Assuming this article is true, and that these photos aren’t just me in a gorilla suit, I can’t think of a better way to wish you all a happy new year. May it be full of Daring Adventures and, as Karen Gersch (who sent me this) wrote, Unexpected Grace. A happy and well balanced new year to all!
Here’s a simple but effective comedy idea. How do you make a highly skilled but somewhat standard hoop spinning act more engaging — not to mention funny? Simply perform it while trying to fetch and drink a glass of red wine! Here’s Annabel Carberry in A Glass of Red.
“Contrasto! Constrasto!” Carlo Mazzone-Clementi used to holler. Comedy teams have traditionally relied on contrasting characters, the stronger the contrast the better. Laurel is skinny, Hardy is pleasingly plump. Keaton had Joe Roberts, Chaplin had Eric Campbell. Harpo Marx is said to have stopped talking to differentiate himself from his yackety-yak brothers. The Odd Couple’s Oscar Madison was a slob, Felix Unger a neat freak. Contrast gives you something to play off of, but you still have to have a good act! With great serendipity, I recently stumbled upon these three entertaining examples.

My book Clowns has long been out of print, but you can borrow it for two weeks at a time from the Internet Archive. More information is available here.
Visual and verbal humor for the cognitively and artistically curious! Available here.
“A book to treasure!”
—Bill Irwin