TAKE A BREATHER Richard Stockton performing in his CPAP-mask bong.
High Concept My life as a stoner comedian
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t the end of my solo show Life Is Too Snort, I put a CPAP mask on my face, pack weed into the other end of the air hose, and then pretend to light the weed on fire, inhaling through my CPAP mask. That’s my closer— and the audience screams. Pot humor used to be underground. It had an illegal vibe. Even now, I am leery about using my marijuana material on older, more conservative crowds. One night last week, I performed Life Is Too Snort at a 55+ community in San Diego, and I asked the show’s producer if he
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BY RICHARD STOCKTON
thought I would alienate them with my weed jokes. He laughed and said, “I think you’ll be surprised.” When I told the crowd, “What’s the worst thing about smoking too much pot? You run out!,” a tiny woman of maybe 80 slammed the table with her fist and yelled, “I’m out now!” I closed the show by smoking through my CPAP mask, and afterward three women asked me if I could get them weed. (It’s one of my regrets—why didn’t I just become a drug dealer?) The audience for cannabis comedy is now mainstream, but how does weed effect the comedian’s writing and
performance? Well, comedy uses the principles of improv; no matter what you come up with, you go “Yes, and…,” and then add something new. Your critical voice will assault you with various reasons each joke doesn’t make sense, or isn’t funny. When the critical voice says, “Yes, but…” creativity stops. Weed can help you focus on the moment and get to “Yes, and…”. George Carlin said that he first wrote his jokes straight, then got high and went back over them. Carlin’s first “straight” pass kept his topics relatable, and the herb pass made them funnier. 12
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CANNABIS CHRONICLE AUGUST 2021
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