I have found that there’s a tension between the mechanics of humor, a free roaming curiosity that helps an individual (or a group of’em) explore the world for material, and the tangible execution of comedy.
- You can teach the mechanics.
- You can’t teach a free roaming curiosity, but you can encourage and nurture it.
- You can teach execution styles of comedy, but you cannot execute for other people. You can certainly collaborate and create. It’s a creative process.
I think the old adage of “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make them drink.” applies to many aspects of life, including humor.
Even if someone knows the mechanics, has a free roaming curiosity, and understands the style of various comedy creative mediums, it doesn’t mean that they will create something that is funny. Just ask anyone who creates comedy and is successful in the past getting laughs.
Not everything they produce is funny. And that’s OK. The key is to keep finding water to drink from.
