negative aspects of what this means, “You can't change people.”

VERONICA GARZA: If comedy venues even survives, I’m sure it will be a while before I return to live performances. I very much look forward to performing, but I also don’t want to rush to return to the stage and putting myself at risk.

I’m not that selfish. When live comedy returns, I’m sure it will be lovely. This current pause we are in has made everyone eager for some laughter, so I look forward to when we can safely do it in-person. As for now, I’m enjoying doing it safely over Zoom.

EMILY WINTER: I've been hesitant to perform at outdoor shows because I'm so immersed in my writing right now. I'm going to hold out a little longer while I re-work pilots and finish my book.

Once venues re-open, I'm looking forward to that brilliant feeling of connecting with strangers and feeling the collective energy in the room. I think that will be more difficult since I imagine people will be sitting farther apart. It's hard to create one unified energy when people aren't physically close together, and I worry about that.

CAROLYN BUSA: I will continue to think about and explore how to use my creativity to maintain my happiness! Writing, when I'm inspired; creating, when I want; and exploring other paths, possibly.

I've been dipping my toe back into writing stand-up, but it's been SLOW. I don't want to pressure myself too much or even say, “Put pressure on myself.” (Oh god, I hate brains).

I haven't done any outdoor performances, but, from what I hear, people are happy to hear jokes and happy to laugh. I'd expect that would be the same for when comedy fully returns.

I honestly don't know what to predict though. Every time I try to think of what something in the future will look like, I suddenly need a nap. My hope with this worldwide slowdown is that, in the future, comedy can be separated from those who want to hustle and work hard from 8 pm to 1am and those who want to do it from 5 pm to 11 pm.

DARA JEMMOTT: I'm really not thinking about "fully-re-open" and what that looks like or when that will come. I'm not going to put my life on hold and resume it after quarantine. Folks got to learn to live their life regardless and make the best of the situation.

I've been doing plenty of Zoom shows and outdoor shows, so I expect the dynamic to be the same. Uneasily and with trepidation, I’ve been happy to be out of the house and around people. But, "after quarantine" - I stopped using those words a long time ago.

MARC GERBER: I have been listening to the experts (e.g. virologists, epidemiologists) and not the politicians since this began. I knew by mid- to late February that comedy venues were going to close down. Before one of my shows in late February I posted, “Come see my while you still can!” Many people thought I was a joking, but I was being deadly serious.

According to the experts, this is going to be a long fight, particularly because of how poorly the federal response was in controlling the virus. I think comedy is going to come back very gradually.

Before the lockdown I was getting regularly booked at some of the best clubs in New York City. However, there are many, many comics ahead of me on the seniority list. I believe that for the next several years, if not longer, I will have fewer opportunities to perform than I’d had before the lockdown. I will have to find a way to engage myself creatively without getting on stage as much. That might include podcasting and writing. I am still figuring it out.

I feel fortunate to have a stable career as a psychologist. While comedians won’t be in high demand for a long time, psychologists certainly will be.

ROBYN JAFFE: Now, I attend comedy shows outside to enjoy live comedy and shamelessly talk to comics before or after the show. I hope to pick up where I left off whenever that becomes possible!

Comedy can be transformational, and these stand-up comics are stand-up people. Reading what they’ve said suggests that hearing what they will say on one stage or another will be something to look forward to.

Carolyn Busa: http://www.carolynbusa.com Veronica Garza: https://twitter.com/veros_broke Marc Gerber: https://800pgr.lnk.to/GerberIN Robyn Jaffe: https://twitter.com/rjaffejokes Dara Jemmott: http://www.instagram.com/chocolatejem and https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/comedians-for-hire/id1448386062 Sasha Srbulj: https://sashasrbulj.com/ Emily Winter: https://www.emilywintercomedy.com

#standupcomedy #standup #comedy #covid19 #pandemic #lockdown #performing #writing

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