Acting: Make ‘Em Laugh

Last updated on: October 29, 2009 at 6:38 am by DeWayne Hamby

Acting: Make ‘Em Laugh 2009-10-29T06:38:00-04:00 DeWayne Hamby

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Some disagree, but one of my favorite things about comedy acting is to see actors struggle through scenes trying not to crack up at each other. These moments are notorious in live shows like like television variety series The Carol Burnett Show and Saturday Night Live as well as in live improv. One of the reasons I enjoy them so much is I don’t feel as weird being one that also will spontaneously find something funny and have a hard time forcing myself to regain composure.

During my years as an actor at the Vaudeville Cafe, even though our script was well rehearsed, because of variations in improv and delivery, the opportunity for laughing fits still arose. A few times, the temptation to make my castmates laugh was just too enticing and I went for it.

The main show I did was the Redneck/Italian wedding (it still plays, by the way, and it’s fantastic). I spent a year or two playing the Italian groom before having the chance to portray the dimwitted redneck photographer, John. What I loved about playing John is that it gave me opportunity to say pretty much any stupid thing that came into my mind. I joked with the attendees about Waffle House, Alabama, trailers, Wal-Mart, you know the drill. It was Larry the Cable Guy-esque before Larry got popular.

One night, I had the idea to mix up the script and throw something different in. Before I proceed, I’m going to finish this post in invisi-text for two reasons. 1) If you haven’t been to the show and would like to, this joke is better performed live and 2) If you’re not a fan of bathroom humor. 🙂 If neither of those apply to you and you want to continue, run your cursor after this and continue the story.

There’s a point after the wedding has taken place when the male actors are asked to leave the room because of a wedding shower. The bride gets a few knick knacks, including a toilet brush. One night, I decided to stick around. When they were finished opening the gift, I yelled out “What’s that?” and Peggy Lou, my character’s mother-in-law angrily responded, “It’s a toilet brush, John!” And then I said, “Oh wow, I tried using one of them one time but it hurt me so bad I went back to using paper.”

I’ll never forget one time in eighth grade when all the boys from my section were gathered for a wrestling match during gym and I threw one of these tough guys around like he was a rag doll and I’ll never forget the moment I told this joke. The script stopped in its tracks and the entire audience was laughing while the actors turned their heads. It was a golden moment, perhaps one of the highlights of my life. It fit perfectly with the character and the show.

Months after that joke became a staple of the play, I hit another home run. During the wedding shower, in true shower fashion, the ladies pass the gifts around the room so everyone can “ooh and aaah” over them. Sitting with an audience member in the back of the theater, one of the brushes landed on our table. I took a look at the white toilet brush and noticed the chocolate cake with chocolate icing sitting beside it.

When called to the stage to be interrogated (and on this night to be revealed as the murderer), I carried the white toilet brush, placing snugly back in its holder. The first question the policeman asked me was what the item was I was holding on to. I held it up, pulled it out of its holder and stopped everyone in their tracks again. Thankfully, after the show was over, the only cleanup I had to do was rinsing the icing and cake out of the bristles, not wiping off any customer reactions.

As I mentioned, The Carol Burnett Show had its share of moments. This is one of many such examples:

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