How to be funny : parody, prank, passion and play in the comic techniques of Ridiculusmus Theatre Company

An analysis of the essential elements of comic performance using a practice based research project called How To Be Funny.

For centuries the greatest philosophers, scientists and psychologists have attempted to define humour. Plato began rather negatively with the Superiority Theory, Kant and others claimed all comedy was incongruity whilst Freud declared relief to be the unifying factor in humour. True to academic bent the different camps and their followers take it in turns to knock each other's theories down finding examples that don’t fit (a snake in a fridge is incongruous but not funny for example). I attempted the opposite and sought to find a unifying and universal solution.

The result of the research - a thirty five second practical performative demonstration, involves the deflation of a balloon, a duck caller and a rubber wind bag in the act of sitting down three times. It is at once incongruous, superioritizing and a metaphorical and actual relief in the golden harmonic form of a three line gag and reveals that all comedy is deflation.

The practical work was used to examine the comic elements of the extant methodology of theatre company Ridiculusmus, the principles that underpin it and how these are deployed in the company’s comedy in general.

The findings are then extrapolated to universal principles necessary for the pursuit of successful comic performance:

There is functional humour and memorable humour - a successful creator of memorable humour needs to lead a life rich in aspirations that will produce enough deflatory failures to regale and entertain others with. They must be prepared to inflate and deflate themselves over and over again on the sacrificial altar of audience mirth. Nothing is fixed in comedy. Whatever one person finds funny another does not. It is easy to become distracted by fripperies - microphone technique, formula jokes - the pull back and reveal, call back, rhythm, and timing - and by misleadingly close, but distinct areas of study - laughter, tickling and glee. To discover the secret of comedy one needs to find its soul, the essential essence at its core. The aspiring creator of memorable humour needs to realize their unique vision and arrange a soulful communion with their audience that creates a sensus communis from which inspiration can be taken.

The thesis, which includes a CD Rom of the performance piece with critical commentary and analysis, reflects the structure and working method behind the performance and is expressed in the form of a long - winded joke that playfully mocks itself whilst divulging useful knowledge in a deductive manner.