Dave Schwab | Uptown News

At a June 1 workshop titled “Understanding Comedy: The Rules,” local aspiring comedians got a better feel for their craft from acclaimed Saturday Night Live writer David Misch when he stopped in at Finest City Improv in North Park’s Lafayette Hotel.

A 35-year comedy writer, author and producer, Misch’s credits include churning out pilots for network and cable outlets such as NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX, HBO and Showtime. He’s written for “Saturday Night Live,” “The Muppets Take Manhattan” and “Mork and Mindy.”

“This was a real treat for anyone who loves comedy,” said Kat Brown, community manager of Finest City Improv, a homegrown improvisational comic troupe based in North Park. “To be good at comedy is to understand comedy. David helps people do just that.”

For three hours, Misch’s lecture explored the art form from every angle, delving into such topics as comedy cues, the rule of three, the relationship between comedy and logic, and how the mechanics of jokes provide a template for all humor.

Misch has previously taught the fundamentals of humor at USC, UCLA, Oxford University, AFI and Columbia University.

Quoting liberally from philosophers and scientists from Aristotle to Sigmund Freud, Misch put comedy in historical perspective. He showed film clips from many of comedy’s cinematic superstars — Steve Martin, the Marx Brothers, Monty Python, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin — to illustrate his points.

Comic sequences from such classic movies as “Some Like It Hot,” “Life of Brian,” “Dr. Strangelove,” “Blazing Saddles” and what Misch characterizes as the most funny comedy routine of all time, “Who’s on First?” done by Abbott & Costello, were shown to punctuate Misch’s points.

“Having principles of humor in our heads helps us figure out why something isn’t working, so you can make it work better,” Misch said. “[The] comic genre, whether it’s in movies, sitcoms or sketches is simple, structured.”

Concerning how he developed his academically rigorous understanding of comedy, Misch said “they study the principles of music, dance, art and history — why not comedy?”

“Does explaining a joke kill it?” Misch asked before answering, “With jokes, there’s a lot more going on than what’s on the surface.”

He noted comedy needs “punctuation,” comparing the punch line to the period or exclamation point at the end of a sentence that says “this is the cue for the moment for the audience to process the funny and generate a laugh.”

Acknowledging that not all good comedy comes from fine-tuned theory, Misch said some comedians are funny just by virtue of the persona they’ve created for themselves, citing Jack Benny as a prime example.

“Often the things Jack Benny said weren’t funny, but it was funny because he said them,” Misch said.

“Jack Benny lost a bill and he went to the police to report it,” Misch said, giving an example. “They asked him to describe it and he recited the serial number.”

The evening ended with Misch offering several more near philosophical observations on the art of gut busting.

Noting comedy and drama are opposite sides of the same coin, Misch said “comedy and drama are less opposite than complementary. Life is a tragedy when seen, close up, but is comedic in a long shot.”

Misch said the basis of all comedy is “playing with pattern recognition” via toying with humans’ “relentless, ceaseless search for meaning.”

Discussing the mechanics of humor, Misch said the art form is all about introducing or establishing a pattern, making a mental connection with the audience, and then breaking that pattern in a surprising or funny way.

“Comedy explores the need for order and meaning to trick us into laughter,” Misch said. “The joke sets up an unresolved situation, brings in a pattern, misdirects us, then surprises and jolts us into laughter at the end as the situation resolves.”

“Life is a setup and death is the punch line, but the joke is on us,” Misch concluded. “Comics invite doom by mocking death and being outrageously alive.”

To learn more about the veteran comedian, visit davidmisch.com.

Finest City Improv performs at the Lafayette Hotel, 2223 El Cajon Blvd., where they also offer classes seven days a week. Visit finestcityimprov.com for more information.