Shayne-Michael.COMedy

Editing Jokes: NO.1/2: Understanding Hooks - by Shayne Michael

Have you ever wondered how the best stand-up comics alive would deliver your material? Have you ever wondered why some comics are so easy to do impressions of while others make accurate impressions almost impossible? It all relates back to that comic's hook. Think of a hook as the central theme of a comedian's act. It can also be the central theme of a sitcom, movie, book, play or one-person show. Not all comics have one. However, the better ones do. Not all sitcoms have a hook either. However the ones that don't get canceled during the first season do.

Another word for hook is persona. I use the word hook because it's easier to relate back to other mediums. This pamphlet will consistently use the word hook alone. Just know, that a hook and a persona are basically the same thing.

Sometimes a comic's hook is spoken directly. These types of hooks are called catch phrases. It's what people hear in their minds before a comic even begins to speak. For Rodney Dangerfield, people hear the phrase: "I don't get no respect." For Seinfeld they hear the phrase: "What's the deal with these people?" For Roseanne Barr, they hear the phrase, "I'm a domestic goddess." In all cases you hear something before the comic ever says a word.

For some comics, the hook isn't a spoken phrase, it's an attitude. In the premier of Drew Carey one line best describes Carey's hook. It's where Lewis asks, "How was your day?" Carey replies, "It was like the rubber glove end of an exam." Each episode that followed was very focused on that theme: "How the working man always gets the short end of the stick." Carey didn't repeat that theme out loud all that often after the premier. However, each episode illustrated it a little better than the last.

Sometimes that hook is more illusive. It boils down to what the comic is interested in. If you were to imagine Chris Rock delivering Jay Leno's material, you would imagine Leno's material with a much harder edge. Chris Rock is very cutting edge. If he delivered Leno's jokes the material would relate more to hot social issues, even if the material was about Leno's grandma. On the other hand, Leno would take Rock's harder edge material and make it more palatable for his older demographics so that even his grandma would feel comfortable listening. They have different styles they can apply to the same material.

Noticing A Comic's Hook

Catch phrases are rare. Most hooks are only implied. Both hooks and catch phrases represent the underlying motives of the central character of any type of comedy including books, TV, movies, and stand-up (including your own). These hooks and catch phrases are not the only things that makes the comic who they are, but they are the most important thing. They are also not the only thing that drives a show. However, they are also what the audience remembers. When you think of Rodney Dangerfield you don't remember his joke about counting the first traffic light while getting directions. You remember his catch phrase, "I don't get no respect."

When you think back to All In The Family you don't remember every racist remark Archie ever made. You remember a loveable bigot who would have only been happy if time had frozen during the Hoover administration. When you remember I Love Lucy you don't remember her tracing through the grape vineyards of France to make wine. You remember a crazy redhead with 101 schemes for becoming a part of show biz.

Now, I know what you're saying: "Not every sitcom has a hook. Not every comic has a catch phrase." And you're right. There are pilots that have no identifiable hook. There are comics that have no identifiable hook or catch phrase. There are also people who haphazardly go through life never knowing where they started and are clueless just where they're going. What I'm telling you is that those are the pilots that fail. Those are the movies that flop. And those are the comics destined to hang outside the Comedy Store for twenty years doing one three minute open mic after another and hoping Mitzi Shore sees gives them their big break before she passes away or they qualify for social security.

Identifying Comic Hooks

In order to develop your own hook, you need to learn how to identify the hooks of other comics. The problem with identifying hooks is not all comics come right out and say "I don't get no respect." Catch phrases, as I mentioned before, are very rare. Most of the time, a hook or central driving force is only implied. If the audience isn't repeating over and over again "I don't get no respect," it becomes much more difficult to pin the hook down.

There's also another problem. How can you tell if a comic even has a hook? If you can't identify the hook, it might not be there. So how can you tell for sure? If you instinctively know how that comic would deliver someone else's material, they have a clearly defined persona or a hook. You should even be able to apply that same test to an old joke that is not associated with anyone famous. Take the old joke, "Why did the chicken cross the road?" Now imagine how any famous comic would make it their own.

• Chris Rock might say, "Why did the chicken cross the road? Because he had a tan and the White House was still living up to its name." There's a political/ social connection in almost every joke Rock delivers.
• Drew Carey might say, "Why did the chicken cross the road? To get a better job." Most everything Carey says relates back to the plight of the working man.
• Louie Anderson might say, "Why did the chicken cross the road? It was easier than joining the gym." Everything Louie talks about relates to either his family, his weight or his self esteem.

And that last example seems to be a problem. Is there more than one hook? Some comics definitely seem to have more than one. In Louie's case he talks about his weight a lot. He usually opens with it. But he also talks about his lack of self esteem. But then again, he also focuses on his family a lot. So which one is the hook? In Louie's Case it's the self esteem. Both his dysfunctional family and his weight have a clear affect on his self esteem. That connection between all those topics is the true hook. Yes having an abusive dad is a different subject. However, it probably affects your esteem in the same way as being overweight.

