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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Jun 23, 2010 8:02pm
Anyone like to discuss comedy. performing comedy and tips?
www.procomedywriting.com
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Skip Way
Inner circle
3452 Posts
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Posted: Jun 23, 2010 8:41pm
Absolutely, CW! Great idea bringing it here.
Proudly Serving the Magic Community in the Old North State
I.B.M. T.V.P. North Carolina
www.Magic-NC.com
I.B.M. Youth/Magic Youth Raleigh
RaleighMagicClub.org
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magicgeorge
Inner circle
Belfast
4003 Posts
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Posted: Jun 24, 2010 1:40pm
I agree, great idea, however your post is a bit like trying to start a conversation at a dinner party by going "Everyone talk about politics, ready, steady, go!"
Is there any particular area of comedy you'd like to talk about or view points you'd like to share?
G
Magician Belfast
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The Burnaby Kid
Inner circle
GwangJu, South Korea
2720 Posts
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Posted: Jun 24, 2010 3:37pm
Quote:
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On 2010-06-23 20:02, Comedy Writer wrote:
Anyone like to discuss comedy. performing comedy and tips?
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Tips? Sure. Be funny.
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Frank Starsini
Eternal Order
Northern California
12251 Posts
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Posted: Jun 24, 2010 6:11pm
Here's a tip:
Comedy bits are not the only thing that make people laugh.
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate,
Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder.
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Donal Chayce
Inner circle
The City of Angels
1771 Posts
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Posted: Jun 24, 2010 7:49pm
Okay, I'll start.
In crafting my routines, it's important to me that the humor be organic and largely contextual, and that it not be something that simply gets pasted on to provoke a laugh. To that end, I discovered that once I had thoroughly defined my performing character, including his back story, it was significantly easier to come up with original funny lines, bits and situations.
And, as an added bonus, there's a greater emotional honesty to it as well.
The MacGician ®
***********
The fates lead him who will...him who won't, they drag.
-Seneca
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Pizpor
Loyal user
275 Posts
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Posted: Jun 24, 2010 8:06pm
I agree. Having a character and knowing what makes them tick makes the job a lot easier.
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The Burnaby Kid
Inner circle
GwangJu, South Korea
2720 Posts
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Posted: Jun 24, 2010 9:13pm
Quote:
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On 2010-06-24 19:49, Donal Chayce wrote:
Okay, I'll start.
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Aw... I thought I had a pretty good answer earlier...
I suppose there are some other aspects to comedy that could be addressed, though.
1) Inspire an atmosphere of play. People need to feel they have permission to laugh (or show any major extreme emotion) -- that's why they've had laugh tracks on sitcoms forever. We don't get laugh tracks, so we need to cultivate the atmosphere ourselves that says it's ok to laugh.
2) Understand the things that work in comedy that can be brought into magic. Things like plays on status, humourous observations, recognition of callbacks, ironic reversals of expectation, slapstick, etc. can all be put to good use. That means studying comedy.
3) Realize that anything can be made funny somehow. The Holocaust is not funny. A serious movie about the Holocaust is not funny. Jerry Seinfeld being caught by his parents making with his girlfriend during a move about the Holocaust is funny. If you pay attention to the points made earlier by Donal, and assess yourself thoroughly as an outsider would, you can probably find something that hilarious about you that you didn't even know existed, and it'll be honest. If the Holocaust can be a part of a comedic moment, there's no excuse that you can't be.
4) Pay attention to Frank's point, that laughter can come from a lot of places, not just traditional comedy. People often laugh just out of surprise. As magicians, we frequently create surprises. No brainer.
5) Be funny. That one rule trumps everything else.
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Jun 25, 2010 11:41am
"5) Be funny. That one rule trumps everything else."
thank you and good night
www.procomedywriting.com
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Donal Chayce
Inner circle
The City of Angels
1771 Posts
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Posted: Jun 25, 2010 6:00pm
Quote:
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On 2010-06-25 11:41, Comedy Writer wrote:
"5) Be funny. That one rule trumps everything else."
thank you and good night
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 Darn, I was hoping that this thread would go on for a while.
The MacGician ®
***********
The fates lead him who will...him who won't, they drag.
-Seneca
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Frank Starsini
Eternal Order
Northern California
12251 Posts
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Posted: Jun 28, 2010 8:53pm
Quote:
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On 2010-06-24 19:49, Donal Chayce wrote:
Okay, I'll start.
In crafting my routines, it's important to me that the humor be organic and largely contextual, and that it not be something that simply gets pasted on to provoke a laugh. To that end, I discovered that once I had thoroughly defined my performing character, including his back story, it was significantly easier to come up with original funny lines, bits and situations.
And, as an added bonus, there's a greater emotional honesty to it as well.
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This is a good point. I'm going to have to think about this post to see how what I do compares.
www.theambitiouscard.com Hand Crafted Magic
Trophy Husband, Father of the Year Candidate,
Chippendale's Dancer applicant, Unofficial World Record Holder.
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Ola
Loyal user
Australia / Sweden
245 Posts
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Posted: Jun 28, 2010 10:17pm
This book proved it's weight in gold for me:
http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Up-Comedy-Book-Judy-Carter/dp/0440502438
Cheers!
O
You laugh because I'm different. I laugh because you are all the same...
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Jun 29, 2010 12:39pm
A very useful book - in my top 5 to recommend to comedy students.
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Jul 14, 2010 2:53pm
What your favorite book on writing comedy?
