Is there a bit of slang in performance art called the “nosebleed?” If not, there should be. I’m not sure what it would pertain to, but something to do with blasting through obstacles in a performance. The urban dictionary has a few interesting definitions of nosebleed, and as is common with the urban dictionary, every word has to have at least two sexual definitions, whether they make sense or not. One seemingly normal definition, however, was:
- Metaphorically used to describe incredible heights
- Metaphorically used to describe incredible speeds
I can get behind this definition as a starting point for deriving a whole new definition of the “nosebleed” in the context of performance art (such as Stand-up Comedy, for example).
Why the keen interest in the nosebleed? It comes from my latest travels during the holiday season. While on the road, I spent some days in Portland, OR and there just happened to be a few Comedy Open Mics during the nights I was in town. Well, hell yeah, I’ll sign up and do a few minutes of my shit for P-town. It was cool how many performers there actually were at the different clubs in town. Portland has a nice little comedy scene going, and it seems like the crowds are quite supportive.