Improvising - Riffing - Working Off The Cuff

 Here is a piece I wrote for a prominent publication about an expert improvisational comedian in Los Angeles. It gives an idea of how improvising, or "riffing" can fit in as an excellent tool in the comedian's tool belt, and on occasion can even be used at celebratory or other special events even when working from a written out script. - Funny Biz Writers Head Writer Adam Groppman

It's around 11 a.m. on a Wednesday as Cash Levy enters a banquet room within the pleasant, faux-sylvan Etiwanda Gardens event center near Rancho Cucamonga. Sixty employees of a major Southern California utility mingle, kick back at round banquet tables or head over to the steaming buffet line.

After the crowd has eaten and settled in, Levy centers himself on the floor and addresses the group, microphone in hand.

“After this I'm actually doing the Johnson family brunch next door,” he says. “And then I'll be doing the early bird special at the Golden Corral.” Referring to the company's in-house magazine, he quips, “I'm being paid for this in a lifetime subscription to The Buzz.”

A minute in and the crowd has erupted in laughter several times. Which is exactly the point: The 40-year-old Levy is a stand-up comedian — one who specializes in the sort of gigs that would make many of his peers run for cover. It's barely noon on a weekday, there's no stage or special lighting, much less a drop of alcohol to be had, and the company that brought him here has mandated various restrictions on content: nothing even lightly sexual or religious, and no profanity. Not even “crap.” Even worse, this group is expecting restructuring and/or layoffs in the coming months. Not exactly a guaranteed giggle fest.

Yet Levy strongly connects. One of the keys: jokes tailor-made for the crowd.

“You're a black belt?” Levy queries a hefty man in front, having been informed of the employee's martial arts ranking. “Are they just giving those out now? I feel, like, if we fought, I could just kinda dodge you.”

Levy's delivery is droll and gentle. He sounds a bit like Mike Myers as Dr. Evil, with a shot of California surfer lilt. He uses his face — smirking lips and playful, expressive eyes — to excellent effect.

The corporate side of the stand-up industry contains many unorthodox gigs, and Levy takes the toughest. He's a sort of comedy commando, able to negotiate awkward situations and even thrive by using inspired improvisation.

Levy has employed this knack for creative contingency on a larger scale, carving out a career as a comedian, even as many conventional doors of the entertainment machine have remained closed to him. While he hasn't achieved the colossal payoffs that come with TV stardom, he has for years made a solid living.

Of his early touring years, he says, “You're going to Alaska or the Deep South, and you don't have a set that's going to work with all these different groups. So I talked to the crowd a lot. I didn't want to recite the same jokes, in the same order, every evening. I wanted each night to be its own story and unique experience for the audience.”

On the road, people sometimes come to see his act twice in a week, curious as to how Friday's content differs from Wednesday's.

Levy's predilection for onstage spontaneity reached its ultimate expression a couple years ago, when he taped a seven-camera, one-hour comedy special at a historic theater in Bend, Ore. Levy did the whole thing on spec, spending a large chunk of his yearly income on it with no television outlet lined up.

“ 'You can't market improvisation,' ” he says, repeating the industry's mantra. “ 'They'll see it live, but you can't sell it on TV.' I wanted to prove them wrong.”

For his comedy CD, Extemporaneous, he taped four different club shows and edited together an album's worth of hilarious, razor-sharp crowd riffing. But this was a risk of a different magnitude — both financially and artistically.

“I knew that AXS TV, formerly HD Net, had an emphasis on live programming,” Levy says. (The growing network, which reaches 35 million homes, is found at channel 340 on DirecTV.) “And their owner, Mark Cuban, is a risk-taking visionary. So I approached them personally, through their website. Within a week we had a deal.”

As of Oct. 25, Cash Levy: Crowd Control has been a featured part of AXS programming — the channel's first stand-up comedy special.

“Cash is the ultimate live comic,” Cuban tells the Weekly via email. “And AXS TV is the ESPN of music and pop culture, including live comedy. He is hilarious and it's a great fit.”

Throughout the special, Levy asks various audience members what they do.

“Highway flagger!” he repeats, after querying a man. “You could get people to crash if you feel like it. You have a lot more power than people realize.” Levy then gestures errant flagging and makes a car-crash sound effect.

“Having an hour on national TV is so rare,” says Andrew Norelli, a comedian who recently appeared on Late Show with David Letterman. “And Cash's special is really groundbreaking with all the improvisation. It should create a lot of opportunities for him in Hollywood.”

