By Dobie Maxwell – www.dobiemaxwell.com
As a lifelong fan of standup comedy and humor in general, I find myself continually drawn to the anatomy of a well written joke. I never tire of studying flow, structure and choice of wording and I still dissect to the core the work of both myself and others. I love how the process works.
Since I do standup comedy for a living, that’s an area of extreme interest but it’s not limited to that alone. Movies, sitcoms, comic strips and humorous articles are also included in my scope of study. I’m attracted to what I call ‘power lines’ – gems that stand out from the rest like hit songs.
Good solid jokes are not easy to write, and rarely are they written in one sitting. It takes time to hone a joke on stage, and polish the structure and delivery to the point of having it get consistent laughs with a variety of audiences – and even when it happens it’s ONE joke. Many are needed.
The “X’s and O’s” of Jokes
For my money, nobody breaks this process down better than Gene Perret. He’s the master, and like a sports coach he breaks it down into “X’s and O’s” better than anyone I know. I don’t try to compete with him, as there’s no reason to. Gene has written books and articles on many facets of joke structure, and I recommend them all. He also teaches a correspondence course and it’s great.
I have read most if not all of Gene’s books, taken his courses and consider him a friend, mentor and hero. Not only is he a fine craftsman, he’s an even finer person. I have been personal friends of the entire Perret family for years, and they have been nicer to me than my own blood relatives.
That being said, I admit I have a bias when it comes to Gene but it’s not because I have grown to be friends with him and his family. I read my first book from him before I ever stepped on any stage, and I found what he wrote to be not only fascinating but in retrospect it was very helpful. I am biased because after a lifetime of study, I objectively find Gene’s works to be the very best.
It saddens and disappoints me that many aspiring comedians I run into have never heard about Gene, so I want to take an opportunity to pay him proper respect and hopefully turn someone on to him and his work so they can learn the “X’s and O’s” of writing jokes as I did. He’s the king.
One of the exercises that Gene gives is to write 101”Tom Swifties”. If you aren’t familiar with what that is, you need to become familiar with Gene’s books and find out. I’m not trying to tread on his territory, but I am going to suggest you make it a point to complete that exercise yourself.
Everyone I have talked to who has compiled the list of 101 Tom Swifties as suggested by Gene is in full agreement that it was a difficult but rewarding process. I found it to be that way too. It’s not easy to compile that many, and at first it can seem overwhelming. After a while, it becomes a labor of love and eventually it’s almost impossible to stop. The mind has become trained to keep the process going, and that’s the whole idea. It’s important for comedians on all levels to do this.
Compile a List of Jokes That Strike You Funny
I strongly suggest that every aspiring comedian begin compiling a list of all time favorite jokes. This serves several useful purposes. First, it causes one to pay attention to joke structure. How is anyone supposed to create anything of value without first studying examples that already exist?
Aspiring songwriters need to study existing songs, as aspiring screenwriters and directors need to delve into films and their scripts. Woody Allen said “If you want to write, you have to read.” I couldn’t agree more. Familiarity with joke structure is an essential ingredient of standup comedy.
Another positive that comes from listing jokes is that it allows one to exercise power of choice. It doesn’t matter which jokes are chosen, only that choices are made at all. There are no right or wrong choices, it’s entirely up to an individual to choose the examples they happen to like most.
Yet another benefit is that it allows and encourages exploration of the work of others. That’s an excellent way to learn about what’s already out there and also discover one’s own personal tastes so as to eventually develop an individual style. Everyone is different, and therein lies the beauty.
What one person chooses as their all time favorite line may not make another’s list at all. It’s totally fine, but I think it’s important to compile the actual list to be able to make that distinction. I especially think it’s useful to do this early in one’s comedic journey to lay a solid foundation of reference points on which to build one’s own act and style. I never regretted studying the greats.
I even studied the not so greats. I just studied jokes, and over decades of working with all kinds of comedians with all kinds of styles I’ve been able to develop a sharp eye for picking out a good joke. Just about everyone who performs has at least one good line at some point – even bad acts.
Start With Ten
I would suggest eventually coming up with a list of 101 jokes, but that will require a significant amount of time and effort. For now, start with ten and keep adding to it. Write down lines as they strike you, and try to figure out why. Did the line paint a picture? Did you like the way it flowed?
There are many places to find jokes, but I suggest a series of books by Judy Brown that feature a well rounded assortment of lines from a variety of people – myself included. They are available in most book stores, and are reasonably priced. Titles include ‘The Funny Pages’, ‘Jokes To Go’, ‘Squeaky Clean Comedy’ and others. This is a great place to begin sampling well written jokes.
