THURSDAY

"THURSDAY NIGHTS LIVE!" THE RIGHT PLACE FOR BLACK COMEDY by TONY SPIRES

In a city and during a time when the term 'throw-back' typically means an ancient over-priced athletic jersey, Full Circle's Thursday Nights Live! adds a whole new meaning to the term, or maybe an old one.

Among urban audiences (and most mainstream audiences as well), comedy is still king. In fact, the informed Southern California stand up fan can see many of America's most famous comics here, from their favorite movie or sitcom star to an up and coming jokester they've seen a few times and really dig. Out-of towners marvel at seeing comedy celebs almost any night of the week. The price for admission ranges from $10.00 to absolutely free-two drink minimum notwithstanding. From one end of L.A. county to the other, comedy shows reign supreme. And why shouldn't these 'mirthy' showcases be as prevalent in the Southland as multiplexes and summer blockbuster movies? After all, this is the nation's entertainment capital.

In the early days of urban comedy places like the legendary Comedy Act Theatre, Maverick Flats, The Townhouse, Long Beach's Miss Whiz and Birdland West were virtual Meccas-strongholds for an upstart artform not yet made commercial by television exploitation and over-saturation. It was pure entertainment and people couldn't get enough of it. In fact, people came from all over the country to see the likes of Robin Harris and many other soon-to-be-stars that followed in his now immortal footsteps. Fans witnessed them rip up stages like they had only seen previously in the ground-breaking concert films from comedy greats like Richard Pryor and more recently Eddie Murphy. But these new geniuses were not on the silver screen or even on the tube. These cats were up close and personal, live and direct. Today it seems like those days. those venues and those artists and the qualities that made them all so special are just a page in a relatively short history of Black entertainment.

Today, although less rare and often less exclusive to "our community," urban comedy still lives, albeit less auspiciously. Watered down by years of mainstream manipulation and artistic compromise, the craft has adapted and changed, oftentimes unrecognizably so. Nowadays, less than bona fide, often unoriginal performers dominate the comedy club landscape. Many have their moments from time to time. Most do not, however have substantial minutes worth of (their own) viable material. A decade or so ago, people could identify a given comedian by his or her material. In those days, that's how it was. People were ashamed (at least most of them were) to steal someone's tried and true or signature bit." But all that changed. Once novices with 'visions of stardom dancing in their heads' caught on to what the television networks were buying, seemingly overnight, everyone was a comedian. Much like today, every young person with similar aspirations fancies themselves a rapper/hip hop artist. Veteran performers, meaning those who started stand up a decade or more ago (the minimum time many experts claim it takes to successfully form a unique point of view), long for a venue that embodies those perhaps old but still integral values, the ones that fostered genuine talent and made household names out of cats from around the way. It happened in Detroit in the 60's-early 70's with Motown. It happened again in Los Angeles in the mid-eighties-early nineties with Black Comedy.

Many people around the L.A area know Thursday Nights Live! as a throw-back to those days. It's also one of the fast-growing comedy showcases in a town choc-full of comedy showcases. Comedy-lovers recognize Mixed Nuts as the name of the club that houses the year-old workout night. Maybe Full Circle Entertainment, the name of the production company (and producers of the internationally recognized Bay Area Black Comedy Competition & Festival) rings a bell. Someone might've even noticed the colorful flyers or the diligent weekly email campaign it uses to help broaden its audience base. But Thursday Nights Live! is more than that. It's not just another night of countless would-be comedians taking the stage, one after another, and trying out there latest jokes on humor-savvy houses. Thursday Nights Live! is so much more than what appears on the surface. It's a purpose that directs our work. It's a mission in the hood. It's about pioneers continuing on to the last frontier-into this precarious new millennium. We're there to launch and build careers, much like (in the words of a great Oakland club owner) the old Negro League raised some of the nation's brightest baseball superstars in the first half of the last century."

We understand that comedy, as all things, must adapt or go the way of old legends. We want it to grow. We just want the integrity of the craft to grow with it, or at the very least, stay in place. Not all traditions are worth saving. But we feel that the natural evolution of this great artform should not be bought off or cut short. It shouldn't morph into something less potent than its full-strength forefathers. "Smooth jazz" hardly resembles the jazz that Charlie Parker played. Some of what's past off for comedy today is more suitable for late nights on MTV. Thursday Nights Live! is one of the last vestiges of true stand up comedy, where veterans workout and exchange ideas. Where the writing that goes on is the result of legitimate trial and error-not thievery. It's a place where comics can be themselves without regard to political correctness or what 'the industry' is looking for today. It's where they can get better at what they do and entertain a receptive audience along the way. And a place where ideas are exchanged, not personas. It's a mission we volunteered for a long time ago. TNL is just the latest incarnation of something that we've been doing for over 17 years now. It's a labor of love for us. We think it's important to keep "the real" alive and well in a place where authenticity and reality are often taken for granted. For those who love comedy in the true sense of the word, check out Thursday Nights Live! For the fans, It's always entertaining. For us the presenters, It's not always easy. But it's always funny!"

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