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magicsavant Regular user Georgia 157 Posts |
What would you guys recommend in the way of comedic performances, whether it be stand up, or in a plotted storyline fashion?
I find the task of sitting down and staring at a blank screen trying to be funny as daunting as doing any manipulation I've ever done. HELP me if you will, please I tell ya' ... pwwweeeeeeeesssee !!! Just as a note, I'm currently perusing the Café using the all mighty search function and have found quite a treasure trove, and if anyone can link to some classic links, it would be greatly appreciated, but I would prefer something I could put my hands around (kind of like in middle school, chuckle)... |
Frank Simpson Special user SW Montana 883 Posts |
This question is almost like asking "what color should I wear?" There are so many, many, many different kinds of comedy. Magically speaking they can range from Flip to Rudy Coby to the Great Tomsoni to Harry Anderson to... well the list goes on.
What is truly funny in the hands of one performer can absolutely die in the hands of another. It is very important to have comedy carefully scripted. As a director in the theatre, when I direct comedy the first thing I do is "dissect" the script looking for the laugh moments. Then I proceed to identify the important elements that set up the laugh. I often tell my actors that comedy is a lot like volleyball. Set, set, spike. The set up is every bit as important as the punchline. Perhaps instead of looking for comedy out of the blue, you might want to start with a list of the effects you currently or want to perform. Then from there you can chart the basic and necessary plot points for the effect to make sense to an audience. Once you have that structure outlined you can look for places to hang comedic bits or moments onto it. Also you must consider your prospective audience. A college crowd is likely to have a different sense of "funny" than a kids' birthday party audience. A sophsticated audience will have still different sensibilities. Too you may want to consider whether to go with spoken humor or physical humor. If you don't have a good speaking voice, maybe humor more based on sight-gags is for you. This can determine if you need to buy books on one-liners or on clowning and mime skills. Then there is the "test" phase. You have to put it before an audience. Often a joke won't "land" the way you intended it to. Then you analyze your delivery. Sometimes saying the same thing only phrased differently will bring the laugh. Sometimes a strategic pause is necessary for the joke to work. Sometimes a well-timed look at the audience will be funny. Ultimately, if you are working alone it will be a long and arduous process to create a solid comedy routine. Probably the best way to "fast-track" a comedy act would be to work one-on-one and face-to-face with a director or coach who understands the essentials of humor on stage. I very seriously doubt that you will just get a sure-fire comedy routine that works perfectly for you from someone here at the Café. Don't get me wrong, this place is chock-full of funny folks, but comedy is always and ultimately character-centered, and if we don't know your character thoroughly, we cannot be of tremendous value to you. Best of luck! |
Jared Sherlock Loyal user Indiana 245 Posts |
This is an incredibly hard question to answer and possibly might not have an answer, but the advice given above by Frank is about as good as it gets. Very well worded, Frank, yours as well as others' very thorough responses are examples of why the Café is an excellent resource!
Jared |
JohanStahl New user Sweden, Uppsala 43 Posts |
Hello,
I would say to do as I did 1/2 year ago: start with stand-up comedy. Leave the magic gadgets for a while, and learn comedy, learn it well. When you can write material and make them laugh, start adding comedy to your magic act. That's the way to go if you ask me. It´s not an easy way, you will die on stage... a lot. But you will learn. One thing that's very good with stand-up, is that there are a lot of rookie spots on the comedy clubs around. Good luck! -Johan Ståhl- |
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