tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post7546197062840351444..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Sitcom Room 6By Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger27125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-89420823852814905242012-11-16T15:41:17.795-08:002012-11-16T15:41:17.795-08:00What's funny at 5:30AM? In my experience, eith...What's funny at 5:30AM? In my experience, either nothing or everything. <br /><br />Sounds like a great weekend. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17522490630522046988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52519027366650472592012-11-13T10:07:00.763-08:002012-11-13T10:07:00.763-08:00Wendy - "drama" as in our script had no ...Wendy - "drama" as in our script had no laughs. (Actually it did). We should have spent more time on story though...<br /><br />Steve - I agree. Well worth the price of admission. Very informative and fun! Jerry Krullnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59755007919267025532012-11-13T09:31:49.105-08:002012-11-13T09:31:49.105-08:00A unique experience, well organized & well wor...A unique experience, well organized & well worth the money and the time. Ken and Dan are both so down-to-earth and the limited number of attendees (a big selling point for me)results in an intimate environment great for learning. If you're serious about your continuing personal development as a writer, add this to your 'to do' list.Stevenoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-53887648046072353442012-11-13T07:21:26.478-08:002012-11-13T07:21:26.478-08:00Just a thought, Ken -- now that you've held 6 ...Just a thought, Ken -- now that you've held 6 wildly successful SITCOM ROOMS, when are you going to start designating them with Roman numerals, a la The Super Bowl? That way, all your past and future participants can attach even more importance to the fact that "they were there", possibly even mentioning it when they interview for a writing job: "...By the way, I'd like to make note of the fact that I particpated in Ken Levine's THE SITCOM ROOM ex-ex-vee..."<br /><br />Seriously, glad it was another rousing success and that you all had a great time!Tom Quigleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12959628996361620134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-82522494631629589982012-11-13T06:37:01.305-08:002012-11-13T06:37:01.305-08:00Wasn't there but a lifelong lover of sitcoms, ...Wasn't there but a lifelong lover of sitcoms, the "haiku" of TV entertainment. I took a Sitcom writing class at NYU Cont. Ed. a few yrs back. Teacher had worked on All In the Family, among others. My fantasy has always been to be Sally on the Dick Van Dyke show. So, part of my motivation for taking the class was to have fun and maybe meet other fun people. I had/have no hope of ever "breaking in" to TV writing.<br />--What happened was a sitcom--<br />1. We are seated in a room with huge pipes jutting out from every direction. We must situate ourselves around the pipes. Nobody finds this funny but me.<br />2. We line the chairs up as best we can in 2 rows. 1 row is against the back wall. The teacher comes in and instructs us to form a circle by turning our chairs around. The people in the BACK row do as he says and they are now FACING THE WALL! No one finds this funny except me.<br />3. A few weeks in I decide to try to befriend a woman I tend to walk to the subway with each week. I ask her if she might want to come into the city early one week so we can get coffee before class. And she says (wait...take a guess, does she say "Sorry I'm busy," or "Fuck you." ?) no, she says, "Why?" Without missing a beat I say, "No reason."<br />Learned a lot but it was NOT fun.<br />-Rachel Levine (unrelated to you, Ken..altho, hmm...who knows!) www.BrooklynValentine.comCyberYentahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00515926641258461922noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-25271326313469607402012-11-13T00:29:05.288-08:002012-11-13T00:29:05.288-08:00So that explains when I went to Amazon to search f...So that explains when I went to Amazon to search for the Improv Comedy book, there appears in the "customers who viewed this item also viewed" section, three books on improv and Pinter's "The Birthday Party" with the same COVER image and title as "Improv Comedy." Sounds like one of those innocent, everyday technological snafus, which can cause damning mix-up. In other words a potentially good storyline.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36987848820191335592012-11-12T13:32:40.795-08:002012-11-12T13:32:40.795-08:00Well, I'm glad this Andy's Book/The Birthd...Well, I'm glad this Andy's Book/<i>The Birthday Party</i> matter is cleared up. I would like to read Andy's book, but I do not need to read Pinter's <i>The Birthday Party</i>. When I played "Goldberg" (Pinter's character Goldberg, not Andy Goldberg) in <i>The Birthday Party</i> back in college, I had to commit the entire play to memory. (Well, actually, I only had to learn my role, but my then-spongelike mind tended to absorb entire plays when I was in them.) <br /><br />Funniest line in <i>The Birthday Party</i>:<br /><br />Meg: "How are those corn flakes?"<br /><br />Stanley: "They're disgusting."<br /><br />Meg: "You're a liar! They're 'refreshing'; it says so on the box!"D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-58273449536842315912012-11-12T13:20:52.993-08:002012-11-12T13:20:52.993-08:00"Jokes are easy; stories are hard." Man,..."Jokes are easy; stories are hard." Man, is that true.D. McEwannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-51458522214257144432012-11-12T12:35:42.448-08:002012-11-12T12:35:42.448-08:00That's great news, re: Andy's book. I got ...That's great news, re: Andy's book. I got the impression it was a way away when I spoke to him. I must have gotten the wrong end of the stick.<br /><br />I'm glad to final have a copy after months of searching... even if I would have been able to get one if I'd just waited a little longer.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-88506821548481926482012-11-12T11:54:37.938-08:002012-11-12T11:54:37.938-08:00Jerry Krull: *drama*?
