I should preface my process by saying that writing is often unexamined. People think that jokes “just happen,” spontaneously. And they do – in conversations and casual moments, quick people can pull it out. Spontaneous events are as good a place as any to start, and it definitely satisfies one quality of humor that will make you stand out: it’s an experience that is unique to you (or you and a limited number of people). But the key is to predict or create those kind of moments on-stage, again and again. And more often than not, you have to tweak it to make the best possible impact on stage.
Some people also think that spontaneous, funny thought is all that (at least some) comics do on stage – Robin Williams and Michael Richards leap immediately to mind. Well, sometimes. At open mics. But not usually when they’re headlining a show. And it frequently doesn’t work for them, as the Michael Richards racist incident shows.
Paul Reisner says he starts with a funny, one-liner or “nugget,” and if the audience bites, he expands on it spontaneously and organically (Borns). That’s definitely something to aspire to, but I don’t find it to be the norm.
A lot of people also do crowd work, and when it’s spontaneous it can be awesome, especially when it’s unique. However, a lot of crowd work is like improv: it’s not as “improvised” as it looks. I see guys give similar responses to every pretty girl, black guy, hippie guy, etc. Their audience that sees them one time doesn’t see that it’s prepared.
The point is, that most comics aren’t as spontaneous as we think, if they are at all. And this should not be our goal, starting out.
Questions? Comments? Thoughts? Additions? How much do you trust to spontaneity? Do you prepare anything, or just wing it?
References:
Borns, Betsy. Comic Lives: Inside the World of Stand-Up Comedy. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1987.
