Last night marked the last session of my last summer class for this summer--y'know, during my sabbatical year that began in April. Right. (Though, to be fair, I didn't work in May or June. Although, to be fairer, I had terrible morning sickness during those same two months and spent everyday and midday and evening and night puking and staring wanly whilst on the couch.)
Anyway, last night's class was also the second performance of the little play that I finally actually truly completed for class purposes. The kids did a good job performing and the audience was appreciative and laughed.
And that's what this post is really about: in one of the scenes I included a little sequence that was punctuated with a line that I thought was maybe funny but wasn't convinced. And my students didn't think it was funny at all. Why? Well, I'll tell you: it featured a series of repeated lines finally interrupted with the phrase "Orange you glad I didn't say banana."
You all know this Knock Knock joke, of course. Y'know:
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Banana
Banana who?
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Banana
Banana who?
--repeat ad infinitum until--
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Orange
Orange who?
Orange you glad I didn't say banana?
Even though kids love this joke (we're talking younger than 5th grade, here), they still have difficulty with why it's funny on its own, let alone the slightly abstract thing I did with it. And here's why: comprehending that "orange" replaces "aren't you" as a little pun is tricky. Comprehending that the reason the person answering the door should be glad is tricky. Why? Because the joke teller is just really having a good time repeating banana over and over again and doesn't really care that there is a punchline.
So when my students were discussing this portion of the script, one of them said to another "Don't worry, I didn't get that joke until I was 8." And then he tried to explain the joke by explaining the orange/aren't you pun, which didn't help at all. Of course it didn't. Because any five-year-old telling any knock knock joke can tell you that the punchline does not matter. But repetition is hilarious! And incongruity! And derision!
(That's my college education in the three forms of comedy right there...I didn't actually know those words when I was five-years-old--but I laughed!)
And yes, punchlines do matter, der. And the "orange you glad" out of context worked during both performances--mystifying all seven of my actors, but making me very happy.
Posted by Ida at August 23, 2007 11:32 AMwell, my kids like that joke but it usually winds up with "Orange you glad I didn't say poop."
And then they laugh uproariously.
Cause poop is really all you need for good baseline humor.