Five of the top fifteen movies in 2015 were out-and-out comedies, and another four had combined strong comedy elements with another genre. Comedy is serious business, and in this live podcast we talk about the art and science of comedy with script consultant, author and truly a comedy expert, Steve Kaplan. We discuss what the difference is between what's comical and what's funny - believe it or not, there is a difference - and generally speaking, we hit upon so many gems in our conversation, from the Three Myths of Comedy, eight hidden tools of comedy (which are priceless tools to use if you're a comedy writer or otherwise, really), and Steve has us take what calls a Comedy Perception test to get the talk started.
The conversation is not only fun and funny, but the insights gained from this live podcast should be treasured - and we don't say that very often! Steve Kaplan has been the industry's most sought-after expert on comedy writing for decades. In addition to having taught at UCLA, NYU, Yale, and other top universities, Kaplan created the HBO Workspace, the HBO New Writers Program, and was co-founder and Artistic Director of Manhattan's Punch Line Theatre.
The ISA once again brings on one of the best consultants in the biz here guys, so we hope you get as much out of the interview as we did. Steve's famed Comedy Intensive workshop has been given around the world and he has upcoming workshops scheduled for Los Angeles, London, Ireland and Paris in 2016. You can find out more about Steve and his classes and services at KaplanComedy.com
As always, thanks for listening. The ISA truly appreciates how involved our members are. Without you, we wouldn't be here and we wouldn't be able to deliver content as valuable as this. Enjoy the interview and keep writing.
