CREATING COMEDY

“Some of the greatest comedians of all time

never ad-libbed a line in their lives.”

But I’m Not Funny!

At this juncture, you may be thinking, “But I’m not funny!” It’s entirely rational to think that. When you watch a performer as gifted as Robin Williams, it is easy to become in- timidated. But the truth is, everyone is funny. You’re funny too! This doesn’t mean you will be the next Robin Williams. Performers like Williams spent years honing their craft. Fortunately, learners don’t expect Robin Williams. What they expect is a boring class- room. What they want is an escape from that boredom.

Learners are so desperate for humor, and the learning environment so devoid of it, that a mildly amusing presentation is often enough. You certainly have the capacity to be mildly amusing. The remainder of this chapter provides you with tools and insights to help you tap into your natural comedic abilities.

Comedians are often no funnier than you or I. When comedians are off stage, many of them are actually reflective. They must be so. For their comedic material is based on deep insights about the world around them. Deep insight is difficult, if not impossible, without reflection. In How to Be Funny, writer Jane Wollman recorded comedian Steve Allen’s observations:

“The popular conception of a humorist or comedian is of someone who writes, does or says funny things. But a funny person is also someone to whom funny things happen. The comedian’s experiences are probably no more amusing than other’s; he or she simply has a certain sensitivity

to the environment and circumstances and so perceives humor that a more serious person might miss.”35

All the best performers have this ability. In 2002, the A&E Television Network selected whom they considered to be the greatest comedians of all times. Their choices were Steve Allen, Lucille Ball, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Carol Burnett, Sid Caesar, Johnny Carson, Bill Cosby, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Ernie Kovacs, Steve Martin, Groucho Marx, Richard Pryor, and Robin Williams.

Every one of these comics was (is) a great performer. Most of them were (are) not ad-libbers. Virtually all of them did their best work by following a routine. For example, Groucho Marx’s classic You Bet your Life game show was entirely scripted.36_{So were most}

of Johnny Carson’s The Tonight Show conversations. Ditto with Bob Hope’s monologues. It’s not that comedians don’t improvise. They do. But their improvisation relies upon a carefully built-up store of memorized material. Comedians draw from, and expand on, that material during a performance. To the audience, it looks spontaneous. For the per- former, superb craftsmanship and a great memory are at work. The words of Steve Allen are illustrative:

“Comics with this ability [to ad-lib] are extremely rare. There may be fewer than fifty professional comedians on the planet that are skilled at doing it. [Most] comedians are indeed working without a script, but there is the crucial distinction that what they are doing is recalling jokes that already exist, which they apply to the situation of the moment. This is no small feat either, since one has to think rapidly and also have a remarkable mem- ory—a memory card file through which the comic’s brain can riffle at light- ning speed. But again, as impressive as this feat is, it is more a matter of craftsmanship and professionalism than art.”37

We now turn our attention to this craftsmanship as we explore some joke telling formulas the comedians use to create their art. In the process, we will view several templates and worksheets that may aid you in creating jokes tailored to your learning environment.

Joke Structure

“It’s not wise to violate the rules until

you know how to observe them.”

Most comedy is built around a basic structure involving three steps:

1. Introduction. First, the subject is introduced in a way that builds curiosity. 2. Detail. Next, additional detail is added. The details build curiosity and tension

without giving away the surprise. As a general rule, the longer the tension can be sustained, the greater the laugh will be in the surprise ending that follows.

3. Surprise. Finally, a surprise ending occurs. This ending releases the tension built during the joke, fits the Introduction and the Detail, but is not the ex- pected conclusion.

For example, here’s a joke for the magicians of the world:

My Dad, the Magician

On the first day of school, the teacher went around the room, asking each child about his or her family.

“What’s your father’s occupation?” asked the teacher to one boy. “He’s a magician, Ma’am,” said the boy.

“How interesting.” replied the teacher. “What trick does he do?” “He saws people in half.”

“Interesting! Who else is in your family?” “One half brother and two half sisters.”

Now, let’s look at how the three steps work in this joke.

On the first day of school, the teacher went around the room, asking each child about his or her their family.

1. Introduction. First, the subject is introduced. We can immediately picture the teacher quizzing each class member. Interestingly, the age of the boy, his name, and the class size are left out. Those details would not add value to the joke, and thus are omitted.

“What’s your father’s occupation?” asked the teacher to one boy. “He’s a magician, Ma’am,” said the boy.

“How interesting.” replied the teacher. “What trick does he do?” “He saws people in half.”

2. Detail. Next, additional detail is added. We learn that the father is the magi- cian, and that his trick is sawing people in half. We begin to wonder who else is in the family, and what skills they might hold.

“One half brother and two half sisters.”

3. Surprise. Much to our surprise, we discover that the subject of the joke is not the family members, but rather the dual meaning of the word “half” and that the word applies to this situation in more than one way, and that the second appli- cation implies magic tricks gone awry.

Table 5-2 provides a template for writing jokes. Use it to create some of your own. With this basic structure in mind, we will now explore different categories of comedy, beginning with Comedic Words.

Comedic Words

Instructors know that words are powerful tools. So do comedians. Much of comedy is based on placing the right word in the right context at precisely the right moment. Below are four different word formulas comedians use:

>Silly Sounds >Double Talk >‘Punnish’ment >Saying the Opposite >Twist

>Multiple Twist

SILLY SOUNDS

In comedy, all words are not equal. Some are more powerful because they sound silly. See if you can select the comedic words from the listing in Table 5-3.

Comedic words provide an immediate comedic edge. Some words, such as grape, are not funny. Other words, suc;h as papaya, are. The word carrot does not inspire laughs.

1. Funny words have more than one syllable. 2. Funny words include hard consonants.

3. Funny words have syllables that create an unusual rhythm.

The cartoon Witches’ Brew, on page 109, provides on example. Where the words Turkish

crown can be mildly amusing, circus clown has a decidedly funny ring to it. JOKE CREATION TEMPLATE