Writing Short Comedy

Semester and Year	FA 2010
Course Number	WRTNG-UG1505
Section	001
Instructor	D.B. Gilles
Days	Mon
Time	3:30 PM - 6:10 PM
Units	4.0
Level	U
Foundation Requirement

Description

This course introduces students to writing short humor, including political satire ( The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, Bill Maher ), sketch humor ( Saturday Night Live, Mad TV, Upright Citizens Brigade ), monologues (David Letterman, Conan O’Brien, Jimmy Kimmel), observational humor (stand-up comedy), parody (essays, think pieces, video, YouTube) and improvisation. Students will learn the difference between a sketch and a bit, how to create memorable original characters, how to write a joke from premise to payoff and where to find humor. Students will experiment with writing a different specific piece each week, possibly including a parody of a TV commercial, fake news stories à la The Onion , a Letterman Top 10 list, monologue jokes for a talk-show host, humorous short films for Funny Or Die , and a humorous Op-Ed piece for The New York Times .

Course Type

Advanced Writing Courses (WRTNG-UG)