And you know you just can’t hold it inside
And that’s when you break
Sure, an attack of the chuckles. We’ve all been there. But the next verse gives away why people (especially comics!) really hate comics breaking character:
Sometimes a sketch just ain’t workin’
You’re giving it your all but it isn’t enough
Your jokes are falling flat and your palms are all sweaty
But you know a trick to cover it up
And that’s when you break
That’s the breaking conundrum. Cracking up at your own bit is a funny-faux-pas, a comedy no-no taught in every beginning improv class. Don’t laugh at your own jokes!
And yet? It works.
“No one likes when you break in the sketch,” notorious giggle boy Jimmy Fallon told Andy Cohen about how he was constantly angering Lorne Michaels. “All I can tell you is I was in a sketch with all of these funny people and I just couldn’t hold it. I was like ‘You’re ruining it, you idiot!’ But it’s funny.”
“That’s Carol Burnett”
Jimmy Fallon isn’t the only one who loses it during comedy sketches. He’s just the most obnoxious about it. The funnier the sketch comedy, the more likely you’ll see someone breaking character when the absurdity gets too much to bear.
The gang over at Whose Line Is It Anyway were always good for an unexpected snort or two, but we can cut them some slack for not knowing what insanity might spill out of a castmate’s mouth. The element of surprise is an effective weapon against deadpan.
ABC
We can’t give the same break to Monty Python. A live performance of its famous parrot sketch somehow got to Michael Palin, even though he and John Cleese had performed it dozens of times.
The Secret Policeman’s Other Ball
The audience knew what parrot jokes were coming, which somehow amped up the laughs. At the first sign of Palin losing his composure, the crowd whipped into a frenzy of hilarity, making a straight face that much more difficult. Cleese, sensing blood in the water, raises his voice another octave to go in for the kill.
When Comedians Crack Up: An Analysis
Source: Pinoy Daily News
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