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Is it really possible to learn how to be funny? Marek Tribedi of Virginmirth believes it is. Realising everyone needs a bit of help before that painful first standup gig, Marek, a semi-professional comedian, runs workshops for those curious to see whether they can get a laugh on stage. Wannabe comedians
Virginmirth is the result - a frequent workshop held in a small local theatre. Marek and his colleague Alice structure the day with a series of games, exercises and advice, all with the intention of instilling confidence into the wannabe comics. So who on earth would bother paying good money to undergo ritual humiliation in the company of strangers? Well quite a few it would seem. There’s Sarah Archer from Swindon who works in Human Resources and has a young child, Sam Dutfield from Bristol who works in mental health (no jokes please), a fencing coach from London, a cheeky Northerner and a rather shy boy who blushed easily. Oh, and Tessa Dunlop, our presenter. Comic persona Tessa’s brother is actually a standup and she prepares her set with his help. Rather bizarrely she decides to adopt a ‘comic persona’ along with a strong Scottish accent and bunches. This is, she insists, the only way she will ever have the guts to perform.
The group is slightly nervous and inhibited, but a combination of comic talent and Tessa’s infectious clowning soon has them loosened up and well on the way. The culmination is a mini performance. Each pupil stands in the spotlight to perform their piece in front of the other candidates and video camera. However, for those who do not get put off at this stage, there is a surprise in store. Marek arranges for the group to perform at a well-known standup night. The venue is the Bunch of Grapes in Bristol, whose walls are plastered with posters of the performers who have slipped in from the stage door of the Hippodrome across the street. Get up, standup It's time for the trainees to put their new skills into practice in front of a live audience and even worse, the Inside Out cameras.
Whilst some rely on dancing school disco style to Kylie's classic, 'I should be so lucky', our Scottish Tessa opts for a more intellectual assessment of the roots of her name. So is she more of a Tess of the D'Urbervilles, or Tessa the family dog? We let you make your own mind up! This really is a baptism of fire for our virgin comics, but with a kind audience and a smattering of giggles, all survive relatively unscathed. But do they have a future? A gig comes up at the Jesters Comedy Club. It is their big student night which can attract up to 200 rowdy students, drunk on the cheap lager and the charged atmosphere - a far cry from the friendly crowd of locals at the Bunch of Grapes. Will our wee Scottish lassy and her bunches swap Inside Out presenting for a life as a standup? You must be joking! (The text and pictures above are from www.bbc.co.uk and were reproduced here without explicit permission)
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