Paul Provenza

OFFICIAL! Comedian/actor; Director, @ARISTOCRATSfilm; Host @GreenRoomWithPP; coauthor @SATIRISTAS; Prod, @SETLISTSHOW All are welcome here. Amuse me!

[Paul Provenza @PaulProvenza]

“The aim of a joke is not to degrade the human being, but to remind him that he is already degraded.”

--George Orwell

[SET LIST @SETLISTSHOW]

On the anniversary of his passing, a tribute to the late, great Robin Williams: An improvised performance on @SETLISTSHOW never seen in America until now.
We miss you, Robin.
https://t.co/WMhWWhQXS4

[History Nerd @_HistoryNerd]

Marlon Brando once told Dick Cavett that everyone on Earth is an actor.

Then he proved it, live on air, by dissecting Cavett himself.

It remains one of the most disarming exchanges in talk show history.

Cavett opened by pressing Brando on something he had read for years: that Brando considered acting "not a fit profession for a man." Brando deflected at first. "We can't believe the press; I don't know what we can believe in this country."

But then, in his words, "in an effort to help your ratings," Brando laid out his real view of acting:

"I think that we couldn't survive a second if we weren't able to act; acting is a survival mechanism, a social lubricant, and we act to save our lives every day."

People lie constantly, he explained. By not saying what they think. By showing something they don't feel. By trying to give the appearance of feeling something they don't actually feel.

Cavett pushed back: "But that's not acting."

Brando disagreed:

"That is acting. When you're nervous or frightened in this chair, or distressed and angry, you know that is not what is necessary to be shown here, so you control your face. You're a highly controlled person and you have to do that."

Cavett argued there had to be gradations. He was motivated in the moment, but he couldn't wake up the next morning and repeat that same performance on command, take after take. Surely that skill, the thing Brando did better than almost anybody, was something different.

Brando refused the compliment. He pointed to the office worker who hates his boss but performs enthusiasm for his "impossible notions" day after day to keep his job.

Cavett countered that delivering the same line six times, getting "something deeper into it time after time," takes an actor. Everyday performances are one-time things with immediate motivation.

"No, they're not one-time things because it's a daily procedure," Brando replied. "The dialogue changes but the motivation doesn't."

Then came the moment the interview is remembered for. Brando turned the lens directly on his host:

"Right now, you're thinking of 60 things at once: 'Is it getting dull? Is he upset? Is he bored? Is he offended? Here's a good time for a joke.' You're doing this editing at an insane rate with a demeanor of levity and zest, and that finally isn't what goes on in your mind or feelings at all."

Cavett's response said everything:

"I just feel like all my clothes have been taken off."

Brando softened it. "I couldn't do what you do, and that's a different kind of acting; you're playing a different kind of role."

Cavett tried one final test. He handed Brando a commercial script and challenged him to read it, any way he wanted. Brando refused flatly: "No, I won't do it."

Cavett's closing line: "I'm glad you didn't. The man's incorruptible, and that's what I hoped."

Source: The Dick Cavett Show, interview with Marlon Brando (1973)

[¡SATIRISTAS! @Satiristas]

Will they be installing glory holes?

[Paul Provenza @PaulProvenza]

@RightWingWatch Even I, an atheist, know:

Matthew 6:5-6
“And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others…When you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.“

[Editorial & Political Cartoons @EandPCartoons]

Jonsey #ClimateChange

[SET LIST @SETLISTSHOW]

.@eddiepepitone @anylaurie16 @robintran04 @mattkirshen @troyconrad @DylanAdler6

[Paul Provenza @PaulProvenza]

To celebrate the upcoming relaunch of @SETLISTSHOW LIVE! on JULY 23 at @LyricHyperion, enjoy the late, great @realGilbert Gottfried appearing on the UK series "SET LIST: Standup without A Net"

https://t.co/gCjmnSOb9j

[SET LIST @SETLISTSHOW]

SET LIST hits @LyricHyperion on July 23rd! It’s urgent, brilliant, and 100% improvised.
Catch Eddie Pepitone, Laurie Kilmartin, Robin Tran, and Dylan Adler doing the ultimate comedy tightrope walk.
Get seats: https://t.co/DmZ3wffhUm

[SET LIST @SETLISTSHOW]

Zero safety nets. Zero prep. Watch @RussellKane, @MarcelLucont, & @paulfoot tackle improvised stand-up on SET LIST Ep 03! ⚡️
Streaming in US for 1st time: 📺 https://t.co/0YpZMZPQHN
🚨 LA: Catch Set List LIVE at Lyric Hyperion!
#SetList #StandUp

[Zak Williams @zakwilliams]

Happy 75th Dad!

Today I'm remembering your weirdness and your extraordinary capacity to love.

And for the folks out there who'd like to celebrate with me, go do something kind for someone. Make someone laugh. Put a little more good into the world.

Love you forever.

[SET LIST @SETLISTSHOW]

You’ve never seen #RobinWilliams like this. Watch a master of improv on #SetList. Ep 2 streaming in US for 1st time, feat. @eddiepepitone & @mattkirshen!
Set List is BACK live at @LyricHyperion - bio for tix. Catch Eddie & Matt live 7/23! https://t.co/0VPtBwMC2e

[Paul Provenza @PaulProvenza]

To celebrate the upcoming relaunch of @SETLISTSHOW LIVE! on JULY 23 at @LyricHyperion, enjoy the late, great @realGilbert Gottfried appearing on the UK series "SET LIST: Standup without A Net"

https://t.co/gCjmnSOb9j

[Paul Provenza @PaulProvenza]

Perfect.

[Neil deGrasse Tyson @neiltyson]

If I were ever abducted by Aliens, the first thing I’d ask is whether they came from a planet where people also deny science.