In an actor's training, the principles of comedy are seldom given their deserved attention. One reason is that comedy, unlike drama, demands a much more disciplined, stylized, precise performance, and the resulting complexities make it both difficult to fully comprehend, to perform, and likewise, to teach. This chapter cannot cover all the complex elements of comedy, but it will attempt to simplify them and make them understandable. My goal here will be to give you a foothold on the basic comedy techniques, their terminology's, the tools and skills one needs, along with the principles that govern comedy performances.

How does comedy work? How does one dissect humor and explain this phenomenon called laughter?

My approach, presented through out these articles, is to analyze what is happening in the mind of the audience. To look more at the changes occurring in the audience and the reasons behind them. And through this study, we come to realize that the audience, as a group, behaves in a way governed by certain physiological and psychological principles. Because once the actors understand what's happening out there in the audience, they can create, adjust, or change the presentation so that the style, look, and perspective is consistent with the story elements and its purpose. And by doing so, the acting ensemble can achieve the desired results whether it is drama or comedy.

Many look on comedy as soliciting laughter, but comedy is the medium through which the character, the situations, and the story come to life in a world of humor. It's still storytelling and it still has a purpose, a premise, presenting arguments and revealing truth. But it's done in a specific style, with lighter touches, broader strokes, and yet, like drama, somehow reflecting the times and speaking to our lives.

One of the key considerations with respect to the audience is to establish early on the style of the performance. Some bit of business, behavior, or dialogue must reveal that what follows will be comedy. Something indicating we are going to have fun and that the level of reality is going to be distorted, unbalanced, and stretched a little (or a lot).

Even when doing a scene extracted from a comedy play or screenplay, it's best to establish the genre at the opening of the scene. By doing so, you place the audience in the proper perspective and give them permission to laugh. This is best done with behavior, attitude, or some other non-verbal communication, as this will convey the genre more convincingly and quickly than would dialogue. This initial bit is often called the grabber because it pulls the audience into the celebration and sets the tone for comedy. And as the story unfolds, these initial moments help establish the plausibility for the outlandish situation that follows.

In first reading and analyzing a comedy play or scene, one is likely to focus mainly on the humorous payoffs, the punch lines, or jokes, and thereby base their interpretation solely on playing for the laughs. In doing so, the story elements suffer and weakens the purpose or premise of the play. The performance becomes a series of comedy sketches with little holding them together.

Comedy, at its best, comes out of the dramatic truth of the situation. A character has an obstacle to overcome, a connection to make, or a need to be satisfied. And when that's expressed, clearly, emphatically with conviction, the audience laughter becomes a kind of celebration.

It now becomes more than jokes. There is a solid sense of reality, even in the most outrageous situations. The audience cares about the characters because they believe the character's needs and feelings are real. It may seem silly, but its serious silliness, for the audience is now involved in the story and the dilemmas of the characters.

What we sometimes forget is that in every humorous interaction, there are three essential components. First is the humorous material itself, the story and its characters, the funny ideas, the hilarious situations, or the jokes. The second is the medium through which it is conveyed be it a book that is read, actors performing a play, or someone telling or retelling a joke. The third component is the audience, the people to which the humorous material is conveyed via one of the various mediums.

Each of these components is inter-related by basic principles that make comedy work. Humor depends on some shared context, a shared familiarity with social rules, customs of society, nuances of its language and behavior.

Therefore, the comic material must be relevant to the audience or, somehow, the audience must be knowledgeable about the subject matter. In like manner, the comic material must be conveyed clearly to the audience and understood as humor to be funny. The actor/character, who conveys this material, likewise, must be perceived with shared familiarity to create a common ground plus a sense of reality.

The success of humor will depend on how well these three components connect.

When one or two of these components are missing, comedy is not possible. Consider what would happen if a joke fell in an empty theatre. Would there still be laughter? No. Comedy becomes possible when relevant comic material is clearly conveyed to a receptive audience by familiar, identifiable characters.

