http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332 The NewsBiscuit Community en-US Mon, 20 May 2013 15:21:56 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.0.2 q http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/search.php http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75260 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:54:49 +0000 JohnA 75260@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>I'm struck by how funny people are often much more intelligent than their stage persona. So intelligence (a rare quantity) needs to be a prerequisite. So is self-awareness.</p> <p>Lots of people can be funny (on occasion) but being consistently funny is about application and practice and hard work. Watching a biopic on Bob Monkhouse recently was fascinating to see how an intelligent man worked extremely hard on being funny, producing funny material and yet had great feelings of self-doubt about being accepted by other comedians.</p> <p>Then there are those who think they're funny but are just sad, twisted and delusional. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75256 Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:27:49 +0000 be reasonable 75256@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Christ, Ron, why didn't you just sit on him? </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75211 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:58:48 +0000 rikkor 75211@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Ron, I assume that is some specialty sex club video. See: ring announcer in leather skirt, 90% men in audience, with a sprinkling of trannies. That being said, I've seen people look worse in their drawers. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75209 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:51:28 +0000 rikkor 75209@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>M. Payne, here you go. They don't actually teach old theaters buildings how to be, it's more dramatic arts-y and all that. Sorry for the misunderstanding.</p> <p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Academy_of_Dramatic_Art" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Academy_of_Dramatic_Art</a> </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75208 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:38:38 +0000 ronseal 75208@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>I forgot to say</p> <p>don't touch the Arvon Foundation</p> <p>You're paying way over the odds</p> <p>they'll be awful, in my opinion, too </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75201 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 22:08:02 +0000 ronseal 75201@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>yes, I'm the fat bloke whose 'anthem' was the theme tune from Randal and Hopkirk (deceased)</p> <p>You can also see me as a south american nightclub bouncer, set in the future, on youtube. "Blue Mercedes Love is the Gun"</p> <p>I got £150 for that. One day's work about 20 years ago. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75198 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:49:20 +0000 shitsu_tonka 75198@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Great boxing vid, ronseal. You look like a buff vigorous man-beast. Oh wait, you're not the white bloke, are you? </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75197 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:37:01 +0000 ronseal 75197@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Shitsu-Tonka,</p> <p>I am normally as miserable and insular as a hungover Rikkor with a nail in his shoe.</p> <p>I'm so small minded and little englanderish, that I don't like the word cynicism, as it sounds a bit foreign.</p> <p>But.... I did one of these comedy courses. (Go on insert your own joke) And it taught me one thing. </p> <p>I can't actually remember what it taught me, as I did the course while at the Edinburgh festival, and I spent the days doing the 'workshops' by day (which were actually a bit of a laugh, despite the word workshop, and I was rubbish at woodwork at school) and got trollied at night, watching the proper comedians</p> <p>The bloke who ran the course was called Logan Murray, and he was a great. Well respected on the comedy circuit, I subsequently learned. </p> <p>Good teacher too, which is weird, as comics are normally introverted and insular and as right wing and horrible as your worst nightmare. (Until they get on stage, then it's all Cor, what about that Cameron eh? Posh bastard. Any Americans in tonight?) Comics are shit bags. They all want to do corporate gigs, appear on banking commercials and sit on panel shows kicking the crap out of Jordan, Ann Widdicombe and handicapped children. </p> <p>Rhod Gilbert did the course the year before me. We went to see him do a gig. He was a lot different then. Quite laid back, reflective. Now he's a shouty arena comedian. "Hello Wem-ber-lay! Can you hear me at the back?"</p> <p>I'm a miserable cynic, but even I thought this particular thing was worth it. Why? because:</p> <p>1. The people are all a laugh</p> <p>2. It doesn't cost that much</p> <p>3. It forces you to eventually go on stage and confront your fears.</p> <p>I've tried boxing in front of a big audience <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yKeoNxAJA4" rel="nofollow">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1yKeoNxAJA4</a> but I found going on stage far more scarey</p> <p>Yeah do it. </p> <p>Don't listen to the cynics.</p> <p>Just bear in mind that no-one can teach you to be funny. </p> <p>And be careful which course you go on. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75196 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:36:30 +0000 Golgo13 75196@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>That's the one. