Tracker Pixel for Entry

Making strangers laugh again

Theatre | October 7th, 2020

By Scott Ecker

notharrisonford@gmail.com

Like many artists the quarantine seemed like a great opportunity to finally get around to some writing. I mean what else was I going to do? Looking on the bright side of oblivion, I could at least be productive.

I did a fair amount of writing that I am happy with. But overall COVID hasn’t been a great motivator. Part of it is that there isn’t a safe way to interact with an audience. My background is in improv, which I believe was created to give insecure people the quickest form of instant gratification. I’ve been missing that high for most of this year.

There have still been opportunities, like participating in one of Theatre B’s “B at Home” installments. But even that was one rehearsal for one performance. For that virtual play there was no in person interaction with anyone else in the show. The audience laughter came after the performance when my wife and I watched ourselves in the stream.

Art has generally been on hold or repurposed for most of this year. However business was only briefly slowed down. The stimulus check was a one-time distraction and all other expenses have continued. So I’ve needed to continue working. Surprisingly that’s where I have found that missing audience interaction.

Weddings started up again in July and I’ve had many gigs as a reception DJ. It is a nerve-wracking way to make money, as weddings tend to be common spreaders. But I still need to make money somewhere and this is a way to do that while getting a response from others. I wish those others would also wear masks and not approach me so freely. But I am truly getting something that I was missing from their dancing and laughter.

I’ve recently started running trivia and bingo events as well. Which is easier for me to social distance, although there is rarely anybody else wearing a mask. It has taken some time but I’m relearning how to interact and make strangers laugh again.

Looking on the bright side, I’m happy I can have some interaction again. To perform in some way and experience a group catharsis is important to me. Even if it is just hearing the joy of a B9. But I’m frustrated I can’t separate those good feelings from the nervousness that I may be getting it at the cost of this virus spreading.

As I’ve had to figure out how to continue my life I’ve been stuck with a blur of nonstop questions and frustrations. Questions such as “What if I am being careless by working out in public?” “Why do I have to keep finding work when it would be safer to stay home?” “Why can’t things go back to the way they were before?”

Coronavirus is an inescapable part of all of our lives. We can’t ignore the effect it has on the things we love. As such anything we need or want now has to involve it in some way.

Recently in:

By Maddie Robinson  maddierobi.mr@gmail.comIn order to get affordable child care for her son, Paulina Erbele has to drive from her work in Gackle,…

By Michael M. Miller  michael.miller@ndsu.eduAs the Holiday Season continues, I extend Yuletide Best Wishes and a special Fröhliche Weihnachten greeting…

Sunday, December 10, 12-4:30pmThe Commissary at Fort Lincoln State Park, BismarckExperience what the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas were in the frontier Army with historic presentations on Victorian era holiday traditions,…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comRemember the legacy of the NPL.Last Saturday I had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting and dinner hosted by the Dakota Resource Council in Bismarck. I came in feeling a little defeated,…

By Ed Raymondfarggadfly@gmail.comDonald Trump: A Social-Psycho-on-Path Reproducing MAGA ZombiesI have been asking members of the Make Amerika Great Again (MAGA) cult for years to identify days, weeks, months, years, decades and/or…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.comThe temperatures have dropped and so have the leaves in the Upper Midwest. That means it's now the holiday season. Part of the joy of this special season for me is eating. But first things first.…

The Aquarium, 226 Broadway North upstairs, Downtown FargoFriday, December 8, 7:30-11pmDoors 7:30 pm // Music 8 pm21+ // $10 advance // $12 DOSOver two decades, Christmas songs have appeared throughout Owen Ashworth’s recorded…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.comAustralian filmmaker Kitty Green’s brilliant nonfiction movies, including the superb “Casting JonBenet,” laid the groundwork for the director’s recent interest in narrative features. In…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comA trio of Burleigh County artists are making their mark in Wing, North Dakota, to promote local foods and are quite literally painting the town, or at least the newly acquired Wing City Government…

By Eric Dallmanericd@hpr1.comWe recently watched “The PROM” at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre, and it was an experience that left a lasting impact on us. The story, a heartwarming yet familiar one, follows a group of Broadway stars…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By John Showalter  john.d.showalter@gmail.comThey sell fentanyl test strips and kits to harm-reduction organizations and…

JANUARY 19, 1967– MARCH 8, 2023 Brittney Leigh Goodman, 56, of Fargo, N.D., passed away unexpectedly at her home on March 8, 2023. Brittney was born January 19, 1967, to Ruth Wilson Pollock and Donald Ray Goodman, in Hardinsburg,…

By Faye Seidlerfayeseidler@gmail.com On the first day of the month I ask people to thank a journalist they know or someone who contributes to papers in some meaningful way. When I grew up, my best friend's father was a journalist…