你真的看懂脱口秀了么?.

　　Several US presidents including Barack Obama bid farewell to talk show king David Letterman, 68, during his final episode of the “Late Show” last week by playfully announcing, “Our long, national nightmare is over.”

　　上周，68岁的美国“脱口秀之王”大卫?莱特曼奉上了他的最后一场《深夜秀》，在节目中包括奥巴马在内好几位美国总统都给大卫送去了告别，他们玩笑地宣布：“我们国家悠长的噩梦终于要结束了。”

　　Thousands of miles away, an audience in Beijing would later get a preview of the future of talk shows in China. Performing at the First Chinese Talk Show Art Festival on Thursday held in Beijing, comedian Xi Jiangyue, 33, sparked laughter in the audience. Not yet as prevalent as they are in some Western countries, talk shows in China are building a growing young audience who watch Chinese talk shows such as “The Dapeng Xiu”.

　　千里之外的中国，却有观众看到了中国脱口秀的未来。上周四，首届中国脱口秀艺术节在北京举行，33岁的脱口秀演员西江月的表演让现场笑声不断。脱口秀已经不只是流行于西方国家的节目，越来越多年轻的中国观众加入观看脱口秀的队伍，比如(国产脱口秀)《大鹏嘚吧嘚》就很受欢迎。

　　The talk show TV programming format has existed in the US since the 1950s, and now it’s being adapted for Chinese audiences. But there are still core similarities that make a talk show a talk show no matter where it’s being presented.

　　二十世纪五十年代，脱口秀作为一种电视节目形式出现于美国;现在，经过改编，更加对中国观众口味的脱口秀也已出现。但是，无论在哪里上演，脱口秀的核心元素都是相似的。

　　Team fort

　　团队共同努力

　　In general, behind every talk show host’s comedic monologue is a team of busy creative writers. Letterman’s monologues have earned the reputation of being the gold standard in the business. In the past 33 years, more than 90 writers churned out countless remarkable and thought-provoking jokes to fit Letterman’s comedy style, former “Late Show” head writer Steve O’Donnell told entertainment news website Vulture.

　　一般而言，在每一档脱口秀主持人搞笑的段子背后都有一支忙碌创作的作家团队。莱特曼的段子声誉极高，堪称脱口秀行业的标杆。在接受娱乐新闻网站Vulture采访时，《深夜秀》的前首席作家斯蒂夫?奥东尼尔就透露：在过去的33年间，曾有超过90位作家为莱特曼量身定做了不计其数令人印象深刻又引人深思的笑话。

　　“I really wanted the people writing this show to be so much funnier and so much smarter than I was,” Letterman told Vulture bore his retirement. “I think that’s exactly the way you’ve got to run a show like this.”

　　莱特曼在退休前也曾接受过Vulture网的采访，他说：“我特别希望在这些作家的笔下，我的节目能比我自身更有趣、更睿智。我觉得，这也是每个人做秀的必经之路。”

　　Musical vibe

　　音乐营造氛围

　　A talk show isn’t just about talking. Having an in-house band has been standard since Steve Allen’s “The Tonight Show” premiered half a century ago. The band opens the show, punctuates jokes with jolts of energetic instrumentation, and wraps the program up at the end of the night.

　　脱口秀不只是聊天，自从半个世纪前史蒂夫?艾伦的《今夜秀》开始，室内乐队已经成为脱口秀的标配。他们为秀开场，在搞笑段子中间插入充满活力的乐器伴奏，最后为节目收场。

　　“It’s a vital part of the format and adds so much energy, especially for the audience during the commercials,” US talk show host Jimmy Kimmel told showbiz magazine Variety. “We have such a versatile band they can play along with anything.”

　　在接受娱乐杂志《综艺》采访时，美国脱口秀主持人吉米?坎摩尔就说：“乐队是脱口秀极为重要的一部分，他们不仅为秀带来活力，也让现场观众在广告时间不会感到无聊。我的秀就有一支多才多艺的乐队，没有什么是他们伴奏不了的。”

　　Special guests

　　特别嘉宾现身

　　From comedian Ellen DeGeneres’ love of playing games with the stars on her show, to Jon Stewart’s comedic celebrity interviews, how hosts interact with their special guests is an indispensable part of the talk show formula.

　　不管是喜爱在秀中和明星做游戏的主持人艾伦?德詹尼丝，还是做明星访谈秀的乔恩?斯图尔特，主持人与特别嘉宾之间的互动也是脱口秀必不可少的环节。

　　Guest celebrities and politicians have been known to conduct talk show tours to promote their latest causes and conduct needed damage control after embarrassing public mistakes. For example, US actress Anne Hathaway (“Interstellar”, “The Dark Knight Rises”) has been invited to “The Daily Show” five times to discuss her career.

　　名人政客去脱口秀做嘉宾多是为了宣传自己最近的活动，或是危机公关。比如，为给自己的演艺事业助力，美国演员安妮?海瑟薇(主演电影《星际穿越》《蝙蝠侠：黑暗骑士崛起》)曾五次受邀参加《每日秀》。

　　Being a member of the studio audience is one of the best ways for someone to get an up-close look at their celebrity crush. But fans must plan in advance. While talk show tickets are normally free, the waitlist often extends six months into the future, according to about.com’s Thomas Tennant.

　　对于粉丝而言，成为观众坐在演播厅无疑是近距离围观偶像的最佳选择。但是，一定要早做准备。来自about.com网站的托马斯?坦南特就透露：正常情况下，脱口秀的门票都是免费的，但是，常常需要提前半年开始预定。