The Comedic Perspective
“The golden age is before us, not behind us.”
Life becomes the product of how you perceive it. A comedic perspective can be expressed in a condensed sentence. Or you may choose to write a detailed explanation of how you are able to see the absurdity of life. I find it easier to simply say “Life is a joke” or “People do the craziest things” or “I’ll never understand why people do something” or “People can be such idiots.” It may be all of these things or none of them. However, I encourage you to verbalize your own thoughts on your philosophy of what makes you laugh at the ironies and absurdities of life.
Human beings exist in a box, the parameters of which are formed by the limitations of your understanding and expression. I encourage you to expand those limitations. Kick out the sides of your box to include unusual ways of examining life. Learn how to think, not what to think. Read the great philosophers, the great comics. You should endeavor to always be in the midst of reading something that challenges your mind and, questions what you have been taught to believe.
Experimentation
When you first begin writing, you will amass the best material that you can think of. Do not be surprised when your performance works better than you thought it would and do not despair when it fails. There is an element of beginners luck, and fresh beginners bring an excited energy to the stage that is difficult to repeat time-after-time.
Some material might only be dependable for a few times while others will become trusted ammunition. You will continue to write, perform, evolve and improve. You will drop weaker bits and add stronger material that is timely.
Open mike nights often limit your time on stage, so it is easier to begin with material you have confidence in. Then add new things you like, try some experimental stuff in the middle, and end with the strongest bits in your arsenal. Start and end with a bang. Most importantly, leave them laughing.
Sometimes a comic will think an idea is very funny. It may get laughs
half the time give-or-take, but the bit never develops into a sure hitter;
something you can depend on again-and-again. Psychologists conducted
tests to determine the main differences between humans and rats. One big
difference was that no 4 legged rat ever ran for public office.
They built a small maze for rats with cheese at the end and a much larger maze one for the humans with money at the end. There was very little difference until they took away the cheese and the money. The rats stopped looking for the cheese after awhile, but the humans never stopped looking for the money. The lesson learned by psychologists is a lesson all humans need to learn. IF WHAT YOU ARE DOING DOES NOT ACHIEVE THE DESIRED RESULT, TRY SOMETHING ELSE.
Seeking the path of the stand-up comedian is a process of discovery. I wish I could tell you how to do it, step-by-step, and then you could complete the forms and you would become a great professional comic but it does not work that way. The craft is so individual that you will have to chop your own way through the jungle. The more you follow the paths of others, the less original you become. That isn’t to say I don’t want you to study the masters and beginners as well, I want you to realize that your jokes, monologue, way of expressing yourself, developing timing, finding your voice, finding your persona will require you to constantly examine your own character and personality. Experiment with many ways of writing and performing. Some methods will work for you and others will not. Most of the professional comics I know and have studied and struggled in the beginning because they tried so many different styles and methods before finding what was workable and comfortable for them. You will stumble on ways to work in the beginning and be guided by advice and encouragement.
This is all part of the process. Don’t think that when you’ve learned a grain of truth that you have made a loaf of bread. Don’t become stuck and married in material because it helped you overcome the first hurdles. Continue to experiment and test the waters. This is how you will grow and evolve.
I often see comics doing the same material year-after-year. The material may still get laughs, but a good comic is always writing and the material they perform on stage will evolve as well.
The newer stuff should shadow the old material because you will
be growing as a writer and performer. Don’t get married to your material.
It may stop loving you in return. It is a sad thing to watch a marriage go sour
in front of a live audience. Think of your material as a living organization
that will change and mature.
L=SPn
This concept is an elementary one that first helped me to understand how to teach basic elements of stand-up comedy and monologue writing. It is not
etched in stone and should not be treated as a formula for replacing the
creative process. It is an attempt to break a humorous comment into basic elements for the sake of explanation.
In the equation, L represents laughter. It’s laughter we’re after. Groans, moans are often taken as positive responses but club managers, bookers and talent scouts will see these responses as negative ones.
L
The number one reason audiences do not laugh at beginning comics is the audience doesn’t think what you said was funny. Sometimes they are confused by what you said.
A comic uses visual and auditory stimuli to elicit laughter and other responses at different moments. If your message is unclear, incomplete, vague, ambiguous, the audience may not get the joke. The concept may be brilliant but there is no substitute for clear, concise communication.
S
The S in the equation represents the setup. Aim for as short a setup as possible. Under this working definition, a setup consists of two basic components. You must first establish a topic, subject. If the joke is about driving, you must tell the audience some way that you are going to be making a point about driving. The process can be reversed if the punch line includes the word driving as a surprise, but, eventually, the topic of driving must be mentioned.
An elderly female stand-up comedian, with whom I know has a setup that goes, “Drivers these days can be so rude! This one young man sped past me on the right and gave me the bird, you know, like ‘fuck you’.” The joke is about rude drivers. We don’t need a long description of where she had been or where she was going or what kind of cars were involved or the name of the highway. Get to the point with a brief and concise establishment of a topic. Do not sacrifice clarity by being too brief but chose your words wisely. Precision is a major factor. When you perform the joke it is important to change or add words to make the language sound natural,
spontaneous and conversational. A good performer will make a sentence
sound as though it was just thought of out of the blue, just as a good actor can make a line sound fresh night after night. You must know which words are critical, and must be delivered in a precise way to make the joke work. The other words are just window dressing that can changed or altered slightly and serve the purpose of keeping the material sounding genuine time-and-time again. A setup can also be in the form of a question.
