Berlin Open Mic Introduces Joke Quality Control
A Berlin comedy open mic promises to spray performers with water if they use old jokes. At last, audiences can express criticism without learning how to write a review.
Tell an old joke at a Berlin comedy open mic and the response may be immediate, unmistakable and slightly damp: performers have been warned that recycled material can earn them a spray of water.
The event is introducing what might be described as joke quality control, with moisture taking the place of a stern review. A comedian who reaches for material judged to be too old will not merely encounter silence or the traditional folded arms. The open mic promises an actual spraying.
It is a brisk form of criticism. Nobody has to find a tactful way of saying the set felt familiar, and no audience member needs to learn phrases such as “the material lacked freshness”. The material will instead be met with freshness in its most literal available form.
The unusual rule applies to performers at a comedy open mic in Berlin. Beyond that, the details are limited. No organiser, venue or date has been specified, and there is no indication of who decides that a joke has passed its acceptable age. It is also unclear who operates the water spray, how much water is involved, or whether there is an appeals process for comedians who insist that their joke is not old but merely classic.
What is clear is the basic bargain: comics may take the stage, but old jokes carry the risk of getting wet. Open mic comedy has always involved the possibility of a hostile reception; Berlin has simply made that reception easier to see from the back of the room.
There is no reported outcome yet, so it is not known whether any performer has actually been sprayed, whether the warning alone has encouraged entirely new sets, or whether comedians have begun checking their material for age before going onstage. No ending to the experiment has been announced either.
For now, the promised water treatment remains the event’s central attraction and its quality-control system. What happens next depends on the performers: arrive with new jokes and they may get laughs; arrive with old ones and they may leave with the same material, but in need of a towel.
Original story
facebook.com