Adds legendary comedy manager Barry Katz, “The greatest thing about it is you got a guy who did an amazing job on a special, produced it well and sold it when so many other people sit around and say, 'Why doesn't anyone believe in me? This town is fucked.' ”

Cash Levy: Crowd Control will be rebroadcast on AXS TV on Thursday, Dec. 20. In the six weeks the special has been offered on AXS, Levy has already seen heightened interest in his work: “It's gotten a lot of people on Twitter, and led to some different live shows around the country. I also have some meetings set up around L.A.”

He plans to pitch a sitcom script he co-wrote and is finishing a nonfiction book about his hobby of sneaking into major, high-ticket events, including multiple Super Bowls, titled No Ticket Required.

Levy also has established a successful podcast, Cashing in With T.J. Miller, on the influential Nerdist Network.

Still, corporate gigs remain the Manhattan Beach resident's bread and butter. And the most powerful experience Levy recalls is an “In Memoriam” show in the house of a military serviceman killed at 19 in Iraq.

“I wanted to be very careful about the subject matter,” Levy relates, somberly. “And I was nervous about saying the wrong thing, but it turned out to be a great release for them. They needed to laugh, and I was honored to be able to deliver it.”

Is it a Roast or a Funny Speech?

When it comes to an event speech for a wedding, birthday, anniversary, retirement or other major life event- a lot of people decide, wisely, that they want to use effective, good-natured humor in their speech. Using humor in almost any situation- whether it be a private event, a business or corporate setting, or a public service or political context- makes the listeners far more engaged, interested and sympathetic to the message and the speaker his or herself. They become more likable and charismatic when successful, effective humor- or comedy- is used. 

Some people eagerly use the word "roast" for what they'd like to deliver, in spoken words honoring the person or persons around whom the event is planned. For these folks, a roast is not a thing to be feared or dismissed as too crude or scary, but is an occasion for maximum enjoyment, laughs and celebrating the quirks and outstanding anecdotes of a friend or loved one.

For others, however, the word "roast" brings thoughts and images of a vicious, out-of-bounds, verbal attack-fest, in the style of those seen late at night on Comedy Central, with "jokes" so scandalously harsh that one is amazed they can be said on TV at all. 

In reality, however, most private event roasts are more about good-natured fun and gently poking the honoree about some of their individual traits, quirks, biographical bullet points and notable anecdotes than it is about making those in the audience gasp or fall over red-faced in utter disbelief.

Many roast jokes at a wedding, birthday, anniversary, retirement or other life event party can be about relatively benign aspects of a person's life and a lot of such jokes are actually about a person's strengths, not their weaknesses. One might make a playful joke referring to how the honoree is an amazing skier, a genius level chemistry student, or is ultra responsible about work and other obligations. Even jokes about weaknesses are more silly and absurd than they are actually mean or intended to cause harm.

There is an old saying "People roast the ones they love," which brings out the truth that to be put in the spotlight and joked about is almost always a far more inclusive and warm act than to be left alone and not commented on. While being on the receiving end of a good-natured and loving roast may be out of some people's comfort zone, for most honorees of this time honored, highly personalized and hilarious, it is understood as a sign of belonging and a testament to the fact that one is not boring and forgettable. 

And when an honoree and an audience are on board for a well written roast, the opportunity for genuine- and sometimes raucous- laughter, joy and appreciation is nearly limitless.  

  

Persona (or Brand) in Comedy

 

You will hear the word ‘persona’ thrown around in discussions about standup comedy, as well as in reference to actors and other performers. ‘Persona’ applies to a specific attitude, style, appearance or some combination of those things, of a person, adding up to the externally observable reduction of a personality.

‘Persona’ is similar to the word ‘brand,’ and whereas decades ago ‘brand’ generally denoted a well known corporate product (Coke, Marlboro, Budweiser, Cadillac), nowadays the term just as likely refers to the unique essence of a popular or notorious figure, someone getting a lot of press, chatter and media exposure. Madonna, the Duck Dynasty guys and Dennis Rodman all have brands (respectively, sexy and imperious, folksy and unvarnished, hedonistic and unpredictable).

So these days the terms ‘persona’ and ‘brand’ are almost interchangeable when referring to a comedian. And in comedy, one’s brand can get them new followers quickly, can make their material hit much more powerfully, and it can shield them from what would otherwise be devastating consequences on their career for doing bits or making comments that are considered offensive or highly provocative.

