A Comedy Class That was Truly Funny
By: David Kluge
Introduction
It is a puzzle why “explanations” of humor are absolutely NOT funny. I guess it proves the axiom that “if you have to explain a joke, there is no joke” or “when you explain a joke, you ruin the joke.” However, when writing for an academically-inclined organization, you have to explain the phenomenon. Therefore, excuse the following unfunny explanation of humor.
Comedy and the Brain
We have a funny bone, but it is not funny in the sense of humor–it is “funny” as in “strange.” So where in the body is our sense of humor if not in the funny bone? Of course, it is in the brain. Humor is a complex activity that involves many areas of the brain.
The various components of humor processing (detection, comprehension, appreciation, and creation) and the physical act of laughing involve a complex network of brain regions. The following graphic of the brain indicating the areas responsible for humor is from an article in New Scientist by Daniel Elkan:
People use these areas of the brain naturally and automatically to identify, comprehend, react, and create humor.
Considering the automaticity of humor and the time available, rather than spend a whole course explaining the processes involved as described above, instead, in my comedy class (described in the next sections) I showed students videos of popular Japanese comedy as examples for them to follow.
Description of the Course
In the late 1990s (and continuing up to the present), Japan entered a golden age of comedy and TV had many comedy shows every day and night. This led to many students talking about comedy in school every day. The student interest in comedy convinced me that if I created a performance class based on comedy, it would be popular.
I taught the Comedy in English course in a women’s junior college in Central Japan over a period of fifteen 90-minute classes. There were over 60 students in the required elective class (students were required to take two classes out of a group of electives). The classroom was a huge carpeted activity room about the size of three regular classrooms arranged like a squared off capital C. As can be seen in the diagram:
- One part of the room (A) was a long area with a mirror-covered front wall where dance lessons could be held.
- The long middle part of the room was divided into three sections (B, C, D) by one long curtain running lengthwise near one wall and a parallel two-part curtain.
- The last part of the room (E) was a large open section.
After introducing the course, I explained the basics of comedy: the idea of setting up a situation with incongruity, various meanings of words, and the concept of comedic timing using videos of Japanese comedy routines as examples. Then, I asked students to form groups of 2-5 and come up with a comedy routine of a few minutes in length. Students came up with ideas of manzai (stand-up comedy duo) konto (skits), and monomane (impersonations). For the next 10 weeks students created and rehearsed their comedy performances. Since the five areas of the classroom were divided by curtains, it was easy for me to move from group to group, monitoring their work, giving advice, and asking to see how far they had gotten. During the 13th class, the two students who volunteered to be MCs (in addition to giving comedy performances) made the running order of the Comedy Show, told the class the order each group would perform, wrote their script, and practiced the running order without performances. Class 14 was a dress rehearsal, and the last class of the semester, class 15, was the performance. What an exuberant day that was!
The performance was held in section C, and the audience was seated on the floor in section D. We left the curtain between the two areas mostly closed except for an open space in the middle. This set up allowed the students to hide in the wings behind the right and left side of the curtain and move into the open space to perform.
Sample Skits and Schticks
There were so many excellent performances, but a few of the most memorable performances were a comedic retelling of a Japanese fairytale Tsuru no Ongaeshi (The Grateful Crane) and a series of impersonations of teachers at the junior college. A brief description of each of these select performances follows.
The Tsuru no Ongaeshi (The Grateful Crane) was a skit where four students performed the story of the Japanese fairytale. One student was the narrator, two students were an old couple, and one student played the crane. In the original story, an old man rescued a crane that was caught in a trap. Later, when the old man was telling the story to his wife, he was interrupted by a young girl knocking on their door. The girl explained she would weave fine silk in the back room, but the couple had to promise not to peek. The next day the girl presented the couple with a roll of fine silk which they were able to sell. Finally, curiosity overcame the couple and they peeked. In the traditional story, the couple found the crane in the room who sadly revealed that she now had to fly away. However, in the student version, the young girl turned out to be a burglar stealing all their valuables. The narrator explains at the end that instead of a crane (tsuru), the girl was a heron (sagi). The humor came from the fact that all the students knew that sagi in Japanese means both “heron” and “scam artist.” Everyone laughed appreciatively and applauded the elaborate bilingual humor.