I also recommend studying the work of people like Rodney Dangerfield, Steven Wright, Mitch Hedberg, Emo Philips, Wendy Liebman and Woody Allen. These are all craftspeople who know how to deliver consistent high quality. Studying them and others will help you learn the process.
Jokes are only a part of what goes into the entire standup comedy package, but an essential part it is. Character and stage persona are also part of it, but that comes later. For now, focus yourself on individual jokes and why you like or don’t like them. Give your ‘funny muscles’ a workout.
A Randomly Assembled List of Jokes
Here are some jokes I compiled for you to use as a starting point:
“I’ve got my own lie detector at home. I call her ‘honey’.” -Jason Love
“Divorce teaches you things…like fractions.” -Buzz Nutley
“I broke up with my girlfriend because I caught her lying…under another man.” -Doug Benson
“I find that a duck’s opinion of me is greatly influenced by whether or not I have bread.” -Mitch Hedberg
“They say the best exercise takes place in the bedroom. I believe it because that’s where I get the most resistance.” -Jeff Shaw
“They say that computers can’t think, but I have one that does. It thinks it’s broken.” -Gene Perret
“If it wasn’t for pickpockets and frisking at airports, I’d have no sex life at all.” -Rodney Dangerfield
“If her lips are on fire and she trembles in your arms, forget her. She’s got malaria.” -J. Kannon
“I’m not a good cook. At Christmas my family got together and bought me a stove that flushes.” -Phyllis Diller
“I became a father. There’s a lot to do with kids. I had to hold him, pat him on the back and burp him. Luckily, I’ve had a lot of practice on my mom.” -David Letterman.
“My brother-in-law died. He was a karate expert who joined the army. The first time he saluted he killed himself.” -Henny Youngman
“I was walking through the park. I had a bad asthmatic attack. These three asthmatics attacked me. I know…I should have heard them hiding.” -Emo Philips
“I bought some powdered water. I didn’t know what to add.” -Steven Wright
Start the Process Immediately
This was a random list of jokes I threw together for a class I was teaching one night. I wanted a cross section of unconnected lines from a variety of sources in order to receive feedback from the class. I told them not to hold back in their critiques, and to give their opinions with total candor.
I encourage you to do the same. Look over these lines, and see which ones you think are funny and which ones you don’t. Maybe you’ll like all of them. Maybe you’ll dislike all of them. There isn’t any right or wrong answer, and this isn’t a “secret test” of any kind. I just want you to begin the process of forming your own opinion on what you do and don’t find funny. It’s a crucial step.
Look at these lines, and rank them in order from first to last. I didn’t list them in any particular order, so don’t read anything into it. I was late for class that night, and wanted to have something to hand to the students and this is what came out. In retrospect, it was a very good cross section.
There are jokes from famous people and not famous people, young and old, Jewish and gentile, male and female. All of these comedians happen to be Caucasian, but that was unintentional. All I wanted to do was establish a starting point, and I did that. There are a lot of points to discuss.
Other than deciding which ones you like or don’t and coming up with a running order for your favorites from strongest to weakest, the issue of what’s appropriate comes up. Believe it or not, I have had people express opinions that some of the lines on the list were in poor taste or off color in some way. I didn’t intend that when I made the list, and they’re not wrong in feeling that way.
Again, there are no right or wrong answers and I want everyone to say what they think. You’re going to have your own opinion about this list, and that’s great. Maybe we’ll agree or maybe not, but it doesn’t matter as long as we’re both THINKING. That’s the whole purpose of this process.
A Very Important Disclaimer
I think you will find it to be very useful to compile your own list of favorite jokes as you climb the comedy ladder. Some of them will be from your peers, and that is perfectly acceptable. What is NOT acceptable is using those lines yourself without permission. Joke thievery is a passionate topic I will discuss at great length and in detail later, but for now I want to make this disclaimer.
I want to be crystal clear on the point that I am suggesting the cataloging of individual jokes is to be used for study purposes and study purposes only. I have credited people whenever possible in what I have listed, and I do not claim to be the owner or licensed user of any of that material.
Unfortunately, the unauthorized use of jokes has always been and always will be a byproduct of the comedy business. I wish it weren’t so – but it is. You’ll soon learn how extremely difficult it can be to put just one joke together much less an act, and when it’s taken from you it’s painful. For now, let’s not go down that road. We’ll have to go there soon enough. Learn to enjoy coming up with your own unique perspective on a topic. In the long run, that’s the biggest reward of all.
The Maxwell Method Of Standup Comedy - Level 1 