Acting help: how can I be better at comedy?

Question

I am a trained actress (12) and I've been taking acting lessons since I was 7 at a reliable, professional source. I usually play more 'mean girl' parts, and I'd like to get better at comedy. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Focus is the key in comedy, when your saying something funny give it A LOT of personality and make it over the top also stay in character.

Answer 2

Hmm...comedy was something I struggled with for a long time, and still do.  Try practicing keeping a straight face with jokes you tell your friends.  Not breaking character is a very key point in comedy, as with all acting, so deadpan, deadpan, deadpan.  Also, toss in little things to spice up the character.  For example, when I played the Wizard in The Wizard of Oz (for the record, my only transgender role ever--I was 11), I threw in several nervous tics such as an upper lip twitch--those got big laughs.  When you're working with good material, focus on highlighting that--and when the material is lousy, rely on your own personal flair.  Hope to costar with you in a few decades!

Answer 3

A Few Rules:

1. NEVER laugh at your self

2. As my school musical director says: "don't wallow in your humour"

3. Don't over-do subtle humour and don't do over the top humour subtly

4. When in a show, don't make it seem like your telling a joke (unless told otherwise), it just has to be something that happened to be funny

5. Ask your acting coach if he/she can teach you more about comedy.

Answer 4

One of the keys is that each character takes him/herself very seriously.  In other words, they act as if what they are doing is normal.  

Watch some of the greats (Keaton, Chaplin) for great physical comedy.

Answer 5

Since you have more experience playing straight roles, why don't you try being the "straight man" in a comedic show to start?  

One trick I've found to help with playing a comedic role is to find out what the character really wants and to take that to heart as seriously as any dramatic role.  The character has to be believable before they can get a laugh.  Often times a comedic character is not walking around making funny expressions, but making serious expressions funny by exaggerating them a little in the right way.

Answer 6

When he was dying, Edmund Gwynn, who played Santa in the original film of Miracle on 42nd St was asked, "Is dying hard?" His reply was, "No, dying is easy, comedy is hard."

You have to have a flair for comedy. It is a natural ability to see humor and to be able to communicate it so it is funny,  Watch funny things on TV, cartoons , the old ones like Tom and Jerry, not this new Dora the Explorer junk.  Read books of jokes and learn to tell a joke. The more you experience what is funny, the more you should be able to be funny yourself.