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On Oct. 8, Roger Bates and I interviewed
political satirist Mark Russell at the Carolina Theater in Durham, NC.
Mark entertained a packed audience ready for some levity from the hot bed
of politics. Mark writes all his own material and keeps all
the business logistics in the family. He attributes his success in
part to his bi-partisan view point. Daily he checks out a news hot line
for humor ideas. In the early days of his career at the Shoreham
Hotel in Washington DC, Mark quickly attracted politicians who came to
hear jokes about what they had done that day. This two-week gig lasted
for twenty years as he continues to be among the most popular performers
on PBS.
As two humorists from Carolina Ha Ha, Rog and I were most interested in how Mark has built a large and loyal following. He was playing to his favorite audience in Durham - “open to the public.” He relayed that his least favorite audience was the over-worked dot.comers. (This is the very group Rog and I often entertain, usually with great success. Of course unlike Mark, we use a wide variety of humor beside political bits.) Mark avoids extremely controversial topics like abortion where deep seated emotions, like anger, might interfere with laughs. North Carolina’s own Jesse Helms has been a continuing source of material for Mark. Once Jesse was in the audience, when Mark reminded him that they were kissing cousins since his daughter had married a fellow from Shelby, NC. Mark brought the Durham house down that Sunday with reference to Jesse’s litmus test for public funding of art. The senator simply counts the body parts displayed in paintings in art shows.
Performing in over 100 cities a year, Mark finds the Midwest highly receptive but shy to engage in group antics. The audience in Durham, on the other hand, jumped right into the “Bob Jones University Fight Song.” Mark reports that audience acceptance to blue humor has changed and that jokes about Bob Dole being a test pilot for Viagra always brings laughs. The Durham audience was open to Mark’s risqué humor as he brought the house down telling what place Clinton would have displayed at Mt. Rushmore.
After the show, Rog and I agreed that the piano is as much a prop for Mark Russell as an instrument for most of his show was stand-up comedy. Although he is a very basic piano player, he has strength as a solid vocalist. His performance was geared to the audience as he took a survey and found that most were Democrats. He also entertained the retired crowd with an anecdote about Grace Kelly, the epitome of Vatican womanhood. Mark’s comic variety offered something for everyone and warned the youngest audience members of how funny they were going to look with tattoos in a nursing home. As he thanked the audience for staying, I was thankful for Mark’s genius which equally offended everyone.
Ruth Hamilton
To become a member of the Carolina Health & Humor Association, give a gift membership, register to attend the Certified Humor Presenter Workshops, or donate to the Carolina Health & Humor Association, please use the Membership/Registration form.
Ruth Hamilton
105 West Hwy. 54, Suite 265
Durham, NC 27713
Phone:(919)846-5739, fax(919)544-9627
e-mail: cahaha@mindspring.com
Web address: http://www.carolinahaha.org
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