Comedy is brutal, in the best way. To master comedy is to master truthfulness, high-stakes, and perfect timing. For the past month of classes, I have been on my toes, experimenting with comedic scenes and songs, and on the edge of my seat, laughing as my peers light the room with their detailed performances. Now, it’s finals week, and I get to perform my Comedy pieces for the last time and wrap up this semester with some laughter!
First up is my acting class. My scene partner and I are tackling a scene from POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, by Selina Fillinger. My character is the president’s Press Secretary. The humor in this scene is quick-witted, sharp, and specific. It is both the most hilarious and the most difficult scene I have ever worked on because the more serious and committed we are, the funnier it becomes.
How exactly did we find the sweet spot of humor in this scene? My acting teacher had my scene partner and I watch the TV show, West Wing, to learn the style of comedy we were portraying. Watching a TV show as a homework assignment was not what I expected for the end of the semester, but it was so helpful in finding the comedic beats and delivery in our work.
Meanwhile, at my Musical Theater class, I am working on comedic patter songs and surprising choices. I am performing, “Invention,” by Scott Burkell and Paul Loesel. This piece is fast-paced and lyric-driven, about a girl who spirals after having a first date. For this final, I have to focus on clarity of the words I am saying, so the audience actually understands the jokes that are written in. I am also working on making my character quirky and funny while remaining truthful and passionate in my performance.
My favorite assignment for this final unit was when my professor held up flashcards of different transitive verbs for us to switch to as we sang through our songs. For example, the song would start with “to caress.” A phrase later, the next action would be “to demand.” Then, “to hypnotize,” then, “to worship,” and then, “to annihilate.” Although these words might not make absolute sense given the context of the song, practicing switching from one action to the next taught us how to play with the element of surprise in comedy. Going from “soothe” to “strangle” sparked hilarious choices and kept the songs fresh in our bodies. These quick-switches worked perfectly for a character that is going a little crazy like mine is. The exercise inspired me to use some of these actions in my final culmination of the song.
Right after finals week, after I culminate all of these comedy pieces, I will be performing at 54 Below in NYC. I will be singing Sondheim’s “You Could Drive A Person Crazy,” from Company. For this song, the comedy is written into the score and in the text, so my job as an actor is pretty straightforward. All I have to do is stay present, trust the material, and remind myself of a few comedic tips I learned in class. In this piece, when I clarify the character, the circumstances, and my choices, the comedy shines through.
Videos