I'm not a big fan of stand-up comedy in the sense of someone who closely follows the scene, but I am interested in the creative process and here we have four guys who are top in their business exchanging views about the mechanics of the craft.
About the craft itself, of all the narrative forms comedy is the one which aims the most at short-term effect. Laughter sanctifies all. So you will not glean much here on 'long' structure, but within the 'short' framework you will find some valuable stuff here with general application.
I discuss the four guys in order of how they rubbed me here, which is also how I rate their insights here and work on the stage. A valuable lesson right on the start is that these two things are deeply interwoven. 'Putting on an act' can't help but mean channeling yourself a certain way.
Each of the four can be said to represent a certain way of thinking and channeling self.
Gervais comes across as needy and a bit of a jerk. Maybe because he is supposed to be the host directing the discussion, maybe because that's who he can't help but be, he keeps butting in, has no chemistry with the rest and forces laughter to ingratiate himself. Indicative of his character, of the four he is the only one who keeps trying to logically explain how it all works.
Next is Seinfeld, cool and composed as usual. But both himself and his art are entirely too clean and smarmy, he nicely frames but will not put his own self in the life he frays, he's there but ironically sits above, better than you. (Louis chalks it up to Jewishness, I think in the context of secrecy). It's why his sitcom never appealed to me one bit.
The other two guys I like. Chris Rock is spontaneously present, full of alertness and vitality but not a jerk. A cool tidbit here is 'making fun of what they do and not who they are'.
Louis CK is my favorite. Oh I am not big on his scatological outbursts, but that is one of several ways he has of putting himself in the thing as worse than you, usually fat and disgusting. He combines a spontaneous stream-of- consciousness, conveys the exasperating life around the joke and (as you listen to him talk here) he has the best insights.
Incidentally, of the four he is the one who renews his act the most, the opposite of that is the conservative Seinfeld who rarely does.
Even more revealing difference between the two; Seinfeld (and Gervais) believe the audience comes for the man on the stage, Louis (and Rock) believe we come for the act.
Watch this folks with an eye on learning about your own self.
About the craft itself, of all the narrative forms comedy is the one which aims the most at short-term effect. Laughter sanctifies all. So you will not glean much here on 'long' structure, but within the 'short' framework you will find some valuable stuff here with general application.
I discuss the four guys in order of how they rubbed me here, which is also how I rate their insights here and work on the stage. A valuable lesson right on the start is that these two things are deeply interwoven. 'Putting on an act' can't help but mean channeling yourself a certain way.
Each of the four can be said to represent a certain way of thinking and channeling self.
Gervais comes across as needy and a bit of a jerk. Maybe because he is supposed to be the host directing the discussion, maybe because that's who he can't help but be, he keeps butting in, has no chemistry with the rest and forces laughter to ingratiate himself. Indicative of his character, of the four he is the only one who keeps trying to logically explain how it all works.
Next is Seinfeld, cool and composed as usual. But both himself and his art are entirely too clean and smarmy, he nicely frames but will not put his own self in the life he frays, he's there but ironically sits above, better than you. (Louis chalks it up to Jewishness, I think in the context of secrecy). It's why his sitcom never appealed to me one bit.
The other two guys I like. Chris Rock is spontaneously present, full of alertness and vitality but not a jerk. A cool tidbit here is 'making fun of what they do and not who they are'.
Louis CK is my favorite. Oh I am not big on his scatological outbursts, but that is one of several ways he has of putting himself in the thing as worse than you, usually fat and disgusting. He combines a spontaneous stream-of- consciousness, conveys the exasperating life around the joke and (as you listen to him talk here) he has the best insights.
Incidentally, of the four he is the one who renews his act the most, the opposite of that is the conservative Seinfeld who rarely does.
Even more revealing difference between the two; Seinfeld (and Gervais) believe the audience comes for the man on the stage, Louis (and Rock) believe we come for the act.
Watch this folks with an eye on learning about your own self.