 Comedy: June 10, 2015 Issue [#7038] |
  Comedy
This week: Laugh-Muscle Exercisel Edited by: Kate - Writing & Reading  
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I am honored to be your guest host for this week’s edition of the Comedy Newsletter. If we look, we can find humor in most anything. As writers, we strive to expose and a express that humor in prose and/or poetry. Humor is healing, rejuvenating, and provides a welcome respite stress.
It takes seven muscles to smile and twenty-seven to frown,
and laughter is an aerobic exercise;
by extension, then, comedy is therapeutic 
- both for the writer and the reader/listener 
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"Laughter is good medicine!." It's being tested (and perhaps proven) daily in worker productivity, social altruism, and family harmony (or lack of overt hostility). Medical science is even jumping on the bandwagon, scientifically postulating that humor is good preventive medicine. Recent studies propound that laughter releases beneficent endorphins into the bloodstream. Laughing has even been touted as an easy, age retarding, low impact physical exercise, requiring merely seven muscles to raise a smile  , opposed to twenty-some for a line-scoring, drooping frown  .
As you see, humor can be subtle or satiric, as well as out-and-out funny, like the joking miming clown (physical) or stand-up comedian telling jokes. To be effective (and get a laugh or smile), what they all require is a sense of pacing - a writer who can see the humor in something others may overlook or bypass as white noise, and build up to it by expectation or with a twist. Comedy, I think, more than other forms of writing, needs to follow the old Writer's Rule of Three.
I first heard the term Writer's Rule of Three many years ago in a school writing class, and am still attempting to master its parameters in all my writing. It's an interesting way for me to recall the components of a good story - that it have a beginning (to set it up), a middle (to define/describe it), and an end (resolution). Whether it be political satire or slapstick, comedy writing really needs all three of these elements to make the reader see the humor the writer sees. If the plot is too involved or convoluted, or the setup is misleading, or the ending simply abrupt, the humor is lost - the reader won't 'get it.' All comedic forms require tight, vivid writing to make the reader see, hear, and experience with all the senses the comedy within the mystery or potential tragedy, the humor driving human or other faux pas or foibles as envisioned and depicted by the writer.
Let's explore some comedic 'expression' ~ something will hit home if not as a pie in the face (physical comedy) then perhaps with its not so subtle innuendo (satire)  . I'd like to offer a few visual examples to perhaps raise a chuckle.
 Dark comedy deals with disturbing subjects, often blending with horror, as it portends to mock death, drugs, war, terrorism. For visual examples, think George Carlin, Shel Silverstein, Frankie Boyle. Blue comedy is a close cousin, playing on sexual and social mores. Consider Richard Pryor, George Lopez, Andrew Dice Clay. See a story or poem in the making with a comic twist to release the tension.
 Observational comedy finds and showcases the humor in everyday life, often by inflating the importance of trivial things or by noting how silly 'normal' can be. Think Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, Ellen DeGeneres.
 Alternative comedy such as satire, slapstick, surrealism, improvisation (improv). See Rick Mayall or Linda Smith here?
 Physical comedy uses physical movement and gestures ~ and yes, someone wrote the comedic antics for Lucille Ball, the Three Stooges, Chevy Chase, Jim Carrey, albeit their delivery made you laugh.
 Prop comedy. The name speaks the form, as shown by Gallagher, Carrot Top relying on ridiculous props (watermelon, anyone?).
 Topical comedy pokes fun at headlines and news events. This form becomes quickly dated; that is, unless the event is monumental and memorable. Interesting take on politics and government for those inclined to Deadpan humor ~ no it's not horror raising - rather think Dennis Miller, South Park.
 Word play and witticism. You might think it's topical, but wordplay by subtle manipulation of language (pun included) for a wordsmith (crafting with words) can lead to some memorable images in prose and verse. Consider for us wordsmiths the literary legerdemain of Shakespeare, or if Woody Allen doesn't raise a smile, how about the Simpsons.
Wisecracks ~ okay, that's what many of us think of when we think 'comedy,' the witty remark, perfectly timed. Let's end this exploration of comedic expression on a light note, a smile perchance, as you explore some of the versatile comedic expression of members in our Community. You will certainly find something to read that will crack a smile, if not make you RALF, i mean, ROFL.
Remember, laughter is good for you,  and Fun  !
Write On !!
Kate
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Enjoy this repast from our Community of some poetry, prose, to tickle the 'funny bone' and/or incite the muse comedic 
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Thank you for allowing me to invite myself into your home this week. I hope you’ve enjoyed this issue of the Comedy Newsletter. I invite you now to give it a try, write a story or poem with a comedic theme, or twist, and give yourself an age-reducing, healing laugh; then share it with others and watch them work out with a relaxing seven-muscled face-lifting smile
Until next we meet,
Write On
Kate
{suser:manga_kate)
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