This week I’ve been learning about monologue jokes, and they’re not easy.
For example, here are some news headlines from today:
a) David Bowie died on Sunday, two days after his 69th birthday.
b) Residents of Madaya and other Syrian towns are dying of starvation because of the civil war.
c) Marissa Mayer is going to lay off over 1000 Yahoo employees.
Immediately, I have to eliminate items 1 and 2 from the drawing board, because they’re off limits. According to Joe Toplyn’s Comedy Writing for Late-Night TV you should steer clear of topics that audiences are not ready to laugh at. For David Bowie, it’s too soon, and for the Syrian Civil War, it’s too tragic and too soon. I say “too soon” because after enough time passes, almost everything becomes open season for joke-fodder.
So that leaves c) Marissa Mayer is going to lay off over 1000 employees. This is also upsetting, especially for the employees who have to support themselves and their families, but they’re going to make it, and I, I can help them through these difficult times by writing a joke about it. I give and I give.
Associations with Yahoo
Old internet technology
News
Google competitor
Used to dominate email
Ali-Baba stakeholder
Yahoo yodel
Associations with Marissa Mayer
New mother of twins
Hard-working CEO
Former google employee
Likes fashion
Micromanager
Associations with Silicon Valley
AOL
Engineers
Start-ups
Inflated salaries
Young guys
Associations with Layoffs
Denying layoffs
Severance packages
Brain drain
Fear
Boards of Directors
So here are some attempts to make this devastating situation for several employees humorous:
Have you heard about this? This spring, over 1000 Yahoo employees are going to be laid off. Yahoo employees picked up the story from Google News.
(So bad. SO bad.)
Have you heard about this? This spring, over 1000 Yahoo employees are going to be laid off. When asked if they read about this on Yahoo News, employees replied, “There’s a Yahoo News?”
(Maybe better.)
Internet giant Yahoo will be laying off over 1000 employees this spring. So software engineers, designers, and yodelers are back on the job market.
(This is the best so far.)
I might just write a stand-up bit that is all monologues and perform it at an open-mic. The audience might be like, “WTF is this,” and after I’m done, I will be like, “Hahaha! We have a great show planned for you tonight! Up next, a slovenly white guy! Stay with us!” And then I’ll push play on a tape recorder and walk off the stage to upbeat jazz music.
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