TRUE TO TYPE 

In my blog ‘PROPER PROPS’, 18 October 2011, I reminded readers that “In pantomime hand props should, wherever possible, be big, bold, bright, colourful, and very visual.” and I suggest that lettering should be large. This applies not only to props, but to scenery as well of course. In ‘Aladdin’, the words ‘TWANKEE’S Swankee Laundry’… or whatever… should be big and bold. On some amateur group’s websites I see pictures of scenery where the lettering is somewhat small and/or spidery.

The illustration right shows a model I made for a washing machine prop to offer as a simple possibility for groups presenting my version of ‘Aladdin’, in which there is a comedy routine using such apparatus.

It’s very basic, but then, providing it looks good, that’s all it needs to be.

The appliance should be a minimum 30 ins. long, 16 ins. wide, and 28 ins. deep, although it could be bigger depending on storage space in the wings.

The typeface is ‘Prawn Handwritten’,

and I reckon in has a kind of Anglicised/Chinese look.

It has never been easier for Joe (or Josephine) Public to produce good quality lettering on props and scenery, and here’s how you do it…

First of all you need a computer, or a willing friend who has one. There are lots of fonts available for download, and I have bought a couple of CDs at charity shops for the grand outlay of 75p.

If you have Word Art or something similar, then the world is your bivalve mollusc.

Type the word or words in the chosen text, squash it, elongate it, change the letter spacing or whatever until you’ve got it as you want, then enlarge it to fit on an A4 sheet… if necessary, flip it so that it runs along the longest length. Then, print it off in outline… no need to waste valuable ink filling in the outline.

Next, scale it up to the finished size. How do you do this? Have a look at – art-is-fun.com/grid-method.html – this explains how to use the grid method to enlarge or transfer an image. Here it’s an illustration, but the same thing applies to lettering.

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-Make-XXL-Street-Stencils-%26-Get-Away-WIth-It/step5/Scale-up-your-letters/ - shows the overhead projector method, but it also includes the grid method.

Once you have got the letters enlarged to the required size then, using s craft knife, cut them out as stencils, not forgetting to leave little bridges on the letters A, B, D, O, P, Q, R. Next, position your stencil on the prop or scenery, secure it with short strips of masking tape, and apply emulsion paint by means of a bath sponge (available very cheaply from Wilkinson’s). You can cut the sponge into handy, manageable-size pieces to suit your lettering, but don’t have them too big. Don’t dilute the paint so that it is too runny, and don’t overload the sponge with paint. It’s best sometimes to have a few test dabs on a spare piece of paper.

I find that for one-off stencils, 80gsm paper is quite suitable. It is easily found in A3 size, and sheets can be stuck together with adhesive tape, if required. Using thicker card can result in ‘fuzzy’ edges to your lettering.

Don’t forget to fill in the ‘bridge’ gaps.

You could of course produce quite large individual letters on A4 paper, which would eliminate the need to enlarge them further, but having whole words means that you can get the spacing right, and, if necessary, you can distort the lettering… in an artistic way of course.

It does make sense to choose a font that doesn’t have too many ‘twiddly bits’.

CLASS ACT #12

I like physical comedians, and Tony Hancock wasn’t really in that category, unless one includes his occasional facial contortions. Hancock’s style of humour was, if anything, closer to the kitchen sink dramas of the late 1950s, than it was to pantomime. I include him here, not only because he was a class act in the delivery of lines, but also because in a book I am currently reading… “The Masters of Sitcom. From Hancock to Steptoe. Ray Galton and Alan Simpson.’ compiled by Christopher Stevens*, Ray Galton is quoted as saying, “He (Tony Hancock) was marvellous to write for because he never tried to insert his own material into the scripts.” Way-hay!

So, this British icon, who, in 1961, at the peak of his popularity, was reaching one third of the population with his television show, trusted his writers, did he? Why then, do people we have never heard of, or never will hear of, step on stage in an amateur pantomime and think they can do better than the lad himself? I would be interested to receive any answers to this conundrum that do not include the words ‘ego’, and ‘trip’.

The clip is from the film, ‘The Rebel’, which was released in 1961. It was written by Galton and Simpson, with contributions from Hancock himself. For me it suffers somewhat from having to meet the feature-length film running time of 105 minutes. It had to be ‘opened out’ as it were, and Hancock was at his best in more claustrophobic settings.

