Comedy: The Psychology of Ha

Screenwriter David Misch ("Mork & Mindy", “The Muppets Take Manhattan”, “Police Squad!”, “Duckman”, “Saturday Night Live”), author of the award-eligible Funny the Book: Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Comedy, presents a class which comes with an ironclad guarantee that it will impart no usable skills.

Okay, that could be an exaggeration, but “Comedy: The Psychology of Ha!” is a mini-version of “Practical Foundations of Comedy”, a course which presents a critical exploration of comedy as an art form and how it interacts with the human psyche - i.e., "WHY do we laugh at the things that make us laugh?" - which David has taught at USC, UCLA, Oxford University, Columbia University, AFI and elsewhere.

"Comedy: The Psychology of Ha!” gives stand-up comedians, actors, writers, directors and producers a closeup view of comedy’s innards, the idea being that understanding comedy will help you do it! Topics include the Rule of 3 (Why are things funnier in threes? Really, why? I mean, why?); the relationship between Comedy and Logic (hint: they’re bitter enemies); the calculations involved in timing; comedy cues, and why withholding them is sometimes the best way to get a laugh; why your body is hilarious; the evil of punchlines; comedy “placebos”; and how the mechanics of jokes, tension and resolution, pattern recognition, misdirection, and surprise provide a template for all humor.

As for practical applications, the presentation includes copious clips from TV and movies which show how comedy principles translate into actual laughter. So forget all that stuff about no usable skills.

Testimonials

“A sell-out crowd, lots of laughing and learning about why and how comedy works; both grad students and faculty got a lot from the evening.”  - Alan Kingsberg, Columbia University

“It takes a serious mind to analyze comedy. It takes a funny mind to appreciate it. David Misch is of two minds.” - Jason Alexander

“Anyone who can engage and hold the attention of my jaded Advanced Screenwriting class knows whereof he speaks. David did for over two hours and left them wanting more.” - Ron Osborn, Art Center College of Design