Diabetes?

[lumberjackadal]

So I don't know if it has just been occuring around me or if it's the newest improv craze but without any exaggeration, in at least 13 of the last 20 improv shows I've either seen or performed in someone has brought up Diabetes. Has anyone else experienced this phenomena?

[Run]

Probably the same dude ... and he's in 13 different improv groups.

[Stacey]

As soon as I started dating a type 1 diabetic 2 1/2 years ago, I became more aware of diabetes in scenes.

It's not a new phenomenon - it happens in tons and tons of shows. I don't know why. People think it's funny. Maybe it's because it's scary? Maybe because like being drunk or a kid in a scene it's a way of explaining away erratic behavior or being disconnected from the people on stage with you?

What really is funny is how often people don't know what they're doing. Your blood sugar is low! Take your insulin! Or they play someone mainlining insulin like it's heroin.

You know what? You gave me a great idea. Maybe Bob and I should offer a workshop called Improv Diabetes, since it gets portrayed so often. We could teach people how to play their diabetic characters more "real."

[Stacey]

I'm so excited about this. We can let Bob's blood sugar get low and then high on purpose so people can see what it's like. Then everyone can watch him shoot up and eat glucose tablets.

And maybe we can get all the Stottlemeyer diabetics together and make a team called Type One!

[lumberjackadal]

Yeah diabetes workshop!! You can teach needle object work!

Seriously whenever it gets mentioned in the shows it gets a huge laugh and is usually followed with the person being labeled a diabetic being force feed candy.

I'm not upset about it or anything I'm just intrigued as to why there is this flux of diabetes references.

Other diabetic team names: Funsulin

[PaulieB]

hmm - i have type two and haven't noticed but thats probably because I was gnawing on a snickers.

[stonelake]

It doesn't come up in Stottlemeyer shows as much as you might expect, given that until recently our population was like 30% diabetic, and it's still 20% diabetic and about 10% bad at math.

This means that we get fun treats at rehearsal, and that we play a lot of diabetic characters.

But we also play a lot of robots, and to the best of my knowledge, nobody on Stottlemeyer is a robot.

[Arnie]

Shenanigans is a robot.

[stonelake]

You would know, I guess.

No bytes in the dojo!

[Mr. Keith]

Two quick stories:

1) Back in high school, they made a new rule where if you left the football field during the game on Friday (to, say, get something from your car), you weren't allowed back in (these were the days after the Columbine shooting).

When a friend and I tried to leave, my friend told the guard, "Can we run to my car real quick? I'm a diabetic and I need to get my Penicillin."

I don't think I've ever seen a cover blown so fast.

2) While I was watching one of the "15 Hour Improv" projects, a guy from the first group brought in skin cancer (if I recall). That became the running joke throughout their entire set, and got pretty old after awhile. When the next group went on, one of them brought it up. And when the girl replied, "Can we talk about something else?" the audience applauded.

Something tells me a "diabetes improv workshop" could attract so much more than improvisors.

[Hendo]

Here's a message from the director of the American Diabetes Foundation...

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/33482

[proxy]

I'm so excited about this. We can let Bob's blood sugar get low and then high on purpose so people can see what it's like. Then everyone can watch him shoot up and eat glucose tablets.

And maybe we can get all the Stottlemeyer diabetics together and make a team called Type One!

I'll cover eating disorders if you teach diabetes.

then we just need an actual gravedigger and janitor to give testimonials and we're set.