Ridi, Pagliacci

Perhaps one of the most important lessons I ever learned about comedy was that you can't judge an audience by whether or not it laughs. I've performed in front of crowds that responded to all the "right" places in all the right ways and turned out to be relatively lukewarm in their overall enjoyment. Conversely, I've experienced audiences that hardly laughed at all, but were wildly enthusiastic about the play. The lesson to be learned for an actor: don't work harder for the laughs if they aren't coming, play the truth of the moment. It's much the same in cartooning, it's what lies beneath the surface "gag" that's important. I constantly remind myself of the story of the renowned and famously curmudgeonly London critic years ago. He took his daughter to the opening of a new comedy, and guffawed uproariously throughout. Next morning his daughter read his review in the paper and was astonished that he'd savaged the play. "But you laughed constantly," she said to him. "Yes, my dear," he answered, "I'll also laugh if you tickle me, but tomorrow I'll have forgotten all about it."