The Ten Commandments of Comedy

Special Interest Articles: • Book Review: The Ten Commandments of Comedy • Karen's Kolumn • Q&A with Second Generation Comedy Writer, Linda Perret • Q&A with Linda Perret Cont'd.

Humor Highlights

• Passover • Comedy Quote

Volume 10

Issue 4

National Humor Month

April 1, 2013

The Ten Commandments of Comedy Book review by Karen Lee “Comedy has to be based on truth. You take the truth and you put a little curlicue at the end.”~Sid Caesar This well written, easy to read book, gives you the time tested criteria for putting the little curlicues in most effectively. If you are a professional comedian, a public speaker, business presenter or anyone who wants to be funny, this volume is a must read. “They say you can't teach funny. Legendary comedy writer Gene Perret, winner of three Emmy Awards, knows better. A good joke works because it follows strict principles--or, as Perret calls them, The Ten Commandments of Comedy” (from the book back cover.) The simple format includes an introduction and then a chapter for each of the rules liberally sprinkled with jokes and practical tips anyone can follow. There is also a checklist at the end so every joke you create can be evaluated on its merits. Simple, not always easy or everyone would be on stage. The First Commandment: Thou Shalt Surprise sums up all jokes. You walk your audience down the garden path, they anticipate where you are going, and you cleverly switch them. “Surprise is such an essential element of comedy... if your joke...doesn't have a twist or a surprise to it, it's not comedy.” Would you laugh at Henny Youngman if he said anything other than, “Take my wife...please.”? As you work your way through the book you delve deeper and deeper into the mechanics that create comedy magic. Always remembering The Tenth Commandment: Thou Shalt Be Clever. The Foreword to the book was written by Terry Fator, winner of America's Got Talent and now the headliner of his own theater at the Mirage in Las Vegas. Gene's “Comedy Writing Step by Step” book taught Terry how to write his own material and lifted him up to higher levels of stardom. He says, “I am living proof that these rules and principles work...I'm sure that many more great successes will come from this book...you are about to be taught by the Jedi master Yoda of Comedy Writing: Gene Perret.” Gene Perret has been a comedy writer since the early 1960's working for comedians such as Slappy White and Phyllis Diller. He's been a television comedy writer and producer since 1968. Perret has earned 7 Emmy nominations, including one for original music, and 2 Writer's Guild Award nominations. He has captured three Emmy awards and one Writer's Guild Award as part of the Carol Burnett Show writing staff. Gene produced "Welcome Back, Kotter," "Three's Company," and "The Tim Conway Show." Gene also worked on Bob Hope's writing staff for 28 years, from 1969 until the comic's retirement -many of those years as Hope's head writer. Besides his humorous books and how-to books on the craft of comedy, Gene teaches comedy writing through various avenues, including via e-mail. You can contact Gene through the website http://www.comedywritersroom.com/

Karen's Kolumn

Subscription form to have your free Laughter Rx delivered to your inbox on the first of every month.

Steve Wilson, the Joyologist has just been named Director of National Humor Month. Larry Wilde, who created the concept in 1976 continues to build his laughter legacy. Your challenge is to find 30 Ways to add humor to your life in 30 Days.

Humor Resources: AATH Laughter Works The Humor Project Laffy Laughalot Barb Best Journal of Nursing Jocularity Swami Beyondananda Laughter Yoga American Comedy Archives

You can follow me on Twitter @klee49. I would like to add many more new subscribers and receive Likes on Facebook Thank you all for assisting me in my life purpose of humor/healing/service As Mel Brooks says, “May the farce be with you!”

Q&A with Second Generation Comedy Writer Linda Perret

1. Did you know what your dad did for a living once he switched into full time comedy writing? At the beginning I don’t remember being too aware of it. I was not yet 6 when we moved from Philadelphia to Los Angeles where Dad was starting his writing career full time. It was hard to pack up and move across country and I couldn’t understand why Dad couldn’t just take the bus to work like the other kids’ dads did and we could stay in Philly. I finally caught on. Although my dad says I never forgave him for moving us from Philly. There may be a little bit of truth there because I still love the East Coast. 2.

Was there a lot of laughter in the house growing up?

Absolutely, and still is. When the family gets together the dinner table is full of stories, jokes and laughter. It was and is fun. 3.

If Laughter is contagious... let's start an epidemic!

When did you get bit by the comedy bug?

