Laugh last and laugh best
Many people who attend these shows are hurt, going through a divorce or something.
“We comedians have a duty to make them feel better. We are doctors of a sort… laughter is the best medicine.”
Yelling “f***” or finishing every punchline with “s***” is a bad habit, Mulaudzi says. “Swearing is to get cheap laughs… It’s not cool.”
I catch the eye of some of the graduates and try to impress them by telling a knock knock joke. “Knock knock. Who’s there? Lettuce. Lettuce who? Lettuce in, it’s cold out here.” They smile politely, but I can tell I’ve missed the mark again.
I ask graduate Paballo Mashiloane, from KwaThema on the East Rand, what makes him funny. He says he began throwing punchlines at the age of 12 and at 19 landed his first gig. But it went badly.
“There was a crowd of five. But instead of listening they were talking to each other. None laughed.”
With constant practise, Mashiloane grasped the concept. He gave his first show at his home last year and received immense support. Today, he runs his own business and is slowly making his mark.
Thabiso Mhlongo says it is a learning curve venturing into stand-up comedy. “I’m a storyteller. Sometimes I take a small concept and build on it.”
Thlologelo Makweya, known by his stage name, Tlholo_G, says he was teased relentlessly in childhood, but then took a different approach to life – now he is having the last laugh, giving shows in Joburg.
I drop the idea of learning to be a stand-up comic. I suggest they train digital journalist Rumana Akoob, who is more humorous than I am.
“So tell us about yourself ?” Mulaudzi asks Akoob as Makwaya, Mhlongo and Mashiloane prod her for details.
Akoob mentions that she talks to her mom in an Indian accent, but to her friends in another accent.
“That’s where you start. You can create a story around that and add a bit of a twist,” says Mhlongo.
As the day ends and Tshwane buzzes with rush-hour traffic, Akoob and I drive home practising and cracking jokes. Next time we tell one, it won’t be a knock knock joke.