Can performers provide any context to their material?
Yes and no. Context is often the most important aspect about what makes our pieces work. That said, we try to keep context to occupy only a small percentage of the presentation, nd we really stress that performers use context to reveal inforamtion about their life, but not to use to insert jokes. Our audiences are laughing at material that was never written with a comic awareness, so being jokey can actually hurt a performance. In fact, when standups read in the show, we usually have to tone down their instincts.
