VOA标准英语2010年-American Comedians in the Middle East

A group of American stand-up comedians² have wrapped up a memorable³ week of performances in the Middle East, before what might seem like some pretty tough crowds.  Their venue⁴ was the American Stand-Up Comedy Festival in Amman, Jordan [December 4 to 10]. The comedians weren't there just to make people laugh, but also to lead a series of workshops and seminars on stand-up comedy and, more importantly, to bridge some cultural gaps.

Arab-Italian-American comedian¹ Dean Obeidallah is executive producer for the American Standup Comedy Festival, now in its second year.  Obeidallah says the success of last year's festival encouraged them to do it again – and to expand the program. This year, more than 25 comedians joined the festival.

Dean Obeidallah
Dean Obeidallah, comedian and executive producer for the American Standup Comedy Festival in Amman, says the success of last year's festival encouraged them to expand it this year

"Last year, the comedians were mostly Middle Eastern Americans with a few Arab comics," he says. "This year, it's much more diverse. We still have comics of Arab heritage, of Middle Eastern-American heritage and Arab comics from the region. We also have a Greek-American and comics from an Indian-American background. So it's really a diverse group of comedians."

Different Strategies to Make People Laugh

Obeidallah notes that each comedian has a distinctive⁵ style and a different approach to making audiences laugh. Pakistani-Canadian Ali Hassan is an example.

"What I do is create common things that we can all laugh at," Hassan explains. "I can laugh at myself, then if I go somewhere else and laugh at something else, people will go with me like we go together on this journey.  It's so incredibly rewarding, being able to make jokes for people who are so appreciative⁶ and some of them are in need of this kind of escape. It really does something good to my soul."

Comedians Connecting with Audiences

Comedian and festival producer Obeidallah says the Arab audiences have been very receptive to the American comics.  That's one of the reasons he believes the festival has been such a hit.

"The audience doesn't like stupid jokes. It doesn't have to be serious or political, but it's got to be intelligent. They laughed at the same jokes Americans laugh at. That's been really thrilling. But, there are certain limitations. They really want to stay away from cursing and sexual material. They really do not want us doing jokes that make fun of anyone's religion, making fun of, like Christians⁷ or Muslims or Jews. They don't want jokes demeaning religions in any way. In some places they don't want you to make fun of leaders, in other places they don't care as much."

Dean Obeidallah
Sherry Davey believes that if we can laugh together, we can live together

Even the American comedians with no Middle East family ties had fun connecting with the Arab audiences, Obeidallah recalls.

"Just for example, this year we had a comic who is now in the United States – she is from the United Kingdom originally – named Sherry Davey. Sherry was especially concerned, being a woman, how she would be accepted. She was really nervous. She went on the first two nights and she did great. The audience loved her."

Laughing at Women's Challenges

"I do believe that laughter is a way to bridge the gap culturally because if we can laugh together, we can live together," says Ms. Davey.  The British-American comedian adds it wasn't hard to find common ground with her audience.

 
Dean Obeidallah
British American comic Sherry Davey was unsure how she'd fare at the Festival but found the audiences loved her style of humor

"Even though there might be a slight cultural difference between us and I'm not Muslim," she explains, "I really learned from my trip to Jordan that the Jordanian women and Muslim women are just as dissatisfied with their husbands and overworked as the American women."

Stand-Up Comedians Speaking the Same Language

Davey says she had a chance at the Amman comedy festival to meet with some of the Arab stand-up comics as well.
 
"I asked one of the gals⁸, Maysoon (Zayid) – she is a Palestinian comedian – to do her act for me in her language," Davey recalls. "It was incredible because even though we don't speak the same language, I know the body language pattern of a joke. I know when somebody is setting up a joke and when the punch line is coming. I still see myself laughing – even though I didn't know the joke – because her body language was indicating that the joke was coming."

U.S. Comics Play New Role as Two-Way Cultural Ambassadors

The festival is not only about making people laugh, comedian Dean Obeidallah reminds. It is also about mixing pleasure with business:

"We have a free comedy workshop here," he says. "We have another workshop on how to break into the TV business. We have executives from the TV networks in the region come and speak to young people about how to get into television."

Obeidallah says the festival also offered the American comedians a new role to play.

"I think the comedians from the United States, if they are of Arab origins or not, are ambassadors in two ways," he says. "They come here and are showing the Arab world a good face of Americans. They are here to entertain, to have fun with them. They appreciate being here. They love the audiences and in return they love the hospitality of the Arabs. The hospitality is amazing. People get invited to people's houses for lunch and dinner, people they don't even know. At the same time, when the American comedians return home, they tell Americans about their experiences here and how nice the audiences were around the region. So, they again are the ambassadors for the Arab world."

American comedian Dean Obeidallah says he hopes the American Standup Comedy Festival in Amman will continue to grow every year, and that its central message – that people of different backgrounds can laugh and live together – will keep winning grateful applause.

1 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

2 comedians   

n.喜剧演员，丑角( comedian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The voice was rich, lordly, Harvardish, like all the boring radio comedians'imitations. 声音浑厚、威严，俨然是哈佛出身的气派，就跟无线电里所有的滑稽演员叫人已经听腻的模仿完全一样。 来自辞典例句
• He distracted them by joking and imitating movie and radio comedians. 他用开玩笑的方法或者模仿电影及广播中的滑稽演员来对付他们。 来自辞典例句

3 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

4 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

5 distinctive   

adj.特别的，有特色的，与众不同的

参考例句：

• She has a very distinctive way of walking.她走路的样子与别人很不相同。
• This bird has several distinctive features.这个鸟具有几种突出的特征。

6 appreciative   

adj.有鉴赏力的，有眼力的；感激的

参考例句：

• She was deeply appreciative of your help.她对你的帮助深表感激。
• We are very appreciative of their support in this respect.我们十分感谢他们在这方面的支持。

7 Christians   

n.基督教徒( Christian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Christians of all denominations attended the conference. 基督教所有教派的人都出席了这次会议。
• His novel about Jesus caused a furore among Christians. 他关于耶稣的小说激起了基督教徒的公愤。

8 gals   

abbr.gallons （复数）加仑（液量单位）n.女孩，少女( gal的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Jim came skipping out at the gate with a tin pail, and singing Buffalo Gals. 这时，吉姆手里提着一个锡皮桶，嘴中唱着“布法罗的女娃们”蹦蹦跳跳地从大门口跑出来。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险
• An' dey thinks dey wants mousy lil gals wid bird's tastes an' no sense at all. 他们想要的是耗子般的小姑娘，胃口小得像雀子，一点儿见识也没有。 来自飘（部分）