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Jul 20, 2010 3:52pm
Comedy writing step by step - Gene Perret
www.procomedywriting.com
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Lawrence O
Inner circle
Paris France
6321 Posts
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Posted: Jul 22, 2010 9:02am
I had never heard of it. I looked it up in Amazon and immediately ordered it Thanks.
Karl Iglesias: Writing for Emotional Impact
Blake Snyder: Save The Cat
Juan Tamariz has a lecture DVD only dedicated on comedy in magic not based on jokes but rhythm rupture.
Magic is not a performing art where people don't know how situations are reached, it's the art of showing parallel dimensions that can't be reached
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MagicJuggler
Special user
Anchorage, AK
918 Posts
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Posted: Jul 22, 2010 3:39pm
I don't know much about theory in general, but there are a few things that work for me. Here's a few at random.
When I was studying theater, one of my professors made the observation that most comedy works through either an over-expenditure of energy or an under-expenditure of energy. If you watch a lot of stand-up comedy you'll know what he was talking about. Think old school Howie Mandell vs. Steven Wright. Two extremely different comedic approaches. If you are aware of your energy level as you are performing you can self-assess and play with either amping up the energy or trying to tone down your delivery. I think what you choose needs to be consistant with your character as a performer, or else you'll kill the comedy simply by confusing the audience and by appearing contrived. If the audience feels like you're not being genuine, you've lost them.
While you're chewing on that, here's a few other thoughts...
I find that in close interaction with an audience, one way I "bond" with an audience, is acknowledge when a spectator says or does something funny. As long as it's not during a critical part of a trick, I let myself laugh, and give the audience member their moment. If you've never done this, try it.
For myself, I find that even horrible jokes can work if you admit that your joke was terrible. A line I often use is, "I admit, that joke was terrible. But don't worry, there's a lot more where that came from."
Running jokes can be very useful in many ways. They can help build unity in a routine, and well placed they get funnier as they go. It's especially great when the audience starts playing along, and fills in the jokes for you.
Matthew Olsen
www.mattolsenmagic.com
I heard from a friend that anecdotal evidence is actually quite reliable.
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Lawrence O
Inner circle
Paris France
6321 Posts
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Posted: Jul 25, 2010 2:30am
Anderson, Gene: Topper's Mad, Mad, Magic ©1974 Magic, Inc, Chicago, in this book about Topper Marty, a comedy magician p 29 How to Make People Laugh...Without Really Trying: an essay on comedy; p 51 Bibliography: a list of books on comedy in magic
Magic is not a performing art where people don't know how situations are reached, it's the art of showing parallel dimensions that can't be reached
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Aug 12, 2010 12:12pm
Along a similar line; how do you start writing a new routine?
www.procomedywriting.com
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Mary Mowder
Inner circle
2049 Posts
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Posted: Aug 14, 2010 12:39am
I find I'm quite funny off the cuff (I've had many comments about it) but not so much if I'm delivering lines written to be funny. I think being too self aware kills my written comedy.
Magic Juggler is right, if you acknowledge the quips of the audience, you're in and they will laugh easily after that. In fact once they treat you like "one of them" their threshold of what's funny enough to laugh at genuinely goes way down.
Looks like I need to do some more reading.
- Mary Mowder
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Donal Chayce
Inner circle
The City of Angels
1771 Posts
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Posted: Aug 14, 2010 12:56am
Quote:
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On 2010-08-12 12:12, Comedy Writer wrote:
Along a similar line; how do you start writing a new routine?
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I first dissect the trick phase-by-phase and consider how my character would think and feel about: (1) what he's doing; and (2) what the audience is likely thinking about what they're observing.
When I do that I find that funny ideas organically spring forth.
By way of example, during the explanation phase of my silk-to-egg routine, I drape one of the silks over my left shoulder and the duplicate silk over my right shoulder. When I did that while practicing in the mindset of the character (who feels that others question his manliness--a projection of his own self-doubt), I began to focus on the silks and smoothed them out until they were laying neat and tidy on top of each jacket lapel. A beat later I looked up into the mirror (standing in for the audience) and said rather defensively,
"I'm not accessorizing--it's part of the trick."
That gets one of the biggest laughs in the routine.
The MacGician ®
***********
The fates lead him who will...him who won't, they drag.
-Seneca
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Aug 14, 2010 4:57pm
Donal,
Great tip!
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Aug 17, 2010 6:34pm
I am either inspired to write a new routine (5%) or have a need for a new one (95%). I use elements of mind-mapping, sketching out partial jokes(*) and thinking about the character in the magic...these give me LOTS of material to start writing from.
(* ask me about this technique if you're interested.)
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Aug 25, 2010 10:42am
Off to teach comedy writing classes...
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Aug 26, 2010 12:55pm
Going to see Eric Buss perform... will report back
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Sep 9, 2010 3:02pm
Eric has some very clever ideas and a nice comic touch in his show
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Sep 27, 2010 6:11pm
Any good comedy writing sites?
www.procomedywriting.com
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The Cardfather
Veteran user
Long Beach, CA
302 Posts
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Posted: Oct 3, 2010 2:22am
http://www.comedywritingmagic.com/ One of the funniest guys I've seen.
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Oct 23, 2010 12:23pm
Has anyone tried Zach's classes?
www.procomedywriting.com
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Comedy Writer
Elite user
495 Posts
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Posted: Oct 28, 2010 4:51pm
I teach locally, but may expand to on-line comedy writing classes. If that happens, what would you like to see in a class?
www.procomedywriting.com
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