Editor’s note: Jenn Seybert and Eugene Marcus presented “The Jenn and Gene Comedy Hour” at the Narrating dis/Ability conference, Syracuse, NY, April 30, 2002. Jenn and Eugene each sat at the front of the room with their typing displayed simultaneously on two projection screens. Mayer Shevin facilitated for Eugene, and Kendall Seybert facilitated for Jenn, with Rosa McAllister taking over later in the session. This transcript attempts to capture the give-and-take of that session; what is left out, unfortunately, is the audience interaction.
Eugene: Welcome folks. This may be the most experimental session of the whole conference. Don’t throw anything as is riles the facilitators.
JENN: YOU GOT THAT RIGHT. ALL OF US HAVE A STRANGE STREAK INSIDE OF US. WE ENJOY MAKING FUN OF OUR OWN BEHAVIOR AND OF YOU NEURO-TYPICS. WE ARE USED TO NOT BEING PAID SO WE HIRE OUT CHEAP!
Eugene (who had been wiping his nose repeatedly): believe it or not, the Kleenex is not just for laughs.
JENN: THAT WILL KEEP THEM GUESSING UP THERE FOR MONTHS ON END.
(At this point, Eugene’s facilitator, Mayer Shevin, read the following statement, which Eugene had prepared earlier.)
| Thank you all for coming to find out what autistic comedy is like. Those of you who are autistic probably already know. Contrary to popular belief, autistic people have wonderful senses of humor. The problem is, the rest of you just don’t get the joke most of the time. Before we begin, it would be fun to see if you can find out what your own sense of humor is like. How to check it is easy. Ask yourself if Rodney Dangerfield or George Carlin or Pee Wee Herman is funnier. To most autistic people, Rodney Dangerfield is just stupid, George Carlin is pretty funny, and Pee Wee Herman is one of the gang. So if you like George or Pee Wee, stay around. And if you like Rodney, you can leave before we get too weird for you. My sense of humor is something that has been with me all my life, but nobody knew it until I could type. My face is not a good comedy face, and my best jokes are lost because without the right facial expression, people think I am just stupid, not humorous. Jokes aren’t my main form of humor. Instead, my humor sees the funny side of every day things and takes great pleasure in watching them. Some people think that is silly, but have you ever seen an autistic person who has trouble entertaining himself? It is hard being funny on demand. Funny things happen in context not by themselves. And by the time we get around to being funny, the context is gone and we just sound stupid. The good news is, so do most comedians. We at least have an excuse. My friend Valerie told me that people in Maine tell jokes that don’t sound like jokes and the fun is in figuring out if one has been tricked or not. Maybe I can be a Maine comedian. Maybe we should try out in front of an all-Maine audience and start a new trend! Humor and laughing don’t have to be a part of each other all the time. Autistic people sometimes laugh when they are nervous or scared and so a comedian who makes me laugh a lot may not be funny at all, just very scary. That is like thinking someone enjoys being tickled to death. My friendship with Jenn has just begun this year, but it is a great fun to hang around with her. Now I will make Mayer shut up so Jenn can finally get something in edgewise. |
JENN: I’M A WOMAN, GENE; I HAVE NO PROBLEM SQUEEZING IN MY TWO-CENTS.
Eugene: It isn’t that, Jenn; it’s just that I was blaming Mayer for my own monopolizing. That’s my need for what we call a facilitator and other people call a straight man.
JENN: FEAR NOT, NOTHING CAN INTERFERE! WE GALS HAVE OUR WAYS TO MAKE MALES JUMP TO OUR WAYS.
Eugene: We are honored to do so, your majesty.
JENN: MY, I’M FLATTERED.
Eugene: Good. Should we let the audience in on our plans?
JENN: WHAT PLANS? (WATCH HIM SWEAT NOW!)
Eugene: My thought was you had this completely organized. But no, that was Valerie’s job. (Valerie, a friend who had helped Eugene and Jenn plan the session, protested from the audience.)
JENN: I LIED.
Eugene: Good. Confession is good for your spiritual life and it means it’s not my fault. We really do have a plan. Should it be me or you who tells it, Jenn?
JENN: YOU SEEM TO BE THE CHATTY ONE, AND ARE LONG WINDED: GO AHEAD.
Eugene: Ok. Here’s the plan. You in the audience tell us a topic and we will start from there. No vegetables though; those are only for throwing.
JENN: WHERE IS THE HOOK?
