Comedy & Humour

Can anybody be Funny?

"A day without laugher is a day wasted"- Charlie Chaplin

A guy wearing cling-film Y-fronts walks into a doctors office

Doc says,' I can see your nuts!!'

The owner of a drugstore arrives at work to find a man leaning heavily
against a wall. The owner goes inside and asks his clerk what's up. "He
wanted something for his cough, but I couldn't find the cough syrup,"
the clerk explains. "So I gave him a laxative and told him to take it
all at once." "Laxatives won't cure a cough, you idiot," the owner
shouts angrily.
"Sure it will," the clerk says, pointing at the man leaning on the wall.
"Look at him. He's afraid to cough."

A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband stalking around with a fly swatter.
"What are you doing?" She asked.
"Hunting Flies" He responded.
"Oh. Killed any?" She asked.
"Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied.
Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell?"

He responded, "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone."

Top 30 Comedians

As Voted by The Comedy Industry
From 'The Comedians Comedian'

Eddie Murphy
David Brent
Robin Williams
Steven Fry
Mike Myers
Michael Palin
Les Dawson
Dawn French & Saunders
Spike Milligan
Bob Hope
Rowan Aktinson
Larry David
Victoria wood
Harry Hill
Bob Hope
Rowan Aktinson
Larry David
Peter Kay
Eric Idle
Paul Mertoln
Eddie Izzard
Charlie CHaplin
Steve Coogan
Ronnie Barker
Steve Martin
Peter Sellers
Bill Hicks
Chris Morris
Richard Pryor
Billy Connelly
Vic & Rob
Laurel and Hardy
Groucho Marx
Eric Morecobe
Woody Allen
Tommy Cooper
John Cleese
Peter Cook - true original

As voted by Comdedy Industy

Comedy Acts

Two Ronnies
Marx Brothers
Laurel & Hardie
Abbot & Costello
French & Saunders
Morecombe and Wise
Smith & Jones

British Comedy

Fawlty Towers - Greatest Trad Sitcom ever had?
British inhibitiion and repressed age - something of this character in him, misjudgement and frustration
Strong Bonds between characters

Monty Python - Flying Circus
Dad's Army
2 up 2 down
Only Fools & Horses

90's

Brass Eye, Day Today
Black Adder
Absolutely Fabulous

Modern

Office
Little Britain
Bo Selecta
Ali Gee

USA

Bilko
Friends, Will & Grace, Family Matters, Bill Cosby Show,
Seinfeld,

ARE COMEDIANS ENLIGHTENED / AWAKE?

Humour is very important in our lives. The more times you laugh in a day the healthier you are.
Humour can be a universal language, but there are differences in humour in different countries.
Humour can serve as a barometer for team integratrion (Barsoux & Schneider). ie. the more laughter shared in a team the closer the team members are together
Laughter is a great healer -
Laughter can bring light and spaciousness into otherwise tough situations
It takes less muscles to smile than to frown.
However some people tell jokes to get attention, feel loved, feel like they are pleasing people. Perhaps inside they may be depressed.

How to be funny?

'Analysing humour is like analysing a frog: you can do it, but the frog tends to die in the process.'

Is there a formula?

Some Observations & Tips from Comedians

Delivery - The way you say jokes may need work - build up to the punchline, make the story sound really true, use body language.
Be authentic and enthusiastic

The timing of jokes is very important,
keep a roll of jokes going
Quick witted responses - be spontaneous

Playing on words - Taking things literally eg. I put money on a horse ...it fell off!
eg. Clever guy asking questions, dumb guy answering slightly different question
cheesy inuedo's / ambiguities eg. fancy a sandwich!

Looking at every day / obvious experiences from a different perspective - eg.shopping in Tesco's
sarcasm eg. you're really funny...no really you are!!

saying what people are thinking can be funny eg. reading a dirty mind
imitation & impressions are also ways of getting a laugh.

sometimes jokes / circumstances are so bad/ tragic that they can be funny
laugh at yourself - take nothing personally

be your true self - when you are just being yourself, without judgement, anger, greed or ignorance, conscious of the present moment you will always be fun, light, easy & comfortable to be around!
Use your own life as material. Use your natural personality.

A surefire way to keep a group of friends happy is to set up a 'laughter anchor'. You set up the anchor by noticing a word or phrase that everybody really laughed at. Then over the period of the night re-introduce the funny word into the conversations - people will be wetting themselves with laughter!
This works because they all have an 'association' of laughter linked with that particular word / phrase. eg. Harry Enfield - each of his characters has a particular punchline - which always has people laughing.