So now, we have a general idea about the components that have to be in place to make comedy work. Next, let's look into the specifics as to how comedy is constructed. The major enjoyment in this genre, of course, is the laughter that comes as a result of the situations, the punch lines or payoffs. However, to make these surprises work, the audience has to be led into the trap.

This means luring the audience into a proper state of mind that sets up the joke. The level of comic reality has to be established and the event identified as something that could actually happen. And within the context of the story, the characters and the situations must appear to be logical and acceptable.

Most comic situations revolve around solving a problem, answering a question. For example, how does the character get out of a certain dilemma? As the audience is fed the essential information; i.e., the needs, wants, emotions, obstacles, and other relevant data, the groundwork is laid which later supports the joke and the punch line. The setup may also misdirect the audience, create uncertainties, or encourage belief in the seemingly inevitable conclusion to the dilemma.

Recognizing the elements in the setup that make the joke work is a vital part of interpreting a scene. Without this information, the actor may be unable to shape and emphasize the right elements to maximize the humor.

The classic joke involving Jack Benny's character is a perfect example. When the robber points the gun at Benny and demands, "Your money or your life?" the element that makes the punch line work is the fact that Benny's character is an obsessed penny-pinching miser. Without this fact ingrained in the mind of the audience, Benny's long-delayed response and punch line, "I'm thinking it over!" doesn't make sense.

Another example is Henny Youngman's four-word classic: "Take my wife, please!" If you were unaware that much of Henny's comic anger is about the confinement of marriage, this joke would have little impact. But when this fact is set up earlier in his routine, with this resentment showing, the joke works beautifully.

These two examples bring up a good point. Humorous bits, especially in television situation comedies, are difficult to duplicate fully because they are so indigenous to the character and the set of circumstances. They would not have the same impact when reproduced in part by others. Therefore, it's important to analyze everything that leads up to each humorous incident. That would include character development and relationships from earlier scenes and even earlier episodes.

Let's examine the construction of comic gags or jokes and the terminology used to describe their individual sections. Note that jokes are not just situations. It's the character in the situation. Many jokes are a relationship between two opposing ideas or points of view that are expressed in a way that saves the surprise for last.

It's difficult to say where each joke begins because many of the qualities that make the joke work begin as the curtain goes up or as the story fades in. This preparatory section we call the pre-setup and the qualities mainly informational. They consist of character's characteristics, attitudes, relationships, setting, along with the comic tone or the freedom and atmosphere to appreciate the humor.

Next is the setup, the actual beginning of the gag or joke. This is the happy idea or happy notion along with the vital information directly supporting the joke. It sets up the situation, the argument, the problem, and/or the premise and clarifies the objective/emotion/obstacle polarizations of the character(s). It also defines the subject of attack and the plan of assault. I use the terms attack and assault here because most of comedy is blasphemous, insulting, or anti-something. Anyone or anything can be attacked.

Sometimes there is a specific fact or vital bit of information that heightens the audience expectations and the impact of the punch line. This information we call the plant. The plant is the cause while the gag becomes the result or effect. It's usually the item that sets the gag rolling toward the surprise ending. The plant should be spaced no more than 100 seconds before the payoff. Otherwise, any more time and the connection to the plant is unlikely.

Following the setup, is the build. In this section, the joke is further developed with complications, embellishments, or variations. Tension increases; expectations heighten as the audience senses a solution to the pending question.

All that has gone before now climaxes with a surprise ending. This is the derailment of thought, the payoff, the explosion of the punch line. It's the resolution or fulfillment that goes beyond the expectations of the audience.

This is followed by the audience's response, the after-effect.

The laughter, the warm glow, or savoring the fun in knowing they've been surprised or had. Laughter is most often produced by a fall from dignity -- by other people. And that fall or drop can result in an audience reaction ranging from a silent warm glow to a buffo where the audience lets loose with contagious laughter, feeding on itself. In between, you can have the chuckle, the audience seeing the irony, the titters, the belly laughs coming from deep inside, or the howling guffaw.

