Stand up is what I do most. It not that hard for me, even when I bomb.
I've told this to people and they always look at me like I'm nuts, but whenever I put together an academic presentation, I think of it like a stand-up set. Not to belittle writing scripts or novels or plays or music or whatever else demands writing, but crafting a stand-up set is like the ultimate to me, because not only are you responsible for writing it, you're also responsible for tinkering with what you've written on stage. It's like building the fucking plane
and flying it through a war zone.
The correlation between a 60-minute set and a 10- or 20-minute conference presentation is pretty negligible, but just thinking up what to say and practicing so you gets the beats and you know where you need to hammer something home to get the desired response, it really is an art and aside from getting pleasure from all of the laughter, I endlessly rewatch my favorite stand-ups because for my money there's no better way to learn how to come up with good material and be comfortable in your own skin and with your own voice than watching a great stand-up.
I've watched this clip like ten billion times and it's as close to perfection as I can imagine a bit being:
[YT]-NpLjKVvY28&start=117&end=185[/YT]
I'm still only at the presentation stage, I haven't done any lecturing yet, but I aspire to that level of comfort and skill.
I write sketches for that are meant to be filmed
I'd be more comfortable with that. Writing has always been easy for me, as has talking in groups, but presenting took some time. Now
performing, no fucking way. And improv, at that? You're nuts :redface:
We have a bit in common, on the academic side. Not much, but, you might find this interesting: I did an Ma in history myself, history of disability. I was a good student but got into booze and drugs a little too hard. Graduate school gave me too much freedom. I got through it, but, didn't get great marks. If I'd gone on to my Ph.d I would have looked at perceptions of mental illness in comic books and related media like movies, I was hoping to prove that at least some of the fear mental illness inspired in people in the late 80's early 90's came from their lack of exposure to real people with mental illness and a sort of over-exposure when it came to scary fictional characters.
That sounds awesome. There was actually a woman who just finished her PhD right before I started and she wrote about the perception of depictions of mental illness (particularly psychosis) from patients' perspectives (her husband is a psychologist). Haven't read it but I'm very interested in it.
If it doesn't cross the online-anonymity line i'd love to read your articles!
Feel free. That second link in my sig is sort of the academic version of LinkedIn, which is where I've uploaded almost everything I've ever written.
https://cardiff.academia.edu/KyleBarrowman
inspired really through the boiler room thread, i thought id revisit it
so i caught that, wall street, and wall street: money never sleeps
looking for recommendations. i was thinking glengarry glen ross since ive never watched it
Definitely go for
Glengarry Glen Ross. Also check these out (starting with the classics, which you know I can't resist :icon_chee):
The Power and the Glory: Spencer Tracy in the rise-and-fall story that inspired
Citizen Kane.
Boom Town: Spencer Tracy and Clark Gable alternating as friends and rivals as they rise to be big time oil magnates.
Edward, My Son: Tracy again as a successful businessman who is even more cutthroat about his son than he is about his business.
The Solid Gold Cadillac: Hidden gem from the '50s with the GOAT comedienne, Judy Holliday, as an average woman who is a minority stockholder in a company she ends up turning upside down and inside out.
One, Two, Three: James Cagney gives a fucking powerhouse performance in this hysterical satire of big business where he plays a Coca-Cola executive trying to rise up the ranks.
Working Girl: More romcom than cutthroat business, but Melanie Griffith works her way through Wall Street.
Other People's Money: Danny DeVito doing his sleazy thing, Gregory Peck's last major performance, and directed by Norman Jewison.
Barbarians at the Gate: Made-for-TV movie from the '90s, but if you can find it, it's pretty cool and James Garner rules.
Swimming with Sharks: About the movie business, but still business related. And the reason Kevin Spacey was cast in
Horrible Bosses. He fucking dominates this film.
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