This week: To Prepare or Rely on Improv Edited by: Dawn Embers  
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Comedy Newsletter by Dawn
From a not so funny moderator, some discussion over whether it's helpful when you have the time to prepare a set in order to be funny or if improv is the way to go. |
Stand-up comedy is something that I've enjoyed watching over the years while having the full understand that I probably never will be good at doing it myself. You won't often see me writing these newsletters because, well, I'm not very funny. Sure, I have pretended like I could do standup comedy and with something like celebrity impersonation, I've considered a couple comedians to imitate but I've never attempted any of it. One thing I have learned with a standup comedy routine based off a couple reality competition shows is that it helps to be prepared. Not that it requires a whole transcript because there are many funny, in the moment situations that can't be predicted. However, it does help to have at least an outline. The ones that just try to go off the cuff, often end up on the bottom of the competition and might go home.
Take Notes
Outlines and notes are something we might be familiar, unless you are a 100% pantser when it comes to writing. Some might go in extreme details but the rest, we have a varying range of preparation when it comes to writing. And I am guessing this goes the same when writing comedy. Knowing what direction you want to take the story, elements of funny that can be included and maybe even an outline can help the process. Maybe not have everything figured out but then again, you could probably be a super planner, have all the details figured out and the result could be very funny. That is possible.
I don't actually know the way to plan a joke. Again, not funny. So, here is where I just tell you to follow the method that works best for you. If you do an outline, you could write the joke into a section if you already know what you want. But if you don't, I suppose you can just add "put joke here" or something of a similar nature. That should work too until you get to the full writing, rewriting and editing process. While it can help to plan, there is another way to go with humor...
Improv!
Improvisation, also known as improv, is a theatrical art form where improvisers perform without a script. This is known in particular from the show Whose Line is it Anyways, where they use improv for small skits and do a variety of different forms. I have even done a little improv. In high school drama, we would warm up with a few different exercises, some of which were in the realm of improv. The one I remember the most was Questions. You could only speak in questions but it had to make sense within the duo team to form a strange conversation. We would face off and the person that failed to ask a question had to go to the back of the line. Oddly, I was good at that one. Would last past several competitors to the point where one girl when it was her turn, she just looked at me, said "I love you" then she walked to the back of the line.
By nature, improv is comedy where you can't really have notes most of the time. This is the pantser style when it comes to write because you don't plan things out. You go with the flow and write the scene in the moment, hoping that it is funny for the comedy genre. It is by impulse but can also follow a little formatting. The more known method or advice given when attempting with improv is to think "yes, and" when trying out a scene. This can be interpreted as go with the flow and add more to what is presented, instead of clashing or doing random (that can happen but might lead to confusion instead of chuckles).
Whichever method works best for you, I say go for it. On the other hand, if you don't know or have done the same approach all of the time, maybe try something new. Attempt an outline with jokes added into the mix or go to left field with improv. Just don't ask who is on first. 
Have fun. Be funny. Keep writing.
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| | | 500 Things (E)
Reflecting on how I might be interpreted in generations to come is ... concerning.
#2342385 by citruspocket  |
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Comedy: July 09, 2025 Issue [#13225]
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