The New York Times Magazine article suggests there are three Stephen Colberts. I’d submit that there are four, considering the hip-hop Colbert who performed Empire State of Mind with Alicia Keys. (thanks Matt McMahon!)
A few years back Tom Purcell, executive producer of The Colbert Report (pictured next to Dr. Colbert ) taught a writing class at the P.I.T. He spent six Saturday afternoons with us reviewing how the staff approaches writing The Word and the other classic bits, and generously offered to extend the class a few more weeks to help us develop our writer’s packet. I managed to write a few pieces I was happy with, including one for the Threat Down segment, but struggled with insecurity to finish a strong packet.
I’ll accept David Meerman Scott’s challenge to make 2012 the year of courage.
Saturday our family went to the Radio City Christmas Spectacular. One of my friends from the improv community Stacey, is in the show. We performed together in a troupe at Magnet Theater, and after our shows we’d grab a cheeseburger at the Triple Crown Ale House, an improv hangout. It was always a blast to be in a scene with Stacey — she’s a brilliant improviser, and if I remember correctly, she had the best high kicks in our troupe.
It’s hard to find the right adjective to describe the Christmas Spectacular.
photo: Bob Jagendorf
The “Missouri Rockets” were founded in St. Louis in 1925, long before the very first Christmas. They opened at Radio City Music Hall in 1932, followed a few years later by Conan O’Brien.
We had such a blast watching our kids light up. We did too. Stacey took us backstage after the show to see all the props and costumes, and the camel’s dressing room, who is a bit of a diva and constantly demanding Evian.
Stacey couldn’t join us for lunch as she had to get ready for her second performance (on some days, she dances in four shows.) We headed out to Petite Abeille to tackle the Banana Split Brussels Waffle, as seen on the Travel Channel’s “Breakfast Paradise.” No celebrity sightings, but the last time my daughter and I dined there, we sat close enough to Aaron Eckhart to eavesdrop on his script writing session for his next feature.
Yelp gives Triple Crown 3 out of 5 stars.
About the Cheeseburger & Comedy series.
If you forced me to rank the places where I would most prefer not to look like an idiot, the Harvard Kennedy School would come in fourth. Or maybe sixth. Some of history’s most eminent figures have spoken there, like Jack Donaghy.
But even after a successful tech-check before the presentation, things can go terribly wrong. Especially if you’ve embedded videos into a powerpoint presentation.
I was attempting to show two commercials, but another video popped up, and what’s worse, the audio was out of synch with the video. But here’s what I’ve learned:
1) Take a deep breath and relax. You’re still in control of how you respond. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from a decade of standup comedy is that audiences are incredibly empathetic. If you’re having a good time, they are. If you’re stressed out, they are. Audiences want you to be successful. It’s important that you understand and remind yourself that they are rooting for you.
2) Bring backup. I always carry a copy of my presentation on a USB stick and load the file on a backup presentation computer if available — the AV folks usually have one.
3) Bring a short 3-4 minute video about your topic on a DVD. Give it to the AV folks during the tech run-through. If there is a problem, they can play your video to give the audience something to watch other than you sweating, while the tech folks are resolving the issue.
4) Take an improv class. You may have to do it on a dare. I came very close to running out of my first improv class in 1998 at the Upright Citizen’s Brigade theater. It was scary to get through, but has changed my life. Give it a shot.
5) Have an alternative slide-free version of your story ready to tell. It’s important to be ready to present a compelling case without powerpoint slides, as I sometimes have to do when negotiating with my wife. Hard to believe but history has witnessed a few speeches that went pretty well without foils and an overhead projector: the Gettysburg Address, the Sermon on the Mount and King Henry V’s Crispian Day speech. To be fair, one of those speakers relied on 3×5 index cards and was a fictional character.
6) Get a Mac.
