Humor
Comedy is an amazingly powerful force, but also one of the most difficult and elusive skills. Humor is incredibly subjective, but also ubiquitous because of its diversity. John Waters is famous for his bad taste comedies like Pink Flamingos, and also hated by some for the same reason. The TV show Metalocalypse has won over a fanbase on its black sense of humor. And even today the late Buster Keaton is considered one of the true masters of physical comedy and slapstick. It gets rather complicated very quickly. Not only is it hard to be funny at all, but you have to consider your audience as well.
The Miser’s Dream – The magician takes out a quarter and a clear plastic cup. He asks the spectator to hold up his left arm and sputter his lips like a horse. The magician has now turned him into a crude slot machine. He asks the spectator to keep his arm up and pocket the quarter. The magician pulls down on the spectator’s arm, making appropriate sound effects. He holds the cup up to the spec’s mouth and tells him to sputter again. As soon as he does, the audience sees and hears a bunch of quarters drop into the cup. “Jackpot!” He hands the cup to the spectator who may now return to his seat. “Buy yourself a beer. Easy come, easy go.”
Slapstick is all about visual gags and generally isn’t very subtle. Gentle comedy relies more on plays on words and a jovial light-heartedness. Bad taste throws political correctness out the window and posts the videos of said defenestration on YouTube. Black comedy makes fun of death, dying, pain, sex, profanity, destruction… you get the idea. Off-beat comedy is more restrained than black and bad taste, but still not something you’d take the kids to see.
With all these choices, how do you go about it? Well first you want to decide whom the audience for this routine is. If you’re doing a children’s birthday party, you might want to channel Moe Howard more than John Waters. And if you’re performing at a Goth nightclub, consider that the audience would probably be more into The Amazing Jonathon than Larry the Cable Guy.
I know, I know, we’re not supposed to generalize and stereotype. But in this case, you’re better off doing just that. All it takes is one angry letter and your reputation is in deep- well, anyway…
Psychokinetic Silverware – The magician takes a fork and brags about how he can transform one object into another. He gives the fork a hard shake, and one of the tines warps. He pauses as the impact of what he’s done sinks in. “Don’t worry, I can fix it!” He stares at the fork for a moment and it begins to droop and bend downward over his hand. The magician panics and tries to rub out the bend, but it just curls even more around his finger. He tries to straighten it out and twists the head in his clumsy attempts to fix the tine only to find a corkscrew now in the handle. Several bends later and the magician stares at the mangled silverware in his hand, thinking frantically. “Behold!” he shouts. “I’ve turned it into modern art!” He hands the fork out. “I call it Goof Up #1.”
Comedy scripting also means that you’re going to have to be more flexible. Whether or not you get a laugh, whether someone wants to get in on the joke, when you get someone trying to be funnier than you… So many random variables that it really pays to be able to improv.
There are a few caveats to doing comedy, pitfalls to avoid. The most obvious one being that it’s not enough to just tell jokes. You have to have a sense of timing and be able to read an audience. Having a punchline isn’t enough, you have to have flow and rhythm to the routine.
You also want to avoid using profanity as a crutch. Every amateur gets up on their soapbox and starts swearing more than the characters in a Kevin Smith movie. As John Waters has pointed out, there’s a difference between good bad taste and bad taste. Profanity and vulgarity for its own sake isn’t funny. I’m not saying you can’t swear, as in some venues harsh language isn’t a problem. Just remember that a four-letter epithet is not inherently funny. And if you open your set with a filthy remark, you become a caricature of a comedian, which is about as far from funny as you can get.
Another sticking point is that you don’t want to be bitter. I know some of you are probably into George Carlin and Lewis Black, but keep in mind that these guys know how to make a rant funny. They’re not just up there complaining, because complaining isn’t funny. If you have the experience and the wit, you can make anger and outrage funny. But that’s not for amateurs. And no professional can make a lot of whiny blubbering, grunting, and grouching funny. Take it from a Slovak. I’m from a people that are good at three things: grouching, drinking, and taking lousy jobs from Irish people. And if you’ve ever met a Slav, you know we’re not particularly funny by nature.
