Cloud Nine: happy forking comedy.

Hello! Everything is fine.

Hi, I’m Jack Simon! How are you doing?

I’m the host and creator of Cloud Nine, a show that is informed by my 7+ years of experience in performing, practicing, and writing comedy. I wanted to create a performance that is specifically designed to maximize audience enjoyment, and giving you the space to take a break, especially considering how stressful life is right now (and quite frankly, has been for the last few years).

I believe comedy has a unique ability to create tension release in a way that’s uniquely fun and interesting and I have created a show that optimizes for that outcome. Here’s how:

Who I book.

It’s a little weird that we have a bunch of different showcases around town that trots stand-up comedians out on stage, one-by-one, with seemingly little-to-no relationship with each other. In theory, this shouldn’t be a format that works: except it does, because of the host.

In local comedy shows, the host is also the person who books the comedians, and in a good comedy show, the host will have opinions about who is worth booking, and Cloud Nine is no exception.

As the host of this show, I have two guidelines for booking comedians:

1. Diversity in perspective: In a given show, I book spread of comics who are diverse in terms of characteristics they don’t have control over (i.e. race, gender, etc), and also diverse in terms of characteristics they do have control over (how they interpret the world and comedic style). A balance between both is important, and shows that focus on too much of one quality versus the other aren’t e as enjoyable because the ability to see into a range of viewpoints is what makes stand-up comedy engaging.

2. Taste: The reason why I use “forking” in Cloud Nine’s advertising is both to keep people from taking down the show posters (which take me a lot of work to put up! if you’re someone who’s feeling kinda sold on this show and wants to help me put up posters, I’m game!), and also because it’s a “Good Place” reference. If you’re someone who likes The Good Place, Parks and Rec, and the vast majority of what’s on Dropout, you will probably like this show.

Finally, here’s a piece of my own stand-up, so you know that I’m legit, and get a sense for the style of what I do.

No fucking crowdwork.

I’ll be honest, when I was designing this show, I didn’t intend to have a no crowdwork policy. However, when talking to people about why or why not they would come to a stand-up comedy show, I learned that many balk at the idea of going to a live performance because they don’t like being called on.

Simultaneously, I understand crowdwork is necessary at comedy shows, especially at the local level. A stand-up comedy show, without crowdwork, is… kind of boring. Many comedians at this level are still working things out, and all the jokes might not be landing, etc. Adding a little bit of “improv” to the action is what “completes” the local stand-up comedy show, at the cost of enjoyment for some.

Providing an alternative to “crowdwork” is why I have all of the comics stay on-stage– both because it creates a more unique stand-up experience (quite frankly, I think it’s boring to watch people being shuffled on and off while a host announces a name you’ve never heard of and will likely forget), and also because it adds the much-needed “improv” element to the show– comedians will laugh and riff between sets, as well as answer some get-to-know-you questions asked by me, in order to make each show a lively, unique experience, without having to call on random individuals in the audience for that livelier “improv” element.

If crowdwork is something you love, great, you’re probably a comedy lover and I’m not here to yuck your yum. All I can say is, with near-absolute certainty,there is probably someone in your life who would be excited to go to a comedy show with no crowdwork, and Cloud Nine would be the stand-up comedy show to take them to.

Turning the phone off!

At the beginning of the performance, I will ask you to turn off your phone. Not on vibrate, not in airplane mode, off. In addition to reducing surprise phone calls during the performance, it can feel hard to feel comfortable laughing in public with strangers, and having something buzzing in your pocket can make that more difficult.

I also ask the comedians to do a metaphorical “turning off their phones” as well. Because of the algorithm, the comedic material we are most exposed to online is content that is going to get engagement, typically content that will spark an emotional response of some kind (i.e. trauma-dumping, shock comedy, etc). Accordingly, lots of comedians have started to specialize in this humor offline, for a number of reasons, including trying to gain traction on the internet.

This is fine, but when one takes material intended for one medium (the internet), and performs it in another (live), it can make the material feel a bit flat and out-of-focus, creating a bit of weird undercurrent that disrupts the enjoyment of the show. If you’ve ever been to a comedy event and walked out feeling like you didn’t quite get what you need, comedians performing for the internet is a likely reason, and I do things behind the scenes to create a space for humor that’s intended for a specifically live format.

If you need a night of laughter in your life (or, minimally, find the  show intriguing), and want to put my ideas to the test, grab tickets on Eventbrite. If the ticket price is an issue for you, shoot me an email (jacksimoncomedy@gmail.com), I’m happy to do what I can to have you come.

Logistics?

Feel free to copy/paste:

Wednesday February 28th,Doors at 6:30, show starts at 7 PM sharp. Tickets $15. Venue: The Rockwell Theater in Davis Square, 255 Elm St, Somerville, MA 02144