A STAGE is not usually the kind of place you’d expect to find an introvert* like Luke Morris, but the science-backed comedian says those rigid expectations are often what people get wrong about personality-types (according to research).
His new show An Introvert’s Guide to Extroverts is a mix of jokes, truths and charts, as he tackles personality science and pseudoscience, pokes fun at Carl Jung, and dissects the infamous Myers-Briggs test.
“I’m just interested in how people fit in,” Morris says. “Perhaps because I don’t fit in.
“Other people enjoy cricket becoming shorter and noisier, and libraries now having coffee shops, and fireworks… just, fireworks? Why do people like that stuff?
“Even crowds. It is good to have a large audience because it means I can pay rent, but secretly I’m often hopeful the theatre is mostly empty so I don’t have to deal with the crowd,” he says, adding “don’t tell my landlord”.
The show features Morris in the role of Matt Boring, an introverted classroom tutor who’s forced to present (and correct) a lecture written by an extraverted professor.
While stereotypes about introverts and extroverts loom large in the popular conscience, Morris says the idea that everyone fits neatly into strict categories is nonsense (*hence the asterisk up top).
“We try to categorise people into one or the other, when the truth is that we’re all probably somewhere along a line,” he says. “You’re not just either an introvert or an extrovert.”
Notorious
Morris says a lot of the popular ideas about strict categories stem from the notorious but persistently popular Myers-Briggs test.
The quiz sorts people into one of two types across four categories (like introvert/extrovert, or those who “think” versus those who “feel”). It’s beloved by many human resources departments at large companies who make job applicants sit the test under the belief that it can tell them who’s a good fit for the gig. But it doesn’t actually work.
“It’s like throwing darts at a board,” Morris says. If a company asks you to take one: “Don’t.” Alternatively: “Cheat! There are online courses to learn how to cheat a Myers-Briggs test, so you can just take one of those and get the perfect answer for the job you’re applying for!”
While he has introvert tendencies, every time Morris gets on stage is proof that people won’t always act according to a strict category, and he says it’s pretty common for comedians to be a bit introverted.
“We’re mostly nerds. Most standup comedians sit at home and write material in little notebooks, then get very frightened on stage and bluff their way through it.”
While Morris likes to be precise with facts, he’s also had a long-time talent for finding the funny in unexpected places.
“I wrote a stage play once that was meant to be a drama,” he says. “The producer said ‘this is a great comedy!’”
Luke Morris’ An Introvert’s Guide to Extroverts is in Fremantle for a preview show at the Sail & Anchor in Fremantle on Friday February 7, then he plays at SciTech on February 8 and 9, tickets via fringeworld.com.au
by DAVID BELL
Perth Voice Interactive 
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