163
51
To write comedy, make
the characters believe
they are in a tragedy.
A good comedy works when the characters in the comedy
think they’re in a tragedy, but the audience knows they
are not.
It’s really only trivial tragedy because the characters
have blown something so out of proportion it becomes
a matter of “life and death” for them.
Every Seinfeld episode is like that. Jerry, for example,
sometimes has to choose between some silly thing and
a great girlfriend. Like in the Soup Nazi episode. When
the choice comes, he chooses the soup.
Or when Kramer and Newman come up with an
elaborate scheme for making extra pennies on discarded
bottles, planning every bit of it as if they were taking out
Fort Knox.
Or when George wants to be able to nap under his
desk at Yankee Stadium. Why? Because avoiding hard
work is essential to his happiness.
For Oscar Madison in The Odd Couple, being a slob
is essential to his happiness. When Felix threatens that
with his neat-freakiness, Oscar thinks the situation is a
Wagnerian catastrophe.
Z4273i_160-183.indd 163Z4273i_160-183.indd 163 9/24/09 11:21:13 AM9/24/09 11:21:13 AM
164
For Michael Dorsey in Tootsie, being an actor is all he
knows, but no one will hire him. So he becomes Dorothy
Michaels to get a part. We understand that because getting
a part is all he is about, until he becomes a better man.
Trivial tragedy is the foundation of comedy writing.
Set that up as a foundation, then make things go wrong
so the characters don’t get what they want.
Z4273i_160-183.indd 164Z4273i_160-183.indd 164 9/24/09 11:21:13 AM9/24/09 11:21:13 AM
..................Content has been hidden....................
You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.