The art of comedy defies definition-- supposedly. But Suzanne Westenhoefer is willing to define it.
"Humor is what is true. It's an afterthought of life's experiences."
What is a joke?"A joke is an emotion," she says, "that you set up. The punch line is opposite what people expect."
Is it a science, or a gift?
"Yes."
Can it be taught?
"I wouldn't try it. Only a handful of people can."
She despises the mean-spirited humor of Andrew Dice Clay and the self-deprecating humor of most comedians.
"And I hate to watch fat comics make fun of themselves for being fat. They should try instead to make the skinny people in the audience jealous."
As long as she can remember, she's been funny. A natural entertainer, or a disarming smart mouth. "People told me that I was funny for a long, long time. I sort of blew them off."
In 1990, she was struggling in the New York acting scene. "About six years I did nothing. You have to sing and dance to get work in New York . . . it's
Broadway. Then a girlfriend signed her up for comedy classes without asking her if she wanted to take them. She went to class, but never stood and
performed. Finally, one night she entered a contest at Kelly's Piano Bar in New York. "So I got up my first time at an open mike in New York City and did my three minutes. Thirty other comics did their three minutes." She won the
contest. She rose from that first performance to appear in famous comedy clubs nationwide and many television shows - ABC's "Day One,""Geraldo," "Sally Jessy Raphael," "Joan Rivers," "A&E's Evening at the Improv," "Buster's Happy Hour," (VH-1), and her own HBO comedy special.
Suzanne Westenhoefer brings her one-woman comedy show to the University of Utah's Behavioral Sciences Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 21. There will be two shows: one at 7:30 p.m. and one at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are available through Smith'sTix for $14, or at the door for $18.
For tickets to an after-performance party, call 942-5093.