Political Correctness vs. Getting The Laugh: The Manners of Comedy

Show #90, Hour 2 | Guests: Debi Durst, comedienne and organizer; Ron Chapman, comic and podcaster. | Show Summary: Jerry Seinfeld bemoans the damage to comedy wrought by “political correctness”. Bill Maher backs him up. Salon.com polls 10 top stand-up performers (one black man, one white woman, eight white men) who all agree. Is real comedy truly endangered by hyper-judgmental guardians of the sacred and ubiquitous recording devices? What’s still fair game? San Francisco’s beloved Debi Durst taps her long experience in both stand-up and improv to tackle the thorny subject. She’s currently in rehearsal for Marin Shakespeare Company’s “Cymbeline”, in the role of Cornelius. She and her husband, political satirist Will Durst, take their “Big Fat Year End Kiss Off Comedy Show” on the road every December. Stand-up comic and podcaster Ron Chapman was featured earlier this year at SF Sketchfest. He’s performed at the Set-Up, at Stage Werx with Endgame Improv and Panelmonium, and at other Bay Area venues.