Standup Comedy Tips from Judy Carter

Comedy in Berlin

A Canadian company flew me out to Berlin to do an hour “wake-up” speech for their sales force after lunch. People ask me why I don’t do comedy clubs any more. Hmmmm, let me think a moment. Traveling first class, staying at 5-star hotels, taken out to French meals, an hour set to an appreciative audience, verses 8 shows a week for drunks while sharing a cockroach infested “comedy condo.” Corporate Comedy rocks and more on that later.



German comedy is very different than American standup. Germans love their Cabarets where the comedy is delivered Jerry Lewis style. Rather than personal revelatory comedy, they love political satire where the comic doesn’t hit the nail on the head, but jokes are clever and ironic.
I started to understand the nature of comedy in Europe at the Fringe festival a few years ago when I over heard a Brit talking to a German saying, “America comics have no sense of irony.” I lean over and said, “I over heard what you said and isn’t it ironic that I’m an American comic and overheard you?” He said, “No, and exactly my point.”



We Americans don’t understand irony. Not even Alanis Morissette, because “a fly in your Chardonnay” isn’t ironic, but unfortunate. Perhaps it would be ironic if you just came from a meeting of the society for pest control and voted no to the use of pesticides to rid the world of flies and you were toasting your success and there was then a fly in your wine. Or not. See we don’t truly understand irony.

American standup is self defacing, authentic, and shame based. “I just broke up with my boyfriend,” “I can’t get laid,” “My father was Nazi.” In other countries, these remarks are kept private. Perhaps that’s because American’s have such a short history and aren’t in touch with themselves in relationship to the rest of the world. Only 4% of Americans have passports. I was talking to a woman who told me she had a wonderful time in France – Epcot France. Disney’s version of France is where people eat Kraft cheese on Starbucks croissants and the “French” people are friendly.

While in Germany I was invited to headline at the Kookaburra Comedy club on English speaking night. How would a German audience react to my “hit the nail on the head Jewish humor? More next blog.