Funny Bones: Comedy Games and Activities for Kids

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Introduction

When my daughter was two years old she dumped her cup of apple juice on her head one day at preschool. When I asked her why she did that, she said, Because it was funny. It was difficult to argue with her reasoning. Later that same year she told me, Mommy, it’s funny when I sing Ding Dong the Witch Is Dead with my tongue out. She showed me, and I had to agree it was indeed funny. I have seen firsthand a child discovering humor.

Dr. Patch Adams strongly believes that humor and laughter are healing to humans. He founded the Gesundheit! Institute where he practices the belief that fun, friendship, and joy are important parts of health care, and that fun and laughter are medicine. Many children develop self-confidence and overcome shyness when they realize they can be funny. This book is designed to bring out the humor in all young people, and will give them a lot of ideas for having fun and being funny. You don’t need to know jokes to make people laugh. This book is full of ideas for creating your own comic routines and comedy scenes.

Here’s the fun and funny you’ll find as you turn these pages. In Chapter 1 you’ll find information on famous comics and ideas for creating your own comedic style and trademark. Chapter 2 will get you started with ideas for creating original comic material. The history of comedy, along with activities that illustrate some of the elements of humor found in historical comedies, is included. Chapter 3 takes you a step further by helping you make your comic material as funny as it can be. Chapter 4 explores how props can be used in comedy. Sometimes even the most ordinary everyday object can lead to humor. Many comics become other people in their comedy routines. Chapter 5 contains character activities and games so you can become anyone you wish. You can use music in your comedy. In addition to acting silly, you can also sing and dance in silly ways. Chapter 6 has funny songs and ideas for hilarious dances you can do. Improvisation is a popular form of comic acting. Chapter 7 explores improv techniques and the self-confidence exercises needed to perform comedy, while Chapter 8 contains improv games and scene ideas to hone those skills. You might see these improv games at an improv comedy club or on the television show called Whose Line Is It, Anyway? Nonsense words and sounds are a source of humor for people from infancy on. Chapter 9 is filled with games and activities that bring out the silly sounds and words in you. And while I do not suggest dumping your cup of juice on your head as my daughter did, you will find a lot of suggestions for physical comedy that you can do in Chapter 10. When you have a group of people, such as at a party or in a classroom, you can sit or stand in a circle and play the humorous games found in Chapter 11. Chapter 12 includes funny scenes for you to act out. Along the way you’ll find ways to have even more fun whenever you see More Laughs for activity variations. You’ll also find interesting sidebars throughout, and in the back of the book there are suggestions for more funny plays, comedic resources, and a glossary of comedy terms.

Ready, set, make ‘em laugh!

1

Making People Laugh

Stand-up comedy is a humorous performance by a solo artist or sometimes teams of artists also known as comics. Sometimes stand-up routines are made up of jokes and one-liners, and funny stories and situations, or they revolve around humorous characters created by the performer. Many actors such as Whoopi Goldberg, Jerry Seinfeld, Rosie O’Donnell, and Eddie Murphy got their start doing stand-up comedy.

If someone is laughing, something is funny, but why and how? This chapter will explore some famous comics and what makes them so funny. The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Lily Tomlin, and Eddie Murphy are comics with vastly different styles, but they all have one thing in common: they are very funny. There are games and activities to help you explore different styles and discover how comics develop their style. Throughout these activities you can think about your own personal style, and see how it develops in different humorous ways.

Meet the Marx Brothers

The Marx Brothers were a comedy team of five brothers all born in New York City in the late 1800s to early 1900s. They were the sons of German immigrants. Their mother, Minnie Marx, was a famous stage mother because she pushed her sons to become performers. Comedy was in her blood as well. She performed in vaudeville with her brother Al Shean in a duo called Gallagher. The five Marx Brothers performed comedy routines, but it was three of them—Groucho, Harpo, and Chico—who became most successful starring in a number of movies. The musical play Minnie’s Boys tells their life story both on and off the stage. See if you can figure out how the brothers came up with their stage names.

Julius was often a grouchy person, so his nickname was Groucho. Adolph played the harp, and Milton liked to chew gum. Think of things you like or things about yourself. See if you can make up a funny name for yourself by adding an O to these words. For example, if you play the drums, your nickname could be Drummo. If you like to play sports, you could be Sporto. If you love to drink soda pop, you could be Poppo. Imagine what kind of comedic character would have these names.

