Writing comedy...the creative process.

[Frisbee]

What kind of brain storming process do you use to write material for your show...whether it be street show, theatre show, stand-up material?...I am for some reason hitting some road blocks for material for a show I am writing that is going to be performed in March...and I am wondering if any of you have come across certain exercises that help your creative juices to flow freely again...I guess I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue... feel free to e-mail me anything as well if you don't want to post.

-Frisbee

frisbeeshow@usa.net

[karen]

inversion tables, sensory deprivation chambers, and hot fudge sundaes... so i've heard.
or you could be the kid who eats melted crayons. they were always the popular ones with brilliant ideas. nod nod, wink wink.

[Frisbee]

mmmmmmm, Icecream sundae..mmmmmmmm with hot melted crayons....mmmmmmmmm how could I not have thought of that....two great things that go great together...like chocolate and peanut butter!!! Thanks Karen for the suggestion

-Frisbee

[Brian Wilson]

Write out everything you can think of realting to the topic. Research out some statistics/ information, then try/start writing punchlines with what you have. Brainstorm, write alot, the more jokes you write the better (it means you can weed out the crappy ones, as surely there will be plenty.)

[Rich Potter]

Bounce the ideas off someone; tell them to people you trust. Sometimes they'll have a suggestion; sometimes the act of verbalising it will bring a new element to mind.

The biggest thing for roadblocks is to change your frame of reference: take a walk, go for a drive, fold laundry, dress your dog in lingerie, slice tomatoes...something like that.

I get my biggest flashes when I step away from the sketchbook or computer and either walk the dog, sit on the subway, or take a shower. (You can often tell I'm not feeling brilliant when I start to stink)

Archimedes came up with the flash of brilliance concerning the relation between mass and volume via the displacement of water while settling into an evening bath.

--Rich

[Brian Wilson]

I'm a big advocate of creating material in your shows. I think we (The Cowguys) wrote aout 5-6 new lines in our christmas shows. It was REALLY fun and the new laughs from new lines taste so good! Keep a pad handy at your shows and do a mini-critique after your show. What worked? What didnt? Write down new lines, etc.

[scot]

Record your shows

Write to scotty meltzer

Talk to random people on the street. If you're doing real street shows you can just talk to people. Stop someone, do a trick for them tell them your joke. If they like it, it's an ok joke. If more people stop it's a good joke. If they turn out to be incharge of hiring people for the tonight show and they sign you then rember who your friends are.

Examine word plays. Puns suck but who cares? Most jokes are based on puns anyway. People like them if they are presented in the right way. Think about every single thing that is going on in your show and in the audience.

Really, you don't need to write your own jokes. There is plenty of material out there. Get a copy of bartlett's quotations. All my jokes wer once told by Abraham Lincoln. Nobody tracks that far back.

I like to watch interviews and make up smart alec answers that belittle barbra walters. You might want to start with a latenight comedy interview.

Get lots of sleep and eat right.

Make fun of someone that thinks he's funny. It's the only way you can really get to most guys because it's the only personal side they expose.

It's a painful process. You can tell by viewing at the unsightliness of most comedians.



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The Lonnie Anderson of juggling,
Scot Nery

[scot]

You included 5-6 lines in your show? what, was it set to music?

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The Lonnie Anderson of juggling,
Scot Nery

[Brian Wilson]

We came up with 5 or 6 new jokes for our show.. you know spontaneously as the show(s) unfolded.

[Todd]

Dont be afraid to suck.
Be the suckyest suck that ever sucked.
Turn of the part of your head that says "NO YOU MIGHT SUCK" or the part that says "HEY YOU SUCK. ALL YOUR IDEAS SUCK."
Just turn them off and let it flow.
Your brain does a cool thing, when it starts it sends up the sucky ideas. If you say "yes" to them it gets suprised and sends up another idea. If you say "yes" to that one it thinks you trust it so it sends up an ok idea. Say "yes" to that one and it begins to trust you (it being your sub animal mind) and begins to send out good ideas. Thats why you always get good lines as ad libs during a show. Your brain trusts.
This is no lie. Your brain really works like this.

[Butterfly Man]

I really like what Todd says ... there certainly seems to be an element of truth in trusting that your brain will come up with something (out of necessity) ... to put yourself in that position, however, requires balls as big as Jenny Jugg's ... don't forget though, the audience can write your material as well, if you give them a chance ... so many minds (out there) also living your moment with you ... trust Them as well!

[Adam Gertsacov]

I think I work differently than most people in our profession.
Most people look at what they do (their skills) and then come up with an idea that ties their skills together. Example: a juggler that puts together a cooking show.

Me, I come up with a concept first, usually a title, and then have to figure out a structure of acts that I can do that will match it.

[Todd]

Good point Adam.
A good friend of mine, Joe Dieffenbacher, had an act/group for years called Los Payasos Mengiegos. They were one of the most creative acts I've ever seen. Street performance circus wierdness. Cool stuff. They created thier first show by hanging out in the Green room at Dell Arte (a big room with lots of props and stuff) and just finding a prop and riffing off of it and seeing what they could create with it. Thats a pretty fun process too.

[Todd]

I teach/perform mask theatre and one of the things I tell students when we begin to work on pieces is this great quote I heard by Willam Defoe. To paraphrase he said that whatever an actors process is it should help the actor/performer set aside thier "ego agenda" so they can be in a better place to "play". I swear by this idea. It also work in relation to the audience. It's our job to create a performing space/atmosphere/whatever you wish to call it, where the audience is also able to set aside thier "ego agendas" so that they can be in a better place to play/pretend. The really good acts/shows whatever, make more hat/ get booked more/ have long runs, when they can create that atmosphere. Bill Irwin vs Michael Moschen. Both are awsome performers, but which one helps you set aside your "ego Agenda" so that you watch them with that wide eyed wonder that you used to watch with when you were a kid?
Just a thought.

[Adam Gertsacov]

Hey! I know Joe! He was cleaning up at Dell'arte when I was there! (No, literally! He was the janitor. and working on a show.) He then met Minna (who was in my class) Later became the clown teacher (and while I was there doing a master class with Daniel Stein) I saw some excellent work that his students did.

Los Payasos are/were great (I don't think they perform anymore, now that Joe moved to Europe) They are great precisely because it's less about what they actually can do and more about the possibility of what they can do.

I saw a great thing where Rudy challenges a guy in the audience to choose between who is more feminine, him or a woman out of the audience. He has to choose, and eventually has to give Rudy a kiss. They make it so that it's incredibly funny and okay that he gives Rudy a kiss (this despite picking out the biggest lumberjack guy in the audience....