Stutterer Interrupted by Nina G

Author:Nina G.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: She Writes Press
Published: 2019-09-04T16:00:00+00:00

12

Nina’s Chappelle Show

I was unfashionably early for the open mic at Oakland’s New Parish. After waiting outside for an eternity, maybe twenty minutes, the doors finally opened. A staff member quietly stepped out and propped up a sandwich board on the sidewalk. The words read, “Open Mic! Dave Chappelle hosting.”

Dave Chappelle?!! I could barely contain myself. The chance to meet one of your comedy idols is exciting enough, but to perform on a show with them? Sure, I just happened to be standing outside the right door at the right time, but I still get bragging rights. Let me hip you to a little comedy secret: those of us who don’t get consistent club work often fall ass-backwards into our credits. In other words, when I put “Performed with [big name comic]” on my resume, what I really mean is “[big name comic] made a surprise appearance on [small local show] where I happened to be performing.” They don’t hire me to open for them, and they rarely ever watch my set. Does that stop me from saying I’ve worked with them? Hell no! Especially if we’re talking about a legend like Dave Chappelle.

I have always admired comedians who deliver social commentary from a unique perspective. Dave Chappelle is the perfect example. At the height of its popularity, The Chappelle Show confronted topics that everyone else was afraid to touch. Sketches like “When Keeping It Real Goes Wrong – Vernon Franklin” and “Frontline – Clayton Bigsby” provide hilarious commentary without sugarcoating for mainstream white audiences.1 When I started doing stand-up, I looked to these sketches as a guide for how to joke about Disability without selling out.

And now here I was, about to sign up for an open mic hosted by Dave Chappelle. If it weren’t for the sandwich board out front, you’d have never guessed there was something big going down in the New Parish. It looked like your ordinary Tuesday mic, i.e., way too many comics and no real audience. I sat at the bar and started mulling over my notebook. I had to make this performance count. I was so caught up in preparing for my set that I barely remember Chappelle walking out on stage.

At some point I took out my phone and relayed the situation to my parents. For whatever reason, my mom feels the need to bear witness to any spectacle happening within a fifteen-mile radius. It’s why she saw Barry Bonds hit his 755th home run, even though she doesn’t care about baseball. It’s why she dragged us across the Bay Bridge to see a water stain shaped like the Virgin Mary. So you better believe that she and my dad were front and center to see me perform with the most famous comedian we cared about.

This wasn’t my first time seeing Dave Chappelle live. I had seen him perform three times in the previous year alone! Two of those performances were at the New Parish, where I watched him do four consecutive hours of stand-up (I never got bored for a second).

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.