wg
Sitcom Room 2011Jerry Krull: *drama*? <br /><br />wg<br />Sitcom Room 2011Wendy M. Grossmanhttp://www.pelicancrossing.netnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52763836868184087722012-11-12T11:28:20.491-08:002012-11-12T11:28:20.491-08:00Waiting for my flight back now. A great weekend fo...Waiting for my flight back now. A great weekend for those who aspire to become the broken shell of human beings called writers and showrunners that Ken assembled for us. <br /><br />Actually, I was very impressed that they shared so candidly their stories and advice. Thank you Ken & Dan.<br /><br />We were promised Ken has said only positive comments for all past Sitcom Room group scripts. After our group had our script performed, Ken paused and said it was the BEST drama any group had written.Jerry Krullnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84979422002152850032012-11-12T11:17:25.962-08:002012-11-12T11:17:25.962-08:00Sorry. I meant to say in my original post: "W...Sorry. I meant to say in my original post: "What's a fairly good altho maybe not so obvious telltale sign for viewers that a sitcom has pretty much reached its end and the writers are now pretty much just phoning it in *because the actors have decided they're ready to move on to other things*?ScottyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47638372763612812572012-11-12T11:12:51.324-08:002012-11-12T11:12:51.324-08:00This has nothing to do with the subject at hand, b...This has nothing to do with the subject at hand, but here's a Friday question for Ken, especially since Bob Brunner (the guy who wrote the infamous 'Happy Days' episode where Fonzie actually jumped the shark) died a few days ago: What's a fairly good altho maybe not so obvious telltale sign for viewers that a sitcom has pretty much reached its end and the writers are now pretty much just phoning it in?<br /><br />I bring this up because I was watching a rerun episode of 'Til Death' and it occurred to me that that show was pretty much done when Brad Garrett starting becoming the second incarnation of Ralph Kramden (like he did toward the end of 'Raymond') and Joely Fisher started singing acapella a whole lot in like every second episode.ScottyBnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-80093193845510112782012-11-12T10:41:59.134-08:002012-11-12T10:41:59.134-08:00Re Andy's book, Andy writes:
The projected re...Re Andy's book, Andy writes:<br /><br />The projected release date of the 20th anniversary edition of IMPROV COMEDY is Dec. 1. It will be available as a e-Book and as print on demand. Just in time to make a lovely holiday gift. Bonus interview with Bryan Cranston is included."<br />By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74948473507998778012012-11-12T10:18:54.918-08:002012-11-12T10:18:54.918-08:00Still remembering the one about the toupee! Also w...Still remembering the one about the toupee! Also worth noting: how differently comedy plays out in single-camera vs. multi-cam format. Identifying the objective of a scene and ways to stay on-track. And the value of pitching alternate options.<br /><br />And yes! a great resource for locals in Los Angeles is the Writer's Guild Foundation Shavelson-Webb Library. Keep in mind that not all scripts are available (i.e., current network season shows) but so long as nothing disappears from their library and/or gets covered in meat sauce, non-WGA members can get in too... :-)Marie Yuennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-9440581975716906492012-11-12T10:04:00.654-08:002012-11-12T10:04:00.654-08:00The FRIENDS lawsuit.
