Humor Skills - Comic vs. Comedian

So this guy goes to prison. Every night, after “lights out,” inmates would call out a number and everybody in the jail would laugh.
“28”…(laughter)…
“62”…(laughter)…
“7”…(laughter)…
This guy asks his cellmate what’s going on.
The cellmate explains (handing him a book), “Since everybody knows everybody’s jokes, they just numbered them and yell out the number of the joke instead of telling the whole thing.”
This guy gets it…he learns the jokes from the book, decides on a favorite, and gets ready for the next night.
“Lights out” happens and someone yells out a number…
“45”…every body laughs…
Someone else, “33”…hysterical laughter…
This guy decides it’s his turn and yells out his number…
“16”…no one laughs…he says it louder…
“16”…silence…he tries it again…
“16”… nothing…
He looks at his cellmate who says, “Well…some can tell ‘em, and some can’t.”

The trick to being funny is to know what kind of funny you are…are you a comic, or are you a comedian?

What’s the difference? Many people have asked me…and the answer is simple:
A comedian “says” things funny and a comic “does” things funny. There are a few professionals out there who could be considered both a comic and a comedian, but usually you’ll find that they are either one or the other.

Jim Carrey is a comic. His physical routines, whether we refer to his movies or we go back to when he was on “In Living Color,” are legendary. Sure, he has some funny lines, but most of the lines wouldn’t be as funny if he didn’t have the physical actions to go along with them. Watch the closing credits to “Liar, Liar” and you’ll see what I mean…they are all action based.

Steven Wright on the other hand is a comedian. He is not physical at all. But his material is hilarious…examples:

“What’s another word for Thesaurus?”

“I’m creating a map of the world…actual size.”

“Curiosity killed the cat, but for a while I was the suspect.”

So which one are you? Are you a comic or a comedian? The reason I’m asking is because maybe you never looked at it that way, but now that you know, you can concentrate on being one or the other.

And I don’t even mean professionally. In social situations, when do you make people laugh…when you’re talking or when you’re moving?

I consider myself a comic…except for one thing. I am GREAT with a comeback!! (See my post on How to Be Quick-Witted) Otherwise, I do things funny more than I say things funny!!

If you focus on whether you’re a comic or a comedian, then you can start to work on honing your skills in that area.

If you are more of a comedian…start writing some material. I mean, actually write it down. Think about situations that you might find yourself in and write funny things about them. Then when you’re in those situations, use your stuff…(remembering that not all material works all of the time). Take the best stuff, keep it, and write some more. Most comedians seem like they’re saying things “off the cuff,” but believe me, they have more than likely used the lines many times before.
When I was just getting started as a stand-up comedian (back then that’s what I considered myself…now I consider myself a stand-up comic) I wrote a routine about an Ex-Wife See and Say toy (“C” is for ex-wife…Mooooooo). I had actually written scathing sound or response for every letter of the alphabet and I would ask the audience to yell out a letter and I would do it for them. There were two problems with this routine: 1) it didn’t come across as spontaneous, and 2) it’s just not in me to belittle people as part of my stand-up routine…not even ex-wives…especially when my audience was mostly that…(can you say, “castrate?”).

If you are more of a comic, how do you hone those skills?
The answer: Get a mirror and spend a lot of time in front of it. Facial expressions, body movements, contortion…you know, funny stuff.
There was an episode of “Night Court” (is that dating me?) where Bull ties ADA Dan Fielding into a knot. Now, while I believe that John Larroquette is a fabulous comic and funny man, that piece of physical humor raised him to a level of respect, in my eyes, that most people don’t reach. I was amazed at the physicality of it. It was a very effective feat…I mean I still remember it almost 20 years later.
When I’m doing my routine on stage, I have people tell me how amazed they are that someone like me, who is 6’4” and over 300 lbs. can dance around so gracefully, jump onto and off of the stage like a gazelle, and make sweeping movements without killing myself or getting winded. My size is part of my comic persona!!

Find out what your persona is!!

When you are hanging around your friends, analyze them…don’t tell them that you’re analyzing them, just watch them. I can tell you which of my friends are comics and which are comedians. I have one friend who, most people don’t know how funny he is because his humor is so dry. He is an excellent “comedian,” but most people would question me on that one because his humor is very intelligent and not always “caught.”

On the other hand, in different circle of friends, there is a guy who is so right-on-the-spot funny, that it takes no time at all to be in pain from the laughter (sides splitting, cheek muscles hurting, etc.)

(Just so you know, in future posts we’re going to be talking about these different kinds of “humors”)

Both of these friends are comedians…but they both have a friend who is a comic…that’s me!! I believe that there are more comedians than comics…but it doesn’t really matter which one you are, because if you want to make the people around you happy, if you want to make them laugh…then determine where your strengths lie, concentrate on them, and then put them into action.

Are you a Comic (trip, fall flat on your face, get up…”I meant to do that”) or a Comedian (“An attorney walks into a bar…because I’ve never seen a lawyer who could pass the bar.”)?

Either way, you’re funny!!