The students also loved the impersonations of teachers. A student impersonated me by wearing a Hawaiian shirt as I usually did, using my dramatic introductory gestures welcoming the students to class (both arms extended to include all the students) “GOOD AFTERNOON, LADIES! WELCOME TO SHO-SHUDAN COMMUNICATION CLASS (and then putting hands to my heart), WITH DAVID! YAY! (clapping wildly with class joining in, also clapping wildly). After the impersonation, the audience clapped enthusiastically and cheered the student’s performance!
A student impersonated another teacher by wearing his easily-identifiable cargo pants and a fanny pack, walking with his unmistakable gait while saying typical phrases “A-cho!” and “A-houka!” he often used. The audience smiled and applauded.
Another teacher was famous for one time scolding the class (many of them in my course) and while doing so, accidentally spitting out his artificial tooth at the class. Before starting the impersonation, the student playing this teacher placed a wadded piece of white paper in her mouth, which she spat out dramatically during the performance, causing the audience to howl with laughter and applaud energetically.
The final impersonation skit was of a beloved teacher who was known for correcting students’ pronunciation. The setting of the skit was at a McDonald’s fastfood restaurant with the teacher playing the worker at the order counter. The main point of the humor was that the students used typical Japanese pronunciation of the menu items they ordered, and the teacher corrected the “customers’” English. Here is how the skit went:
Teacher (dressed as a McDonald’s worker): (to the first customer) How may I help you?
Customer 1: I want a Makudonarudo choko shake.
Teacher: No, no. You mean a McDonald’s chocolate shake. (gives it to the customer and asks the next customer) How may I help you?
Customer 2: I want a hambaagaa.
Teacher: No, no. You mean a hamburger. (gives it to the customer and asks the next customer) How may I help you?
Customer 3: I want furaido poteto.
Teacher: No, no. You mean french fries. (gives it to the customer)
All Customers: (angrily) We want to talk to the manager!
Manager: (enters) What’s wrong?
All customers explain at the same time
Manager to teacher: You faiyado!
Teacher: No, no. You mean “You’re fired!”
Manager: You’re fired!
(Teacher nods his head, smiles satisfied with the pronunciation, and leaves. Customers are happy.)
After an hour, the comedy show was over and the class was satisfied that they had produced a great comedy show. I was satisfied with their performance. How did I and the students know I was satisfied? By my loud belly-laughs throughout the show!
Conclusion
This is a perfect example of a student-created, student-centered project-based Performance in Education course. There were exuberant laughs, rounds of applause, and cheers. This was a successful course with a minimum amount of teacher talk.
Video Suggestions by David Kluge
The Basics of Humor: Humor Explained in 60 Seconds
The speaker succinctly explains how humor is the sweet spot where benignness and violation come together.
Laugh with Laughter Guru Dr. Maden Kataria
After a short introduction, Dr. Kataria takes viewers through a series of laughter exercises with whimsical names, like Mental Floss Laughter.
The Difference Between a Dork and a Nerd. Don McMillan – Full Special
Don McMillan humorously defines and illustrates what a nerd is with amusing stories and PowerPoint slides.
David Kluge thought he was funny but his wife and daughter quickly disabused him of this belief. After he said something clever, his Japanese wife would say disparagingly, “Hai hai” (Yes, yes). His daughter would just stare at him and when he explained his students thought he was funny, she would ask seriously “Doko ga?” (Where? What part?). He now keeps his jokes to himself and laughs quietly alone. Oddly enough, he still thinks he is funny.