Yet another thing to remember is not to tell stories. Dane Cook used to get away with that, but mostly because he always had another punchline coming up. The problem with telling stories is how long it takes to get to the point. Especially in comedy magic, you want to keep a good pace going, and if you take 5 minutes out of the routine to tell that story that played well at the bar, you’re going to completely derail that pacing you worked so hard for.
I’m also going to make a bit of a bold statement here. I do agree that you need to be courteous to your audience, but if it’s appropriate, playfully ribbing them can actually help a performance. Don’t think you can go out there and start acting like Don Rickles (though he is hilarious), but think of the kind of things you see in performances by The Amazing Jonathon.
What’s going on there? This is a facet of comedy performances that has to be handled with a deft hand. Think of the way you and your friends rib each other. You’re doing the same to the audience. You have to make them understand that you’re not being mean-spirited, and if you do this successfully you’re making whoever you’re joking about feel like your buddy. I wouldn’t recommend everyone do this, but I felt it was important enough to mention. Everything has its place.
Factory Sealed – The magician talks about money and piggy banks. Everybody has a place to keep spare change, but he’s a little paranoid so he tries to find novel places to keep his money safe. To demonstrate, he passes a coin straight through a factory-sealed bottle of water. He then points out the disadvantage of how easy it is to crack the defenses and drinks the contents. “On the upside, getting my money out is very refreshing.” He drops out the coin and picks it up, then explains that sometimes the safest place is you. He smacks the coin into the top of his head and it vanishes. He squirms a little starting at the neck and working down. He stomps his foot once and the coin appears under his shoe.
Remember that people can fake applause, but they can’t fake laughter. And no one style of comedy works for everybody. I know people who hate Chris Rock and love Bob Hope and I know people for whom the opposite is true. Again, it depends on the audience. Figure out who the target audience is going to be, figure out what your own style of humor is, and work from there. If you’re sarcastic and off-color, consider working the nightclubs. If you’re more of a restrained, light-hearted humorist, you may fit in better with a family crowd.
Comedy is an amazingly powerful force, but also one of the most difficult and elusive skills. Humor is incredibly subjective, but also ubiquitous because of its diversity. John Waters is famous for his bad taste comedies like Pink Flamingos, and also hated by some for the same reason. The TV show Metalocalypse has won over a fanbase on its black sense of humor. And even today the late Buster Keaton is considered one of the true masters of physical comedy and slapstick. It gets rather complicated very quickly. Not only is it hard to be funny at all, but you have to consider your audience as well.
The Miser’s Dream – The magician takes out a quarter and a clear plastic cup. He asks the spectator to hold up his left arm and sputter his lips like a horse. The magician has now turned him into a crude slot machine. He asks the spectator to keep his arm up and pocket the quarter. The magician pulls down on the spectator’s arm, making appropriate sound effects. He holds the cup up to the spec’s mouth and tells him to sputter again. As soon as he does, the audience sees and hears a bunch of quarters drop into the cup. “Jackpot!” He hands the cup to the spectator who may now return to his seat. “Buy yourself a beer. Easy come, easy go.”
Slapstick is all about visual gags and generally isn’t very subtle. Gentle comedy relies more on plays on words and a jovial light-heartedness. Bad taste throws political correctness out the window and posts the videos of said defenestration on YouTube. Black comedy makes fun of death, dying, pain, sex, profanity, destruction… you get the idea. Off-beat comedy is more restrained than black and bad taste, but still not something you’d take the kids to see.
With all these choices, how do you go about it? Well first you want to decide whom the audience for this routine is. If you’re doing a children’s birthday party, you might want to channel Moe Howard more than John Waters. And if you’re performing at a Goth nightclub, consider that the audience would probably be more into The Amazing Jonathon than Larry the Cable Guy.
