A serious little look at Slapstick comedy genre

2,545 words written...

That blog was going to be a very self reflective blog about my anxiety over not feeling like I have anything to say. Correction, I do have things to say, everyone does. Anxiety over not feeling it is worth listening to what I have to say. And before the sympathetic sentiment of "Oh no don't feel down Kevin" kicks in, I don't mean it like that. I mean, honestly, my views are not required on most topics. I don't think most people's views need to be heard on most topics. They can be heard, sure, but there is a good chance they've probably been repeated by someone else. It's fine.

So me writing a blog on, I don't know, let's say: insecurities, isn't going to be any bit eye opening or profound than what has been repeated again and again online and in person by someone already. And I'm good with that.

So now I need to work on a new topic to blog about. I don't have any particular ideas. It was suggested by Celine that I just blog about my writing. That's going to be very scattered though. My mind is usually ticking over with pieces of different stories running. Like working on multiple puzzles at once. I think I've a good way of compartmentalizing stuff so I don't feel overwhelmed by it. I much prefer that than writing down detailed outlines. I wonder is that suggesting that I would suit improv in a way? I like to build these stories and patterns in my mind?

Anyway....blog writing! So yes it's going to be very scattered in how it's written if I write about writing in general. I guess I should focus on the next genre. The next genre is:

THE SLAPSTICK COMEDY

That's a slapstick

It's deadline will be 25th November which makes it the last short I write before my 34th birthday (which is 1st December). So I should really try and nail this next short. It is also going to be the last genre set inside comedy. The genre after slapstick will be legal drama so I'm going to really change gears from when I'm 33 years old to 34.

So let's get into some slapstick comedy!

Here is our friend wikipedia to give us a quick intro to slapstick comedy.

"a style of humor involving exaggerated physical activity that exceeds the boundaries of normal physical comedy"

Three Stooges should come to mind. Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy too. I'm going as far back as Charlie Chaplin and Stan Laurel as both were hired by the man credited with having a profound influence on the genre.

Fred Karno (otherwise known as Fred BicycleYes)

Fred Karno ran his ‘Fun Factory’ in the early 20th century where he managed acts, stored props and nurtured fresh talent. (Today it is known as Clockhouse Studios and houses over 20 diverse independent art business too.)

You know the custard pie to the face gag? Fred Karno invention. In his Fun Factory it was first tested too before going out to the wider world. The Fun Factory employed two hundred staff, thirty touring companies appearing worldwide, with a repertoire of twenty-plus comedy sketches written and produced by Fed himself. Unfortunately it seems Fred was so good at his job of nurturing talent and laying the building blocks for this style of comedy that he ended up ruining his own career. As Charlie Chaplin and co. moved into film as the primary source of entertainment, Variety and music halls suffered and by 1926, Fred was declared bankrupt. A brief stay in Hollywood while employed at Hal Roach Studios couldn't keep his fortunes alive and he soon returned to England and lived there until his death.

Hal Roach, American filmmaker of the silent era described him as " Not only a genius, but the man who originated slapstick comedy. We in Hollywood owe much to him."

So what sketches came from the Fun Factory? Well, annoyingly, this was before TV so video clips are hard to come by. (Thanks a lot Father Time!!)

Three comedy routines I have found mentioned are:

Jail Mum: In which prisoners play tricks on warders

Early Birds: Where a small man defeats a large ruffian in London's East End.

Mumming Bird: a show within a show that featured acts that were both chaotic and bad, while they were barracked by a drunken oaf and and an uncle with his loud nephew sitting in theatre boxes, on each side of the performance area.

Slapstick comedy features a lot of physical comedy so I am gong to have to focus on that. I prefer using dialogue to create jokes I really like puns, wordplay, miscommunications so slapstick comedy which originated at a time where Fred Karno skirted stage censorship by developing this form of sketch comedy without dialogue.

That is going to feel a bit strange to write without falling back on dialogue but that looks like it's going to be the fun challenge to the genre. Write a short, low or zero budget slapstick comedy with little or no dialogue. I will try and use a pie as a nod to the man himself. The three routines I have written above will probably form some part of it. I notice with what slim pickings I could find of the Jail Mum routine, that there was a tendency to have male performers dress up as women so I might like to create a story involving female characters doing physical comedy. Just to twist it a little.

And I have 10 days to work on that along with podcast recordings, a rewrite, a feature read and notes to give on. And back to the day job on Thursday.

So this is the end of my blog. Not quite as in depth as I liked but hey we all learned a tiny little about slapstick?

We did it blog. We finished the writing. See you next week.

Thanks for reading

Tired Kevin