Hi! This is Adam here at Funny Biz Speech Writers. We've had an exciting couple of months. Why? Glad you asked. Mostly because we've had some fun and interesting clients come through our doors. They're virtual, electronic doors, but nonetheless, if we did have real tangible doors that people could walk through they would be made of heavy, old stained oak, hundreds of years old, twelve feet high and inlaid with ornate woodwork and complemented by the finest brass knobs. Okay enough daydreaming about my Victorian mansion where I will someday retire to smoke my pipe in the Drawing Room. Or draw pictures in the Smoking Room. Gee, I guess being wealthy and respectable has its dilemmas.
We had a great prior client return for a similar type of situation as before- a very high profile political roast. This client, a top political operative in Georgia, was part of a roast of one of the most famous US Representatives (Congressman, if you will. And you should) in the past half century. He is also known as a living saint in some circles and as a man made out of integrity (with a pinch of humility and a dash of righteous indignation). Roasting him was likened to roasting Gandhi. I just admit, sitting down to write roast jokes- which by their nature have to have a "victim," must "take down a peg" the receiver of said joke- of a man who was known for selfless public service and putting himself literally on the line, in harm's way, to advance his moral principles, was a really tall order.
I researched and thought about it and researched some more, and finally some good ideas came to me.Aspects of this man that were distinct enough to analyze and pick apart, but not the type of subject matter lending itself to inappropriately mean, vicious or risque. Once I'd cracked the right subject matter to exploit for comedy - based on info given to be my client, as well as various online searches I did- I started to feel it come together as the quality of roast that I'm proud to turn in to my clients and have performed in a room full of influential, high-powered people.
The client loved what I wrote and told me that an ex-Mayor of Atlanta may be contacting me because they Mayor themself also had to roast this acclaimed Congressman and felt like they were coming up a bit short in the comedy writing department. I got in touch with the Mayor, was sent a bunch of their ideas and angles on materials with which to roast the Honoree and I was off to the races. Once again there were some puzzles to solve, some needles to thread. But the work was done, and I managed to figure it out write a whole bunch of zingers that I felt proud of, staying true to the man's biography and inherent qualities. After their big event was told that both my original client and the ex-Mayor smashed it, got great response and had a blast delivering their roasts. Those are the kinds of client situations that make me feel extra happy with the line of work that I do. Nothing beats joy and laughter and I give that to people to shower on unsuspecting audiences.
I'll be writing more blog posts about other interesting, very gratifying client speech writing situations I've had, but that covers this installment. I have to go feed the cat, walk the dog, re-arrange my pens, ruffle the printer paper, wash the dishes, scrape the dust off the carpet with my shoe, fluff up the pillows and put my wife's toothbrush in the toothbrush holder. She leaves it out, just lying there on the sink. It drives me crazy. But she's great in so many other ways, I let the toothbrush thing slide. And just put it back in the holder every time I see it. And then she takes it out. And I put it back. And so on and so on.... And neither of us EVER mentions it. And maybe I've just described a working marriage. Got a funny speech or other kind of comedy writing need? Gimme a shout. If you leave your toothbrush lying on the sink, I don't wanna hear about it.
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