By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune columnist
I recently chatted with John Crissman, a Lexington comedian who has morphed from his own hobby doing the stand-up thing to providing kids opportunities to do likewise. His Kid’s Comedy Open Mic is a program (or show) where children can share jokes. It allows them to take the microphone and hold the floor for a few minutes with a child and adult audience watching. It’s an event that’s been happening monthly for over a year now, often with many dozens in attendance.
John recently moved its location at Bakery, Blessings & Bookstore to Joseph-Beth Bookstore in Lexington. Kid’s Mic will be presented there on the third Saturday of each month at 2 p.m. (It won’t meet in December, however.)
I took an immediate interest in John’s project because of my own background working with kids. I believe we are like spirits in regard to embracing laughter with children. We also started our career paths by possibly being in the wrong majors. For me, it was sociology until switching to elementary education, and I became an elementary teacher. For John, it was classical civilization, which, he said, grinning, gave him “a clear path to bagger at Kroger and “the fry guy” at McDonald. . .which were both taken up so I did the next best thing, which was to go into sales and marketing.” He does that now, but he also started doing his comedy thing. We both attended Eastern Kentucky University.
Looking back at 28 years of teaching, I often think about why it was so enjoyable for me. A fairly obvious reason, of course, was the opportunity daily to make positive differences in young lives. There was the camaraderie of colleagues and the personal support given by those with similar mindsets. It was a great feeling to be an important part of something bigger than myself, that being to help my school achieve our academic and other goals. Feeling affirmed by students who valued me was important, too.
But having a running sense of lightness (call it humor if you’d like) in the classroom became a mainstay in “Mr. F’s” classroom, for 22 of the years as a fourth grade teacher. It wasn’t usually planned, though… at least, not actually shown in my lesson plan book.
I liked to do give nicknames to my students, often connected to the sound of their real names. Logan was “Logjam,” and Valerie became “Valerina.” I had a Siobhan who became “Sha-BOING,” and Cassidy was “Mama Cass.” There was a Megan who was “Megabucks,” and one with a last name of Woosley emerged as “Goose.” Ruth was “Baby Ruth” and Claire was “Claire Bear.” I had a “Fridge,” a “Cougar,” and even a young lady I anointed with two native-American names: “She Who has Freckles” and “She Who Writes Well.” One student seemed to take on the name of a book or great era in history because of her cute tabby face, and I called her “The Freckled Frontier.”
To be clear, the naming thing was always done, hopefully, with an uplifting tone and a frequently expressed disclaimer: If you are offended by the nickname, I won’t call you that…and maybe you’d prefer not to have one at all. That’s OK, too.” Often, students came to me wondering why they hadn’t received a nickname, and of course, I’d quickly oblige them.
There were other light rituals in my classrooms, too. Good performance often led to “an all-expense-paid trip to the water fountain.” I enjoyed calling on students during class by addressing them as “the senator from New York” or “the future governor of Kentucky.” At Central Elementary School in Winchester, where I taught for 14 years, the students always got excited when an announcement was made for teachers to “return their glasses to the lunchroom.” That actually meant that iced tea containers teachers had borrowed were leaving the lunchroom staff short in supply. I enjoyed the tease of sending my eyeglasses there instead, and every kid in my room begged for the chance to deliver them. Probably deserved, I got a royal comeuppance one day when my glasses were returned dipped in pickle juice.
The long and often challenging days in the classroom—both for students and teachers—can be made a little more enjoyable when a dose of humor is part of the process.
All of this brings me back to John Crissman and his Kid’s Comedy Open Mic show which he has so admirably planted and cultivated. I like how John has created a culture where kids, when they get up and tell a joke, “feel like it’s not intimidating…a safe environment,” he says. I like it when he talks about establishing the strong rule that there should no interruptions when another is sharing: “I tell them ‘remember, you’ve had your time, let another have their time.’ Kids want to jump in and dialogue with the person with the mic…a form of heckling when one interrupts.”
It’s about establishing a climate of mutual respect and allowing for individual creativity, yet within the context of the group or class. John and I would agree on those principles, and so he is enriching students’ academic and social skills in an out of school setting. His kids’ comedy endeavor is wholesome, but not only one for a religious values gathering.
“I’m a church guy,” said John, “but I didn’t want it to be a church thing. It would have been very easy to have done this at the church where I go to (St. Luke Methodist in Lexington), or a couple of churches that I know about. It sounds real innocuous, but there are few events where you can bring the whole family to an event where there is some level of participation with the young people involved…and where everybody comes away saying ‘this is valuable.’”
And with moving the program to the Joseph-Beth location, it is hoped that there will be attendance growth in the program, though John insists that he doesn’t see himself “the next great kids’ presenter.” He does, however, encourage other comedians to not be afraid to try a similar project. He has thoughts of developing a couple of on-call kids’ “comedy troupes” to take out to locations such as assisted-living centers, with senior citizens as audiences. He’d be open to school involvement, also.
Though my point of view is mostly anecdotal, I believe today’s men are much more prone to listen and connect to children in a deeper way. John Crissman is a sterling example. His wife, Cindy, and his 8-year-old children Sarah and 10-year-old Nathan, would attest. As a stand-up comedian who worked a few years in bars, he wanted more personal satisfaction than what he was getting. Introducing and cultivating children’s interest in comedy—a subject he has studied for 15 years and performed—has provided that gratification.
We need more men of John’s ilk to use, in an authentic way, their talents for the young—in the classroom, home, and even on the comedy stage. And that’s no joke.
For more information, see the Kid’s Comedy Open Mic page on Facebook or email him at john.crissman@gmail.com.
Click here to see a YouTube clip of Kid’s Comedy Open Mic.
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. His new book, “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” has recently been released and is available for purchase here. Flairty is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, as well as a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Read his past columns for excerpts from all his books. him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or friend him on Facebook. (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)