by Olga Kostrova, Managing Parter of SocialAgenda Media.

During the last few weeks I had the pleasure to see brilliant performances by Brian Copeland, one of the speakers represented by our speakers bureau, Brian is an entertaining speaker, actor, comedian, radio talk show host, playwright and author. Copeland has been the opening act for artists such as Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin and Ringo Starr. I was deeply touched by Brian’s one-man plays.

Today I had the pleasure of having a conversation with him about his work and view on life that I would like to share with you. If you follow me on Facebook you know I love quotes. They often say what I don’t have to  So, I will lean on them again…

Olga Kostrova: “A joke is a very serious thing”, said Winston Churchill. Do you have any process that helps you to come up with lines for your stand-up comedy performances and jokes for your speeches?

Brian Copeland: The process is the same for all of the work that I do. The joke or a funny observation will strike me. It’s usually when I’m not thinking about it (i.e. showering or running). I’ll jot the idea down in my notebook and that becomes the seed. Then, at some point, I’ll sit down with the idea and elaborate on it. I’ll draw it out every which way I can think of. When I think I’ve got something, I’ll try it out on an audience. I keep what works and dump the rest. Sometimes, a throw away part of the piece that I didn’t expect to get a laugh WILL get a laugh, and I build from there.

Olga Kostrova: Albert Einstein said “Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe”. Mark Twain echoed him with “Everything human is pathetic. The secret source of humor itself is not joy but sorrow”. Is that the place from which the last two of your shows were created? There is a lot of compassion in the humor, yet a lot of profound sadness…

Brian Copeland: I’m a firm believer in the adage “Great comedy is pain plus time”. I think that for every hardship, once you’re through the dark tunnel and out of it, there is the seed of an equivalent benefit. My solo plays come from this place. They are humor and pathos. Just like life.

Olga Kostrova: Bill Cosby once said: “You can turn painful situations around through laughter. If you can find humor in anything, even poverty, you can survive it”. How does your work help to uplift people in tough times?

Brian Copeland: Bill Cosby is brilliant. I work with him every time he comes to the Bay Area and I learn so much from him. I think that the two plays I’ve written and staged to date, “NOT A GENUINE BLACK MAN” and “THE WAITING PERIOD”, illustrate that as bad as things may seem, be it due to racism or mental illness or physical infirmity or anything else, eventually it will pass and things will get better. That sense of hopeful optimism that both shows end on uplifts people.

Olga Kostrova: Aristotle said “The secret to humor is surprise.” Now after almost four decades as a human, how do you find space within yourself to be surprised to surprise others?

Probably by looking at life as a series of unexpected twists and turns. Every time I think that I have something figured out, there’s curve ball thrown that I didn’t see coming.

Olga Kostrova: “I don’t want to achieve immortality through my work … I want to achieve immortality through not dying”, said Woody Allen. How about your work? To what extent it is a means or an end for you?

Brian Copeland: I’d like to think that I can create something that will stand the test of time so that a hundred or a thousand years from now, people will know that I was here.

Olga Kostrova: Bill Watterson said “Reality continues to ruin my life”. What are the eyes through which you choose to see reality?

Brian Copeland: I see the stark truth. In my work I look for the overlooked details in circumstances and situations. I’m searching for the little things that affect us that we overlook because we are merely glancing at the subtleties. As they say, the devil is in the details.

Olga Kostrova: Your theatrical performance “Waiting Period”, which I loved, reminded me of another Woody Allen quote: “Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering – and it’s all over much too soon.”  You speak a lot for suicide prevention organizations, youth groups and other support organizations. How do you inspire people to love what is?

Brian Copeland: I try to spread the message that suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. We have to live through the cycles of life on life’s terms. Everything is constantly changing. Good situations will become challenges. Challenges will become good situations. We will be happy when we are able to simply ride the wave.

Olga Kostrova: You do a lot of motivational speaking for various audiences. What structural approach to preparation of the speech do you have besides the one suggested by Winston Churchill “A good speech should be like a woman’s skirt: long enough to cover the subject and short enough to create interest” <smile> ?

Brian Copeland: I start with a concept and write bullet points for stories and anecdotes that I can convey that work within the themes that I’m presenting. A lot of what I do is extemporaneous. It comes from the top of my head while I’m presenting what I’ve jotted down. No two audiences get the same talk.

Olga Kostrova: “The culture industry not so much adapts to the reactions of its customers as it counterfeits them”, said a sociologist Theodor Adorno. How do you find this reflected in your art? What is the origin of your messages, to what degree do they influence your audiences compared to the audiences influencing them?

Brian Copeland: My work is all very personal. I’m naked on that stage telling audiences things that I never expected to tell another living soul. Audiences either respond and relate, or they don’t. I’ve been very, very fortunate that they have responded. We’re simpatico most of the time. If I tailored my stage work for specific crowds, it wouldn’t be MY art anymore. Speeches and talks are different in that I’m generally being asked to speak on a certain theme.

Olga Kostrova: “He who has laughter on his side has no need of proof”, Adormo also said. How about you, Brian? Are you free? Do you find yourself at the point of life where you are free from the society and its imposed values? How do you find balance between opinions and the voice of your own heart?

Brian Copeland: I do my work for me. I do it to be true to me. It’s like Ricky Nelson said in GARDEN PARTY, “You know you can’t please everybody so you have to please yourself.” That is the most liberating attitude an artist can have. I do what I think works. I hope that you like it, but if it isn’t your particular cup of tea, that’s fine.

Olga Kostrova: What is next for Brian? Where does your beautiful soul seem to be taking you?

Brian Copeland: I’ve got two new plays that will open in San Francisco this year. Both solos that I’ll perform. I’m working on a novella based on one of them. It’s a very sweet Christmas themed memoir called, THE JEWELRY BOX. We’re in the process of putting together a performance film version of Genuine for television and dvd. I’m also in the process of creating a new television series. I start on the pilot script as soon as I finish writing the novella.

* * *

I would like to express my gratitude for Brian’s work and his beautiful presence in our work. We love you, darling…

To invite Brian to speak or perform at your event please get in touch.