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276 COMEDY May in pursuit—Bill jumps over gate—Father runs into it— loses his wind—collapses, hanging on to gate—Bill kisses May over fence—tips hat to Father—exits. This is almost farcical action, but it is purposely exaggerated a trifle to mark the contrast between this and the straight action, and it is action not much more marked than that which is permissible in comedy. 17. It should be noted that this does not read humorously. If you had to read half a dozen pages you might never even smile. JSIost Editors of experience are afraid of the story that makes them laugh as they read the action. They know that the story that reads well does not play well because the author has given his attention to expression in words and not in action and the action suffers. This is the chief essential in writing comedy. Remember always that your story must be funny and your action must be funny, but that the words in which the action is set forth should be the plainest and simplest that you can tell the action in. You cannot take five lines to tell what a famous football player Father was and tell how scared Bill is. You say that Father enters. That is all. If Father was a famous football player and you think that it will help to make capi- tal of that fact, prepare for this scene by showing in actual scene or vision that he was a star half-back. Then if Bill is scared his reason will be plain, but if you merely write in the action that Bill is scared because he knows that Father is a gridiron star it will not help the action any, for only the Editor will see it and he will know that the audience will not know and so he will not value your clever phrase. 18. If you want to make capital of the fact, you must first show the fact to your audience and then use the suggestion. You must make a deposit before you can write checks against it. Perhaps in some early scene you see a couple of boys playing with a football. Father comes along and tells how he used to punt. He kicks the ball out of the scene, you cut in a picture of the ball going over the top of the house, you come back to Father and he remarks that he used to do better than that. If Jack happens to be passing and sees, then when Father appears in the doorway, a flash of the kick will bring back the scene and now you will be able to make capital of the thought. It is not probable that the laugh you will get will repay the trouble you cause, but it is the way you should do it if you want the audiences to know. You cannot merely write it in the action to make it sound funnier to the Editor. He will know better. Proba- bly when he was not so old in the business he bought a couple of scripts just because they read well and has been regretting it ever since. 19. Next to the action the cut-in is perhaps the most useful aid to comedy. At times a leader seems to crystalize a laugh. A scene is funny, but not quite funny enough to bring a laugh. The audience is amused and quite willing to laugh, .but there seems to be nothing to pin the laugh to. The action is all diverting, they are ready and