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5. A Matter of Taste

Often the major concern individuals who hire comedy have, is the tastefulness and appropriateness of the act. As much as comedy can make an event memorable, nothing can spoil an entire evening or program more than humour that offends some of the audience, and leaves many of the others uncomfortable.

The main way to protect against this is to request references indicating the act is clean and tasteful. It can be a written reference or the phone number of a previous client you can call. If "clean" humour is important to your function - and chances are it is - then this is a good step to take.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect is trying to sort through the various definitions of clean and tasteful. Your definition, the act's definition, and the version members of your audience have will probably all be different.

Most important, you need to identify what the comedy act considers clean. Is it some off- colour language but no graphic language concerning sex? Is it completely clean language-wise, using only sexual innuendo? Is some of the comedians' material based on off-colour language or sex in relationships?

The best answer to these questions will invariably come from the references the act supplies to you. One more reason why recent, accessible references are crucial to your decision- making.

Point: Make sure you understand what clean and tasteful means to you, your audience and the members of the act themselves.

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