I recently purchased Robin Williams: Weapons of Self Destruction on DVD. It’s his latest stand up comedy tour (from 2008) and it’s hilarious.
I remember watching various professional comedians perform on television throughout high school, and I was always in awe of their abilities. It’s difficult to come up with enough material for a fast-paced routine, but it’s especially difficult to create material that will actually keep people laughing.
At RRC, we have an optional course called Comedy Writing. It instructs students on how to write their own routine creatively and effectively. At the end of the semester, each student in the class must get up at the King’s Head Pub and perform their act in front of a live audience. Feedback is essential, and one never knows if they are truly funny until they make complete strangers laugh.
After much deliberation, I decided not to take Comedy Writing during my second and final year of CreComm. Watching Williams – a “professional” comedian – effortlessly deliver anecdote after anecdote only solidified my feelings that refusing to take the course was the right decision.
Why was this my choice, you may ask?
Well, along with the fear of being publicly ridiculed, I seriously am not funny. Sure, I can make jokes when surrounded by friends. But, I highly doubt that I could create and then perform a comedy routine that would actually make people laugh. My sense of humour is random, off-kilter, and more than slightly sarcastic, and sometimes, people just don’t understand what the hell I’m talking about.
Our Comedy Writing instructor – Kenton Larsen – assured me that everyone is capable of being funny. I disagree, and to prove my point, I’ve decided to write a comedy routine on my own time. My deadline is the end of the year, at which time I will allow a few people to read it. I’m not going to intentionally try to write a crappy routine, but I’m more than confident the result won’t be pretty.
I salute funny men like Robin Williams, Jim Carrey, and Eddie Murphy. It can’t be easy.
You are capable of being funny! You've got the first requirement, which is thinking that you're not.
ReplyDeleteThe worst-case scenario in comedy is that "no one laughs." If that happens, you're a "storyteller." Ha, ha!
See you Monday.