On Wed, 10 Jun 2009 13:16:55 -0400, Jim Henderson wrote:

> Well, that's hard to say.  One of the questions that is asked of
> comedians quite frequently (I've heard James Lipton ask it many times on
> Inside the Actor's Studio) is whether comedy is innate or can be
> learned.  The general consensus seems to be that there's something
> innate, and if you don't have it, you can't be an effective comedian.

Thinking about this a bit more, Andy, you would probably benefit (at 
least - you might also find it funny, depending on your sense of humour) 
from watching the episode of Inside the Actor's Studio with Robin 
Williams.  I found it quite funny, but there was a lot in the interview 
(as there is in all episodes of that programme) about taking risks, 
summed up by a question that one of the students asked in the Q&A at the 
end of the episode about how Williams can risk so much.

His answer to that question was fascinating and I think you might find it 
interesting to see someone who arguably has been very successful talk 
about the missteps in his career (yeah, speaking of making bad life 
choices, Williams went through drug rehab - you haven't done that, have 
you?  Talk about life choices that suck, Williams talked about how much 
that sucked and what a bad choice it was) as well as the good stuff.

If you can get the episode in the UK, I highly recommend it.  It is 
available on DVD (I watched it both on TV and the extended version on 
DVD).

Jim

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