However, this is one of my favourite comedy bits in any film, and I often quote from it. It’s almost surreal, and yet it’s also so mundane. The waitress is the delightful Liz Fraser, and the café owner is Mario Fabrizi, a very reliable member of the regular ensemble who appeared in ‘Hancock’s Half Hour’. Notice how all three actors play the characters. They don’t force the comedy. Liz Fraser’s, “No froth!” is brilliant.

I would love to have written a comedy sketch about froth on coffee… heigh-ho!

* http://christopherstevens.info/

NO LAUGHING MATTER 

Trying to analyse comedy has been described as like trying to catch smoke. Difficult, yes, but we know what smoke is comprised of, what it looks like, and we and can find ways to channel it up a chimney, or put it in a container.

Any road up… here goes!

First of all, and most importantly, we must be aware that there is no room for self-indulgence in comedy and the final authority on whether something is funny or not is always going to be the audience. Ernie Wise once said, "We may think we've put on a first-rate performance, but when some little guy comes up to us and says – “I saw you last night and you were bloody awful” – that little guy is always right. End of argument! Pleasing the public is the beginning and end of it."

Laugh getting depends 75% on the actor’s technique and 25% on the point of the joke. To make people laugh requires a considerable amount of serious preparation and forethought.

I included the following joke in the first ever pantomime I wrote… a version of ‘Dick Whittington’…

                       

DAME                    (TO IDLE JACK) Can you sing?

IDLE JACK            Can I sing? Hah! I once sang for the King of Siam!

DAME                    The King of Siam?

IDLE JACK            Yes! At least he said he was! He said… if you’re a singer, I’m the King of Siam!

It’s not the greatest gag in the world, but rehearsal after rehearsal, the actor playing Idle Jack

blew it, big time. Eventually he admitted the reason for this was… he didn’t understand the joke… simple as it was!

You must be aware of joke construction and what makes a joke funny. No magician could perform a trick without having total knowledge and control of its physical and psychological elements. It’s the same with a joke.

So… perhaps we should have as Rule No.1 for aspiring comedians, working with other people’s material – make sure you get the point of the joke. Otherwise, you have little chance of getting any kind of laugh with it.

                       

The punch line gets its name from the delivery technique used. You must punch the line out a little harder and with a slightly different voice than the rest of the joke. Say it louder and more clearly than you said the setup lines. If the audience does not hear the punch line, they are not going to laugh. Just before the punch line you should pause slightly to emphasise and draw special attention to the line.

After you deliver the line, don't utter another sound. Give the audience a chance to laugh. Words or phrases appended to the climax tend to delay or impede laughter. Until you get some experience, it is really tough to wait. Beginners tend to be afraid that no laughter will come, so they keep going. If you keep talking during this period, you will easily squelch the laughter. As your confidence builds, pausing will become easier and easier. Sometimes waiting the audience out will actually give them a cue to laugh even if the joke wasn't that great.

When you deliver your punch line, deliver it to one person and one person only. It doesn't matter how large the crowd is, you can look one person right in the eye and deliver your line.

                                   

Farce and comedy techniques are obviously required in pantomime, but its uniqueness demands other skills.

Playing ‘out front’ is sternly rebuked in naturalistic plays, but is an essential skill in pantomime. The actor should try to find every opportunity to point a line in the direction of the audience. Often this may seem quite unnatural, as the normal thing is to look at the person you are talking to, but pantomime is not ‘normal’, and its exaggerated style allows, even demands, that the actors should pull the audience into the production as much as possible, and maximise audience involvement. The Dame will try to build up a rapport with them as confidants, the Principal Boy will proclaim his courage and get them on his side against the villain, who will taunt them… and so on, and so on.

There are specific ‘out front’ lines, which are designated as such in the script. The audience participation routines are an obvious example, but often the tendency is to overdo these and miss out on some of the less obvious examples of playing ‘out front’. Try to get the balance right, and this will help to add variety to the performance and make it much more rounded and complete.

Don't just invent business. You need to find motivation, and it must have timing, and  technique. You mustn't louse up the joke with physical "business" that distracts the audience.

