De la micro-drame ca ruptul varfului de la creion pana la drame majore care se rezolva cu intervenitii, sursele de nefericire pot sa devina material pretios pentru creativi. Daca sunt framantate bine, toate necazurile, de la cele usor ignorabile pana la cele sinonime cu gandurile sinucigase, au potential sa duca la idei noi si sa devina surse importante de venit. O conditie face insa trierea intre cei care aleg sa depaseasca si sa uite problemele si cei care le transpun in ceva util lor si altora: curajul de a te expune public. Nu oricine e dispus sa transforme discutiile purtate la terapie cu servetelul in mana in discursuri sincere tinute la microfon. Actorul si comediantul Jeff Leach a reusit sa transforme perioada in care a fost dependent de sex, alcool si droguri intr-un documentar pentru BBC3 numit “Confessions Of A Sex Addict”, iar recuperarea a fost sursa unui show de stand-up comedy cu numele “Boyfriend Experience”. Un recunoscut entertainer, Jeff Leach vine din UK in Romania la ICEEfest ca sa fie gazda mai multor sesiuni. Inainte sa-l vedem pe scena, sa-l cunoastem mai bine in scris. In engleza, cum o sa il auziti si la eveniment.
IQads: For the people in Romania who haven’t gotten to see your stand-up sets and your series, please tell us a few words about you and your mission on the Internet and planet Earth.
Jeff Leach: Comedy is subjective however I think it has a universal appeal in that it has healing properties. My comedy tends to draw on the insecurities, fallacies and mishaps of my personal life and once I turn them into a thing of thoughtful ridicule it helps me view them with a more satisfied objective eye. Hopefully my audiences can empathize and share the laughter based on their own experiences. So basically I’m a laughter physician. Which means all of you are subject to a thorough examination.
IQads: As a stand-up comedian you deal with problems in a public manner. How does one decide to show it all instead of bits that just sound bad but are actually kinda good? How did you decide to cross the line between public and private and let it all out?
Jeff Leach: Through years of extended extreme alcohol and drug use and now the clarity of sobriety.
IQads: How do you work on your stand-up comedy sets? Do you have any specific habits before writing it all down? Do you wait until you feel you are inspired enough or do you have some techniques that get you in the mood? Do you write ideas on napkins, do you have a notebook that you always carry with you to write down things that might one day be used in a set? Please describe the process a little.
Jeff Leach: I have a book I carry around to write in and I am always jotting down notes for new material in my iPhone. I like to spend a couple of hours in the gym, some time cooking, time with friends, a lot of time online making funny videos or using social networking sites, a couple of hours gaming, plenty of time between the sheets and then, when it gets to the eleventh hour and I realize I have run out of ideas to procrastinate with, I do some work.
IQads: How much work is there behind the scenes? Do you re-write many times until you’re satisfied or do you have those little moments when light bulbs pop above your head?
Jeff Leach: I like to re-write on the stage. Working material over and over with a live audience is, in my opinion, the best way to find what works and what doesn’t.
IQads: Creative people often have problems concentrating on something they have to do and find reasons to procrastinate and blame it on the ADHD. You are an actor, a stand-up comedian (and a boyfriend) so you probably don’t really have time to procrastinate – so what do you do when you don’t feel like doing something when you should? What motivates you to actually start writing and keep writing?
Jeff Leach: I always ensure I have allocated plenty of time for procrastination. However right now I am filming two feature films, producing, writing and performing in my own comedy series and touring around the UK, Europe and the festival circuit with my stand-up comedy, so finding time to watch videos of cats fighting with monkeys on YouTube has become more and more difficult.
IQads: Do you ever include jokes about brands or advertising in your acts? If so, what do you think is funny about how advertising works? What ads do you find funny / stupid / annoying / inspiring enough to become part of your set?
Jeff Leach: I don’t have any particular material about brands or adverts, I like to talk about more personal experiences, plus I am way too consumed with advertising my own ego!
IQads: You said you were a sex addict addicted to love – this sounds like great material for gigs. What advice do you give to stand-up comedians that don’t have really juicy things happening in their lives or around them? What can serve as inspiration? (Actually, that would be an interesting answer for advertising people, too).
Jeff Leach: Get some issues.
IQads: Did you ever think of becoming a copywriter for an ad agency? For example, a few stand-up comedians from Romania worked in advertising before. Was this ever an option for you?
Jeff Leach: I have worked with advertising companies and brands in the past, doing conferences in Berlin and LA and writing for various projects. If you’re hiring let me know!
IQads: What about endorsing a brand? You know, smiling with a toilet paper in your hand or happily pouring detergent in the washing machine? Did you or would you do any of these?
Jeff Leach: At the risk of sounding a little childish, I would hope that I would only work with or endorse brands and companies I believe in. These are not many in number.
IQads: Is the digital age helping a stand-up comedian like you or getting in the way of your acts (setting the wrong standards for comedy / more competition / shorter jokes / people posting your acts illegally etc).
Jeff Leach: The difficulty with the digital age for stand up comedians is that we rely on the live performance element of our craft. It’s difficult to transpose this online. Of course live shows that are filmed can be sold online by acts themselves now, such as Louis CK has done in the US, however digitally ‘interfacing’ an audience within a comedy show seems to face problems of distracting them from what they should be doing… watching and laughing.
IQads: How often do you refresh your material?
Jeff Leach: I tend to write a new hour of material over a year. Edinburgh Festival makes us do that. However depending on what other work I have on it’s an organic process of filtering in new fresh material and filtering out the old tired stuff, like a horse racing stable, but without the imminent glue and remorse.
IQads: What’s your favourite ad - something dear to your heart, not something to be ridiculed on the stage?
Jeff Leach: I adore this Athenos Hummus advert:
IQads: What do you do when the crowd is bombing your show? (translate: what if I make an ad and people hate it?)
Jeff Leach: Make better ads! I don’t bomb anymore. I think you are excused some fuck ups in your infancy however once you mature creatively you have to believe in your product and people feed off that belief. Not everyone loves what I do, however a lot of people do, and even the ones who hate me at least remember me.
IQads: And now the part where we exploit you and try to steal the humour skills you've accumulate through the years: What makes a good viral video?
Jeff Leach: Hiring Jeff Leach to work on it with you! :)
Jeff Leach e gazda galei de premiere IAB Romania MIXX Awards 2013 din prima zi de ICEEfest.
Detalii despre eveniment, lista speakerilor, a temelor dezbatute si achizitia biletelor sunt disponibile pe site-ul ICEEfest.com.
