Perfecting a comedy routine is not as easy as it appears, local comedians say.

COMEDY is a serious business. And clowns and comedians often find that making people laugh – while at the same time concealing their own worries – can be very hard work indeed.

Ayeyar, a 48-year-old professional comedian, went into the business when comic cassette tapes were popular. At that time, he was writing short comic plays for cassette recording. Then he went into Anyeint Tha Bin, a kind of Myanmar concert involving a female dancer flanked by clowns.

“Everything can be a joke if you see the funny side. There is no one who doesn’t like jokes. And what is a problem for one person can be a source of laughs for others. But making jokes is not easy. If you don’t know how to make people laugh, you’ll be in trouble. Audiences are patient with other types of acting, but a comedian that who can’t make them laugh will soon know about it,” Ayeyar said.

To keep your material up to date you have to stay in touch, read the papers and the magazines, and make sure you know what’s going on in your chosen field. You also have to know how not to share your feelings with the audience when you have problems.

“We hide our sorrows as cats hide their claws. But it’s not in people’s nature to control their feelings all the time. When you want to cry you cry, and when you want to laugh you laugh. That’s what keeps your mind fresh,” he said.

Professional comedians can find different outlets, though the comedy video market is facing many problems. “We can survive in other fields like Zat Pwe (Myanmar traditional dancing concert) as a clown. But I am afraid videos may disappear, just as cassette tapes disappeared,” he said.

King Kong, now an established comedian, thought when he was young that comedy was easy. Now he knows better – this job requires talent.

“I’ve always been a jolly type of guy, and when I was young I used to make my friends laugh. I thought being a comedian would be an easy job for me. I found out how wrong I was when I started taking part in Anyeint Tha Bin.”

He also believes comedy cannot be taught. A comedian of talent will think comically, and want to satirise and joke about the world.

“We keep an eye on what is happening around us and help people see the funny side of things. I’m happy to help relieve people’s stress by being a comedian.”

“Daily life is a fight for survival against difficulties. Jokes are a way of helping us forget our troubles, at least for a while,” says Hnga Pyaw Kyaw, a popular 45-year-old comedian who came into the video field from Anyeint Tha Bin in 1989.
“I’ve been entertaining people with jokes for ages, so if I act a sad character, they won’t think my acting is really sad, or they’ll think I’m funny when they see my face.”

He thinks dirty jokes should not be very serious.

Myanmar comedians, seeing the decline in the comedy video industry over the past five years or so, are still looking for reasons to laugh.