Great comedians - Charlie Chaplin - clumsy, lucky, silent

Modern Comedians - Jack Dee - style depressed, moaning, unhappy with life

Morecambe & Wise - Serious guy, with very unserious guy
The Two Ronnies
eg. Interview with person who always answers previous question
eg. second guessing the other person

Styles of Stand-Up comedy

Impersonations
story telling - share stories
focus on negative
silly,
posh,
twitty
start as waitress - heckling -
personality based
angry
a bit mad
loud
fast
slow
unexpected
accent - get attention -
talking incredibly fast, after few jokes
some swearing
depressed
start ok, then go flaky
paranoid - insecure
exaggeration
pause give a moment for people to put the joke together in their own minds - ie. fill in the blanks

Material

everyday things
how we work
how relationships work
how crazy we really are!
doing a song / music / poem
making generalizations about countries & their inhabitants (be careful)
English Language
Past - history - kids,
relationships - first love, first kiss, sex, dates
going shopping

Some more tips

Be Aware of self - without being over self-conscious
keep eye contact if possible
Body language important
is material you - does it fit - does it feel like persona

Work on Opening lines
order of material - depends on the audience
don't panic
if not laughing - don't panic - carry in as if lots of jokes

Warning:

For female stand up comics -only given 20-30 secs - if not funny - heckled - 'bad for woman kind'
Men have around 3 mins - to give them a chance, if guy is bad it's only him - not all men
male comedians - said to be bitching with each other

Don't overkill a joke!

Don't take yourself seriously - nobody's perfect - Don't be a bad sport

don't be a laugh whore - (always wanting people to laugh at your jokes)
Don't be attached to getting laughs
Notice if people are laughing at you, with you or if they're just pretending
Then ask yourself if you need the approval of others to be happy

Don't take the piss out of others for your own benefit.(with selfish motivation)

You are not better than anybody, however you can pretend to be arrogant, if that helps get a laugh - as long as you are aware of it.

(Ego's are entertaining - e.g.. Mohammed Ali)

FINAL NOTE:

ARE COMEDIANS MORE ENLIGHTENED / AWAKE?

Good comedians (in my opinion) are aware of themselves in the moment, and in life in general - that's how they get their material - much like poets & writers, I suppose. (Not that I claim to be a comedian /writer / poet)

Comedians obviously need material, so they look at life for funny stories - ironies, nuances, idiosyncrasies - in everyday regular life. They look at life / experiences / relationships with a open mind - let things unfold to see what happens in different situations .

Just passively observing other people relating for a while can give much material.

Likewise, looking within / at ourselves, we are sure to find much material for laughs!

eg. Just let your mind go wild -write the first things that come to your mind - watch your mind - and you'll see what I mean! (many of us are neurotic).

By going inwards we notice how our own mind works - in-sight.

When we know ourselves, we also have insight into the true nature of others. We can induce that others are like us. We all have problems, fart, use the loo, brush our teeth, get dressed, go to bed, live, breath....

Sometimes things are so obvious that we miss them. Experienced comedians, writers, poets, philosophers, meditators - don't miss these things - they are aware of our spurts of insanity / irrationality / nature. They realize that these parts of us, warts and all, make us human beings.

NOTE: some comedians may be stuck in seeing life through the filter of ' how is that funny' or 'how can I make that into a joke' - this is OK, as long as one is aware of it. (Even that is material for a comedy sketch!)

If anybody is stuck in one filter / perspective -then that is not good. It is better to see life through many perspectives / windows (more material for sketches). eg. Johari's window - what you seek you will find - eg. 'Everybody is after me' mentality creates a vicious cycle and self fulfilling prophecy.

Life can be seen as a comedy or a tragedy - it's all about attitude - eg. Hamlet.

So could it be that comedians, are enlightened / awake to life / self in the moment?

Experienced meditators, Buddhist Teachers are often noted for their humour, vitality & light heartedness. eg. The Laughing Buddha.

Laughter brings spaciousness / light into tough situations. Making a joke can be a subtle way of letting someone know what you really think.

Positive Affirmations

I am Happiness

I love life
(even though I look miserable)

I am Fun, Love and Joy!

I am ever expanding happiness & love!

related pages:

related links:

www
/www.drjoshuadavidstone.com
http://savesite.net/gvnr/articles/020101_3.html- Article - Laughing Club

related pages:

Enlightenment
Truth
God
Godrealization
12 Steps to Self Mastery / God Realization
Become a Master
Ascension
Mysticism
Emptiness
who am I?
Being Spiritual by Wayne Dyer

Belief
Going with the flow
Synchronisty & Meaningful coincidences
Balance your Yin & Yang - Attributes
Balance your Left & Right Brain - exercises
Balance Your Male & Female -article
7 Laws of Spiritual Success - Deepak Chopra

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