The Wizard of Hip

[scrtravnos]

Just a quick question...can this be done by a white guy (well, slightly white...more brown...some may say cream colored)? I know the main characters name (Afro Joe) kinda....answers that for me...but c'mon ppl! Havent we moved on past that in this day and age? Lol, lemme know!!

Okay, my initial reaction would be no, absolutely not. BUT, at CFLs I saw an African-American man doing "Having Our Say," which is a conversation between two 100 year old women about civil rights. It was actually kind of cool to see someone take a huge risk like this. He ended up getting 4th, and proved (at least to me) that you don't have to be the same race, gender etc. of your characters.

Another example that directly applies to your situation is "The La La Awards" which was in NFL humor finals like 5 years ago. It is a piece about Latino stereotypes--- and the girl who took it to finals... not Latino.

So, I guess, the answer should be yes. You might get some funny looks from doing it, but if you love the piece, it is worth it.

PS- I don't like the Wizard of Hip because it is stand up comedy-- no story, no heavily developed characters. It is funny though. Also, should we really be doing pieces that WON nfls like 2 years ago?

[Slurpee]

1)I am white. Really white.
2)I have done the Wizard of Hip for HI.
3)I was in final rounds with it of national-sized tournaments given five and four stars on this site.
4)It is only stand up comedy if you cut out the dramatic parts and the richer aspects of the characterizations.

Does that help?

I have no idea what "stars" are.

oh, never mind, I know what you are talking about. sorry.

[Josiahzacks]

Okay, my initial reaction would be no, absolutely not. BUT, at CFLs I saw an African-American man doing "Having Our Say," which is a conversation between two 100 year old women about civil rights. It was actually kind of cool to see someone take a huge risk like this. He ended up getting 4th, and proved (at least to me) that you don't have to be the same race, gender etc. of your characters.


While I agree that gender/age/race boundaries should be broken in competition in order to create a more diverse atmosphere, I think this may not be the best example. No offense to the aforementioned DPer, but I saw the CFL final and I thought he was terrible. How he managed to beat Trey's Hazing the Monkey is beyound me. Sure, he took a risk and I respect and admire that, but the lesson he teaches me is that if you're going to take risks, make them work. Otherwise, you just look silly.

As for the piece at hand, I have not seen it, although I have had its contents described to me, and I think the only major problem a "white guy" would have doing it would be to avoid the "Malibu's Most Wanted" syndrome. As long as you make certain that you are lampooning (funny word :D ) racial stereotypes in general, not specifically african-american stereotypes, you should be fine. Good luck!

While I agree that gender/age/race boundaries should be broken in competition in order to create a more diverse atmosphere, I think this may not be the best example. No offense to the aforementioned DPer, but I saw the CFL final and I thought he was terrible.

I was in the CFL final, I was the ...Forum kid. Am I the aforementioned DPer or are you talking about "Havin' Our Say." I don't know whether to be offended or not.

[Its Alive]

Whoa... you're... you. Your finals performance was supro-awesome.

[Josiahzacks]

No, I was talking about "having our say." You were awesome. Sorry for the confusion. :oops:

Thanks, that made my day!!!

I thought that Havin' Our Say (I know that isn't the title, nut I really like spelling ing words with in') was very talented... and very different. He was in my quarters, semis and finals. I was un poco surprised he did so well, but it was a pleasant surprise. The odds were not in his favor. He was a guy doing a girls' piece. Also, he was running the risk of being compared to the girl who got 2nd at CFLs and 1st at NFLs with that same piece last year.

Hazing the Monkey WAS most hilarious. His ranks were all over the place in the final, probably due to varying responses to the sexual innuendo (that is just a guess).

What surprised me most was that this one guy in my semis did not make finals. He was doing "Inside Al" and I thought for sure he would be in finals. But I was wrong. I hope he is going to NFLs and I hope he kicks some bum in DI (especially since he woouldn't be in my category any more... yippee, no more following the Laramie Project with slapstick!)

[Josiahzacks]

Oh, I can assure you it's just as much fun for the DIers. Try talking about cancer after a good version of Oedi. :roll:

I think for CFL Dp, the best pieces are those that combine HI and DI. Look at John Magaziner, who won CFLs with Dylan. We're both from Boston, and I usually have the unenviable task of competing with him in DI all year, which he always wins. But he changed his cutting for CFLs to emphasize a bit more of the humor in his main character, while still keeping the focus serious. I think that this was the key to his success, aside from his amazing talent. His peice was both funny and tragic at the same time. No matter how good of a DI is, like the amazing Picasso's Women, or how good an HI is, like snazzy boys hilarious Forum, it would seem that a peice combining the two will always have the edge at CFLs. I didn't even qualify in DP and had to go in OI, but that's just what I've observed at the CFL tournaments that I've been too.

[HI_Dude]

Honestly, I can't stand this piece. Maybe it was just the guy in our area that did it, I don't know, but I know I can't stand it!

[Ryan]

I saw an African-American man doing "Having Our Say," which is a conversation between two 100 year old women about civil rights.

Was this Jason Saunders from Miami? I've never seen him before, as he NEVER competes on the local circuit (or national one either). I was very suprised to see someone I didn't recognize get to finals from my diocese.