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Post by funnybones on Feb 25, 2014 16:05:24 GMT
Hi Everybody,
I enjoyed Meisner's book, but while I was reading it I didn't find it relating to stand up all that much. It makes sense if you are doing lots of characters, like maybe Richard prior, but I'm curious, for people who maybe did theater in college how do you think acting (deep emotional acting) helps you with stand up?
I kept thinking about how Zach Galifianakis does silly characters in his act sometimes and it seems like he is making fun of acting class.
Do you think acting is a powerful tool for character-driven stand up? Or how does acting relate to your ideas or your practice of stand up comedy?
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Post by Devils Advocate on Feb 26, 2014 15:36:37 GMT
Obviously stand up comedy and acting are related somehow.
Just think about some stand up comics that went into acting: drew carey, richard pryor, chris rock, eddie murphy, jerry seinfeld, roseanne bar, paul rieser, steve allen, steve martin, elllen degenerous, whitney cummins, chelsea perretti, larry milller, dan akroyd, woody allen, jim carey, robin williams, rodney dangerfield, ricky gervais, louis c,k., richard belzer, george carlin, whoppi goldberg, eddie izzard, Janeane Garofalo, Zack Galifinakas, jamie Foxx, Ben Stiller, Billy Crystal, Adam Sandler, Sandrah Bernhard, russel brand, kevin James....blah blah blah...
Most of the stand ups I know (even at beginning level) like to write and perform skits and make short funny comedy videos.
Something in the DNA of some people who do stand up comedy leads them into acting for TV and Movies. Some of them even try to do "real acting" like in the theater.
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Post by Admin on Feb 26, 2014 21:40:20 GMT
The way I read the book was that Meisner takes a simple emotion before you get to your material, a jumping off point, and has that drive you through your scene or material. Most comics early on have no emotion behind what they say because comics want to try to be funny. Not try to be real. Meisner's technique helps with making you have a real feeling and real emotion into something more that can be related into your set.
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Post by funnybones on Feb 27, 2014 15:15:50 GMT
Yes, that part I can see. Learning to invest your stand up performance with emotion is a high level skill that all the great comics have in their own way. I doubt Meisner would consider it acting, but some of his advice (taken out of context) seems particularly relevant to standup:
p. 169 – “The process of filling a cold text with your life is what this process is in a nutshell.”
p. 170 – “ If you go from moment to moment and each moment has a meaning for you then the emotions keep flowing.”
p. 172- Paraphrased: you see I”m telling you ..find the elements you can act out almost in pantomime that tell us what its all about
p. 176 – So you are going to be nervous! be nervous! I thought I'd die until I got my first laugh, that first laugh means 'we love you”
I think I was getting caught up in the "acting" stuff. But as far as using meisner's ideas of preparation and creating a river of emotion (the arc of the bit) and then riding the canoe (the actual words) on top of that river, this I will be trying to do probably for the next few years....
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kelly
New Member
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Post by kelly on Mar 3, 2014 14:43:17 GMT
There were several things in the book that I think directly relate to performing stand-up comedy. In the intro to the book on XVii, it said no two people are alike so there is no universal rule applicable to any two actors in exactly the same way. I think the same can be said for stand-ups, you have to find the techniques and tools that work for you. On page 36, he talked about repetition. This is something I struggle with as a stand-up because I get bored with jokes. Although I do see the way to refine and polish jokes is through repetition. On page 66, he said the stage is where you have a wonderful opportunity to tell the truth and on page 80 he says it is better to use what moves you, what affects you,to find the things that stimulate you. I think that is a good mind set to have when it comes to the types of jokes to tell on stage. Early on in the book, he made the actors respond to what their scene partner gave them. I was wondering if any of you view your audeicne almost as a scene partner. Are you responding in any way to the energy they send you or do you feel like you went on the stage with something prepared and stuck with that? I feel like I am trying to work on finding a way to make a connection with every audience. The book talked about an actor's instinct that takes time to develop. I wonder if we as comics can develop an instinct that helps us figure out how to connect with every type of audience. I am by no means there, but I think I am getting better at picking up vibes/energy from the audience and determining quickly what types of jokes will work best.
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Post by funnybones on Mar 5, 2014 16:01:51 GMT
I was wondering if any of you view your audeicne almost as a scene partner. Are you responding in any way to the energy they send you or do you feel like you went on the stage with something prepared and stuck with that? I feel like I am trying to work on finding a way to make a connection with every audience. The book talked about an actor's instinct that takes time to develop. I wonder if we as comics can develop an instinct that helps us figure out how to connect with every type of audience. Feeling out the audience is essential. but they are not your partner. The audience is like the dictator and the comic's job is to figure out the audience's funny bones and tweek your material to tickle it. I don't mean you need to pander or go blue or abandon your higher goals of comedy, but being able to bring an audience into your game is a real skill and you feel like a wizard when you can pull it off. This is s higher level skill that takes time and courage to learn, and it requires that you have enough flexibility and enough different kinds of material to adjust your performance to the crowd when you are playing to audiences that don't know who you are (like everyone does for the first many years). have you watched the Hell Gigs videos on youtube? It is pretty instructional in some ways. part 4 ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9bQ04NYwYg ) addresses the issue of having some test jokes to help gauge your audience. Once you start to get a good response from the audience, then the feedback dictates your timing and the way you might subtlety alter your delivery to work best with that room (the dictator is now your partner, but the dictator doesn't have to adjust to your lines). I don't know if it is the same as an actor's instincts. I think for standup comedians it take so much experience with different audiences I guess it becomes instinct after you have enough experience? There are a few legendary videos available that show talented and experienced comedians entering a hostile environment and successfully turning the tables. THese performances are often held up as examples of 'connecting' with even the most difficult of crowds. look up Bull Burr the incident in Philadelphia, and Bernie Mac on def comedy jam (the one where he is wearing the loud loud clothes) they are both usually avalible on youtube. I have seen a handful of new comics that seem to be able to handle almost any room, and maybe they have a real instinct for it. but for regular people doing stand up, my guess is that experience and courage and flexibility are key. EDIT: Just after posting this I went back to reading our next book: Comedy At The Edge by Richard Zoglin, and on page 77 I found this. Talking about Robert Klein's early work at the NY Improv: "Doing stand up comedy, Klein liked to think of the audience as the other actor; his routines evolved, night after night according to the reactions he got from the crowd". So there you have it. Klein was bringing his second city experience in improv and his acting sensibilities to his stand up comedy. He used the audience as his scene partner. And as we can discuss when we are talking about the next book, Klein was a hugely influential standup ..... |
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