Who’s on First?

Abbott and Costello were comedy film partners. They were born William A. Abbott and Louis Francis Cristillo. Both had experience as actors before teaming up for films. Costello always played the clown or silly role, and Abbott always played the straight man, or the serious one in their routines. They began performing on the radio together in 1938. The next year they appeared on Broadway, and after that they went on to make a number of successful films. Their first film was Buck Privates in 1941.

One of Abbott and Costello’s comic routines involved miscommunication and some people with very unusual names.

Abbott tries to explain to Costello the names of the players on a baseball team.

Abbott says, W ho’s on first, W hat’s on second and I Don’t Know’s on third base.

Costello becomes confused and asks, W ho’s on first?

That’s right, says Abbott, and W hat’s on second.

Costello thinks Abbott asked him a question, and replies, I don’t know!

Abbot replies, He’s on third.

The conversation continues with much humor as Costello gets more and more confused!

Create your own confusing conversation by using silly names. Here are some examples.

Pretend you have a dog named Stay. Try calling him by saying, Come here, Stay!

Pretend you’re casting a play with Who, What, and I Don’t Know Who. Who’s Romeo, What’s Juliet, and I Don’t Know Who’s the nurse.

Pretend your parents’ names are Sleepy and Grumpy. Try telling your friend, My mom’s Sleepy and my Dad’s Grumpy.

Pretend your friends are named Red, Yellow, and Blue. Explain playing Twister with these friends.

Create a Trademark Character

One or more players

Charlie Chaplin was an actor, producer, screenwriter, director, and composer! He was born in London, and both of his parents were music hall entertainers. He started out by touring England in a children’s musical company called Eight Lancashire Lads. This led him to roles as an actor. When he was 17 he joined a revue that toured the United States. There, in 1913, a film producer hired him. His first film was called Making a Living, but it was in his film Kid Auto Races that he created the character that is his trademark. He named the character the Little Tramp. The highly recognizable character wore a bowler hat, baggy pants, and shoes that were too big, and he walked with a cane.

You can create your own trademark character.

Props

A number of unusual clothing items and objects

Choose at least three things to wear or hold, such as an ugly tie, sunglasses, and a banana. Create a character around these things. Think about what kind of person would wear an ugly tie and sunglasses and carry around a banana. Exaggerate your actions to create your character. Practice how the character walks and talks. Practice talking like the character to other people. See how many characters you can create.

Little Child in a Big Chair

One or more players

Lily Tomlin is a comic who was born in Detroit, Michigan. She first became successful in 1969 on a television show called Laugh In. She is best known for her funny, unusual characters. She put many of her characters in her one-woman show called The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, which won a Tony Award in 1985. She reprised the role in the year 2000.

One of her famous characters was a little girl. She made herself look small for the role by sitting in a giant rocking chair. Because the chair was so big, she looked like a little girl sitting in it, even though she was a grown-up.

The character of the little girl was based on real children. Small children, who don’t completely understand grown-ups and are still learning how to speak properly, often say very funny things on purpose or by accident.

If you have little brothers or sisters, talk to them. Ask them to tell you a story, or just ask them about their day. If you don’t have any younger siblings, see if you can talk to a younger neighbor or a friend’s younger brothers or sisters. As they speak, listen closely to the sound of their voices, and watch how they sit and move.

Make a giant, oversized chair out of boxes or pillows. Sit in your chair, and retell some of the stories a younger child told you. Mimic the child’s voice and movements.

At the end of her child routine, Tomlin would say, And that’s the truth, and she would blow a raspberry by sticking her tongue out and forcing air out to make her lips vibrate and make a sound. See if you can think of a funny way to end your stories.

Impressions

Mimicking is different from impressions. To mimic means to act out or become another person like the child in the previous exercise. The character activities in Chapter 5 will help you in your mimicking. Doing impressions is similar to mimicking, only the person you are doing an impression of is a celebrity or someone very recognizable.

Eddie Murphy was born in Brooklyn, New York. He watched a lot of television growing up, and learned to do impressions of his favorite cartoon characters. When he was 15 years old he hosted a talent show. He did some of his impressions in the show and was a big hit. By high school he knew he wanted to be a comic. He started performing on Saturday Night Live in 1980, and in 1982 his album of stand-up material was nominated for a Grammy