{"id":2538,"date":"2023-09-29T13:20:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T17:20:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christinairene.com\/wp\/?p=2538"},"modified":"2023-09-29T13:20:04","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T17:20:04","slug":"disability-comedy-is-awesome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christinairene.com\/wp\/archives\/2538","title":{"rendered":"Disability Comedy is Awesome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Oh I\u2019m so happy you\u2019re reading this first sentence and not just taking that headline at face value. Really, forget faces. Let\u2019s talk masks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s go to the theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think about the most common image representing theatre. Can you picture it? Are you seeing those iconic two masks, the one with the smiling face and the one with the sad face?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re seeing the comedy and tragedy masks. Now, have you ever wondered why there are only two? Like, what about action? What about suspense? Where\u2019s the science fiction mask?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The limited duo of theatrical genres dates back to the start of Western theatre, when Thespus, portraying the God of wine, literally stepped out from the crowd and opera-like sang the first monologue. When I studied theatre in college, I myself never thought much of the comedy-tragedy binary. It was later, when I was teaching high school English and theatre and really getting to know Shakespeare, when I raised the question mark and discovered the answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Comedy, in ancient theatrical terms, didn\u2019t necessarily mean laugh-out-loud funny. Seeing a comedy was not a guarantee of a raucous knee-slapper. \u201cComedy\u201d meant you\u2019d get a happy ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Likewise, seeing a tragedy didn\u2019t demand you pack a hanky. It just meant an unhappy ending. Typically, especially from old Bill the Bard, at least one person was going to die an untimely death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So comedy and tragedy aren\u2019t actually genres in this sense, but an indication of how the story is going to end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s why I think disability comedy is awesome. I love having a happy ending for my (and your) disability story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have a number of chronic, lifelong conditions that affect me physically, emotionally, and cognitively, but I am resolved to live a story of joy, resilience, inspiration, and prosperity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching wasn\u2019t my immediate career after college, by the way. First, I went on the road for a few years, touring 30-some states performing stand-up comedy. It was later when I became a high school teacher, and then a copywriter, some other things in between, and finally a professional speaker and author.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take it from me, disability is no joke. But obviously, I have a sense of humor, or I never would have made it on the road those years, and I maintain that sense of humor with anything I do and everything I face. I do laugh and (intentionally) make others laugh about my disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when you think about it in those historic either\/or terms of theatre, I can still and always legitimately call myself comedian. Because while I can\u2019t control the disabled circumstances of its main character, I do wholly get to write my own story. When my story ends at its timely time, we will look back upon it and declare it a comedy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"the<\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oh I\u2019m so happy you\u2019re reading this first sentence and not just taking that headline at face value. Really, forget faces. Let\u2019s talk masks. Let\u2019s go to the theatre. Think about the most common image representing theatre. Can you picture … Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2539,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,72,5],"tags":[109,144,102,108,88,111,110,13,125],"class_list":["post-2538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-comedy","category-disabilities-awareness","category-inspiration","tag-chronic-illness","tag-chronic-pain","tag-disabilities","tag-hidden-disabilities","tag-inspiration","tag-invisible-disabilities","tag-mental-health","tag-personal-growth","tag-splat"],"yoast_head":"\nDisability Comedy is Awesome - Christina Irene<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.christinairene.com\/wp\/archives\/2538\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Disability Comedy is Awesome - Christina Irene\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Oh I\u2019m so happy you\u2019re reading this first sentence and not just taking that headline at face value. 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