You’ve been asked to do a five-minute presentation to a group of young schoolchildren on the topic of your choice. Describe your presentation.
“Who likes to tell jokes? Who is the class clown?” I ask the kids. Based on their answers, I encourage the kids who raised their hands to get up and tell their jokes.
Then we discuss what comedy is. Why did those jokes make them laugh? What makes them funny? Next we talk about the basic structure of a joke. Using some of the jokes the kids told we dissect them into setup and punchline.
Then I’d talk about being a stand up comedian.
“Some people are doctors and some people are activists and some people are gender affirming therapists. Some people are comedians and they tell jokes for a living,” I’d say. “So if you have the meanest parents—guess what that means?”
Crickets.
“It means you’ll probably be a stand-up comedian!”