Audience member: How about “Vacations”?
JENN: …ARE FOR THOSE WHO ARE DESPARATE TO BE PUNISHED.
Eugene: Much of my life is what you call “vacation” but it is what in my language is called “Find me a job!” But unless you have a job the only way you know you are on vacation is a hotel room or a lumpy sleeping bag.
JENN: FOR ME, VACATION IS LAYING AND LISTENING TO MOM SNORING.
Eugene: Not fair but possibly true. New topic?
Audience member: “Television”?
JENN: MY LIFE BEFORE FC…
Eugene: My life is often like a TV with somebody else with rotten taste holding the remote control.
JENN: NEXT?
Audience member: “Politics”?
JENN: OH, I LOVE THIS ONE! ANYBODY HAVE A CIGAR ON THEM?
Eugene: Jenn, I am shocked.
JENN: SURPRISE!
Eugene: No, I am shocked nobody dared to laugh.
JENN: THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN THE LADY IN THE BLUE DRESS.
Eugene: Moms, you may want to leave for this part.
JENN: NEXT?
Audience member: What about “sex”?
JENN: WHAT’S THAT?
Eugene: Nobody really does that any more, do they?
JENN: DO WHAT?
Eugene: You know, the things they never tell us about.
JENN: OH I GUESS ITS BECAUSE WE’RE AUTISTIC.
Eugene: No, it’s because they are Highly Responsible, and if anyone found out we had sexual ideas there would be a state investigator to find out who was responsible.
JENN: NEXT?
Audience member: “Rock and Roll”?
JENN: …IS HERE TO STAY! GENE, YOU HAVE MORE MOTOR SKILLS THAN I DO: GIVE A LITTLE DEMO.
Eugene: OK, but the next topic may be building an atomic reactor, and you know more math than I do…
JENN: WE CAN TRY IT OUT ON THE HEIGHTS AND WE’LL REALLY ROCK AND ROLL. THE JESUITS WON’T KNOW WHAT HIT THEM.
(Someone in the audience said they didn’t understand.)
JENN: I GO TO LE MOYNE COLLEGE. (Kendall explained that the LeMoyne campus is called “The Heights.”)
Audience member: How about “doctors”?
JENN: QUACK QUACK.
Eugene: This may be the least funny group of people in the universe. They want us to believe they understand us when all they accomplish is understanding what they read in some journal. They are only funny if you find nonsense humorous.
JENN: (To Rosa, who had just come up to facilitate for her) HI CHANGE OF GUARD. DRS ARE INFLATED LAWYERS.
Eugene: Before we go on do any of the fc users here want to join in?
JENN: DOES MARK REEVES REALIZE HES BEEN INVITED ONSTAGE? NEVER KNOWN HIM TO BE SHY.
Eugene: Need to ask you all a question.
JENN: YES QUESTIONS ARE GOOD
What works and what doesn’t work in a session like this?
(A discussion followed in which audience members talked about what they appreciated about the session.)
Audience member: Talk about “facilitators.”
JENN: WELL HOW MUCH TIME DO YOU HAVE?
Eugene: Mayer pretends to be a facilitator, but really he just likes hanging around with popular people.
JENN: MOM IS MOM. NEED I SAY MORE? DAD IS AN EXPERIMENT WAITING TO EXPLODE. ROSA IS A FRIEND AND I BETTER BE NICE.
Audience member: Tell us about “Educating Them.”
JENN: THE TRUTH IS A LOT OF TIME AND MONEY SPENT IS NOT FUNNY NOR FUN. THE GOOD ARE EDUCATED FROM THE HEART.
Eugene: Do you know the difference between educating an old dog and an old psychologist? Some old dogs can learn new tricks.
Audience member: Talk about “yearly evaluations.”
Eugene: we think of them as birthday parties without cake, presents candles games or people we invited.
JENN: WHAT ARE THEY? REPORT CARDS FOR YOU OR US?
Eugene: Not as much fun as it sounds.
JENN: OK, GENE, YOU ANSWERED ALREADY. NEXT?
(Mayer: This needs to be the last one.)
Audience member: What about “How the dinosaurs became extinct”?
JENN: BY EATING THEIR MOTHERS’ COOKING.
Eugene: By trying to do comedy. Thank you, ladies and germs.
JENN: KEEP CHUCKLING AND PLEASE LEAVE A DONATION AT THE DOOR.