t. faye griffin – more than funny
 |
|
photo by steed media service |
Director/Writer, Spook Night
You would be hard-pressed to find a more entertaining, poignant and insightful stage play than T. Faye Griffin’s wonderful Spook Night, a look at the current state of black comedy in the 21st century. Inspired by her own experiences, Spook Night is Griffin’s directorial debut and is a combination of the frustration, hilarity, and real-life conflicts that rests under the surface of many funnymen’s jokes.
“It came about as a result of working both as a stand-up comedian myself and a producer and writer of comedy,” says Griffin, who has worked on BETs “Comic View” and with stand-up king Steve Harvey.
Spook Night raises many tough questions, the most prominent of which is how do black comedians stay fresh and original in an era when so many untalented hacks are hogging the stage? “I’ve been around comedy for a long time, and just seeing how very untalented people were able to get over by getting up and doing comedy that most of the time wasn’t even theirs – and it bothered me. I saw a comedian booed once – one of those very cerebral comedians,” she shares. “Just because his delivery was very low-key and introspective, the audience heckled and coughed and wouldn’t give him the time of day.”
Griffin was moved by that episode to write the play and it has touched a nerve among those in Los Angeles’ comedy scene. “Opening night I had a house full of comedians, Tommy Ford, Kym Whitley, and they were like, ‘You didn’t miss a beat,’ ” Griffin says. “The reaction has been overwhelmingly positive and supportive, and the general audience – who [does not] work in the industry, gets it – and for me that’s an even greater victory.” – todd williams
