Death, Dogs & TV (Stand-up Comedy Writing Inspiration)

Maria Bamford talking about her raccoon like behaviour (see 'animal anlogies' below).

I'm writing a series of blogs rounding up recent comedy writing games and inspiration I've been sharing over on my Substack. Here are the first three prompts.

TAKE A CONTRARIAN STANCE In one of my Zoom stand-up material generation sessions we explored Daniel Sloss’ attitude to Death. As Sloss says, society dictates that we treat death as a tragedy because “every life is precious”. He then takes a totally contrarian stance by cheerfully asserting that he doesn’t find all deaths sad. He argues:

“All I’m trying to say is I think some people deserve to die. Most of the time death is awful. 60% to 65% of the time death is. But can we admit that occasionally death is spot on?”

In response to the audience’s reaction, he pushes back by asking, with mock disbelief:

“Every death has devastated you? You’ve never secretly enjoyed one of them?”

He concludes by saying:

“Every life is precious? Every life is a miracle? No. No, no, no. Life is not precious. You can make it accidentally. How precious can that be?”

TRY IT! Take something that people have a strong attitude towards - and take the exact oppoisite attitiude.

For more, see my Substack Puppies are Evil

ANIMAL ANALOGIES

In one of my stand-up workshops, a new comic shared a story about a friend who stole from the college tuck shop (a very British expression for a shop that sells sweets (or ‘candy’) on campus). The friend didn’t just steal a chocolate bar; he’d walk out with the entire display box. (Kudos for committing to the bit. He’s probably a banker now).

Using this animal approach, the comic in the class mapped the behaviour to a ferret: his ferret like nature meant he was notorious for stealing random items and hoarding them in his den (or dorm room). This approach makes the everyday suddenly feel absurd. And there are also laughs to be had in how ridiculous the animal act-out becomes.

This approach led another comic named Kat to write a lovely bit where she compares her boyfriend to a golden retriever because he is sweet and prone to cuddling, but (as a keen rambler) also “vibrates with energy” by the door the second a walk is suggested. To further the analogy, she describes how he has got fiercely possessive over a basketball they found in the park.

TRY IT: What do you find annoying or peculiar in other people’s behaviour? What animal does the behaviour put you in mind of? An animal analogy (or an ‘is like’) can be great for stand-up.

For more (including examples from Katherine Ryan, Dylan Moran and Maria Bamford see my Substack You Animal!

WHAT IF - TV SHOWS

Try using "What if?" thinking in stand-up comedy writing. Here I'm exploring TV shows as a starting point. (Yes, you can turn your TV viewing into comedy inspiration.)

While it’s cathartic (and potentially very funny) to rant about terrible shows - or to pick apart the tropes of a great show (taking a contrarian stance) - to take it somewhere more surprising ask yourself:

“What if it were different?”

This “what if?” writing game is one I always return to (in many different ways) because it takes you out of simply talking about how things are (which a lot of people get stuck in with their stand-up writing) and into how they could be.

Play with following questions and see where it takes you as you write stand-up comedy on a TV show.

What if it were set somewhere else?

What if the kinds of people on the show were different?

What if it were set in a different time period?

All of these can take you to a funny angle. And here’s one I want to delve more deeply into: What if I were on it?

To read more, see my Substack "A Little Cash Bribe"