Comic Theory, Traditions, Form and Practice

Stand-up Comedy is a wide-ranging course encompassing academic theories of comedy, the historical tradition of stand-up comedy as device within a drama, the many forms stand-up has taken and, most importantly, the actual theatre practice of stand-up comedy — writing, direction and performance.

The main academic theory presented as a sort of blueprint for the course is Bergson’s Laughter. This theory is analysed and then applied to established comedy routines. It is also used as a starting point for creative thinking, improvisation and performance. For example, in his theory of laughter, Bergson suggests that repetition is central and symptomatic of the “inelastic character” and therefore essential in creating any comic perspective. To make this concept prectical for the performer, students play such games as “In the Manner of the Word”. In this game one person leaves the group and the group then decides on a descriptive "doing word" or adverb. The person then returns and proceeds to tell the group to do a series of actions, say “brushing your teeth” or “playing football”, in the manner of that word. The simple aim of the game is for the outsider to guess the adverb, but the practical result from a comedy angle is seeing a singular and potentially comic perspective repeated applied to a variety of actions. Many sketches and comic characters are developed from such games and improvisations.

The historical place of ‘stand-up comedy’ in Shakespearean theatre is looked at from various perspectives. Students explore the roles of the Fool in King Lear and the Clown in Twelfth Night; the difficulties making incomprehensible jokes work in the Porter Scene in Macbeth; and the demands of the very physical comedy routines of the two Gobbos in The Merchant of Venice. Students have also enjoyed performing the work of Aristophanes, especially sketches from The Assembly Women. Scenes from contemporary plays where stand-up comedy is the main subject of the drama, for example Comedians, Dead Funny and The Sunshine Boys, are also performed. In relation to this continuing tradition of stand-up as part of the drama, the course asks the question: "How do you act the part of a comedian?"

Using a selection of established routines, the class examines the traditional forms of stand-up comedy, ranging from double acts, the comic and the stooge, the comic monologue, the comic sketch and so on. There is also a week set aside for group-writing techniques. A writing assignment mark goes towards the final assessment. This could be a comic sketch, a monologue, a series of jokes, or whatever. Instead of performing every week the course also has scope for students to choose to direct some of the set routines or pieces arising from improvisation.

The second half of the course builds to a public performance when the skills and principles learnt during the first half of the course are put into practice by all the students. Not all students perform a stand-up routine as such, though many do. Some choose comic sketches, their own or established routines, others choose monologues or whatever. Almost without exception students say on graduation day that the stand-up comedy evening was the most nerve-racking experience of their whole degree!

The Stand-up Comedy Practical Option is aimed at those students with a strong interest in comic performance. The course is certainly not intended to make anyone “funny” or even “funnier”. Indeed, the exact opposite is sometimes the case because if you’re not funny to begin with by the end of the course you’ll certainly know it! Nevertheless, the course does offer students a chance to learn a number of comic techniques which can be usefully applied to other aspects of drama such as acting, writing, directing, improvisation, movement, dance, etc.