The Comedy Plot, Toolbox Edition (part two)

Welcome to part two of a twenty-seven part series about outlining simple comedy plots!

Who is the Hero
What Does the Hero Want?
The Door Opens
The Hero Takes Control


So last week we went over the first two items. A particular character who wants something on a surface level, and needs something on a deeper level that the Hero is not aware of. Usually that "deeper want", in a conventional comedy plot, is LOVE.

All of this is cribbed from Luthor Vandross' book, "The Comedy Toolbox".

Buy it here:

https://www.amazon.com/Comic-Toolbox-Funny-Even-Youre-ebook/dp/B00R3KEMMC

THE DOOR OPENS
welcome to Jurassic Park!

Now that we've established a comedic Hero and that Hero both wants and needs something, the Hero's life has to CHANGE in some way. Hyena Hell did a great post about this a couple weeks back; you establish a character and where they're at in life, and then throw a curve ball at them.

So "The Door Opens" is where the Hero is thrust into a new world (literally or figuratively). They encounter the "magic" in a magic-powers tale. Or in a "comic opposites" story, this is the part where the pair meets each other (see Lethal Weapon for a classic meeting of comic opposites. That's the first one that came to my mind for some reason).

Dorothy is whisked away by a tornado. Andy accidentally reveals his 40-year-old virginity. Phil Connors realizes Groundhog day is repeating. The Nutty Professor turns into Eddie Murphy.

I think you get the idea. Some parts of a story are hard to identify for we students of structure (anybody else try to figure out the Midpoint? I feel ya).

But "The Door Opens"? That's usually a big moment that's very, very obvious.

It's called "plot point one" by Syd Field, or "The Catalyst" in Save The Cat.

In The Comic Toolbox, comedy stories are defined by the WANTS we mentioned earlier. And this is the part of the story that allows the Hero to pursue his Want

Well, the outer want, that is - what he really NEEDS is still invisible to him at this point.


THE HERO TAKES CONTROL
follow the Yellow Brick Road!

An opportunity has been presented by the open door. And in this section, the Hero walks through that door!

The hallmark of this section is SUCCESS toward what the Hero wants.

So if you know what your Hero's Outer Want is, this is the time to play out little victories along those lines. Depending on the length of your story, this could be several scenes.

Meeting new friends, having new adventures…life is improving!

This is also about choices. The door opening was not necessarily a choice. This part is. The Hero is choosing to do things.

Remember that these are OUTER victories. The Hero might be loving it, or might be tentative about it, but this section feels like progress!

But it's not. What the Hero really NEEDS is not being addressed. So the victories are actually hollow ones. And the Hero is going merrily along, not realizing they're about to hit a wall.




Next time: Monkeys!

see you then,

Banes