S
The second part of a setup is an assertion or an opinion. To continue with the afore mentioned setup, “Drivers today can be so rude,” the assertion is that drivers are sometimes rude is an assertion. It could also be put into the form of a question. “Why are drivers so damn rude?” The point remains that an opinion is asserted. The assertion can be general and non-specific or direct and pointed depending on the purposes of the writer. I use the term “assertion” because the opinion can be questionable or arguable. The assertion may or may not even be factual. The requirement is simply that an opinion easier for the comic to sell and be more plausible. It is hard to buy jokes about marriage from a nine-year old child.
The P in the equation refers to the almighty punch line. Punch lines are
usually words but can also include actions, facial or physical expressions, or sounds that elicit laughter. Often the punch line is a reaction, or an exaggeration of a specific irony implied in the setup. The aim of the punch line statement is to make your point hilariously clear by your dramatization or exaggeration. It may sound over simplified but think of a punch line as anything you say or do that gets a laugh.
Using the setup, “Drivers today can be so rude! One young man sped past me on the right and gave me the bird.” The elderly comic chose … “gave me the bird, you know, like ‘f- — — you’” as her trigger and her punch line is as follows; “I chased him down but he didn’t really mean it.”
P
The n in the equation designates multiple punch lines. More than one punch line following a single set up in rapid succession of another. The equation would be “to the power of n, “an undetermined number.” A comic builds momentum with this technique
In the elderly comic’s joke, she uses this element when she mentioned that the driver had made an obscene gesture to her. At this point she demonstrates the use of the gesture, which gets a laugh. She does a quick setup, punch, and then continues with a more punch lines.
Another comic named, Frank O. uses this technique in a joke about airline food. “I was flying into town and we were having a very rough approach to the landing.”
n
“It got so bad that I actually became a little sick to my stomach. That airline food didn’t taste so bad the second time. At least it was warm. The guy next to me asked ‘Are you going to finish that?’” It is a gross joke but it is a great example of a setup followed by multiple punch lines.
Another example is his joke about the first standup comic in history. “Did you know that the first cruise ship comic in history Noah’s Ham?” This is not merely a setup. It is a beautiful premise. A good premise will be the motor that causes a joke to practically write itself.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Ark Comedy Night. My name is Ham and I’ll be your host. I’ll be here all week so be sure and tell all your friends about the show. I’ll be here all week. Next week we have a wonderful and biting comedy team, the Fabulous Hyenas.
I’d like to make a couple of announcements; the restrooms on the ark are, pretty much anywhere. Move to the side of the room if possible. I see there are a lot of couples in the crowd tonight. You know there’s nothing worse than being the third wheel on a night out. If you are the extra member of a species, that means you ARE dinner. A little warning, tonight’s dinner specials are a few hecklers from the early show, so keep your table talk and comments to a minimum. In case of emergency there are no life rafts, so my advice is, uh, grab a duck.
Along with being the host of the Ark Magic and Comedy club, I am also the activity director. One quick reminder; there will be no fishing allowed
from the Ark. Unfortunately we only brought two worms.”
The premise is created by combining things typically said in a comedy club with the conditions and elements of the Ark story. This easier when you make lists of both the Ark situation and comedy clubs situations
Find the Trigger
Find the Trigger “all the world’s a setup” for someone who is trained to see the ironic humor in life around them. Some setups are more fertile than others and “smell funny”, and beg for a smart aleck reaction.
Writer’s Block
New comedy writers often confuse writer’s block with setups that are not fertile ground for sprouting jokes. A writer will drill dry hole after dry hole but when the proper ground is explored, it is as if the joke writes itself.
When you first start, choose the stories and topics that you can’t resist popping off about. Look for the idea demands a reaction. Your attitude or opinion will show up in your response.
Simile
The simile is one of the most rudimentary ways to create a joke. A simile is a form of analogy: a figure of speech. Analogy points out striking similarities between things that are usually considered different from one another. Simile is one of the most common types of figurative speech used
in everyday conversation.
Analogy
Analogy can dramatize a point to make it absurd and elicit laughter. It is identified by the use of the words “like” and “as,” A republican being a environmentalist is like a vegetarian owning a steak house.” “That’s like burning down the barn to get rid of the rats.” “That’s like burning books to protect the truth.”
Attitude
Delivery of comedy material requires an attitude that supports believability. If the words “love” or “hate” are used, there must be voice inflection, body posture, and tone that believe the message. Even if “love” is sarcastic, the attitude behind the voice inflection will send the real message.
Once the driving emotion and attitude behind the message are defined, they
can be played or “sold” honestly. The audience usually knows how you feel
by your opinions. No matter how absurd or off-the-wall your assertion may be, you can sell it with a matching attitude.
Misdirection
Some jokes include misdirection. In order to misdirect one must direct. When one intends to mislead, he is leading. The purpose of misleading is to keep the listener from seeing the joke or surprise at the end of the joke.
Attitude is an effective tool in the art of misdirection. Often when the surprise at the end is revealed there is also a new, different, or opposite attitude revealed.
When playing an attitude, it is important to hold and continue to play one attitude until you switch to another. If you drop one attitude and go into neutral, there will be gaps in your believability. To be ones self genuinely and communicate naturally with the audience can be the most effective misdirection.
I don’t want your material to sound like a series of unconnected one-liners. I would prefer that there be a seamless flow. When you first begin, it is difficult to have a five-minute act that flows. You are just starting to write funny material and experiment. Take your time and enjoy the ride.
When trying new material some will work and some won’t. The rule is SW, SW, SW. Some work, some won’t, so what?
You might write a full page of jokes about your pervert uncle and only write
one good line. At least you wrote one good line. The remainder must be shelved for the time being so you can compose a reliable five minute set.
