Funny How: Letters to a Young Comedian

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May 2023
"Laughing is the gap between what’s true and what’s expected"
Comedy writer Alex Dobrenko explains how to be funny: Write what’s true. Explore the weird. Speak the subtext. Love the mistakes. Increase, hold and…
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Matt Ruby
3
Why Elon Musk isn’t funny
And how to be the opposite of Elon when it comes to getting laughs.
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Matt Ruby
1
Dave Chappelle says, "Comedians have a responsibility to speak recklessly."
But is he right?
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Matt Ruby
There is no hack subject, only hack approaches
You can do a bit on airplanes or anything else. You just need to take an innovative approach that hasn't been heard 1,000 times before.
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Matt Ruby
2
Matt Ruby on "Behind the Bits"
I talk standup, substances, cancel culture, and more with Scott Curtis.
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Matt Ruby
The comedian who zinged Trump the best
The comedian who’s nailed Trump the best is one who rarely talks politics.
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Matt Ruby
2
Steven Wright on how he writes jokes
Steven Wright: “It's all based on what you notice. All comedy is noticing.”
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Matt Ruby
10 Good Things: Chris Rock's rhythm, CK on social media, and more
1) "Nobody is going to give you permission." 2) "Stop lying about who you are and write the things that are actually inside you." 3) "The love and the…
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Matt Ruby
The most important thing about art is to work
An excerpt from "The War of Art" by Steven Pressfield.
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Matt Ruby
A documentary about the NYC standup scene in 2009
A few years into standup, I filmed "I Need Laughs: One week in the trenches of the New York underground comedy scene."
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Matt Ruby
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