 Comedy: March 06, 2013 Issue [#5554] |
  Comedy
This week: The Rules of Improv Edited by: Jeff  
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"The wit makes fun of other people; the satirist makes fun of the world;
the humorist makes fun of himself."
-- James Thurber
Comedy Trivia of the Week: Mel Blanc was a famous voice actor who lent his talents to many of the cartoon characters we know and love, including: Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, Tweety Bird, Sylvester the Cat, Yosemite Sam, Foghorn Leghorn, Marvin the Martian, Pepé Le Pew, Speedy Gonzales, and the Tasmanian Devil. When chewing carrots for his Bugs Bunny voice, he couldn't chew and swallow them fast enough to deliver the next line of dialogue, so he would have to crunch them and then spit them into a nearby spittoon in order to deliver the next line in time. Some people erroneous chalk up the spitting out of carrots as Blanc's allergy to the orange veggies, but it was simply for timing purposes.
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THE RULES OF IMPROV
Improv (short for improvisation) is a form of theatrical comedy where the humor comes from spontaneous bits of acting that build off what the actor's partner or partners provides for them. There are famous comedy troupes around the country that develop people with this specific comedic talents, most notably Second City, The Groundlings, IO Theater, and The Upright Citizens Brigade. When it comes to trying to create improv comedy, whether you're want to join a professional comedy troupe or merely want to kick butt at your next family game night, there are five major rules you have to keep in mind:
1. Always come from a place of yes. Improv is best when you can keep a scene going, and there's no quicker way to kill a scene than to deny something someone has put out there. If your partner says, "What are you doing with that gun in your hand?" Then guess what? You now have a gun in your hand. If someone says, "What are you doing with that gun in your hand?" and you reply, "It's not a gun, it's a banana," then the chances of your scene grinding to a halt are dramatically increased. Play off your partner and consistently come from a place of "yes." Use your partner's input and go from there; don't try to negate what's already been said.
2. Build on what your partner(s) give you. Don't just agree with what your partner(s) say... build from it and take the sketch further. If your partner says, "Is that a rocket in your pocket?" just replying, "Yes, it is" is another quick way to kill the momentum of the scene. It's better to say, "Why yes, it's the pocket rocket you gave me for our anniversary last year. I never leave home without it." Then you've just given your parter(s) more information upon which they can use to counter and you can both build a scene.
3. Avoid asking open-ended questions. These can also derail the momentum of a sketch because you're putting the entire responsibility for continuing the scene on your partner. If you ask, "Why are you here on this street corner?" it requires your partner to think on the spot and develop an entire backstory/explanation rather than if you were to just say, "Funny meeting you here on this street corner!" and giving your partner a chance to go in any of a variety of directions rather than simply trying to answer your question.
4. You don't have to be funny. Not everything that comes out of your mouth has to be hysterical. Often, the funniest moments can come when you're just trying to move the scene along. Every line from each person doesn't have to be a gut-buster. If you don't immediately think of a clever or funny response, it's better to give a response that keeps the sketch going that's not a laugher rather than stalling the scene as you get through your mental block trying to come up with a zinger.
5. Tell a story. This goes hand-in-hand with #4, but always be building a story. It's okay to be a little bizarre and surprising, but make sure you keep a narrative going. If you say, "Do you want to hang out tomorrow?" and your partner says, "I can't; I'm going to the moon." Try to keep that narrative thread going by saying something like, "Oh, I thought that was next week! I guess that means you won't be joining us for our full-impact yoga session..." rather than saying, "Oh, well, anyway, what do you think about the White Sox this year?" Keep the narrative rolling and give both you and your partners the ability to build on what's already been said.
I wanted to write a comedy article about improv comedy because they recently announced the return of Who's Line Is It Anyway?, an improv comedy show that was formerly hosted by Drew Carey and starred Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie (based on the British original). Whether you wait for the new series to debut or venture out into YouTube to look up past clips, I'd urge you the check out what improv comedy is all about and see if you can't use some of those skills to improve your own comedic sensibilities.
Until next time,
-- Jeff
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I encourage you to check out the following comedy items from "The Quills" last weekend:
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Feedback from my last newsletter about comedy as a genre:
Ida_Matilda_Wright Help  writes, "I used to just glance over the news letters. I am ashamed to admit it now. However, I found these newsletters to be a great reviewing tool. No only can I find some great work, I also love to here that some don't even know that they are in the newsletter. They are so happy to find out"
I'm very happy to hear that you enjoyed the newsletter! 
ChrisDaltro-Chasing Moonbeams  writes, "Dear SoCalScribe, Thank you for featuring my short story The Blind Date in your awesome WDC Newsletter of February 13, 2013. Much love, Christina Daltro"
You're very welcome!
LJPC - the tortoise writes, "Hi SoCal! I see how difficult it is to write comedy all the time because of the number of sitcoms that are simply not funny. While there are quite a few TV shows that successfully insert comedy into a genre-type premise (detective stories, doctor stories), it's a lot harder to find comedy sitcoms that really work, like you wrote, where the humor drives the story. IMO, it must take a group of awesomely talented writers to come up with such great shows as "Friends," "Frasier," "Big Bang Theory," or "30 Rock," which crack me up at almost every line. Don't give up on writing a comedy script. No writing is perfect from day one. Give it another try (or two or seven)! Thanks for the great newsletter!  ~ Laura"
Thanks for the kind words, and I'm glad you enjoyed the newsletter!
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