I know, I know, we’re not supposed to generalize and stereotype. But in this case, you’re better off doing just that. All it takes is one angry letter and your reputation is in deep- well, anyway…
Psychokinetic Silverware – The magician takes a fork and brags about how he can transform one object into another. He gives the fork a hard shake, and one of the tines warps. He pauses as the impact of what he’s done sinks in. “Don’t worry, I can fix it!” He stares at the fork for a moment and it begins to droop and bend downward over his hand. The magician panics and tries to rub out the bend, but it just curls even more around his finger. He tries to straighten it out and twists the head in his clumsy attempts to fix the tine only to find a corkscrew now in the handle. Several bends later and the magician stares at the mangled silverware in his hand, thinking frantically. “Behold!” he shouts. “I’ve turned it into modern art!” He hands the fork out. “I call it Goof Up #1.”
Comedy scripting also means that you’re going to have to be more flexible. Whether or not you get a laugh, whether someone wants to get in on the joke, when you get someone trying to be funnier than you… So many random variables that it really pays to be able to improv.
There are a few caveats to doing comedy, pitfalls to avoid. The most obvious one being that it’s not enough to just tell jokes. You have to have a sense of timing and be able to read an audience. Having a punchline isn’t enough, you have to have flow and rhythm to the routine.
You also want to avoid using profanity as a crutch. Every amateur gets up on their soapbox and starts swearing more than the characters in a Kevin Smith movie. As John Waters has pointed out, there’s a difference between good bad taste and bad taste. Profanity and vulgarity for its own sake isn’t funny. I’m not saying you can’t swear, as in some venues harsh language isn’t a problem. Just remember that a four-letter epithet is not inherently funny. And if you open your set with a filthy remark, you become a caricature of a comedian, which is about as far from funny as you can get.
Another sticking point is that you don’t want to be bitter. I know some of you are probably into George Carlin and Lewis Black, but keep in mind that these guys know how to make a rant funny. They’re not just up there complaining, because complaining isn’t funny. If you have the experience and the wit, you can make anger and outrage funny. But that’s not for amateurs. And no professional can make a lot of whiny blubbering, grunting, and grouching funny. Take it from a Slovak. I’m from a people that are good at three things: grouching, drinking, and taking lousy jobs from Irish people. And if you’ve ever met a Slav, you know we’re not particularly funny by nature.
Yet another thing to remember is not to tell stories. Dane Cook used to get away with that, but mostly because he always had another punchline coming up. The problem with telling stories is how long it takes to get to the point. Especially in comedy magic, you want to keep a good pace going, and if you take 5 minutes out of the routine to tell that story that played well at the bar, you’re going to completely derail that pacing you worked so hard for.
I’m also going to make a bit of a bold statement here. I do agree that you need to be courteous to your audience, but if it’s appropriate, playfully ribbing them can actually help a performance. Don’t think you can go out there and start acting like Don Rickles (though he is hilarious), but think of the kind of things you see in performances by The Amazing Jonathon.
What’s going on there? This is a facet of comedy performances that has to be handled with a deft hand. Think of the way you and your friends rib each other. You’re doing the same to the audience. You have to make them understand that you’re not being mean-spirited, and if you do this successfully you’re making whoever you’re joking about feel like your buddy. I wouldn’t recommend everyone do this, but I felt it was important enough to mention. Everything has its place.
Factory Sealed – The magician talks about money and piggy banks. Everybody has a place to keep spare change, but he’s a little paranoid so he tries to find novel places to keep his money safe. To demonstrate, he passes a coin straight through a factory-sealed bottle of water. He then points out the disadvantage of how easy it is to crack the defenses and drinks the contents. “On the upside, getting my money out is very refreshing.” He drops out the coin and picks it up, then explains that sometimes the safest place is you. He smacks the coin into the top of his head and it vanishes. He squirms a little starting at the neck and working down. He stomps his foot once and the coin appears under his shoe.
Remember that people can fake applause, but they can’t fake laughter. And no one style of comedy works for everybody. I know people who hate Chris Rock and love Bob Hope and I know people for whom the opposite is true. Again, it depends on the audience. Figure out who the target audience is going to be, figure out what your own style of humor is, and work from there. If you’re sarcastic and off-color, consider working the nightclubs. If you’re more of a restrained, light-hearted humorist, you may fit in better with a family crowd.
