The Daily Triangle

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By Harold

As one of the most famous residents of Chapel Hill and a UNC alum, Lewis Black comes to campus every year as part of the Carolina Comedy Festival.

This year I saw him in three different settings – a question-and-answer session with about 75 people on Friday, a workshop on comedy writing with about 20 people Saturday afternoon, and then a stand-up set in front of 800 on Saturday night.

It won’t do me any good to repeat his jokes here, since they’re really only funny in his manic, on-the-verge-of-a-breakdown delivery. Plus there’s lots of cursing. Instead I’ll focus on his first two sessions.

It’s easy to see a comedian in front of an adoring, sold-out audience and think how great it must be to have that life, so I was glad to hear Black talk about his process during the writing workshop. He called writing a horrible, lonely experience. He has to force himself to do it every day and it’s a constant battle with his mind, which is easily distracted. Clearly for every joke he tells on stage, there are weeks of laborious behind-the-scenes work.

Also, he reminded me of Dick Vitale. Although Vitale is relentlessly optimistic and Black is pessimistic, both people are so energized in public that you assume it can only be an act. But both were exactly the same when I saw them offstage. It’s not a character, it’s really just who they are.

Both in the workshop and the Q&A, Black kept hammering away at the absurdities of American culture. For instance, we’re so quick to respond to disasters outside the country, but we won’t help the guy down the street who lives under a bridge. And everyone feels horrible for Conan O’Brien, who earned $44 million for having a show that failed.

It was great to see Black in three different platforms, to have the chance to ask him questions, and to see someone who made it come back to help aspiring comedians.

In honor of Black, who was a drama major in UNC, I will be attending a free student production of Speech & Debate on campus tonight at the Elizabeth Price Kenan Theatre, so expect a review tomorrow.