How To Be Funny

[unfrufru]

scroll further down and there's the 9 rules of comedy

http://feed.insnews.org/v-cgi/feeds....ory_id=1576526

How to Be Funny A Couple of Comics Let Us in on Their Secrets
Feb 01, 07:56 PM




By Pam DeFiglio Daily Herald Staff Writer

When you're teaching a workshop called "How to Be Funny Even If You're Not," people expect you to make them laugh.

So John Vorhaus paces onstage, riffing on a theme involving Viagra and nursery rhymes.

"Little Jack Horner?," he tosses out suggestively.

Silence. Not a snicker.

But as a comic, Vorhaus can't let even a bad joke go to waste. He seizes the moment to impart a lesson to aspiring comics at Chicago's Theater Building.

"For every 10 ideas, nine will be, um, less than the best," he says.

He calls this the Rule of Nine. Who knew a subject as kicked- back as comedy had rules?

Apparently, there are lots of them - everything from knowing your audience to zeroing in on the perfect targets.

Now, maybe you're never going to be Jerry Seinfeld or Chris Rock. But if you want to be able to crack jokes at a dull meeting or rev up a party, comedy pros are glad to tell you how.

Vorhaus, a sitcom writer who spoke earlier this month at Chicago Sketchfest, a sketch comedy festival, and Jon Macks, who writes comedy for Jay Leno, Steve Martin, Whoopi Goldberg and Chris Rock, offer their advice freely.

We've taken their suggestions and spun them into our own rule of nine - nine ways to hit the mark, that is.

1. Tell tall tales.

"If you're a novice at comedy, you'll have more success telling stories than telling jokes," advises Macks, author of "How To Be Funny" (Simon and Schuster, $12).

Go ahead: Toy with the truth.

"Exaggerate like crazy, and use wordplay. Look for double entendres," counsels Macks.

Listening to what other people say is key. Then, you can "react off the buzzwords," Macks says.

Your 25-year-old co-worker, for example, mentions her "May- December" relationship with a 75-year-old man. "December?" you quip. "You'll be lucky if he lives till December."

2. Sound silly.

Choose words that sound inherently funny.

"Try anything with a 'k' sound," Macks says. "Chicken, pickle. When I work with Billy Crystal, we always try to work in the word 'sheetcake.' It just sounds funny."

His book quotes Rita Rudner, who suggests creating "a vivid visual picture" using words: "It was a very obvious toupee. It had a zipper."

Don't overlook the words that made you laugh as a child, like "underpants." We never really outgrow bathroom humor, do we?

3. A priest, a rabbi ...

Then there's the Rule of Three. Things are funnier in threes, which is why so many jokes start out with "A priest, a minister and a rabbi go to ..."

"Try to have three natural breaks in your story," says Macks.

Like this: An accountant, an engineer and a lawyer are sitting on a ship's deck when a huge wave knocks them into the ocean. Sharks devour the accountant and the engineer, but swim right past the lawyer. When passengers pull him to safety, a boy asks, "Why did the sharks spare him?"

"Professional courtesy."

4. Pick on Paris.

Vorhaus' credo: "Comedy is cruelty."

That's because so many jokes have a target. Comics turn on themselves, or take aim at someone else.

Just choose cautiously.

"Always make fun up," says Macks. "If you're the CEO, you can't pick on the janitor. But if you're the janitor, you can make fun of the CEO."

Celebrities make excellent targets. And some, like Michael Jackson and Paris Hilton, keep comics busy all year.

It helps if your target has a funny name. If only more moms would name their sons Joey Buttafuoco.

5. No yuck yuks.

"Know your audience," says Macks. "That's the single most important thing. You have to ask whether getting a laugh is really worth being sued for sexual harassment."

But it isn't just off-color jokes that can get you in trouble. In Macks' book, comedian Buz Kohan relates the time his wife gave a dinner speech and did some jokes about why patients hate their doctors. It turned out to be a banquet for cardiologists.

6. Get smart.

Mother knew best when she told you to do your homework.

"Be informed," Macks says. "True comics are some of the smartest people you're going to meet."

If you read the newspapers, you're sure to find a wacky crime story or a priceless political quote.

7. Bring on the aliens.

Exploit the comic premise, the gap between real reality and comic reality, says Vorhaus, author of "The Comic Toolbox: How to be Funny Even if You're Not" (Silman-James Press, $14.95).

Think "Third Rock from the Sun," an offbeat sitcom with John Lithgow that still appears in reruns. Goofy aliens come to Earth to pose as a loving family. But their total lack of boundaries and social skills leads to plenty of comic misunderstandings.

8. Peel back the pain.

Vorhaus' comic equation goes like this: "Comedy equals truth plus pain."

In other words, find a character's pain - and expose it.

