Thanks Dave Harris for passing on this comedy koan he had
heard in a class. I like it. Sounds perfectly reasonable. The point being
something like: You don’t have to exaggerate the comedy. Trust it. Don’t push.Let it play for itself. Don't gild the lilly, comedy wise.
However upon further reflection, why couldn’t an actor open a
funny door funny? Why couldn’t the character being doing something funny as they open a trick
door? I don't want to over-think it... But I get the point.
The 17th century Russian comic playwright Nicolai
Gogol, who is considered the father of modern realism, wrote some great advice
for actors playing comedy:
“Above all beware of falling into caricature.Nothing ought to be exaggerated or
hackneyed, not even the minor roles… The less an actor thinks about being
funny or making the audience laugh, the more the comic elements of his part
will come through.The ridiculous
will emerge spontaneously through he very seriousness with which each character
is occupied with his own affairs.They are all caught up in their own interests, bustling and fussing,
even fervent, as if faced with the most important tasks of their lives. Only the
audience, from its detached position, can perceive the vanity of their
concerns.But they themselves do
not joke at all, and have no inkling that anybody is laughing at them.The intelligent actor, before seizing
upon the petty oddities and superficial peculiarities of his part, must strive
to capture those aspects that are common to all mankind.He ought to consider each character,
what it is that consumes his life and constitutes the perpetual object of his
thoughts, his idée fixe. Having grasped this major concern, the actor must
assimilate it so thoroughly that the thoughts and yearnings of his character
seem to be his own and remain constantly in his mind over the course of the
performance….So, one should first
grasp the soul of a part and not its dress.”
Chico Marx playing piano. Why? Because it's awesome:
Ask the Coach
If you have any questions, comments or want to share a link. Email Me