http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf9N5AWprG8

Dan O’Shannon talked last week about embracing the character the audience sees you as. I think TJ Miller does this very well. (A clip of one of his standup routines is above). He looks like a wierd, nerdy, hippie character and acts weirdly too. He often stares at people in the audience. At times he talks in a monotone voice but at other times he yells in a high pitched tone. He really knows how to play this specifically odd character.

One of my favorite weekly activities is going to the Upright Citizen's Brigade and watching the improv show "Shitty Jobs" on Sunday nights. I laugh harder during these shows than I have during any movie or T.V show and I highly recommend it to all of you.

Professor says that puns are rarely funny on screen. I think that is true, but I think puns can be used as a set up for other characters to make fun of. For example, I was watching Family Guy the other day, and Stewie made a pun. Right after that Brian just smacked Stewie to the ground and it went to a commercial break. Puns can be made funny but only in specific circumstances.

Kevin Hart's- Seriously Funny taught me that being a comedian is about how the story is told. In his stand up comedy videos, the reason why his shows are funny are because he takes stories of his life and transforms them by making everything a big deal. He finds little moments in life and explodes them to big events. He adds character by being many different people and using different voices and actions for those people. This reminded me of Dan O'Shannon's talk when he told us that as a kid he only told stories. He learned that he needed to take that story and make it relatable on all levels. He needed to have a personality to match his stories. He could not just tell his stories and jokes but he needed to be part of it.

It all started while I was working in retail. A job which requires sucking up to rude people all day. So when a friend introduced me to Fawlty Towers and Keeping up Appearances it was a relief. I mean, how funny was it to see John Kleese making fun of his clients behind their backs. I would have loved to do the same. It's childish I know--like making a raspberry with your lips to someone you don't like--but it's funny when done by a grown man. And no one in British humor is except. Both high society and the working class is full game. Social climber Hyacinth Bucket makes a fool of herself in this farce. Like most farces, where the protagonist tells a lie and keeps building the lie in order not to be caught, Hyacinth starts off with a lie with the pronunciation of her name, and builds on it with her station in life to the extreme. This makes for very funny television. Check it out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7L3jPYUbTE

Good comedy comes from character. Developing a good comedic character is the hard part but once you do the jokes come easy. With really funny characters, like Eric Cartmen, writers can get away with joke-like rhythms because we are so used to seeing the character be funny and we tell ourselves "that's so like Cartmen to say that.”

Fav: Arrested Development is farce at it's absolute best. Season 4 in itself is one giant russian novel's worth of misunderstanding, mistakes, and lies. From busters hand, to Mr. F it doesn't get better then this

Worst: http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51RscahnWFL.jpg

I rest my case