DIE ACTOR DIE

Matt Ruby over at Sandpaper Suit has some interesting thoughts on where a comedian’s jokes come from.

Money Shot:

Mitch Hedberg, Zach Galifianakis, Steve Martin, Todd Barry…their material rarely touches on intimate details about their lives. Do I know anything about what these guys are truly like at home or whatever? No. Do I care? No.

And neither do I. I think comedy comes from wherever it works for you. For some, it’s their upbringing, for some it’s their cynical outlook on life, for others, it’s just what they think is funny.

I suppose that is what Apatow is saying by “making sure your comedy comes from a personal place”; personal is doing what you think is funny, not what you hope others will find funny. So it’s not just personal in that you are relating your fucked-up childhood or boyfriend problems, but you are sharing your personal sense of humor with a room full of people.

To me, that is the scariest thing of all for a young/old/any comedian (stand-up, improv, sketch or other): is my take funny to anyone else? Are you going to reject both me and my sensibilities? But it can also be the most liberating because once you find your voice and find that it IS funny to others, you have the freedom/opportunity to really explore it.

I find that I am somewhere in the middle. I open every DIE ACTOR DIE show with a “bit”, something to warm up the crowd and satisfy my own need to be creative and funny. I learned early on that, personally, stand-up wasn’t the way to go. So I came up with more of a free-form opening made up of bits, sketches, video, what-have-you. Since I have no real set standard (apart from having “no standard”), I am free to play in the format I have established. I can do what ever I come up with that I think is funny.

But I am also afraid my idea which is very witty to me, will be seen as unfunny to thers. No one likes to hear the pretty girl they came top the party with is ugly, it’s the same for jokes. I just have to trust that my track record is evidence of my abilities; I have to trust that it will work and if it fails it’s ok. I have to trust that my personal tastes are as fulfilling to others as they are to me.

As long as I keep doing what I think is funny, I’ll be fine.

Photo credit: beyond the pale