Mastering Comedy: Techniques for Writers, Actors and Directors

• A three and a half hour seminar with comedy expert David Misch (Mork and Mindy, The Muppets Take Manhattan, Saturday Night Live)
• The Rule of 3
• Comedy vs. logic
• Timing
• Physical humour
• How jokes work
• Comedy vs. horror
• Copious comedy clips…

Screenwriter David Misch (“Mork & Mindy,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan,” “Duckman,” “Police Squad!”, “Saturday Night Live,” “Funny: The Book”) presents a class about comedy which is guaranteed to impart no usable skills.

Okay, that could be an exaggeration but David’s given that guarantee at Sony Pictures, DreamWorks, Disney, Lucasfilm, Second City, Actors Studio, Groundlings, Yale, Columbia, Oxford University, Austin Film Festival, American Film Institute, Writers Guild Foundation, University of Sydney and the VIEW Cinema Conference (Torino, Italy).

“Mastering Comedy” has no direct instruction but is a critical, and serious (though funny), exploration of comedy as an art form which gives actors, writers, directors, producers and Crafts Service personnel a closeup of comedy’s innards, the idea being that understanding how comedy works will help you work in comedy. Anyway, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

Topics include the Rule of 3 (Why are things funnier in threes? Really, why? I mean, why?); the relationship between Comedy and Logic (spoiler alert: they’re bitter enemies); the calculations involved in timing; comedy cues, and why withholding them is sometimes the best way to get a laugh; why your body is hilarious; the evil of punchlines; and how the mechanics of jokes – tension and resolution, pattern recognition, misdirection and surprise – provide a template for all humor.

As for practical applications, the presentation includes copious comedy clips from TV and movies which show how these principles translate into actual laughter. So forget all that stuff about no usable skills.

“David weaves a lifetime of experience into a day-long seminar which was not only informative but truly entertaining, a testament to his storytelling skills.” – Elliot Grove; Raindance Film Festival

“David did a top-notch job sharing his expertise on comedy. The students truly enjoyed the presentation and it was great to have him with us.” – Lyn Pusztasi, The Second City

“It takes a serious mind to analyze comedy. It takes a funny mind to appreciate it. David Misch is of two minds.” – Jason Alexander

“We laughed until our stomachs hurt, our notepads filled and our comedy elevated.” – Caleb McKnight, Austin Film Festival

“David’s illumination of the foundations of comedy is wonderful and inspiring.” – Patricia Meyer, American Film Institute

Any writer, be it journalist, novelist, poet or screenwriter will find a wealth of storytelling tips focused on the art and craft of comedy, and so will any actor or director.

David Misch the art and craft of comedy

David Misch is a former stand-up comedian, screenwriter (“Mork and Mindy,” “Saturday Night Live,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan”), author (“Funny: The Book,” “A Beginner’s Guide To Corruption”), teacher (his own courses on comedy at USC and musical satire at UCLA) and lecturer (Yale, Columbia, the Smithsonian, the Grammy Museum, Oxford University, University of Sydney, VIEW Cinema Conference (Torino, Italy), San Miguel (Mexico) Writers’ Conference, Austin Film Festival, American Film Institute, Writers Guild of America, DreamWorks, Lucasfilm, Disney, Second City, Actors Studio).

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