THE COMIC TOOLBOX

WRITING COMEDY 
FOR TELEVISION AND FILM

prepared and
presented
by John
Vorhaus

PART ONE: COMIC TOOLS

the comic premise
comedy equals truth plus pain
clash of context
the wildly inappropriate response
exaggeration 
tension and release
defeat of expectation
humor and culture
telling the truth to comic effect
telling a lie to comic effect
the rule of three
callback
taboos and tolerance
toolcraft

View and critique an episode of a situation comedy for the purpose of examining the role and use of comic tools

creating comic characters 
the comic perspective
flaws
humanity
exaggeration in comic characters
worldview
controlling idea
primary orientation
fundamental questions
comic opposites

Exercise in creating comic characters and putting them into dynamic opposition

PART TWO: COMIC STRUCTURE

types of comic stories
a-story and b-story
act breaks
set glue
arc of stability
arc of denial
story and theme
lines of conflict
levels of conflict

View and discuss a film comedy in the context of comic characters and comic story construction

the comic throughline
comedy and jeopardy
story logic and plot logic
story and taboo
predicament comedy
character comedy
finding ideas
developing ideas
comic stories in brief

Exercise in writing and evaluating comic stories in brief

PART THREE: STORY TO SCRIPT

the raw draft
the first draft
editing a draft
from first to final draft
the polish
the myth of the last great idea
scriptwriting tools
the three-dimensional line
the non-linear approach
macroconflict and microconflict

Exercise in writing dialogue using comic characters in opposition and multiple levels of conflict

the long view
process and product
bosses and buyers
writing as a professional
writing partnerships
pitching
serving the work
the wince factor
the fraud police
toughness
heart
patience and impatience
the writer's life

 

PART FOUR: PRACTICUM

Practical exercises in comic story construction
Sample scene writing
Pitching
Question and answer
Closing remarks