If improvisational comedy is governed by rules and requires practice like any other sport, could anyone be a stand-up comic or performer? Or, will some people always naturally be better at thinking on their toes and more adept at unleashing spontaneity?
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Like sports, if improvisational comedy had rules and required practice, then yes I think everyone can do it, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they will be good at it. In any sport two people can practice the same amount but one player may always be better than the other. I think with improvisational comedy the same thing goes, two people can practice and follow the same rules but if one comedian is better at thinking on their toes than the other they will always be the better comedian. I also think that some people have a hard time making spontaneous decisions especially if they are used to doing things in a certain order all the time. I just think that some people are good at making decisions in the moment and others were conditioned to think things through in advance and always have a plan.
ReplyDeleteI think that even with the rules and required practices some people are better at being a stand-up comedic than others. Some people are very good at thinking on their toes and adding funny commentary to situations, whereas others are not. I also think a lot of us have those moments where a situation passes and then a couple minutes later we think of a funny tidbit or a snappy comeback. I think no matter how hard you "train" to be funny, there will always be some people that are better at thinking spontaneously. This is actually similar to sports in a way because no matter how hard you practice, some people are just naturals at certain sports.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Chloe said, that anyone can be a stand up comedian, but does not necessarily mean they will be good at it. Sure some people can think faster and some people can shoot a basketball or score a goal better, but what it really comes down to is experience. Typically stand up comedians are making jokes about what they have experienced or what experiences they heard about and making a joke out of it. It also is the experience of being comfortable on a stage and trying to please a crowd. This is the same with sports, athletes who experience tougher. games and have better coaches will be better at the sport, because that is how they were trained. So yes anyone can be a stand up comedian, and maybe all comedians will be following a similar pattern, but some will be naturally better, because some comedians are more in their comfort zone. That is where the quick thinking and amount of jokes come from, their experience and comfort.
ReplyDeleteI agree with both Chloe and Jessie on this topic. I think that anyone can be a stand up comedian, however that does not mean that they would be funny, or like Jessie said, good at it. I believe that this goes hand in hand with sports, because like anything you do, you need to practice it. For example, you cannot walk onto a soccer team and the first practice expect to be an amazing player. Developing skills and talents like these take time, commitment and most importantly practice. I believe that this has a lot to do with being a comedian. For example you need to practice your act, and work on it, and over time you can gradually become more and more funny.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what Chloe said as well. If there are rules and it requires practice anyone could in fact be a stand-up comic. Not everyone though will be the greatest. Just like in sports, many people can play a certain sport but not be the best because they don't have a natural act for it. Like in sports, Michael Phelps is the greatest swimmer, but many people can practice and try to be as good as him but he has the natural talent of swimming. So I believe that some people do have the natural talent of thinking on their toes and being a stand-up comic than others do.
ReplyDeleteEven though improvisational comedy is a skill that can be learned by many, not everyone will be able to match up to the best stand-up comedian. For instance, one of my favorite shows used to be “Whose Line is it Anyway?” which was an improvisational comedy show in which four stand-up comics would have think on their toes to act out a skit on the spot. Once in a while, they would have a comedienne named Kathy Greenwood as the fourth panelist. For some reason, which I couldn’t put my finger on, she did not make me laugh as much as the others would. She followed all of the guidelines to improvisational comedy, but she was not spontaneous enough to add any witty value to the skits she was acting out. While all four panelists were successful comedians, the other three had more of an ability to quickly come up with remarks or scenarios that appealed to the audience. Improvisational comedy is something you can get better at with practicing the rules, but not all people are naturally gifted to think on their toes.
ReplyDeleteReading the chapter about improvisation and spontaneity and how comedians in an improved act actually work off a set of rules that requires practice, timing, and a feel for how the performance is going. Reading this you get a sense that by following these rules anyone can do this but I think it actually takes more than these rules to be good in improve. I believe that you have to have an inherit ability or talent to do this. Even the general from the red team had this ability to make split second decisions without going through a list of rational decisions, maybe it’s not something you are born with it may be something that you grow to refine. I think these are good attributes in people because if everyone had to think about making a decision we would be going nowhere fast.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chloe, not everyone can be good at something, even if you practice and practice. Two people could practice the exact same but one could be born with the natural talent and ability, that person will be more successful compared to the other one. Everyone's good at something but developing and progressing your skills takes time and hard work. On occasions hard work beats natural talent when talent doesn't work hard. If you have a talent you cant just be content you still have to work just as hard as the person who does not have the same talent as you. Becoming a performer or stand-up comic takes talent people who are born with the natural wit, very sociable and friendly are fit for this. Rather than a shy person who is not street smart would not be successful in this area.
