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Posts Tagged ‘Interpretation’

One of the reasons I love to tune in to the TV show “Saturday Night Live” is to see if one of the actors will crack up in the middle of a performance. Watching someone else try to stifle a laugh is one of the funniest things in the world. But in Humorous Interpretation, if you laugh at yourself while performing, you might as well hold up a sign that says “Game Over.”

H.I. is typically treated more like a recorded movie and less like live theatre. Your performance, while side-splitting, should also be disciplined and polished. Some competitors can’t help laughing in the middle of a piece, and that’s understandable – it’s natural to be pleased with yourself if you are receiving immediate feedback from your audience that you are doing well. But if you smile or laugh when you are supposed to be playing a bewildered or angry character, it ruins the effect of your characterization, and it makes you seem conceited and unprepared.

Here are a few suggestions for how to keep yourself from laughing during an H.I. round:

1. Purse your lips slightly. Bring the corners of your mouth into a small “O” shape, pushing your lips forward. This will help to hide the smile spreading across your face. Raising your eyebrows can also help with this, although contorting your face in such a way might actually make matters worse if your audience finds it amusing.

2. Go with it. If you can’t make yourself stop laughing, work it into the piece. Find a way to make it correlate with whatever is happening in the piece. If you’re playing an antagonist who is supposed to be very angry, make that character suddenly snap and become a diabolical evil genius – translate your giggles into maniacal laughter. If you’re playing a sad character, pretend to be crying instead of laughing.  Read more...

Humorous Interpretation performers have a list of go-to characters, complete with stance and voice.  There is The Matriarch, Sassy Teen, Emo Kid, The Jock, English Gentleman/woman, Geek, Old Man, and so on.  For those one-liner characters, or the ones who are strictly there for outrageous comedic relief, a stock character might make an appearance for a quick laugh.  It’s a cheap laugh, but one that usually works nonetheless.  These stock characters, or stereotypes (yes, these are stereotypes as they are based on a generalization of a group), are familiar.  And there is comfort in the familiar.  Audiences know that character.  People can instantly relate, see the joke, and thus make it easier for a performer to turn a character with minimal exposure into a laugh.

Though, in this politically correct world stock characters can become frowned upon rather quickly if pushed too far.  There is risk in having a gay character be flamboyant and very Jack from Will & Grace.  To avoid turning a laugh into a grimace there are a few general stock character rules:

Don’t overstock. A Humorous Interpretation with nothing but stereotypes is dull.  Audiences know these characters; they see them every day on television and in movies.  Not only does this over stereotype use bore your audience, it also displays how unoriginal you are with interpretation.  In an event entitled Humorous Interpretation it might be wise to prominently market your interpretation skills by, perhaps, actually doing some?

Know the limits. A stock character can swiftly transform into a harsh stereotype if the joke is taken too far.  Exaggeration works in comedy and is one of the prominent features, but using a stereotype’s gesture/vocalization to an extreme is non-funny.  How California-bubbly of a voice are you going to add to that Cheerleader who flips her hair WAY to much and spells out words?  Seriously.  It is like watching a guy tell a joke he thinks is HILARIOUS, and laugh wildly about it in an annoying way, when it really is not.  Just stop.  The joke is dead.  Read more...

Which is funnier: the script or the performer? This old question causes headaches among all HI performers as they search for a script. Do you look for something that is funny as you read it? Should you think about how it would be performed and see if the performance adds any humor? How does timing and characterization affect the funny? All of these questions weigh upon an HI performer. Drama can often be easy to determine whether or not it is a good piece to perform. Did it make you think and arouse the emotions? Yes? Then you have a selection. Humor can be more difficult because everyone’s definition of what is funny, tasteful, or poignant is all different. Thus, most HI performers find themselves looking for a piece that is funny on paper in the hopes that a funny script is the answer to success. Sorry. That philosophy is simply not true.

In the realm of comedy there are numerous ways to get a laugh and ranked well. A script should have built in funny lines, or situations, so as you read you can laugh at the script itself. This is comedy after all. Most often when a script is not amusing on paper it most likely will be less amusing to the audience. There are exceptions, but on the whole if a script has not caused you to even smile it should be tossed.

There are situations where the script itself is “cute” and causes mild laughter but you may be unsure if it is the riot you wish to bring to Forensics. In situations such as this it is good to imagine the performance. What can you do with timing, characterization, voices, popping, etc to bring this to life? Imagine possibilities and think about how the performance factor can turn an okay script into something amazing.  Read more...

Rules and regulations may change across events and leagues, but one constant is the introduction.  Introductions tend to be the one universal across the Speech world.  Though, however similar they may be across events, there are nuances for writing an introduction per event.  Humorous Interpretation has a few introduction “rules” that any HIer should know.

Time. Keep an introduction to under a minute.  Actually, some leagues have a rule that a Humorous Interpretation can only have up to one minute of original material (introductions, transitional material) anyway.  Most effective introductions are between 30-45 seconds.  Besides, how much time do you really need to give the author’s name and the piece’s title?

Necessities. What needs to be in any introduction is an attention getter, necessary background information, the author’s name, the title of the piece, and if needed a transition back into the performance (some introductions work best with the end sentence involving the author’s name and title).  There is no set outline for how an introduction should flow, but these bits of information are required.

Tone. Any introduction should be told in a tone that reflects the piece.  Thus, a Humorous Interpretation introduction should have a lighthearted air (unless your HI is dark comedy of course!).  Tell a joke.  The comedy does not stop and turn into a serious, History Channel-esque 45 second preview of what is on next.  Does that give you permission to be a goof?  No.  Just do not turn the Humorous Interpretation mood you have established into Dramatic Interpretation.  Read more...

Once the breaks for final rounds are posted, where is it a majority of spectators flock? To the comedic performance rounds! Humorous Interpretation, Humorous Duet Acting, and Original Comedy (especially!) all seem to be the events of most interest. Why is that? People love to laugh. Okay, perhaps that was too easy of a question. What would be a better one is how do you get to be one of those beloved funny people.

This tutorial on Humorous Interpretation, HI, will help construct a solid foundation for the start of your HI adventure.

Picking a Piece
To make a fine wine the best grapes are chosen. Same goes for a speech piece. If you want to shine then everything begins with the selection of your piece. There are certain particulars an HI piece needs. For instance, when selecting a piece look for something that tells a complete story. A proper introduction, rising action, climax, falling action, and dénouement are essential. Also, find a piece with interesting characters that undergo character development. As HI is supposed to be humorous, look for a piece that has humor that is universal, mixed, and constant/consistent. If all of the humor is crude, it gets old. Look for some smart material that might have “low” humor that is used effectively. You also want to be searching for something that can be easily cut. Something might be fabulous as a large work but is rubbish if cut down to the time limit. Find something compelling and interesting that you will be happy to work with for several months.  Read more...