I am glad I attended “Entertaining the Young” last saturday afternoon. The show, which was hosted and produced by an acquaintance of mine, featured song and dance performances from entertainers who were all well into retirement age. There was hula dancing! And one of the most sincere, least hammy renditions of “On Broadway” I’ve ever heard. The performers were enthusiastic, easy with a compliment (a skill i do not share yet, in my unadvanced age), and adorable beyond reproach. I had the good sense to bring a camera, and I will send a few of the photographs to my mailing list later today.
I also took several pictures of the host, and found myself growing increasingly excited about the posture of stand-up comedy. There’s something very expressive about the body as it tries to squeeze laughter out of you, and everyone’s body does something entirely different to accomplish this. Patrick, who became the subject for the first series of photographs, has an extremely laconic style and his body language follows suit. (as does his actual suit.)
I saved a few of the comic images as a screen saver, which is viewable to anyone blessed with an Apple computer, an Internet connection, and Mac OS X. I’ve done this before, and the instructions are here. Here’s a sample from the series:
