Update on THCHCW
No, Mark Twain won’t be attending the ThinkingFunny.com Comedy-Humor Conference & Workshop – Socially Conscious Comedy. That would be pretty amazing if he could though. And I think he’d be with us on how comedy can open a person, or a nation’s, eyes to problems we need to address.
But my search for talent is bearing fruit, and I’ll be announcing the roster once I’ve firmed up more of the financial details. The budget is still up in the air because I’ve held off reaching out for sponsors until I have a better idea of who is available and a “good fit” with our theme. Since this is a starting-from-scratch event, I’ve got a lot of work ahead of me.
I hope you are able to join us for this event on April 3, 2021. It’s going to be via Crowdcast, and there will be discounted student rates (I’m still a teacher in my heart), and discounts for those who join our efforts on Patreon.
The reason we’re going to use Patreon and Crowdcast is that it will allow us controlled access. This means, I hope, less trolling and a fairer shake for those providing the contents as opposed to a wide-open distribution.
There will, of course, be announcements such as this, and some freebie content here and on Patreon, too.
I’ve been asked what the idea behind socially conscious comedy is, whether it is another politically correct thing. People who ask this question, in that manner, usually get a “yes” answer for me. Just because we can think of funny things to say, at someone else’s expense, does not mean we should “go there.” Far too much comedy has wince-worthy moments bashing minorities, LBGTQ+?, women, the overweight, and so on. This does not mean that comedy should not take on and call-out individuals. But for my money, the elites and powerful, the ones well able to fend for themselves, are fairer game than the weakest among us.
You are free to disagree, of course, but if you do, then I’d suggest you take a pass on this conference. It is possible to laugh without being cruel. And even when challenging things are said, in the context of culturally sensitive comedy, then the greater good can be served.
If you are a comedian, novelist/columnist, visual artist/animator, radio/TV script or sceenwriter, songwriter, or know one who is working in these fields, drop me a line. Even if you can’t contribute or participate, I’d like to add you to the list of people that I want to explore and give a friendly shout-out.