A story may be scripted, or impromptu,
as a main feature, or used to break up
a set. For a number of comedians, storytelling may be one of many tools they
may employ to garner laughter from their
audience. For others, however, storytelling is what defines them as performers.
When writing stories, subtle or overt use
of humour can be used to ease tension
in difficult moments. Storytelling as a
subgenre of comedy has been slowly
increasing in its presence throughout
Melbourne in the last few years and, according to comedian Jon Bennett, it has
become a fixture in clubs in America in
the last decade. While Australia still has
some catching up to do in terms of the
spread of storytelling events, audiences are becoming more receptive to the
notion of a relaxed evening of amusing
anecdotes, as opposed to the fast paced
immediacy of stand-up comedy.
As the popularity of storytelling increases, with regular nights such as the
monthly room ‘Rocket Clock’, the fortnightly ‘Bazaar Tales’, and ‘Sinful Stories’, which runs during the ‘Melbourne
International Comedy Festival’, all organised by Cathy Culliver, it’s clear that this
growing art form is here to stay. As such,
it is becoming increasingly important to
learn how people best tell stories. So
here are some of the best tips we have
come across for budding storytellers.
1. The K Rule
According to ‘Writer’s Digest’, the K rule
suggests that words with a K or a hard G
sound, such as quintuplet, sex, gargantuan, Yogo (so if you have a story about
eating Yogo, start writing) are the funnies