Sue's News

The Zing Thing

June 28th, 2010

I have a deep appreciation for comedy in theatre. It’s a different animal than drama, one that still perplexes me. And though my family has asked me many times why I’m not writing comedies just yet, I hope to tackle at least one one day.

Yesterday, we saw a few themed short plays. Most pieces were no more than ten minutes, some hovered close to the five minute mark. I was surprised at what can be shared and learned in such a short amount of time, and one or two of the 10 pieces made me think…

One, which shall remain nameless, got under my skin in a very bad way for a very bad reason. I was with the play and playwright for a few minutes there… It was smart and funny in an ironic kind of way. And then, the last line of the play, “Now that’s theatre!”

That few seconds wiped away any good will I had built up in the last few minutes. There was no finesse there, nothing subtle about it. In fact, I felt like I had just been pounded over the head.

It demonstrated how convention can sometimes be detrimental. The last line of any piece is hard enough, but then trying to come up with a zinger for your last line… I can take this so many places, but I’m just going to leave it open.

Comedy, smart comedy, is usually about shedding a subtle light on something we know is true. That “zinger” flooded this piece with a spotlight, washing away everything that came before it.

–Sue

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