Comments on: The Trouble With "Good"

By: Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:31:54 +0000

It’s not geographical so much. We find that it usually depends on the size and the age of the audience.

A small audience lacks that critical mass to give it confidence to respond loudly. An old audience tends to be quiet as well, and a mixed-ages audience sometimes lacks common cultural references so they can’t react as one.

That being said, the audiences in Miami were tough. But they were small houses too, so maybe I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt….

By: darin

darin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:54:24 +0000

Do you find that the laughs vary to any large degree from audience to audience, e.g., some line gets a huge laugh in L.A., then falls like a stone someplace else?

By: Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:51:19 +0000

We measure it by the medium: a stage laugh needs to be big and loud, a laugh the audience SHARES. Smaller laughs, or indeed even smiles, we say, “Well, that’s a radio laugh. That’s a book laugh” – something that can be enjoyed immensely by yourself, but in a full theatre feels like a let-down.

By: darin

darin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:45:47 +0000

That’s true – you have a better barometer than most.

But do you sometimes find variations between what audiences find funny? And if so, does it end up being a “majority rules” type of thing?

By: Austin Tichenor

Austin Tichenor — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 18:26:25 +0000

“…we are the least-qualified individuals to judge our own work. We’re just too close to it to look at it objectively…our judgment is suspect at best….”

Amen, brother. That’s why I like writing comedy. If they laugh, it’s funny (and if they don’t, it ain’t). Pretty simple.