Each of these after-affects has its place in the realm of comedy. However, sometimes a big laugh or the wrong type of laugh can hurt a scene by making it peak before the ultimate "big joke". One can control the laugh response with tempo, timing, emphasis, and/or reaction so the scene is properly shaped and the humor properly projected.

A topper is a short joke/punch line relating to the previous joke, but tops it in humor and response. The actor's timing, emphasis, and/or reactions set this up so the audience can roll to a higher level of laughter. The saver is a line or behavior used to bump up a weak after-affect, or a joke that's bombed. Savers are found most in stand-up comedy as ad-libs, but they are also effective in stage and audience attended TV productions to help keep the laughter on a roll.

So a joke or gag, with all the sections in place, might look something like this:
Pre-setupSetupBuildPayoff or Punch LineAfter-effectTopper or Saver
The plant could appear either in the setup or in the build, but as mentioned before, it should be positioned no more than 100 seconds before the punch line. You will note that in comedy, there is a stylized order to the presentation. Comic information builds upon itself. What goes before relates to what follows. And if one item is left out or placed in the wrong position, the humor is weakened.

This article provides the basic principles, which govern comedy performances. The subsequent article on implementing humor will cover the tools and skills in telling a humorous story.

Erik Sean McGiven has taught acting workshops as well as done private coaching and over the years developed a systematic approach to acting as presented in his book "The Rudimentary Elements of the Dramatic Performance." Articles relating to this approach are posted online and for a complete list go to http://www.erikseanmcgiven.com/writings/acting/. Erik works in the entertainment industry in a variety of positions that include Producer, Writer, Director, Production Designer, Art Director, Script Supervisor, and Reader.

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There are always things you can learn that are fun to show to your friends and entertain them with. If you like playing around with magnets, you can have a lot of fun and there are quite a few different tricks you can learn with them. It is something really interesting that you can do in your spare time, or for a living, for instance if you are magician or otherwise do tricks and want to add some new ones to your repertoire. If you want to learn magnet tricks to show to your friends, you have to be persistent for one thing, because it can take a bit of time and of course some practice to learn the tricks and master them before you go ahead and show them to anyone.

Get Out Batteries with a Magnet

Many devices require batteries, but they always seem so hard to pull out of their tight spots. Impress your friends with this helpful trick. Pull out the batteries with the use of a magnet. Hold the magnet in one hand, then press it up against the batteries until the batteries stick up against the magnet. There are metals in the batteries, which is why they are attracted to the magnet and will literally stick in place.

A Magnet Makes a Compass

Impress your friends by showing them that if you put two magnets between a string and let it hang down, it can act as a compass. It looks really neat and it can also actually work if you are ever stuck in a situation where you need a compass. Make another compass by making a slit in a foam tray and shoving a magnet between it. Mark one side north and one south. Place in water for a floating compass and to really impress your wowed audience.

Build Items and Structures with Magnets

You can even build several different structures with the use of magnets. Build structures and items out of magnetic items using tin containers, such as breath mint containers, as well as bobby pins and paper clips. These all have metal in them, explaining why they are attracted to the magnet.

There are so many interesting and fun magnet tricks you can show off to your friends. If you keep at it and keep practicing, you are going to nail these tricks in no time and be able to show them off to all your friends and family. They are sure to be really impressed with the tricks you have to show them and with how good at them you are. It does not have to take a ton of time to get tricks like these down, as long as you take your time and do not give up on learning them.

Amazing Magnets supplies magnets to industry and consumers directly both Domestically and Internationally. If you are looking for rare earth magnets or ferrofluid, then please visit amazingmagnets.com.

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Most likely, one of things you'll face as an acting school student is choosing a certain type of technique or method to study. There are a lot of them out there and different acting schools specialize in different methods, but undoubtedly the dilemma will rear its head at some point, and you'll wonder which to follow. Though no one can make that decision for you, it's always a good idea to familiarize yourself with the types of different acting techniques out there. Here are some of the most popular acting techniques/methods that you'll come across when you're in acting school.

