--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Comedy is serious - deadly serious…" description: "\"Comedy is serious - deadly serious. Never, never try to be funny! The actors must be serious. Only the situation must be absurd. Funny is in the writin..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/mel-brooks-2308_absurd_comedy-is-serious-deadly-serious-never-n_2056600.png" --- # Comedy is serious - deadly serious. Never, never try to be… ![“Comedy is serious - deadly serious. Never, never try to be funny! The actors must be serious. Only the situation must be absurd. Funny is in the writing, not in the performing. If the situation isn't absurd, no amount of joke will help.” quote by Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/mel-brooks-2308_absurd_comedy-is-serious-deadly-serious-never-n_2056600.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/mel-brooks-2308_absurd_comedy-is-serious-deadly-serious-never-n_2056600.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/114/mel-brooks-2308_absurd_comedy-is-serious-deadly-serious-never-n_2056600.png) > “Comedy is serious - deadly serious. Never, never try to be funny! The actors must be serious. Only the situation must be absurd. Funny is in the writing, not in the performing. If the situation isn't absurd, no amount of joke will help.” [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comedy should be grounded in absurd situations, not forced jokes; seriousness in performance lets absurdity shine. **In simple terms:** Absurd situations, not jokes, create humor. Key Takeaway Focus on creating absurd scenarios. Themes comedy theatre absurdity Mood humorous insightful Type theatrical philosophical When to use this quote - scriptwriting - improv - stage direction - film directing Key Concepts writing performance tone Questions to Reflect On - How can writers balance seriousness and absurdity? - What makes an absurd situation funny? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on seriousness may stifle spontaneity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Actors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actors/) [Comedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comedy/) [Humor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humor/) [Joke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/joke/) [Jokes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jokes/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [To me if there's an achievement to lighting and photography in a film it's because nothing stands out, it all works as a piece.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-deakins/to-me-if-there-s-an-achievement-to-lighting-and-photography-in-a-film/) [Roger Deakins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-deakins/) > [You just can't take yourself too seriously, especially in comedy. You shouldn't try to be funny, but you should try to be as honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-patton/you-just-can-t-take-yourself-too-seriously-especially-in-comedy-you/) [Paula Patton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-patton/) > [I never think I want to try to be funny. 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He artfully steps back from a social setting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/woody-allen-is-a-genius-his-films-are-wonderful-he-s-poetic-but-he-s/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [ Comedy is lively, comedy is joy, and that's what keeps us \[people\] going, we've got to look forward to little, little happiness's. Little, little… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/comedy-is-lively-comedy-is-joy-and-that-s-what-keeps-us-people-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [All right, I am often brash, rude and brutally direct. Someday I'm going to die and I don't have time to toe-dance around the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/all-right-i-am-often-brash-rude-and-brutally-direct-someday-i-m-going/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I don't think in terms of results at all. 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Instead of creating a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/i-realised-that-all-one-really-had-to-do-was-just-observe-observe-and/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Life literally abounds in comedy if you just look around you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/life-literally-abounds-in-comedy-if-you-just-look-around-you/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [Look, I really don't want to wax philosophic, but I will say that if you're alive, you got to flap your arms and legs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/look-i-really-don-t-want-to-wax-philosophic-but-i-will-say-that-if/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [I knew it... 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Critics can't even make music by rubbing their back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/immortality-is-a-by-product-of-good-work-masterpieces-are-not-for/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [If Ivan the Terrible had been kissed and loved between zero and three, he probably would have become Ivan Not So Terrible. If you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/if-ivan-the-terrible-had-been-kissed-and-loved-between-zero-and-three/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) [Explore all 173 Mel Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." 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