There was another great exercise for comedy writers in
Andy Goldberg’s improv class recently. This one was called “New Choice!” Two people would do a scene and periodically someone would say something and Andy would interrupt with “New Choice!” The performer then had to devise an alternate line. If Andy wasn’t satisfied he’d again bark “New Choice!” Sometimes it would take two or three lines before the scene was allowed to proceed.
Example:
Me and Fred are in a Costco.
Fred: What are you here to buy?
Me: Cheerios.
Andy:
New choice!Me: 300 rolls of toilet paper.
Andy:
New choice!Me: A case of Trojans and a dozen oysters.
Later in the scene:
Fred: I don’t have cash. Do you take American Express?
Andy:
New choice!Fred: Do you take the Diner’s Club card?
Andy:
New choice!Fred: Do you take second-party Group-ons?
You get the idea.
Why is this such a good exercise?
When writing a script, it’s human nature to come up with a joke and want to just go with it. But more times than not you’re settling. You need to be tough on yourself. Write down the original joke for reference then say “
New choice!” And don’t restrict yourself. You’re not limited to the number of choices. Come up with a crazy choice or two; let your imagination really run wild. Who knows? From time to time you might stumble onto something truly brilliant that you never would have thought of otherwise. But the point is, get in the habit of looking for alternatives.
Now that may sound obvious, but just wait. It’ll be the end of the day, you’re tired, or you’re behind schedule and all of a sudden you’re rationalizing that “Cheerios” is the best, funniest reason why anyone would ever shop at Costco.
Improv class in general is a great training ground for young comedy writers. It teaches you spontaneity.
New choice!
It teaches you character development.
New choice!
It forces you to challenge yourself.
New choice!
It’s a helluva lotta fun!