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April 11, 2012
Star Features


 

Comedy on stage, drama a road

with Blakka Ellis

Trust me, there's never a dull moment when you're on the road with a bunch of comedians. As for the chance of a little respite of peace and quiet, forget it! I'm in the USA for 'Real Jamaican Laughter' - a series of comedy shows in the Tri-State area. So I'm travelling around with a raving pack of jokers, and mek I tell unnu something, if I wasn't already certified insane, dem woulda surely drive mi crazy.

Mi tell dem dat every chance mi get, so rumor has it that I'm the boring, miserable one in the group. Peoples, believe me when I tell you that for the past few days mi ears cyaan eat grass, mi nerves cyaan get to settle, and mi spirit don't remember what name tranquility, serenity or stillness, but shhhhh, don't tell dem, I've actually been having a whale of a time. How could I not? I'm traveling in a troupe that includes the unpredictable Ity & Fancy Cat, the eccentric Rozah Roze and the dramatic Kathy 'Miss Jennifer the country helper' Grant. And dem people yah nuh joke fi attract excitement and create drama.

After a great show in Hartford, Connecticut Saturday, everybody except me decided to go enjoy a party in the city, and one serious piece of drama bruck out. As I hear it, they went to check out this hotly advertised dance called 'Pitch Black'. When they entered the venue a dancehall type vibes was evident - or so they thought. In no time stage manager Earl Billy Harris was dropping off-key moves in front of a speaker. Kathy Grant exploded in a blaze of 'bruck-out' in the centre, and a young miss was aggressively 'backing up' up on Fancy Cat while a somnambulistic Ity was valiantly trying to keep on his 'mi-nah-sleep' face.

Well, the selector swiftly switched styles and upped the tempo, and all hell eventually broke loose. Some Rick Ross tunes suddenly became the sound track for dancing that looked like group wrestling. Tension heightened and pulses quickened when the entire crowd started screaming "I'm never scared" in chorus with Bone Crusher. In less than no time fury evolved into fight, and too soon after that gunshot sounds pierced the night, followed by the chaos, sirens and flashing light.

arranging a search party

Then, as if that wasn't enough drama for the week, next morning after we returned to NY from Hartford, we were busy calling police and arranging a search party. Why? Crew member Earl Harris left for a corner shop three minutes away, and up to four hours later he didn't return. All the houses look alike and he didn't remember the house number, so he walked around the block about six times and went back to the shop about five times trying to find his bearings. Believe me when I tell you that it's drama and comedy on and offstage.

Yes peeps, wi deh a farin. We're currently in New York - the bustling Big Apple living loud, live, large (and legal). And when we hit the stage this weekend it nah go normal. We have one show in Brooklyn on Saturday and one in the Bronx on Sunday. So it will be serious comedy on the stage. In the meantime, we're doing the rounds at radio stations and hitting the malls for more drama on the road.

box-mi-back@hotmail.com

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