Kidding Around: Getting in Touch With Your Inner Child
Boy, does “getting in touch with your inner child” sound hokey or what?
But this is not meant in a New Age way at all. It is simply that you need to get back to your sense of play if you want to be a successful comedy writer.
Every child at play is a consummate improvisation expert. When playing with other children, rules don't apply. One minute a kid is Mommy and her doll is the baby and the next minute she's Batman and the doll is a bomb she needs to defuse. Children are totally committed to each character they play and the premise they're following — and they can flow to the next “set” effortlessly. Why? Because they don't care what people think. Their friends aren't going to judge them, because they're all acting the same way.
Notice how easily children laugh, truly laugh — that full body, side-splitting, rolling-on-the-floor type of laughter. Why is it so different with adults? Because kids willingly accept the fantasy of the comedy premise presented. They want to laugh; they are actively looking for things that make them laugh. Kids aren't easier to crack up than adults, but they are more willing to let you make them laugh.
“Act your age.” Those three words are the enemy of creativity. We've always been told “Stop kidding around!” or “You're too old to behave that way!” Well, if you want to write comedy, you had better start kidding around. You need to let your mind free-associate the same way a child does. You need to stop worrying about what people are going to think. If you don't, you'll never take any chances with your comedy, and taking chances is what good comedy is all about. Playing it safe is what mediocre comedy is all about.