I'm assuming that was th...The FRIENDS lawsuit.<br /><br />I'm assuming that was the one with the writers' assistant who was fired, who promptly sued WB for sexual harassment.Eduardo Jencarellihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14393598179614372710noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-75527398898175652562012-11-12T09:38:52.004-08:002012-11-12T09:38:52.004-08:00@Johnny Walker: I'm awfully darn sure that on ...<b>@Johnny Walker: </b>I'm awfully darn sure that on Saturday Andy said a 20th anniversary new edition is being published very soon.<br /><br />There's a slight chance he was just asking the waiter for more pesto sauce. But I'm willing to wager on the new edition soon to debut.Dan O'Dayhttp://danoday.com/blognoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63291856828121714392012-11-12T09:04:02.422-08:002012-11-12T09:04:02.422-08:00404,
You would not get much out of this course by...404,<br /><br />You would not get much out of this course by auditing. The learning and the fun comes from DOING.By Ken Levinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-63437496332049249062012-11-12T08:56:06.030-08:002012-11-12T08:56:06.030-08:00You need to have some sort of audit system, Ken. ...You need to have some sort of audit system, Ken. I am not a comedy writer. I have no aspirations (or talent) to be a comedy writer. Yet, I would LOVE to sit in on the sitcom room and just watch.404https://www.blogger.com/profile/00064577649967514295noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85303619393421653872012-11-12T07:55:42.002-08:002012-11-12T07:55:42.002-08:00I actually took the time to visit the publishers, ...I actually took the time to visit the publishers, Samuel French, here in London, and asked them to look for Andy's book on their own systems. Even they said there was no chance of getting a copy.<br /><br />Top tip: Before you think about buying a second-hand copy online, make sure to check the *synopsis* (not just the book description)! If it mentions a piano player named Stanley Webber, it's not the right book!Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-2620591405860799252012-11-12T07:38:28.012-08:002012-11-12T07:38:28.012-08:00Unknown: Yep, it looks like they do, but trust me,...Unknown: Yep, it looks like they do, but trust me, they're not IMPROV COMEDY. Look a little closer. (Also: If it says PRINT ON DEMAND, it's not Andy Goldberg's book.)<br /><br />Samuel French's edition of Harold Pinter's THE BIRTHDAY PARTY has the same ISBN, which has made a bit of a mess of things.<br /><br />Every one of those listing of AbeBooks is actually for that.Johnny Walkerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13302545167970532080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-52470033278128442162012-11-12T07:08:16.733-08:002012-11-12T07:08:16.733-08:00There are several copies of Improv Comedy availabl...There are several copies of Improv Comedy available from http://www.abebooks.com including some in the UK. (I am a librarian so I know how to find books.)<br /><br />PS I cannot make heads or tails of the sounds for verification.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13221426929488707526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-36687387171756184762012-11-12T07:07:13.054-08:002012-11-12T07:07:13.054-08:00There are several copies of Improv Comedy availabl...There are several copies of Improv Comedy available from http://www.abebooks.com including some in the UK. (I am a librarian so I know how to find books.)<br /><br />PS I cannot make heads or tails of the sounds for verification.Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13221426929488707526noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47821175845545380852012-11-12T06:40:06.612-08:002012-11-12T06:40:06.612-08:00"You can't possibly be funny if you eat c..."You can't possibly be funny if you eat carrots."<br /><br />A certain Mr. B. Bunny is proof to the contrary.Roy Perkins, impartial dogcatchernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29844790668693140942012-11-12T06:34:28.382-08:002012-11-12T06:34:28.382-08:00Sounds like a hoot. A very fine collection of cred...Sounds like a hoot. A very fine collection of credits in that room. Isn't Marina Del Ray where they shot some of "Arrested Development?" These streets are paved with funny, I tells ya!<br /><br />Macnoreply@blogger.com