The Marvellous Mrs Maisel

I admire stand-up comedians.

Especially stand-out ones. Like “The Marvellous Mrs Maisel”.

True, she ruffles a few feathers (to put it mildly)…

But she makes people laugh.

And in the latest series, she has a breakthrough.

She doesn’t want the half-hearted laughter that comes from giving the audience what they expect.

Using polished scripts.

Or the typical “lipstick and room service jokes” of the era.

She wants to give the audience what they want.

And hear the whole room roaring with laughter.

To do that, she tells her manager Susie, she has to be herself.

Telling her stories. Her way.

Even if she ruffles feathers – and more.

I’m not advocating irreverence.

But if we stick to scripts weighed down by convention, how can we possibly do our best work?

Photo by sebastien cordat on Unsplash