Stanislavsky Acting System

No doubt you're already familiar with this one. Probably the most popular acting method in America, the technique has been made all the more popular by the many famous actors who use it and the many techniques that have come out of it. Names like James Dean, Dustin Hoffman, Marlon Brando, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Christopher Walken and Ellen Burstyn easily come to mind, and more recently, Phillip Seymour Hoffman, Naomi Watts, Selma Hayek and Denzel Washington.

Constantin Stanislavsky developed his technique in the early 20th century; it was then further advanced by Lee Strasberg, where it became known as "method acting." The technique became most popular in the 50s-70s, as acting schools around the country embraced it, and rising young film stars became known for their devotion to it.

Though it's gotten a few strange raps over the years, including the largely misguided perception that those who study it try and actually become their characters in real life, the technique still has a stronghold on American acting students and acting schools, and it carries with it a certain sense of romantic nostalgia, as a result of all the famous actors who've employed it.

At the time it came into existence, the technique very much revolutionized the way acting was performed, focusing on the internal aspects of the character, as opposed to the external ones. The technique focuses on the actor analyzing the emotions and motivations of the character they're portraying in order to play their character with absolute realism and truth. The actor also uses emotions and reactions from their own life and personal experiences to help them identify on a deeper psychological level with their character. Imagination is key to the technique, as is truth, as Stanislavsky believed that truth in performance was essential for great acting to occur.

Stella Adler Acting Method

Similar in some ways to method acting, in that Adler believed that imagination was vital to acting, Adler disregarded the idea that actors had to recall their own life experiences to portray realistic emotions, and instead focused on the idea that an actor should translate their imagination into actions. Knowing the motivation behind every line and move your character makes is at the core of the Stella Adler Acting Technique, as is observation of the world around you. Adler's mantra of "in your choices lies your talent" largely encompasses her school of thought.

Many of Adler's ideas actually came from her study with Stanislavsky, and she was the only American actor ever to do so. Adler was also a member of the Group Theatre with Lee Strasberg, but disagreements with Strasberg on how the Stanislavsky system should be taught led her to leave the theatre group and develop her own technique based on Stanislavsky's ideas.

Adler was also Marlon Brando's first acting teacher, and he revered her for many years. Her book, The Technique of Acting, contains a foreword by Brando. Though Adler herself was a well-known actress, her acting career consisted mainly of stage roles over films, and though many famous film actors studied under her tutelage, she actually only appeared in three films herself: Love on Toast (1937), Shadow of the Thin Man (1941) and My Girl Tisa (1948).

A fellow acting school student once told me that he felt Adler's technique was the most versatile of the Stanislavsky systems. He may be right. Stanislavsky himself was said to have supported Adler's teaching method.

Meisner Acting Method

Another technique that draws from the Stanislavsky system, though it contains some notable differences, is the Meisner acting technique. Meisner's method takes the actor out of their head and focuses instead on spontaneity and developing the actors' instincts during training.

Like Adler, Meisner embraces more of an action-based approach, revolving around the act of doing itself. Taking it a step further away from Stanislavsky's technique, Meisner disregards the idea of imagination being at the core and focuses instead on the real experiences of what is happening onstage. Doing so, he believes, frees the actors' impulses and takes them out of their head.

The Meisner technique involves basic repetition exercises that are later used at a more advanced level, in order for the actors to achieve the spontaneity found in real life behaviors.

Like Adler and Strasberg, Meisner also worked at the Group Theatre, and his ideas and methods came out of his experience there.

Though choosing an acting technique when you're in acting school can be a difficult process, the positive aspect of it is that many acting schools actually offer classes in a variety of these techniques, so you'll be able to sample each of them and see where you fit best as an actor.

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Magicians have their secrets but they won’t tell. It’s a sworn oath for magicians not to tell the audience how a trick is done. There are 3 secrets though that they’ve shared all throughout the years. Here are their 3 secrets.

