All language subtitles for Masterclass Steve Martin Teaches Comedy - 10. Student Session Workshopping Tim s Act

Tim, you you look very um

uh let's say it like a like a kind

person. You seem like a very kind a kind

person. And I wonder if if it's an I a

thought to kind of undercut that a

little a little bit.

Uh cuz I I I was looking at your

material and thinking is there is there

um something

Yeah. You're not you don't really

swear.

No.

Yeah. I wonder if it might be good for

you,

you know, to say something like good

evening. [ __ ]

Yeah.

I just say that because I people think

I'm kind and I'm I'm trying to undercut

this image. This is a, you know,

well, in that that restaurant bit that I

was there, one of the reasons I like

doing that is because I know that's so

how I come across and so I like to play

characters.

No, I like that. In fact, I was looking

at that. We're going to get to something

else in a minute, but but I was just

looking at this. Uh, this is your

restaurant bit, right? Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. I think it's very can can be very

very sharp and maybe have a

I don't know how you deliver, but a

bigger energy. It might be interesting

to think of it that way and really let

yourself get mad.

Yeah, I definitely play it like I

definitely do it small. I guess like I

guess the impulse with that was

cuz like of just like to be as like

smally condescend to have like small

moments of condescension build.

Yeah.

Um to like something truly rude.

Yeah.

Uh uh but it's true. I've never really

I've never really gotten too big with

it.

Well, you could start very small like

you say and then get big. I made my

thinking maybe that's the way I'd do it,

you know, and you got to do it the way

you do it. But I like I I got such a

great premise of here's when I'm rude

and then we just see you kind of get a

little rude.

Yeah.

I like to see you get really rude.

Yeah. Yeah.

So I'm going to destroy it by ruding it.

You say, "I don't want to talk about

food. I'm very very rude in restaurants.

I'm incredibly rude in restaurants. I

don't know why it comes out of me. It

just flows through me. The rudeness

flows through me like it's like air.

It's I'm a bad person when I'm in a

restaurant because I talk I talk rude to

the server. I don't mean to. It's just

the worst. So, what I want to do right

now because I don't want to go out to

eat tonight. I want I wanted to get some

of the rudeness out of my system. So,

for uh right now, we are all now you are

all now one server. Okay. So, when I

point to you, please say, "May I help

you?" So, I think that's really good.

You know, I think there are some trims

in there and a little more logic

straightening out,

but I think now you've you've

incorporated them in a sketch and

without them knowing it.

Yeah.

You know, it's really good.

Say, uh, so please say, "May I help

you?" Uh, may I help you?

And you say, "Okay, pretty good. But

let's try it again." Points to May I

help you? Perfect. Uh,

down invisible table points to audience.

And you get points on. May I help you?

Oh, yes. Thank you for coming. Finally.

Hey. Uh, considering the menu throughout

before every request delivered

sarcastically. Uh, first, um, can I have

a glass of water, please, when the food

comes, so don't go. Can I get a bison

burger, please? I'm probably speeding

through this, man. And can I taste the

difference? And I can taste the

difference. So, don't try to trick me.

Uh, and can I get that with white

cheddar? And, uh, with don't go. Uh,

please. I tip. Sauteed mushrooms. And

can can I get a side of rosemary sweet

potato fries? Thanks so much. You're

doing a really good job. And can I get

the whole thing on the house? I'm

joking. I uh do you like me? Stans makes

kissy face trying to kiss the waiter,

but I don't want but I don't want to

talk about food.

How did I read that?

Um too fast, right? Yeah, obviously.

So, I try to make it really like scenic

and kind of if I can do it small and

that's cuz like what you're saying like

I know how I look and so I think I can

be like a little more of a a a jerk in

in ways. So I can be like like, "Hey,

uh, thanks for coming finally. Uh,

don't go. Don't go. It's okay. Thank

you. You're doing so great." You know?

Um, so those sort of like little

That's good.

Very small. And so sometimes it does

really well if people want to be in that

scene with me.

Um, and also I can It also gives me a

lot of room to improvise rude moments

depending on how Yeah.