Let’s take some examples. If Jerry Seinfeld, Ellen Degeneres or Brian Regan did jokes on stage, or made statements on a popular podcast, that were considered distastefully profane, overly violent or politically charged and controversial, it’s extremely likely it would be commented about in the press, on social media, at the proverbial “water cooler” at work. Such public utterances would be considered shocking and “out of character for any of those comedians. They would be defying and contradicting their brands, which in all cases are “safe, friendly, universally palatable comedy you can invite whole family or the whole office to.” None of these comedians has pushed the edges already and carved out room for controversy, profanity and potentially offensive opinions. They’ve gained tremendous success and wide audiences with their brand, but their brand also does not allow them to deliver such content with relative impunity and the assent or at least toleration of the the overwhelming majority of their following.

Conversely, if any of the aforementioned categories of “difficult” content come out of the mouths of Bill Burr, Jim Jefferies or Louie CK, not only would there not be much public pushback or surprise, they would actually be rewarded by their following for committing to what the fans have come to love and expect- very edgy material with brutally strong opinions and a tendency to go right up the edge of forbidden or taboo expression. These guys have laid down their chips on one far end of the spectrum and they have very few fans who take offense to such content. In fact, their core fans would actually get angry and likely walk away if said comedians got noticeably clean, polite and un-controversial with their acts.

Where all of this might concern a non-comedian is in the giving of a funny speech for a private, work or other public type of event. Even a non-comedian acting as comedian for the day at an event, can benefit by cultivating a persona or brand that benefits and complements the tone of the speech being given. If the funny speech- whether it’s a wedding speech, best man speech, maid of honor speech or funny corporate speech- has some edge to it, if there is hard, cutting wit in the lines and some darts must be thrown, so to speak, then cultivating a persona of straight-faced, deadpan jester will help the speech giver to pull off the words with aplomb and success.

Think Stephen Colbert, Bill Maher, Jimmy Kimmel or Nicki Glaser-- all are a combination of likable, polished, deadpan, and possessing a wily sharp edge that’s concealed under a very presentable, smooth exterior passing itself off as beyond reproach. 

Such a combination adds up to a persona that really helps coat the “bitter pill” of strong, cutting-edge comedy with the “sugar” of a commanding, suave and sure-footed attitude.

Writing It Yourself vs Hiring a Pro Comedic Speech Writer: The Plain Facts

Recently I found myself explaining to a client what the difference is between your regular average speech that they would write and the professional comedic speech that I will write. Actually, in this case, his self-written speech wasn’t just a theoretical case, he had actually written a draft for himself before he decided to hire a professional writer. 

As I told this client, his speech had some charm and a light tone intertwined throughout. It is what you might call “lightly amusing” if an audience really isn’t expecting much (or anything) in the Funny department. Many of the sentences and even paragraphs were earnest and flowery self-compliments with no comedic twist and the “stories” had natural hunor to them, but they were told in a plain, straightforward, drawn out way with no re-focusing to add/create punchlines along the way. My client here is completely normal, and representative of most non-professional writers. Especially non comedic-professional writers. He was having a notable personality and title holder in his town officiate his wedding, and deliver a speech about himself and his bride. He wanted it to be really funny and worthy of the event and the important man delivering it on the couple’s behalf. The smartest move he could’ve made was to hire a professional comedic speech writer. And thankfully, he did!

What a pro comedic speech writer will do is mold each line, using precision and efficiency of language, which greatly aid the phenomenon of comedy. The “setups” - the straight, “real” piece of information are relatively quick, and totally TRUE, with the “punchline”, the twist, the payoff, the big laugh line, using some element of comedy writing, be it hyper exaggeration, analogy, comparison, left turn substitution, or what have you. The speech is a series of very sharp jokes- of the level of a Comedy Central or HBO presentation- that adhere to time tested structures of quality joke writing. The speech is poignant, relevant and detailed- because it’s all based on real qualities, quirks and anecdotes of the honorees, but it’s laugh out loud funny, with a rapid pace of punchlines, because it’s the result of years of training and practice in comedic writing. Which is no normal or easy to master skill. 

So, next time you want to “crush it”, as we say in the biz, at a public or private event, be smart like this client of mine and hire a proven and tested pro comedic speech writer to do the heavy lifting, so you can kick back and then take in the glory! .

How I Came to This Comedy Writing Life

 When people say “That’s so interesting! How did you get into that?” upon learning what I do, I give them the nutshell history. Because it’s en excellent question and, as I always so, I came to this work of custom writing funny speeches, roasts, presentations, lectures and other public speaking products and documents very organically.

I fell into standup comedy in the late 1990’s shortly after moving to Los Angeles. I moved to LA with creative showbiz endeavors in mind, but leaning much more toward screenwriting and acting. Standup was not even a thought as I arrived in a rental car, driving down from San Francisco, where I’d been living for a few years, a Boston native seeking some version of the California Dream.