ReplyDeleteI think that even though one can practice stand-up comedy and practice spontaneity but I think that some people will always be better at that. The person who doesn't have the natural ability can practice over and over and they can get pretty good at it but I think that the one with the natural talent will perform with more fluidity and if they forget what they were going to say, they might be able to think of something new. The person who isn't a natural, if they forget they might get flustered and not know what to do. I also think that if the person who isn't born with the natural talent really wants to get good at it and excel that they would do better than if they were being forced and were unfocused. If I were hiring and I had a choice between them I would choose the natural talent over someone who has been trained any day.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, I believe anyone can be a stand-up comic performer or comedian. Improvisational comedy has rules just like any other sport does. The unfortunate reality of this is that not everyone may be good at it. I agree with a lot of my classmates that two people can both practice the same amount of time and put the same amount of effort into an activity but one's skill may be higher than the others and that's okay. Some people are not quick thinkers just like some people are not coordinated like others for athletic activities. Sometimes people know they are not good at thinking on their toes, so if they try to they may say something they don't necessarily mean. Being able to think on your toes just like having good coordination for sports is not something everyone excels at but that doesn't or shouldn't stop them from being whatever they want to be.
ReplyDeleteIf improvisational comedy is governed by rules and requires practice like any other sport I believe that anyone could be a stand-up comic or performer. Now anyone could do whatever they want to do, if they put the effort into it. If I practiced to be a comedian over the years I could end up with the skill that requires it which is to be funny. However, I would not know how to fulfill the object of creating jokes let alone performing them to an audience even with rigorous practice. I do not think that any person that any person can just be good being funny. A comic needs a lot of skill that requires practice of thinking with your feet and making jokes that are universally funny. A true comic or performer, to me, is naturally funny on a daily basis, which means they do not have to “push” being funny. Some people are naturally good at certain sports because they simply have it “in their blood” to do whatever that sport is. No matter what the talent is, we have to continually work on it in order to be the best we can be.
ReplyDeleteIf improvisational comedy is governed by rules and requires practice like any other sport, I believe anyone could be a stand-up comic or performer. But keep in mind those people who are naturally better at thinking on their toes and are more adept at unleashing spontaneity will always have an advantage. But then again if you go by the saying “practice makes perfect” I believe that any person with a true passion in a comedic career can practice to have just as strong stage presence as someone who has it naturally.
ReplyDeleteI feel that improvisational comedy is governed by rules and requires practice like any other sport which means that anyone could be one. However,some people in this world have a nack for doing something like that. Others would prefer to do something else. Anyone could practice until they can tell jokes well enough to go out on stage and preform them, but that does not exactly mean they are funny in real life. Preforming in general is all just a show which is why it could be practiced and rehearsed so many times that it is now seen as just rules and regulations.
ReplyDeleteI think that anything is possible for people who put their mind and effort into achieving something. Anyone can become a stand up comedian or performer because anyone is capable of learning the rules and regulations of something new. A person can learn how to become a comedian. I do believe that certain people were born with special talents and certain things can come easier to them because of their talent. I also know that a person who is naturally funny and has natural comedic timing will be better at improvising than the person who studied to become good at improvising. For example, I think some singers today were either born to sing and were given the talent, or they were trained to sing and had to learn how to learn the voice. Most singers who are successful were born with their talent and were meant to be singers. The people who wanted to just become famous and have to learn how to sing are not as good of singers as those who were given the natural talent. This relates to comedians because all though the natural funny person is a better comedian than the not so funny person, this still shows that anyone is capable of learning how to do something new and be successful at it.Everyone can learn something new, but they just might not be as great at it as some people who were born to do certain things.
ReplyDeleteI think that, like most everyone else, if you want to excel in something and you really put a lot of effort in it to succeed, then anyone can do anything. If you want to be an improvisational comedian of course no one is stopping you but obviously there are going to be people better at it than others. People who are naturally good at something and have the ability to be good at things without trying have an advantage over others but that does not mean that people who work hard to become good at something cant be just as good as those who have a natural talent.
ReplyDeleteI truly believe that anyone can be a comedian in this society. But from past experience in theater, improvisational comedy is hard but it is also something that comes naturally. For some people it may be hard and seem almost mechanical and not funny at all. No one is going to stop you from doing anything you want though. The hit show "Family Guy" is all improv even though it is a cartoon. I looked into the show and everything is quick and the jokes come fast. This is an example of improvisation. Everyone has the ability to be funny but some are just naturally funny and some work on their comical appearances. Some people like myself, are good with improvisational ideas and always thinking, always on my toes and some are not which there is nothing wrong with
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