In the new UPN sitcom "Everybody Hates Chris," for example, poor Chris endures a host of indignities - from being the only black kid in an all-white school to watching his younger brother get the girl.

We laugh because we identify.

9. Fail big. Really big.

Vorhaus exhorts would-be comics to silence the little voice in their heads warning of pending humiliation.

When you tell a joke, he says, tell it with confidence, and it will be more likely to succeed. And do it up big - the bigger the exaggeration, the more off-the-wall the idea, the better.

"Fail big," he urges. "There's no percentage in failing small." Now go out there and kill 'em

[Gutter Monkey]

Originally Posted by Pam DeFiglio

Who knew a subject as kicked- back as comedy had rules?

What a stupid thing to say.

Originally Posted by Pam DeFiglio

Then there's the Rule of Three. Things are funnier in threes, which is why so many jokes start out with "A priest, a minister and a rabbi go to ..."

That's not the Rule of Three. "Things are funnier in threes". What a fucking idiot. Way to shit on an actual comedic technique, Pam.

[GentleZephyr]

I've heard the 'k-word' rule before. Can't remember where.

[Spawn of Satan]

That's the biggest croc of shit I've read in awhile. It's amazing what some journalists consider to be news worthy nowadays.

[dermo]

Originally Posted by unfrufru

No yuck yuks.

DAMN IT! What am I going to do with all these surplice yuck yuks now! GOD DAMN YOU special buy two get one free yuck yuk offers.

[unfrufru]

http://www.theage.com.au/news/educat...e#contentSwap1

Leigh Parry reports on a crash course in comedy appreciation that will have you rolling in the aisles.

WHAT is the secret of a good gag? Does slapstick make you snicker? Do verbal gymnastics evoke a guffaw?

A crash course in comedy appreciation at Melbourne's Centre for Adult Education seeks to uncover what tickles our funny bones by exploring how we laugh and the culture and history of comedy.

Sydney comedy writer and reviewer Dom Romeo will steer participants through the five-week course, titled (Don't) Make Me Laugh.

Working comedians will also share their "war stories" and participants will be assigned different performances to see in the 2006 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

Romeo is known as the "hanging judge" of the NSW heats of Raw Comedy, the festival's national open-mic stand-up competition, and also hosts Radio Ha Ha with Tammy Tantschev on digital station 2GB Sydney.

He says that like any art form, comedy is not purely subjective and people can learn to appreciate different styles.

"Can you teach people to appreciate painting? The comment might be 'I don't like this modern art rubbish', but when you look into it, you can appreciate it."

Romeo says he has a "grudging admiration" for some comedians he did not find funny, such as England's Roy Chubby Brown.

Who does he rate as Australia's shining stars of comedy?

"That's such a poisoned-chalice question. The thing about Australia at the moment is we are spoilt for choice."

His list of favourites include Wil Anderson and Carl Barron ("hilarious"), and from the female ranks, Kitty Flanagan, Rachel Berger, Corinne Grant and Terri Psiakis.

Two relative newcomers to the industry he tips will have a big future are Christina Davis, an original Big Brother housemate who is doing a show at the Comedy Festival this year, and fellow radio host Tantschev.

He prefers not to attribute a "brand" of humour to Australia but says our sunny dispositions appeal to audiences overseas: comedians such as Adam Hills and Kitty Flanagan are popular examples.

"What really shines when Australians (comedians) go to London is that we are really happy. We brighten people up."

This is why, Romeo theorises, Australian comedians are so brilliant at sending up characters, pointing to Chris Lilley's housewife-turned-rolling-athlete Pat Mullins, and aspiring actor Ricky Wong in his ABC "mockumentary" series We Can be Heroes.


"Australians do pathos well; maybe because we are so happy we can explore pathos," he says.

He would like to see more support for aspiring comedians - "there are times when I see great talent not taken up by television" - and financial backing for comedy feature films.

He says Australian comedies have tended to be built on the same template of "little battler against powers that be", which is part of our film heritage, but there are opportunities for writers to come up with new ideas.

St Kilda's Rebecca Lee, 26, is hoping to find some inspiration from Romeo's comedy appreciation course from an academic and enthusiast's point of view.

Ms Lee is doing a professional writing and editing diploma in comedy at Victoria University, following a three-year degree in creative arts.

She is a regular audience member on the stand-up circuit and has booked tickets to 20 acts at this year's Comedy Festival.

She hopes the course will give her some first-person insight into the workings of the comedy industry - something she felt was lacking in her academic studies.

"It was great theory but didn't include speaking to people in the industry. I'd like to learn the difference between writing comedy for radio and television and hopping up on stage and doing it live."

She says it will also be interesting to learn how newcomers got their start in the business and where they draw their inspiration.

The five-session course will run on Mondays from 6-8pm from today to May 1 at the Centre for Adult Education, 96 Flinders Street, Melbourne. For more information phone: 9652 0611.