Creating a Comic

When asked why they do comedy, every comic under the sun will give a different answer. I get this question fairly frequently, and I believe that there’s a common root cause underlying all of our reasons for doing comedy: quite simply, a comic has a larger-than-normal need for the approval of others.

This emotional neediness isn’t necessarily dysfunctional, though it certainly can be—especially since a lot of the best comedy comes from pain. Getting up on stage and telling jokes to a roomful of strangers is not an easy thing to do, so the motivation to get up and do it has to be fairly powerful.

Whether this make-up is due to childhood development, genetic expression, or some other mix of the nature/nurture stew is outside the scope of this blog—and again, probably varies from comic to comic.

It’s also true that a lot of comedians use their time as a form of therapy, working through various issues while on stage. Others are extroverts who just like the attention. Others are hoping to get laid. Others just want to prove to the world how smart, charming or funny they are. Like I said: ask a dozen comics, get a dozen answers. In the end, though, all of these reasons simplify down to a deep need for the approval from other people.

 — Posted by CJ under Creating a Comic. Please comment or trackback!