Carry a Big Shtick
A shtick is a collection of gimmicks or gags that a comedian relies on. Shtick comes from a Yiddish word meaning “bits and pieces” and was used to describe a small part in a play. The word now refers to the bits and pieces that make up a comedian's toolbox of verbal and physical humor.
Examples of comedians' shtick:
Robin Williams: funny voices, improvisation, and quick changes of pace
Jim Carrey: wild facial expressions and exaggerated physical movements
Roseanne: weary, no-nonsense, suburban mother
Bill Murray: smarmy, “thinks he's cool” know-it-all
Adam Sandler: goofy, class clown
Jerry Lewis: wide-eyed, well-meaning bumbler
Edmund Kean, a British actor of the 1800s, achieved fame by playing tragic heroes. He was once asked if it was difficult acting out a death scene. Kean said,“Dying is easy, comedy is hard.”
A Shtick List
Shtick can also refer to a widely used gimmick that never fails to provoke laughter. The oldest of these would be getting a pie thrown in your face or slipping on a banana peel. Other shtick include:
Wearing clothes that are too big or too small
Not paying attention while walking or riding a bicycle and bumping into a wall, door, or another person
Someone asks you a question when your mouth is full
Word to Know
Shtick: the regular bits and pieces that make up a comedian's toolbox
Dressing up as the opposite sex in order to avoid someone
Carefully reaching for a single item at a store but accidentally spilling hundreds all over the floor
Getting a tie stuck in anything, especially in your food, a suitcase, or a closing elevator door
During a conversation, just as you are about to say an important word or phrase, a loud noise occurs (airplane, construction work, traffic, etc.)
Sitting down at precisely the same time as someone else, or turning the page of a book at the same time
Two frightened guys looking at each other and screaming
Try this well-used shtick: A friend says something shocking just as you are taking a sip of water. Your reaction? A sputtering blast of liquid all over you and your companion. This particular shtick is known as the spit-take, a time-honored method of getting a laugh.
Word to Know
Spit-take: when someone sprays a mouthful of liquid all over someone else in response to something said
The spit-take has been used on almost every TV sitcom and in countless films. It is also used in plays and comedy clubs (front row ticketholders beware!). But it's not the easiest joke to master. Timing is everything. The joke that provokes the spit-take must be heard clearly before the reaction takes place. And if the spit is too short or too long, the laughter turns into a groan.
Whenever you hear a joke, your reaction is a take. (In other words, how did you “take” the joke? Did you think it was silly, boring, stupid?) Comedians are experts at “doing a take” and can whip up laughter by simply reacting to the wild antics taking place around them. Many comedians do a take by looking directly into the camera or at the audience. It's as if they are saying, “Do you think this stuff is as ridiculous as I do?”
One word of caution: Be careful what you are drinking when you do a spit-take. After all, milk and grape juice can stain, and hot coffee might lead to an argument. The pros use cold water and avoid getting into “hot water!”
“Nobody ever died of laughter,” exclaimed Sir Max Beerbohm (1872–1956), a British caricaturist and wit. But Max was wrong. According to historians, there are at least two cases of hilarity producing fatal results. These two men both died from laughing too hard:
- Thomas Urquhart, a Scottish writer and translator, in 1660
- Calchas, a Greek fortuneteller, sometime before 800 B.C.
It's a good thing the jokes they heard are not on record!
Gen-X author David Foster Wallace uses the idea of deadly laughs for his monumental (1,079 pages!) bestseller Infinite Jest. In Wallace's book, the mysterious bad guys televise a movie called Infinite Jest that is so amusing, so entertaining, that people who watch it forget to sleep, eat, or drink and eventually starve to death!