Playfulness Flashcards
Playfulness - humor is play - you just need to figure out how to do it
Play is social - you can’t play with yourself - hint - it’s the audience…
Play with the audience - get out of your head and get into theirs - let your imagination flow and glow
Playing with the audience unleashes your imagination - you become an explorer searching for ways to get the audience excited
Comedy is energy - activate audience energy
Comedy is attitude - activate audience attitude
Playfulness is not shared anger - that’s politics
Playfulness unites - playfulness is inclusive - be fair - play in a way that avoids regret
Playfulness is being likable - get the audience on your side - be lovable
Play with shallow buried bones - also known as mild pet peeves - look for common buried bones
Scratching itches is enjoyable - find common itches
Playfulness, funny enough is about having fun - let’s have fun
Playfulness is the right place and time for exaggeration - its the appropriate place for humor
Playfulness is the right time and place for deceit - deceit appropriately channeled is delightful
Difference between anger and pet peeves (irritations) is the difference between politics and humor
Healthy adults can weather challenges and laugh at them - unhealthy people just get angry - nothing funny about true anger
Tension / Release = the oceanic waves of humor - so easy to forget
Call-Outs to the audience - Tag-lines: Uh-hmm… and Really? (oral irony)
Editing excellence is judged by how the audience energy is improved
Starts with a playful story - something that has energy - mild emotional grievance - something the audience can embrace - get the story down first and then let the humor write itself
I need to model what I want to see
Set the tone for the audience - be the change you want to see - my energy leadership will serve as a role model for the audience - if it’s done right the roles will be reversed - I will feed off and respond to their energy
Scream, Shout, Jump up and down - make the audience feel something - the energy is there - activate it
When I am on the stage in front of the audience I am no longer me - I am a reflection of who the audience wants to see and it’s my job to deliver to the best of my abilities which is all the audience wants - here’s the thing - my abilities are awesome
Optimism - why not?
Visualize myself the way they want me to be - the best I can be - living and supporting me
My job - put audience in the roller coaster car and pull the crank
It’s like you are having a very fun conversation with the audience - it’s not one way - they are showering you in goodwill and emotion
Joke writing - visualize the audience - visualize the attitude - visualize what they want - visualize what they might enjoy - it’s not about what I think is funny - I can’t make myself laugh - I can’t tickle myself - I can’t surprise myself on purpose - but I can speculate on what they might enjoy - that the way - it’s absolutely not about me - it’s absolutely not about shat I think is funny - think god because that is impossible
What does the audience want to feel? Superior / Smart / Right / Validated
What does the audience want? They want to release every frustration and heartache they have ever had - they want to use laughter as a pain killing drug
What does the audience want from the comedian? They want the comedian to plead their case - they want to turn logic upside down to defeat the bad guys
The logic of the audience is the illogics of humor - it is their only weapon
Humor is my garden - same creative urge - same energy - same originality - same authentic beauty
This is my art - one plant at a time - sometimes big chunks of creativity - always open to surprise - laurel and junipers - spontaneous - this is dream land - bring it in…
