Coldwashed Comedy

It is harder to make people laugh than to make them cry. An actor can easily recite a monologue and have the audience’s tears rolling down their cheeks but it takes more to tickle their funny bones.

If you watch shows like “Whose Line is it Anyway” “FRIENDS” Will and Grace”, they are shot in a live audience, therefore you hear the people laughing. These actors are comedians because they are able to make onlookers laugh, either with their one-liners, snaps, quirks or antics.

Comedic timing is a talent most comedians have. Without this, they can say or do something that may not be funny at a usual time, but when delivered at an appropriate time is absolutely hilarious.

It is the use of tempo and rhythm so that comedy and humor is enhanced. The delivery of a joke has more impact, depending on its comic effect.

There is a beat when delivering jokes, therefore the purpose of comedic timing is to let the audience have time to recognize the joke, then to react, therefore increasing the suspense more before actually delivering the punch line.

Those who aren’t familiar with the comedy business think that there really is a set period of silence to depict the suspense. These comedic pauses are actually intended to heighten the pitch of the joke – or to create tension. The pauses are the clues that direct as to the subtext or the unconscious content of the joke.

Popular comedians who have a great sense of comedic timing are George Carlin and Rowan Atkinson.

George Carlin is famous for his “Seven Words You Can’t Say On Television”. The humor is obtained from the sudden delivery of seven curse words “shit, piss, fuck, cunt, cocksucker, motherfucker and tits”. Of course, these are vulgar words and really can’t be said on television, therefore getting them an R rating. The rest of the show includes an satirical analysis of they these words are just words and aren’t as taboo as how a majority of people in the world think.

Rowan Atkinson is “Mr. Bean”. He never says much, his antics and facial expressions are hilarious. The closest he does to speaking is his slurred speech – which are also funny. He uses comedic timing, meaning he pauses in between, to create suspense for the audience. As opposed to him racing through the list. If he did, it would only spoil the whole outcome and effect of the entire bit.

Watching these comedians in their element is a way of learning comedic timing.

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