There’s an interesting thread over at SLUniverse asking about comedy clubs in Second Life. In theory comedy seems a decent fit for Second Life, voice is available, streams can be arranged, you don’t need to wake the neighbours with your guitar strumming, as live musicians potentially do, yet, there seems to be a void and that thread points out some harsh realities. These realities aren’t only an issue for comedians of course.
One issue is material, whereas a comedian can tour a country with a set that audiences will only see once, a regular comedian in Second Life has less of a geographical challenge, I mean we can all teleport to where they’re performing and once we’ve seen a set, why would we keep going back to see it again? Basically we go to them, rather than they coming to us. Ok this would work well for one off shows, but it’s difficult to keep it as a regular slot.
Another issue is the sound of silence, or rather the lack of live laughter. Comedians will probably thrive on laughter, that’s an indication that their set isn’t bombing, in Second Life, that’s not going to happen. A barrage of on screen lol’s, text heckling and people telling each other to turn off their animations or gestures is likely to be distracting for the performer.
Continue reading “Comedy In Second Life Is No Laughing Matter”