I always liked comedy and followed what my dad was doing but never thought I had the talent to pursue it. I was in my twenties when I decided I wanted to give it a go and have never looked back. My brother told me that he knew that I would someday fall into it because he said as a kid I was the only one who could top Dad. I just didn’t have the faith in myself. 4. I think your dad once said, "A good joke ends in a paycheck". Do you remember your first sale? Oh boy, do I. This kind of answers 4 and 5 together. I had been working as an assistant librarian for a corporation. Part of my duties was to generate a newsletter for the members of the company. It was a very serious company and there was no room for humor. My dad had been doing a newsletter for comedy writers. He wanted to make some changes and I told him about the things I was doing at work. He said, “Okay, why don’t you take it over.” And I did. I managed the newsletter, Round Table (which is still around today but now is online at www.comedywritersroom.com) strictly from a business standpoint. After a few years, I thought to myself, “I can do

Passover by Karen Lee

Photo by Suzi T

Happy Passover...or as it is known in my family...the Evelyn Wood Speed Sedar. We all celebrate in our own way...we remember the bitterness of slavery and the joys of freedom...but enough about my marriage. We all know Moses wandered in the desert for 40 years...not because he wouldn't ask for directions...we now know the manna falling from heaven fell on the map and seriously altered it. I'm a Taurus, so I like the idea of there being a golden calf made while Moses was away...not so fond of the golden liver. One of my favorite songs for Passover is Dayenu...it would have been enough...why can't Congress say the same about taxes? Jews are forbidden to eat leavened bread for the 8 days of Passover...we eat a lot of Matzoh...and drink a lot of prune juice. If you read the Hagaddah, Sedar book, in Hebrew, you follow from right to left...it's a lot like the current direction of the country. Why is this night different than all other nights...for the first time all year, the whole family is sitting down to a meal together...at the same time. It is traditional at Passover to ask the 4 questions, which shed enlightenment on the proceedings...unless you represent the press at the White House gaggle. I was sooo excited when I was finally old enough to graduate from Grape Juice to Manischewitz wine...and then I realized there was NO difference

Q& A with Linda Perret, Second Generation Comedy Writer Cont'd. this. I can write comedy.” I promised myself that the next listing we got for material I was going to write and submit lines. I stole a copy of my dad’s book “Comedy Writing Step by Step” and began teaching myself to write funny. Then someone contacted Round Table and asked for writers. I passed the info along to our readers but also sent in material myself. I sold 13 lines at $10 a line and I was thrilled…and hooked. The funny part is that I didn’t tell my dad I was doing this. I didn’t want him to tell me I wasn’t any good. I eventually let it slip and he said, “Let me see your work.” I still didn’t want to show it to him so I hid it on his desk. A month later he asked whose material I left on his desk. I had completely forgotten about it. He said, “There’s some jokes on my desk and they were pretty good. Who wrote them?” He told me one of the jokes and I said, “Oh, that’s mine!” He went back and reread my work. It was two pages of jokes and he gave me back 6 pages of notes! I knew this was something I wanted to do because the critique didn’t bother me. I took the words to heart and worked on improving on my lines. 5. I met you at the Round Table get togethers. Did you help on the business side before you sold material? Did that help you in show business? The best thing about Round Table for me and I think even our members is that it gives you the faith and encouragement you need to pursue your dreams. I met some of the best people – Karen being one of them – through my work with Round Table and continue to do so today. In a business that is very isolated and competitive, it’s nice to have friends out there. 6.

How has your writing career progressed? Any favorite moments?

A great thing about being a freelance writer is that you can move in different directions. I wrote comedy lines for a long time… something I love. I wrote for stand-ups, television, corporations, and greeting cards. But I also authored several joke books. But I also got into corporate writing and work for Homeowner Associations. That writing is not as much fun and I keep going back to comedy writing. My dad and I just completed a book of exercises for comedy writers. That was one of the most rewarding experiences. It was hard work but a heck of a lot of fun. The book is called “Exercises for the Self-Taught Comedy Writer” and is being published by Linden Publishing. Through Round Table we also offer the Comedy Writers Workout. This is a weekly assignment that is emailed to participants. They work on it and send us back their material. We review it and send them the comments. The best part for us about this program is we get to see the progression of some of our writers. Over the weeks you see their work improve. We can’t take any of the credit because it is all their hard work, but it is a blast to watch. 7.

What are you up to now?

I’m continuing to work with Round Table. We are looking to launch a line of comedy products that will utilize the talents of our members. That is in the works, but I’m very excited about it. I’m also looking at other book options. Writing books is a great release and I’ve discovered that I really enjoy it. I’m also heavily involved with the marketing of dad’s latest book, and I’m finding out that I like doing this too. Work is so much better when you enjoy what you are doing. Why it takes us so long to figure that out is beyond me! 8.

Any advice for aspiring comedy writers?

Two pieces of advice. The first one is to write. Write anything and everything. Try your hand at one-liner writing, greeting cards, articles, novels. Anything. Even if you don’t enjoy it, the practice of writing and completing something is beneficial. The second piece of advice is to not let anyone tell you you can’t do it. You can. I’m a firm believer in keeping projects quiet until they’ve hatched. That way you don’t have to hear any negative thoughts from people. I have a quote taped to my wall, right next to my computer. It is from Willie Nelson and it says, “Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” If you want to write – whether its comedy, children’s stories, novels…whatever – just do it. And surround yourself with positive, supportive people.

.

Comedy Quote Comedy is tragedy plus time.~Carol Burnett