Not many
people would assume it was my bag, but I often do Kids Comedy show at The Stand Comedy Club Glasgow.
I can imagine as you are reading this and if you know me, you might be
thinking things like "Did you swear?" of course I didn't.
I love
doing comedy for kids. It can be tough as some kids don't understand that they
have to pay attention or maybe they are used to taking over a room with a story
and then feel awkward as other kids don't find them as interesting as their own parents probably do.
One Sunday
in at the start of the show a wee boy about nine years old kept chatting to me
and engaging in long diatribes about dinosaurs.
He couldn't get away from
dinosaurs. His mum looked uncomfortable and was trying to get him to sit quiet.
The other kids were getting annoyed and parents started looking over at him. He
didn't care, he had heaps to say about dinosaurs.
I managed to
get him on stage and to name every dinosaur he knew and I could act out it's
walking action. He was in heaps of wee giggles as I clearly didn't know what I
was doing and was just stomping about the stage making noises.
To calm him
down, I asked him if wanted to host the show with me. He took my hand and we
came to an agreement that he could only shout out dinosaur names when I got
stuck for material and he would take over.
The audience
laughed as he was really having trouble staying quiet and loved it when I would
shout "am stuck, give me a dinosaur" and all the kids would scream
with laughter at my interpretation.
The wee boy
sat with me as the other comics took the stage and he was fine, he was laughing
and keeping the dinosaur chat to a minimum.
He was
flushed with excitement after the show and his mum came over to tell me how
much he enjoyed it.
She explained that he had Aspergers and doesn't often talk
out loud or touch people and this was her first time with him at comedy.
She
told me it was wonderful to see him chat to someone and not get berated or
flustered. "To see him onstage holding your hand and laughing was just so
lovely" she said. I thanked her.
I explained
that he was good fun and that my husband has Aspergers and at that the wee guy
butted in and said "Does he know all the dinosaurs?"
I told him he
didn't but my husband was an expert on all things Ancient Rome. I got a quick
hug from him and he ran out the door.
When people
ask me what my best audience was I tell them it was a nine year old boy who
likes dinosaurs.
