Communicating through humour: A project of stand-up comedy about science

Abstract

A study of a project on science stand-up comedy developed in Portugal between 2009 and 2013 is presented, in which thirteen scientists, coordinated by a science communicator and a professional actor, created and presented comedy acts. Eleven of these scientists were asked about their motivations to participate, the process of performance development and the perceived value of the project. Personal motivations were highly important, but professional reasons were also mentioned. Working in a group with the guidance of coordinators, testing and re-writing the texts and gradually gaining confidence on stage were considered fundamental in the development of the shows. Additionally, a questionnaire revealed that the audience, most of whom were young adults, and held a higher education degree, were satisfied with the show. Overall, both participating scientists and audience members considered that stand-up comedy has potential for science communication.

"People seem to really enjoy the mix of humour and intelligence": science humour in online settings

“…Looking at the stand-up routines studied by Pinto, Marçal and Vaz [2015] I note a tendency towards using stereotype-based humour, often drawing on the performers' own background; by contrast, the examples in Heard's [2014] examination of humour in professional papers are notable for their brevity.…”

Alter egos: an exploration of the perspectives and identities of science comic creators

“…These data were collected by conducting semi-structured research interviews in order to gain a nuanced "insider view" [Blaikie, 2000, p. 115] of the experiences unique to each participant [Mason, 2002;Dowell and Weitkamp, 2011]. A preliminary interview guide was devised relevant to the study's aims and objectives (adapted from Pinto, Marçal and Vaz [2015], and Dowell and Weitkamp [2011]). …”

“…Instead, science communication arose somewhat inadvertently through their personal interest in science and the comic form. Even those that did align more closely with the science communication role felt there was at times a conflict between this and the role of artist, reflecting a challenge of priorities in the form of balancing story and science -a challenge also expressed by theatre practitioners working with science [Dowell and Weitkamp, 2011], and explored by Rödder [2016] in the context of visual arts and Pinto, Marçal and Vaz [2015] in the context of comedy.…”

Are audiences receptive to humour in popular science articles? An exploratory study using articles on environmental issues

“…Previous researchers have tried to conceptualise the use of humour [Riesch, 2015] or investigated the views of science communication performers and their audiences [Pinto, Marçal and Vaz, 2015;Bore and Reid, 2014]. For example, recent research focused on a science stand-up comedy project in Portugal, in which both scientists-performers and audience members argued that this medium has the potential to make science more appealing [Pinto, Marçal and Vaz, 2015].…”