Saturday, May 14, 2005

The ZAZ Rules are hardly exhaustive. One really big rule is, I think, commitment.

Whatever your comedy scene entails, commit to it wholly. Nuance isn't funny. You want your audience's minds careening down the train tracks of one line of thought so you can derail them at high speed. If your scene is nuanced, they're not careening. If a character is angry, they should be hysterically angry. If they're feeling betrayed, they should feel the worst betrayal possible. If they step on a tack, they should be jumping up and down in pain, or moaning in suffering.

Dramatic characters feel a lot but play down their reaction. A girl who's been rejected forever by the man she loves might quietly take his omelette away, wrap it up and put it in the refrigerator. Comic characters feel less, but play up their reactions. A girl who doesn’t like that the man she loves called a secretary "cute" might throw scrambled eggs in his face.

8:50 AM

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