As a kid I’d always absolutely loved comedy, humor, jokes, funniness- whichever terms one might use. I was laser focused on and enthralled by Saturday Night Live sketches, and avidly consumed records on my parents’ shelves by comedians like Richard Pryor, George Carlin and Mel Brooks with Carl Reiner. Shortly later I’d go get my own comedy records, like Steve Martin’s Let’s Get Small and Wild & Crazy Guy, and The Wedding Album by Cheech & Chong. In Mr Pradell’s 6^th grade class, in our Boston suburb, I would recite memorized Steve Martin bits for my table mates, noticing that they seemed, if not utterly captivated, then at least modestly entertained by the impromptu show.

Joking around and doing silly voices, coming up with catchy inside slang terms for use by my circle of friends, writing a produced play in 4^th grade titled Alexander Graham Cracker- while none of these were of the level of work required of an adult in entertainment, as with pretty much all comedians, these modest outputs of crude humor laid the foundation-- they were building blocks of an affinity and an aptitude for being able to make people laugh.

After moving to San Francisco a few years after graduating from college, I started attending a drop-in improvisational theater class, taught by this charismatic actor who’d been in some widely seen and heard in some TV and radio commercials around the Bay Area. Later I joined the more formally structured Bay Area Theater Sports for a couple of levels, and although improvisation doesn’t strictly necessitate “jokes”, anyone with the slightest mind for humor will often come up with lines that have a comedic twist. You don’t need to be funny, but good funny is certainly effective and appreciated.

After moving down to Los Angeles, it was around a year before I even attempted a standup open mic. I had been going as an audience member to an especially magical sort of comedy show at the old Largo (they’ve since moved locations into a theater space), a bar/restaurant/showroom where many excellent, creative and smart standups would work out their material- old and new- at a Monday night show. Watching that inspired me to try an open mic at a coffee house in Santa Monica on a Sunday night, and getting any laughs at all led me to keep on going to mics and finding my way.

Within a few years, a handful of comedians I was friendly with asked me to write jokes for them. I did it for the thrill, the challenge, the satisfaction of hearing them use the jokes on stage at clubs, or on one of their late night TV spots.

Through the years since then, writing sketches, short films, bits for TV shows, humor pieces for magazines and a LOT of standup jokes and bits, it made good sense to me to share what I’ve worked on and gotten really good at with “regular”, non-entertainment people, professionals who benefit immensely from being funny in a real life or work situation.

In the last couple years I wrote a large part of 2 very well-selling creative-exercise books, with a lot of humor, for a top LA marketing guru; had a few humorous greeting cards I wrote sell good numbers for the Frank N Funny series; and a short, comedic film script I wrote was produced in West Texas by a successful director/producer with a half dozen feature films under his belt.

I feel grateful for the projects I’ve gotten to work on, and whatever project I work on with whichever clients, I bring the totality of that experience to the work. Comedic writing isn’t what I thought I would get into when I was a little kid, but now it feels like it’s where I’m meant to be.

Specific Tips for Comedy Writing Pt 4

This is the fourth in a short series of specific, technical tips for writing funny. This is the kind of work that expert, experienced comedic speech writers do, whether it's a funny speech for a wedding, birthday, anniversary, retirement, bar mitzvah, corporate or business event, or a civic public speaking engagement:

A Person’s Career or Hobby

When writing about someone’s career or hobbies, it’s important to stay away from anything too tragic or embarrassing. You might try: “Herman is quite the surgeon. With my own eyes, I have seen him separate the inferior lateral gluteous from the ventricular pectoralis. And that was just the boiled lobster.” Or, “Debbie’s a certified public accountant. I better be nice to her, or she’s going to report my poker winnings.”

Specific Tips for Comedy Writing Pt 3

 This is the third in a short series of specific, technical tips for writing funny. This is the kind of work that expert, experienced comedic speech writers do, whether it's a funny speech for a wedding, birthday, anniversary, retirement, bar mitzvah, corporate or business event, or a civic public speaking engagement:

Specific Personal Attributes and Qualities

As with personal appearance, make the jokes about qualities that your subject would take pride in, or that are widely known as safe topics for ribbing. For instance: “Aunt Nadine acts incredibly youthful, like she’s a fraction of her age. Last year at her birthday we hired a clown. And she still cried and ran away.” Or, “Brian is pretty oblivious to holidays. He asked me 'What's the date for 4th of July?” There's a way, in a funny speech or roast, to make fun of someone's qualities- good or bad- without causing serious embarrassment or hurt feelings.