Um,

and so I feel like I like being really

rude in character because I

because I'm like

I think that's good. I I I but I I

couple of suggestions that come to me is

I'd get one or two more lines from the

audience.

Yeah.

Like if if you if you said uh you said

uh

do you do you have the fries tonight?

And you say say I'm sorry we're out of

the fries. You know say I'm sorry we're

out of the fries. What?

Out of fries? You know why didn't you

tell me? No you tell me. You know why

didn't you tell me when I came in?

Yeah.

You know.

Yeah. Yeah. And and I think you could

really I think it'd be funny to see you

really get mad.

Yeah.

You know, and and you get kind of kind

at the end. And I'm thought uh why would

you get kind? It's a

Yeah. I think like what I was trying to

do with that line is um

uh what is real is that when I'm in a

restaurant and I feel like I'm being uh

not great, I do like want to know like I

want the waiter to like me and so I feel

like I'll say something rude because

it's what I want but then I'm like oh no

I made them not like me. So I was trying

to like

tackle that feeling head on but I don't

know if it's the most clear or the most

funny

because your premise is that you're

you're secretly rude and I think that's

a good premise. I mean, you could start

it off by saying

you're probably looking at me and

thinking,

"What a jerk."

You know, like or something or or you're

not thinking that, but I'm actually

quite a jerk.

I have that in me.

And I really comes out when I go to a

restaurant. I'm so rude to a waiter. I

must be uh sublimating something and

letting it come out. Maybe I'm mad at my

dad or mom or something, but I let it

come out at the and it's and it's good.

And and I love that you just incorporate

them. And then after that, you can end

it. It's like, you know, and now I come

out of the restaurant, I feel great, you

know, I'm back to me, the me you love,

you know, the me that you guys are

sitting here going, why I love this guy,

you know, something like that. I just

think it's so smart to take out what

they we call, I don't know if this word

means anything, chuffer.

Chuffa is just like the stuff in between

that doesn't mean anything. the

pointless

meanderings. You know, sometimes you

have to use it to make a transition and

if you don't really have one, you can

walk around the stage and pretend like

you're thinking up a new big. Oh, I

don't remember what I want to talk

about, you know, that kind of thing, you

know, but the more you can unify it, you

know, without looking like this is

random,

uh, I think it makes a stronger

performer. Um, all right. Um, any any

thoughts or

I have a question for you. When I

started doing standup, I feel like I did

everything very very

scripted, sort of like very by the book.

And it's I'd riff a little bit, but it

was the goal was like to deliver the

jokes I wrote, found out the best way to

write them. And like recently, I've been

feeling like a a reverse thing to what

you've been saying, which is that

find those moments of dead time to be

yourself on stage without the jokes or

just to

learn what that space feels like a

little bit more. How do you feel about

that back and forth?

Yes. No, I think you're absolutely right

because, you know, trimming comes after

you've achieved looseness.

Yeah.

And so, you have to you don't want to

stand there and tell jokes. You It has

to feel like it's coming from a person.

and uh not just a joke teller. So in the

years that you're doing it on stage, you

do develop your own personality. And

what you have to learn is to make those

jokes sound like they're coming from you

and you're not they're not scripted that

you're kind of being spontaneous. You

have to fake spontaneity. And you know

the great performers can do it. They

sound like they're just making it up

right then. So yes, I think that's a

extremely valid thing to do.

You're kind of creating an interstitial

personality that sustains you uh in the

moments of transition. So, you know,

that's another thing to think about is

style,

right?

It's like you're you're doing

characters, you're doing standup. You

think how can that and and I like the

way you've done it. you you went

seamlessly into a character in a strange

way. And one thing that's that's good is

you made it about yourself and not say

you ever meet the guy who goes into a

restaurant who's really that's really

smart because when you make it about

yourself,

everybody's uh um you're building a

character. even if it's an abstract,

even if it's non-coherent, you know, it

doesn't really have to be coherent

because you're an individual and you

could be a million different things.

Um,

so you're you're selling you're you're

selling yourself as either

likable

or disruptive or trouble.

Um,

and

we just sort of reach deep down, you

know, come up come up with something

that you're going to be worthwhile

standing on that stage in front of them.