Ask for the butter

Josh

"I know nothing except the fact of my ignorance." -Socrates
For me it's the same. These are my unfinished theories and current philosophy. Take them or leave them.

I just heard something that I thought was brilliant. I started watching Studio 60, which is a tv show about a comedy tv show similar to Saturday Night Live. There was a line of dialogue that really hit home with me. Harry, aka Harriet, the female cast lead asked her boss (for those of you who are interested is also her ex-boyfriend played by Matthew Perry) "I got a laugh at the table read when I asked for the butter in the dinner sketch, I didn't get it at the dress, what did I do wrong? What did I do wrong." Perry responded with "You asked for the laugh." Harriet "What did I do at the table read?" Perry "You asked for the butter."

That is a brilliant way to look at comedy. Live in the moment. Some people pander to the audience but true performance is about portraying a character and not looking for validation from a chorus of nameless strangers. I forget who, but I was told about an exercise where someone would go to the other room and pick up a pen. Then, someone else goes and picks up a pen from the other end of the room, only now everyone watches them. The results were that when watched, the pen picker uppers, looked as though they were being watched. Something was off. There was now this self aware performance of picking up a pen. Just pick up the pen. Just ask for the butter. Acting is at its best when it's not conscious of itself. So is comedy.