What's So Funny: A Survey of American Comedy

It's time to take comedy seriously! This course surveys the rich tradition of American humor, encompassing everything from sophisticated political satire to good old physical comedy. The class will examine TV, movies, standup, radio, theater, prose, cartoons, ads, and the Internet, and learn the finer points of various forms of comedy, from political and surreal humor to black comedy and slapstick. Larger questions of what humor is and why people need it will be considered, including the opinions of renowned thinkers and philosophers like Aristotle, Sigmund Freud, Henri Bergson...and Woody Allen.

Instructor: Comedy writer and producer David Misch has worked in the industry for over thirty-five years on shows like Mork and Mindy, the animated series Duckman, and Saturday Night Live. He is also a playwright, blogger, songwriter, and recovered standup comic.

Wednesdays, April 6-May 11, 7:30-9:00 p.m.

6 sessions

Advance registration required: Register online at www.skirball.org, on site at the Skirball, and by phone at (310) 440-4651 (press 2).