Identifying Your Hook

You might feel you'll never identify your own hook. After all, you're a comic. You're complex. You're mysterious. How can you boil your own life down into one simple driving force that motivates most of your actions?

If you want to do succeed in comedy you better. And to get a strong advantage over a million other performers you should do it early. So in one sentence, answer the following question: "What driving force makes me who I am?" If there's more than one answer look for the one that repeats the most. Then ask yourself, "Can that driving force be boiled down into a single catch phrase? Can I boil it down into a single recurring theme within my life? Can that theme be my hook or the motive behind most of my punchlines?" If the answer is yes, start writing about your hook more often, in fact write about it every day.

If the answer is a "No" keep writing and searching until the answer is "Yes".

Knowing your own hook is the single best way to teach yourself which material to keep, which material to drop and which material to rewrite. When I start editing I always ask, "Which material relates back to the major forces that drive me? And which material do I just do because I think it's funny." Look at the following three jokes.

Joke One	Joke Two	Joke Three
Medium Laugh	Big Laugh	No Laugh
I painted a naked model in art. Apparently, I was suppose to paint on the canvas.	I remember when I broke my arm and my dad signed my cast don't misbehave again or I'll break the other one.	My Grandmother mowed our front lawn in 15 minutes. We lived in Arizona at the time.

The first joke is a good one, but it's not me. First off, that relationship is going far to well to exist in my cynical world. If any naked model were to allow me on her, the only thing I would end up painting on her is the word "no" or the words "do not enter". Sometimes, a good joke is just wrong for you. When that jokes contradicts your hook, catch phrase or driving forces, it is definitely wrong for you. When a joke is wrong for you either rewrite it or drop it. I stopped delivering the first joke a long time ago. It always got a decent laugh. However it also messed up all the jokes about sex that came after it.

Joke number three is very faithful to my hook. It shows my grandmother is also messed up. After hearing it I would imagine you wouldn't want my grandmother at your Thanksgiving Day table either. Even though the joke is consistent with my point of view it was always a weak joke. So why didn't it get much of a laugh? In this case, the hook isn't the problem. I really failed to communicate the image. How many audience members assumed I was talking about my grandmother mowing a grass lawn? How many audience members visualized her mowing a gravel lawn like I intended?

I had one jokes about my grandmother that I liked less even though it always got bigger laughs. That joke that went, "My grandmother has more energy than anyone in our family. She knits condoms for the old folks home." Whether you agree with me or not, I don't think making someone sexually make them look nuts, even when they're 65. In my opinion, if the joke were true, it would make the world around me look more (not less sane). That is why that joke doesn't work for me. My hook revolves around making the world look more insane then me by my own definition of sanity not society's at large.

Why Sort Jokes By The Hook?

Sometimes you hate a joke; but it gets a big laugh. So you keep doing it. You do it for years. The joke always seems to work well, even though you're not sure why it makes people laugh it always does. Yet everything every punchline after it seems to fall flat on it's face, even your best one-liners. When this happens, you don't understand your own hook. Many comics figure if it gets a laugh, use it. This is a big mistake. It's the difference between being a mediocre comic and a great one. It leads to comics audiences do not remember. It leads to box office failures. And, it also leads to sitcoms that get canceled after a single season.

Let me illustrate. Imagine a young comic who closely resembles Louie Anderson opens his act with a great joke that implies he has a ton of self esteem. Now imagine afterwards he does his best material about his abusive family and his weight problem. Then imagine he does another joke that implies he's getting in shape. Then imagine he talks about how much he hates to work out and diet. Imagine when he starts his act he gets a huge laugh. After his second joke, half the audience seems confused, but the other half is in stitches. Then after his next joke, only a quarter of the audience is laughing while the other seventy-five percent are asking questions about the last joke. By the fourth joke, nobody's even listening anymore. What happened in this hypothetical act?

If you look closely at our imaginary act you'll see this format:

• I'm like this.
• Oh wait, no I'm not.
• Oh wait, yes I am.
• Oh wait, no I'm not.

Is it any wonder an audience would stop believing in this hypothetical act? Louie Anderson will always outdo this imaginary act because he knows who he is. And he never contradicts that person once it's established. Confusion is neither a hook nor catch phrase. Comics who are not sure of themselves or their material have no place on stage, pitching sitcom pilots or writing movies. The world has enough poorly focused ideas. Don't add another one to the mix.

If you're act is like the hypothetical one each time you change from one hook to the complete opposite, you weaken the impact of every joke that comes afterwards. My life is good. No wait, I guess it's not. Oh wait, yes it is. Oh I forgot, it really isn't. Hey why aren't you laughing? Don't you believe my material anymore?

Much of comedy is simply knowing who you are and not contradicting it because you can get a cheap laugh. Once you know your hook this task becomes much easier. You learn to identify your hook by learning to identify the hooks of other famous comics. Once you understand how to find and illustrate your hook and never contradict it you will be able to imagine any famous comic delivering your best jokes. But then again, you won't need to because you'll be getting enough laughs on your own.