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The Complete and Utter Loss of Time

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The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy

Part of the book series: Palgrave Studies in Comedy ((PSCOM))

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Abstract

In “The Complete and Utter Loss of Time,” stand-up comedian Larry Fulford eulogizes the time lost in the moments between stage time. He laments all the hours spent traveling and waiting for the few minutes on the microphone where he can hone his craft. When he could be relaxing, and building relationships, he is working. Coincidentally that work often happens in the same spaces where non-comedians are relaxing and building relationships. Dr. Ian Brodie responds to Fulford’s essay by noting how the stand-up comedian is taking the kind of playful talk that happens in social moments among intimates and attempting it for strangers. Which leads Brodie to ponder: what happens when play becomes work?

Response Trudging Through Time’s Trenches: Reflections on Larry Fulford’s “The Complete and Utter Loss of Time”

By Ian Brodie

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Fulford, L. (2020). The Complete and Utter Loss of Time. In: Oppliger, P.A., Shouse, E. (eds) The Dark Side of Stand-Up Comedy. Palgrave Studies in Comedy. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-37214-9_16

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