William Swan Plumer - The Bibles teaching on the call to the ministry

CONTENTS

THE CHEEKY MONKEY

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Copyright Page

First published in 2010 by
Currency Press Pty Ltd
PO Box 2287
Strawberry Hills NSW 2012
www.currencypress.com.au

First electronic edition published in 2012 by Currency Press Pty Ltd.

Copyright Tim Ferguson, 2010

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Printed book ISBN: 9780868198613
ePub ISBN: 9781921429316

Cover and book design by Emma Vine, Currency Press

Cover image by ImageEnvision.com/JVPD

Authors Biography

TIM FERGUSON has had over 25 years experience in writing TV comedy and sitcoms. As a member of the Doug Anthony Allstars (DAAS) he toured internationally for over a decadethe group was the biggest-selling act at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for nine years running. He co-produced, wrote and directed the comedy/drama series Shock Jock and was host and writer of the Logie Award-winning Dont Forget Your Toothbrush. He has appeared on numerous TV program s including: ABC TVs The Glasshouse and The Einstein Factor and in 2003 was the host of Big Brother Insider. Tim is the author of the bestselling political satire, Left, Right & Centre and has been a contributor of opinion pieces and features for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald.

Acknowledgements

This book could not have been written without the help, savvy and skills of Nick Parsons (editor), Victoria Chance, Claire Grady, Emma Vine, Mark Ryan, Stephanie Mills, Edwina Stuart, Zilla Turner, Kate Richter, Jimmy Thomson, Kelly Lefever, Edwina Exton, Paul McDermott, Richard Fidler, John Clarke, Cynthia Ferguson, Melissa Peres, Peter Abbott, Marc Gracie, Michael Scott, Ted Robinson, May Yeung, Paul Livingston, Clare Renner, Cameron P. Mellor, Liza Birmingham and Michael Pope.

Disclaimer

Much humour is inherently offensive. Therefore, this book, which aims to provide insights and techniques for the writing of comedy, includes offensive content. Potentially offensive topics discussed include, but are not limited to, race and ethnic humour; religion and religious humour; sexual, sexist and gender humour as well as vulgar language. Though offence is innate to some humour, it is not intended here.

Every effort has been made to attribute original author to quoted material, but jokes are often passed around and changed in the process, and their authorship is lost.

A note on the exercises

Sample answers to the exercises may be found in the appendix.

For my brother, Simon,
a very funny man

Introduction:
The Purpose and
Function of Humour

Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition. Our chief weapon is surprise surprise and fear fear and surprise.

The Spanish Inquisition, Monty Pythons Flying Circus

One mans joke is another mans sentence, so finding common ground between all jokes seems impossible. There are, however, certain timeless principles that underlie all jokes and narrative comedy. These principles are not rules or formulae, but the framework within which comedy occurs. They were discovered by writers as far back as Aristotle, although not invented by them. Comedy goes to the core of every human being and always has. It is the worlds highest and lowest art form.

In a way, you already know everything in this book. The blueprint for creating comedy is in your DNA. If the principles seem familiar, perhaps bleedingly obvious, its because you know them instinctively. Humans have evolved into civilised and sophisticated beings. Comedy, however, originates from and speaks to our primate brain, the cheeky monkey within us. If you already write comedy (and its funny) youre most likely applying the principles whether you know it or not. If youve never written a joke in your life, applying the principles may help you get underway.

The principles of comedy writing offered in this book result from discussions with writers, producers and comedians about their craft, and from my own experience in stand-up, musical comedy and narrative comedy.

This book does not, could not, provide comprehensive definitions of every form of gag and narrative joke. Nor is it an empirical study of comedy itself. The aim is to offer comedy writers some broad principles and practical methods for devising and assessing their work.

Though many of the topics covered in this book can be applied to writing stand-up material or comic plays, stories and movies, the central purpose is to aid screenwriters in developing sitcom. This manual covers the process from the germ of an idea to a fully-fledged series ready for pitching. But be warned: those who know the principles of comedy can come to look on it in much the same way a gynaecologist looks at human reproduction: with too much knowledge to find it sexy.

Theres every chance you wont agree with everything in this book, or even with the proposition that a valid theory of comedy is possible. But, as youll see from the examples in this book, countless comedians and comic writers have successfully applied these principles.

Writing comedy is not for the faint-hearted. It is one of the most challenging creative experiences there is. But its also one of the most rewarding. Seriously.

The Principles of Comedy

For as long as its been recorded (the earliest satires date back to ancient Greece), comedy has been comprised of a range of elements and principles that have not changed. Comedy may have a thousand skins but its bones remain the same.

Just as any story must feature a protagonist who faces obstacles to their goal, comedy relies upon a specific range of principles. These principles are based upon primal understandings shared by every human being on the planet.

Though the higher cognitive processes of the brain vary from person to person, the same raw human instincts drive us all. We all have a funny bone.

Sure, each culture may have its own comedy traditions. The Germans, despite appearances, love to laugh. They particularly enjoy Schadenfreude , laughter at the misfortunes of others. The Japanese have Manzai , a comic tradition first developed in the Heian Period (7941185). Manzai features a two-man team made up of the Boke (an enthusiastic idiot with a short memory who misunderstands things) and the Tsukkomi (a dour straight-guy who constantly interrupts the Boke to correct him and hit him on the head with a stick). The Italians have Commedia DellArte , a tradition dating back to the 16th century that gave birth to Punch and Judy.