Writing
The Second Meaning Hidden in a Familiar Phrase
A familiar phrase punchline works when its ordinary meaning sets a clear expectation, then a precise turn gives the…
The full reading shelf
All pieces
Browse writing on joke-making, comic characters, performance, forms and visual humour. Each piece takes one clear question and gives it room to unfold.
Performance
Deadpan or Big Reaction: Two Ways to Play a Comic Beat
Deadpan or big reaction changes where an audience looks and when it laughs; learn to choose a delivery, shape the…
Forms
When the Fool Took Centre Stage in European Comedy
When the fool took centre stage in European comedy, comic servants moved from interrupting authority to driving plots…
Characters
The Sidekick Is Not Just There to Ask Questions
A comic sidekick needs more than questions to ask. Give yours a distinct aim, useful initiative and a point of view…
Visual Humour
A Rainy Afternoon Picture Game: Find the Unplanned Gag
A rainy afternoon picture game turns an ordinary room object into a playful comic scene, with prompts for noticing its…
Our point of view
A laugh can be carefully made
We attend to the choices beneath the surprise: the word that shifts a sentence, the pause that lets a joke breathe, the character who sees a room differently.