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75193 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 21:26:24 +0000 Vertically Challenged Giant 75193@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>I read the whole Doug Stanhope article, which just goes to show, once again, that I have too much time on my hands.</p> <p>Help formatting scripts Golgo, still working on the break away council sitcom then? </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75187 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:54:47 +0000 Mr Payne 75187@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>'Theatre Teachers' Rikkor? Don't have them here in England. Must be something specific to you folks across the pond. If someone stood in the street trying to educate buildings that entombed artistic expression we'd probably throw a few coins at their feet and wait for the police to move them on.... </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75183 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:46:22 +0000 rikkor 75183@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Oh, well that explains it, Top Chef. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75181 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:37:53 +0000 ronseal 75181@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit.</p> <p>Education, which leads you to try things, gives you the combination of knowledge and experience.</p> <p>So you never again put a tomato in a fruit salad.</p> <p>That's the difference. For me anyway. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75176 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 20:24:30 +0000 rikkor 75176@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>The Ox-Bow Incident. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75172 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:57:02 +0000 waylandsmithy 75172@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>So is knowledge of oxbow lakes within every child, just waiting to be drawn out? </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75168 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:36:20 +0000 Golgo13 75168@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Yeah..."Education" is a drawing out, not a putting in...</p> <p>From the Latin...and from Right Ho, Jeeves. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75165 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:19:03 +0000 rikkor 75165@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Hee, hee! Golgo said "organ". </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75163 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:15:54 +0000 Al OPecia 75163@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Yes, a list of emails would be good.</p> <p>Courses which teach you what to think are training.</p> <p>Courses which teach you how to think are education. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75161 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 19:06:48 +0000 Golgo13 75161@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>You can't teach anyone anything, but I guess you can point them in the right direction.</p> <p>I read a good deal, but not all, of the Doug Stanhope article...</p> <p>...it provided an argument for not commenting (giving "helpful advice") on subs in this organ.</p> <p><blockquote>I was once in my early years of comedy and semi-popular in the ranks of the open mics in Phoenix when a comic higher-up in the ranks - Joey Scazzola - caught me giving advice to a new guy.</p> <p>He said "Never give anyone advice because you're only telling them how to be more like you." Every time I've erred and given someone advice, I remembered that.</p> <p>If you want advice, you most likely just want someone to reassure you of what you already know. If they tell you otherwise, you'll either discount it or you'll take their advice and no longer be following the instincts that got you in this to begin with. So either way, you didn't need the advice.</blockquote></p> <p>I reckon I'd deal with any comedy course as one deals with advice...ignore 90% of it, and absorb the 10% that I agree with...</p> <p>I think a half-day on how to format scripts and how to go about getting stuff to the right people would be good... </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75159 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:45:19 +0000 rikkor 75159@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>Didn't read the article; probably like theater teachers or music teachers. That is, not quite good enough. </p> http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/topic.php?id=27332#post-75158 Sun, 03 Jul 2011 18:41:47 +0000 shitsu_tonka 75158@http://newsbiscuit.com/forum/ <p>A friend passed this on to me - <a href="http://arvonfoundation.org/pc608.html">week long comedy course</a> - they were being sweet, but writing the funny as I sometimes do and standing on stage saying the funny as I also sometimes do aren't things that I would pay to take instruction in.</p> <p>Courses of varying lengths from a day's comedy masterclass to wasting three years at the kind of 'university' you can get into even if you can't read currently abound, and it all seems like a colossal waste of time for the participants and an easy way to take cash from the gullible for the organisers.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dougstanhope.com/journal/2010/7/12/comedy-death-camp.html">Great article on comedy courses being bullshit by Doug Stanhope</a></p> <p>Am I wrong? Have any Biscuits ever taken a comedy course? Did it make you funny? </p>