Lockdown gives new lease of life to stand-up comedian

Pune: The lockdown made stand-up comedian Papa CJ transition to the role of a sit-down entertainer as public gatherings were banned and live shows had to be cancelled.

“I tend to look at all changes with excitement and I’m hard-wired to find the positive in any situation. Therefore, I looked at the lockdown as an opportunity to focus on things that I would not have been able to otherwise,” said he, humorously adding, “The pandemic has had various positive impacts on my professional life aside from significantly reducing the amount of tax I pay in a year!”

While there is a change in feedback — from live roars of laughter that a comedian usually gains momentum from while on stage, to audiences muting themselves for auditory clarity during an online show, Papa CJ has found a workaround.

“To my own surprise, I’m thoroughly enjoying performing online. During the lockdown my audience sizes have ranged from 25 people to 7,000 families. I have 25 people on gallery view with the audio and video on, who become the ‘panelists’ and the rest of the audience become ‘attendees’. Since everybody can hear their laughter, that gives me the energy I need to feed off of. Since I can see all 25 of them, they serve a similar role as the front two rows of a physical show,” he said, adding, “My shows have always been interactive and very customised — those are two areas where my focus has increased multifold because as a comedian if that is something you can’t offer an online audience, then they might as well watch Netflix.”

He also used all the time on his hands to tap on all his past education and experience to create customised value-added solutions for corporate clients. “My background includes a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Oxford and as an executive coach, I have run corporate training programmes for over 50 blue-chip companies across the globe. In addition to doing more of this work during the pandemic, I have created and delivered deeply interesting sessions for C-level executives who draw from the worlds of creativity, innovation, comedy, entrepreneurship and business. For example, I run a session called ‘A Comedian’s Guide to Communication Strategy’ where I break down the techniques that international comedians use to grab and retain attention and help my participants apply the same to their work and personal lives,” he said.