Monday - Harmony College - What's So Funny

Jane says choruses like doing comedy but it is the hardest form of theatre to perform and direct. Approach comedy the same as drama - all Swthe same rules apply. The serious intention of the character is at the heart of comedy.

Sweet Adelines comedy is lousy. Comedy isn't just something anyone can do, it needs good technique.

Comedy is the reverse of tragedy. In both the protagonist is up against something (man, nature or society). In comedy the protagonist has friends, in tragedy she/he is alone. Tragedy ends tragically but comedy ends in marriage, nobody dies and the conflict is resolved.

Jane gives us three examples:

• A husband is kicked out (Odd Couple)
• Two friends witness a murder (Some Like It Hot)
• A woman's marriage almost fails because of her relationship with her mother (Barefoot in the Park)

There is a serious story at the heart of comedy but (a) the protagonist has friends and is not alone, and (b) there are unpredictable and incongrous events

We don't understand how comedy works.

• Soapdish - is about getting older and being pushed out
• Trading Places - is about how heredity vs environment shapes a person
• His Girl Friday - is about a woman doing a man's job
• Harry and Sally - is about men, women and dating

Sweet Adelines packages include a ballad. To make a comedy package work, you need to start with the ballad and make that the underpinning of the scene. Always tell the truth.

Acting is just like real life only louder.

Comedy needs to move faster, not slower - don't wait for the audience to get the joke.

Comedy is very individual - it's hard.

Marx Brothers - are brilliant and funny but different, not character driven, don't fit into standard forms of comedy.

The most successful comedy is when the people have no idea they are funy to us. They are believable, fully formed human beings who take themselves seriously.

Comedy that tries to get you to laugh fails. All you can do is create an environment where people might laugh.