Professor Stephen Rosenfield probably wanted to acquaint Adam Bernard’s foul mouth with soap on Monday, April 13.
Bernard, a junior communication major, unleashed F-bomb after F-bomb before a room filled with students and professors while performing his midterm, an un-timed standup comedy act. Rosenfield, who teaches the standup comedy class, wasn’t amused with Bernard’s colorful language.
“Anything doesn’t go,” Rosenfield said shortly afterward.
Still, the makeshift Hobart Hall classroom nearly erupted in laughter with each dirty joke, implicitly encouraging Bernard to continue making racy remarks. He said he was undeterred by his professor’s occasional disapproving glares.
“I don’t want to do comedy anyway,” said Bernard, who admitted his interest lies in film. “I think it’s for the weak.”
Whatever the case, Bernard wasn't the only student who relied on crude humor to win over the crowd. In fact, most of the 14 students sprinkled their acts with curses, sexual innuendo, sexual gestures, sexual statements and other topics that would be deemed rude by most professors.
And although Rosenfield didn’t disapprove of every act, he wasn’t exactly enamored with the toilet humor.
Rosenfield, a Stanford University graduate, believes a good comedian knows his boundaries.
“You don’t want to do blues stuff if you’re doing a bar mitzvah,” said Rosenfield, who is also the director of the American Comedy Institute.
“I teach my students that comedy has to be appropriate for the room.”
In other words, some students, like Justin Gagnon, may have crossed the line. The 27-year-old communication major knowingly broke two of Rosenfield’s chief rules when he sauntered to the mic and began his set. Gagnon not only used profanity, but he adlibbed his performance, another no-no in Rosenfield’s book.
Gagnon repeatedly joked about his Jewish heritage while weaving into the act words that would make a trucker blush. He also made light of hot-button topics, like homosexuality.
All the while, Rosenfield hastily scribbled notes in his long, yellow notebook and released an ocassional sigh of exasperation.
The majority of his sighs came when males took the stage. All but one male performer used foul langugage at least once, while many repeatedly used words they probably wouldn’t around their mothers.
The women, who still from time to time tested Rosenfield’s patience, kept it much cleaner. Carla Rodrigues, a Newark resident, ripped her hometown instead of cursing.
Rosenfield hopes his class cleans up its act for its final exam, a timed and taped performace at New York City’s Gotham Comedy Club.
“I’m not going to tell you how each student did,” Rosenfield said. “But was I cool with all of the content? No.”
All Good fun In Rosenfield's Comedy Class
Students going to Gotham to strut their stuff
Published: Thursday, April 23, 2009
Updated: Sunday, April 26, 2009
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