Transitions & Segues
by John Cantu© HumorMall.com
If you are a comedian, humorist, or entertainer you generally put together two or more jokes that have some common idea, theme, concept, subject, etc. and tie them together in what's known as a 'bit' or 'chunk' or 'piece'.
There are advantages in understanding transitions and segues even if you only tell jokes informally. If you tell jokes professionally but intermittently, such as a radio personality using single jokes between songs or a MC using single jokes between introductions. Or if you are a public speaker blending humor into your speech, you too will find this exercise helpful. Hopefully it will help bring into focus how to better go from one story to next by studying the sharper contrast of transitioning between jokes.
So in this essay I will use the term 'chunk'. Within a chunk, you ideally try to segue from one joke to another as seamlessly as possible. If you have done a good job, your segues are virtually invisible to the audience.
Then you have to routine your different chunks. Routining your chunks means you have to put the chunks together in some grand over-all structure for your act or your set (time allotted). You often have to make a transition from one topic to an entirely unrelated subject. The pro makes it look transparent and effortless, but it takes work.
We will start with putting together a chunk. I will arbitrary choose six jokes that are related and randomly list them and ask you to routine them. Then I will show you my ordering of them with an explanation of the logic behind it.
Here's your six jokes:
- My dentist is a shrewd operator; He doesn't give you laughing gas until just before he gives you the bill.
- What a hypochondriac! Who else has a walk-in medicine chest?
- Special episode on the 'Sopranos' this week. It features the eye doctor who provides baby boomer hit men with contract lenses.
- You're getting old when you pull a muscle just thinking about doing what comes naturally.
- I left my heart in San Francisco. That I can live with -- but I left my pacemaker in Los Angeles.
- A doctor at the Stanford Medical School announced today that he has discovered a cure for the common cold. However there is one annoying side effect: Death!
Your assignment is to simply take these six jokes and routine them as logically as possible into a seamless chunk with as FEW segue words as possible. Then read Transitions & Segues - Explained how and why these jokes were chosen but I don't want to influence your perception of those jokes right now.
Bonus: You will find sometimes that you get an unrelated idea that you want to use so you will look for an existing chunk to try to graft it into. Assume you have the following two orphan jokes that you want to use. See if you can figure out how to add one or both of these unrelated jokes.
- I went to a party once where the apartment was so small, everybody was a wallflower.
- There's no pleasing my mother-in-law. For Christmas I decided to make it easy by giving her cash. She tried to exchange it for another color.
While it is sometimes possible to take a collection of totally random jokes and routine them, I wanted the jokes for this exercise to have somewhat of an obvious theme or connection. I started with the jokes in the April 14, 2000 issue and searched for a couple of jokes with some sort of a relationship. The first and second jokes of that issue were:
610. A doctor at the Stanford Medical School announced today that he has discovered a cure for the common cold. However there it is one annoying side effect: Death!
611. My dentist it is a shrewd operator; He doesn't give you laughing gas until just before he gives you the bill.
I figured we had a health/medical theme so I looked at the rest of that issue's jokes and then perused back issues for the remaining jokes. I added the 'bonus jokes' concept simply as an afterthought. I picked the two 'bonus' jokes by going to the last issue of 1999 and the first issue of 2000 and just counting down to the fifth joke.
THE ROUTINE: (Do not read until you've done the exercise first.)
- My next door neighbor. Maybe you have a neighbor like this. Nice guy but
- (SAY WITH EXAGGERATED ANNOYANCE & SHAKING OF HEAD) complain complain complain.
- Last Christmas I decided to make it easy by giving him cash. (PAUSE. NOD HEAD KNOWINGLY AS TELLING JOKE)
- Tried to exchange it for another color. (L)
- Complain. Complain. Complain. Terrible hypochondriac! Who else has a WALK-IN medicine chest? (L)
- (WITH EXAGGERATED EMPHASIS) Complain complain complain. (L)
- Told him about a Stanford Medical School doctor who said he's discovered a sure cure for the common cold with one little annoying side effect. Neighbor said, "What's that? (ONE-BEAT PAUSE) Death?" (L)
- I think his dentist is on to his complaining. Doesn't give him laughing gas until just before handing him the bill. (L)
- Health is no laughing matter though. <At age 52, I'm leading the baby boomer curve.> I know I'M getting old. These days, I pull a muscle just THINKING about doing what comes naturally. (L)
- Baby Boomers (PAUSE ONE AND HALF BEAT THE DELIVER NEXT SENTENCE DELIVER AS IF JUST STRUCK BY THE THOUGHT) - hey that reminds me - Special episode on the 'Sopranos' this week. It features the eye doctor who provides baby boomer hit men with contract lenses. (L)
- (LONG PAUSE - THEN DELIVER BEWILDEREDLY - AS IF NEW THOUGHT JUST STRUCK) Gee I just had a weird thought. What if you were really absent minded (STARE AT AUDIENCE FOR THREE BEAT PAUSE) and left your heart in San Francisco (STARE AT AUDIENCE FOR ONE AND HALF BEAT PAUSE) and your pacemaker in Los Angeles.
Next: Transitions & Segues - Explained
