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http:// --> Weather Forecast --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Archive Backpage Business Classifieds Columnists Contact Us Forum Hot Topics Local Issues Most Viewed Nation & World Obituaries Online Games Opinion/Editorial O-Zone Photo Galleries Place an Ad Rate Card Readers Polls Revels Real Estate Guide Shakespeare Special Sections Sports Subscribe Valley & State Video Weather Etcetera --> Movie Preview --> Hottest Galleries: December 17, 2008 Nick Ferrucci By Evalyn Hansen Tidings columnist "Almost everything can be comic somehow." "" Nick Ferrucci, Oregon Shakespeare Festival actor and Southern Oregon University student EH: As an actor, what was your most magical moment? NF: The most magical moment for me as an actor on stage is getting the laugh, that overwhelming laughter, just a wall of laughter, that abundance of reaction from the audience. It's hard to find all of the time. It's all about getting the payoff, about working up to that moment. The best jokes have a great buildup to the final punch line. And then it's really hard to just keep going, to wait for the audience to quiet down, and just keep going. It's unbelievable the amount of energy that you feel from an audience with that kind of laughter. Laughter is a weird thing. It's like, if you've ever been in the ocean and just had a big wave hit you, and you kind of fall back; and you lose your balance, you try to regain your balance and you keep swimming. Experienced actors, that have been doing comedy for a long time, when they get hit by that wave, they're just sturdy as rocks, they keep the story going, and it's beautifully done. It's a real craft to be able to do that. EH: What makes audiences laugh? NF: I think that what makes an audience laugh is being right there with the characters experiencing honest reactions to absurd situations. It's the characters' believability within the situation, so that they're not telling jokes, they're just giving honest reactions (to whatever the line or the gag is). Almost everything can be comic somehow. I feel like I laugh at almost every situation I'm in throughout the day. I think you can find comedy in just about anything. If you just look at the funny side of something, it can make you a lot happier. You can laugh at yourself. I definitely laugh at myself all the time. EH: Are you working on any comic material? NF: I take things that have happened to me, or things I've seen happen to other people — things that I think that are ridiculous — and I write them down. Any time I think of something funny I just write it down. For instance, I was sitting in a restaurant the other day; I really like babies, I think they're really cute. I was just sitting there. And there was this little boy just sitting on his mother's lap — I mean really little, just a few months old. He was staring at me, and I just thought he was the cutest little kid. He was staring at me and staring at me and staring at me and all of a sudden he just rolled his eyes at me. EH: Like how? NF: (rolls his eyes and smirks) EH: Oh no, HA, HA, HA, HA, HA, (hilarious laughter). NF: Like he was so over me, like he was so much better than me. Which he is, he probably is. I couldn't believe that a baby rolled his eyes at me. I'm a 22-year-old man, and he's a 5-month-old baby. And he's already more mature than I am. There's no way he could talk. He's only a few months old, but if he could talk, he'd probably say, "Whatever." Comedians bring a perspective on life that is light-hearted. People like to laugh at their own lives, to break away from the harder things that we have to go through. When you're laughing you forget about everything else. There's no other moment than right now. It's a good antidepressant, a way to balance your life, with all the responsibilities. Laughter is a very positive thing; it gets us through the next day. Advertisement: Advertisement: Partners: Security Cameras & Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2008 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved. Southern Oregon Media Group: Mail Tribune.com – Ashland Daily Tidings – Medford Nickel Del.icio.us