The first secret is that some tricks are done through sleight of hand. These are ways with which they skillfully hide an object and make it reappear on another hand. New magicians hide things up their sleeves. Those are old tricks and very few used t...

Magicians have their secrets but they won’t tell. It’s a sworn oath for magicians not to tell the audience how a trick is done. There are 3 secrets though that they’ve shared all throughout the years. Here are their 3 secrets.

The first secret is that some tricks are done through sleight of hand. These are ways with which they skillfully hide an object and make it reappear on another hand. New magicians hide things up their sleeves. Those are old tricks and very few used them now.

Sleights of hand require a lot of practice to master. Beginners of magic use specially created gimmicks to create the illusion. Professional magicians make use of their impressive sleight of hand. It requires a lot of time, patience and hand coordination to fully understand and do.

Another secret is the art of misdirection. See this blank paper? And as audience looks at the blank paper, he is carefully getting another piece with his other hand. This is misdirection. Another type of misdirection is the kind that doesn’t let the audience see what’s really causing the tricks. You might have seen that a magician has a lot of assistants who also do incredible stuff, but what you didn’t know is that they are helping the magician perform the magic just with their presence.

Another kind of misdirection is the appropriate use of words. For example, a magician will tell you to look at the ‘empty’ box. We tend to look at the box as empty just because he said it. This causes our mind to wonder when the magician gets a rabbit out of it.

Misdirection takes a lot of practice and lots of time in planning. It requires body coordination (one body doing something while the other is doing another thing) and quick thinking. Misdirection is an art and magicians are proud of it.

Another secret is their patter or a magician’s constant talk. Misdirection is achieved mostly because of patter. The magician will ask you to look at his right hand and as you are looking, you won’t notice what his left hand is doing. This is a really clever way to achieve the illusion that what happens next becomes so magical with the wink of an eye.

Patter usually takes the form of a story, where a magician will tell you of something that happened to him someday. Sometimes it’s so funny that we actually forget to look at what their hands are doing or what their assistants are giving them.

So now you have a few books on Amazon and maybe just one or two sales. Of course, that is not the vision you had in mind when you started each book. You intended to sell a hundred books a month after you finished. Yet because you finished each book, you are a successful writer, no matter how many sales or how your books are received. You are tempted to start begging people to buy your books, but you know that would not work. So you are happy and grateful for those one or two sales. As mentioned in the PBS special, The American Experience: Walt Whitman, when Whitman published his first 700 copies of Leaves of Grass, he only got a dozen sales! Knowing that gives you the courage to start and finish as he did. And now look at Walt Whitman. One of the most successful, most accomplished, and most read poets of our time.

Nearly two years ago, you started a blog. As you prepare each entry from start to finish, you hold a vision in your mind that someone somewhere is following every word of every entry and is waiting for the next. When you start, finish, and publish each post, you succeed. Of course, with a blog, there is no finish line. Each month brings to you the opportunity to have a series of starts, finishes, and successes. In the month of February, you may have a total of 29 successes, and you are grateful this is leap year, so that you have that one extra day for one extra success. Regardless of how many page views you got in February, you are a successful writer because you started and finished. You perpetuated the creative energy flow, so you take heart because attention goes where energy flows. Someone is catching on; and, although you hope for that quick fix of traffic to your site, you realize that the best marketing technique is word of mouth. Some quality readers, quietly following, are spreading the news about you. Happy and grateful, you continue writing.

You have proclaimed that March is your miraculous, magical, Master Mind Month, and you are starting a new stage play. In your mind, you are holding a vision that this play is going to be an explosion of words that will create a theatrical disturbance! Regardless of the outcome, regardless of whether or not this play will be produced on Broadway, you hold a vision in your mind that when the audience gets up and leaves the theater, they are reciting bits and pieces of the dialogue they have heard that evening. You just have to start and finish the stage play, shooing away the ghosts of fear. Not even these ghosts, if they really existed, could create such a disturbance. Nothing is going to block you from success. You start...you finish...you are a successful writer.