Kids? Kids? Since when is standup for kids?

by Brian McKim & Traci Skene on October 10th, 2007

There is an interesting interview with comedian Teresa Roberts Logan in the Daily Press (Hampton Roads, VA). In it, she tells of the path she took from artist-writer for Hallmark to clean comedian in southern Virginia.

Her Hallmark gig sometimes required her to produce orientation presentations for new artists and writers.

Afterward, a guy from the humor writing department asked if I’d ever thought about doing standup. I said, “Once, when I was in the seventh grade or so.” He said I should try it, so I ended up at an open mic night doing my little three minutes. That’s how I got into it, and I started getting enough work that it was hard to work at Hallmark and do comedy, too, when you’re out working until 2 a.m. So after about a year, I had to make a tough decision– it really was tough — and I quit my job at Hallmark.

The 46-year-old comedian has found success in mainstream as well as Christian comedy (she’s a featured comic on the Warner Bros. Christian comedy DVD “Thou Shalt Laugh.”) and she produces clean comedy shows in Williamsburg.

We applaud Logan’s entrepreneurship. But one quote gives us pause:

There are thousands and thousands of people out there who would love to go hear live comedy but they don’t envision that it’s for them. It’s not that they’re prudes. They just want to go and laugh and not worry about clapping their hands over their children’s ears.

We don’t mean to single out Logan. But we’ve seen “the kids” popping up in articles dealing with standup lately.

When did anyone get the idea that standup comedy was at all acceptable/should be acceptable for kids? (To put a spin on the popular rhetorical question, “Is nothing profane?”) We have no problem if Grandma or the Parson or the Boss wants to see– or present– clean standup comedy. But why must children be considered in the equation?

So much of entertainment has been ruined or compromised because of an illogical and counter-intutive pandering to the children. Isn’t part of the appeal (a huge part of the appeal) of standup it’s adult nature, it’s inherent maturity? It’s something that is embraced by, understood by, appreciated by adults. Why can’t it be exclusively adult?

The presence of little ones at comedy shows is a bad trend. Comedy is not for children. There should be a firebreak between standup comedy and kids. Offering clean standup for adults we have no problem with. But kids shouldn’t factor into anyone’s strategy. We should discourage this at every opportunity.

So many comics of today acknowledge that their earliest recollection of consumption of standup (via records, tv or otherwise) was clandestine, covert– it was understood that standup comedy was for grown-ups. And, eventually, one would be mature enough to handle it, to consume it openly, in an adult situation, surrounded by one’s peers. Comedy never reached downward, the consumer reached upward.

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