You have to know where the laughs are, and then define them. The first thing you have to do is study your script, and you have to make a mark where you believe the laughs are. This way you leave room for the audience to react. Your laughs come from your knowledge of them, not accidentally.

Funny is easy; you can play anything funny; resist that. If everything is funny, nothing is funny, and you will wear an audience out.

Don't go for all laughs, only ones that are important. Don't try to make it as funny as possible. Don't work so hard. The material is funny.

When you are reading your script and you know where the jokes are, put a slash mark next to them so you know when to do the beat. The beat is no more time than time to inhale.

Comedy is a science. First start with characters, find out who are they, how they feel, what they want, and then add the comedy. Comedy has to start with convincing the audience. Unless the audience believes in the character, there is no basis.

"In the evolution of a performance… (Stanley Baxter) doesn’t think about where he’ll get laughs until a very late stage. The early work is concentrated on those dramatic high points that he regards as keys to his character’s development." ‘Plays And Players’ December 1977

What is the underlying joke?

There is no joke unless you react.

Pace has nothing to do with hurrying. Pace is doing away with meaningless pauses.

Playing comedy can’t be sloppy. It must be precise. Understand every single word. Comedy is clarity, skill and timing. Comedy is technique.

The minute you think you’re a comedian, you’re not funny.

BOXING CLEVER 

I include a comedy boxing routine in my version of ‘Babes in the Wood’.

Yes, I am aware that there are some people who don’t approve of that sort of thing being performed upon a stage. This attitude is widespread in the arena of sanitising humour, done in the name of correctness. As far as power, and any subsequent attempt to control is concerned, the first thing to go, is the sense of humour. This is a very old, knockabout routine, done purely for laughs, so if you don’t approve then tough beef (or is it horsemeat?).

The version I use is based on the one described in Mark Stolzenberg’s book, ‘Be A Clown’. Have a look at the video for a variation on the theme. Notice that it isn't simply three guys just goofing about. The moves are rehearsed, and not rushed.

The sophisticates and the small fry seem to be enjoying it… so there you go!

You fun starts at 1’56” into the video.

YET ANOTHER GOOD IDEA, SON!

I don’t really see any pantomimes in production, so maybe you have all caught on to this idea, but if you haven’t, here goes…

The other evening after dusk, I saw a young girl walking along the road with her parents, and she was wearing light-up shoes, which were flashing as she walked. I immediately thought that this type of footwear would be a great accessory for fairies in pantomimes… not the Christmas-tree-type fairy, but the kookier characters.

However, a search on the worldwide web brought up the light-up shoes illustrated, which could work for the Christmas tree fairy, or hows about Cinderella?

 

I haven’t priced these items, and I reckon they don’t come cheap. You might find some techie who could make light work of creating some for you Ouch! Light-up shoe accessories are available, and a Google search will bring up some suppliers. youtu.be/LlCyJI9LpGU – shows you the construction basics.

I also came across this interesting use of glowsticks, illustrated left. Maybe an idea for a monster, an alien, or some enchanted beings. glowsticks.co.uk – has a full range of glowsticks and novelties.

YEAR BY YEAR

Why do so many amateur drama/operatic societies promote their shows with posters that do not include the year in the date of the performances?

Presumably people keep programmes, flyers and even posters from their shows in a keepsake box, or whatever. They show them to family and friends over the years, and they struggle to remember what year a certain production took place. Also, when one looks at a society's website there is no knowing whether or not the poster promoting the forthcoming production is actually out of date. Often, further investigation… which shouldn’t be necessary… proves that it is. Seems like a simple thing to just add a year, after all it’s only four digits, and will be for some time to come.

Why do so many amateur drama/operatic societies not keep their websites up to date? I digress…

HAPPY NEW YEAR...
to all our reader!

That's me on the left!

Time goes so quickly. One minute your in the prime of life with your whole future ahead of

you, and the next minute… sixty seconds have gone by!

Here's my all-purpose horoscope...

The coming year is likely to present challenges; these trials are when your true character will show. Trusted friends can provide assistance in particularly pressing situations. Make use of the skills you have to compensate for ones you lack. Your reputation in the future depends on your honesty and integrity this year. Monetary investments will prove risky; inform yourself as much as possible. On the positive side, your chances of winning the lottery have never been greater!