Steve Kaplan teaches comedy workshops around the world. Companies like Dreamworks, Disney, HBO, Paramount, and Touchstone regularly hire him as a consultant and script doctor. His comedy book, The Hidden Tools of Comedy: The Serious Business of Being Funny, includes many of the techniques he teaches.

Steve also created the HBO Workspace and the HBO New Writers Program to develop new comedic voices and is co-founder and Artistic Director of Punch Line Theatre, a theater in New York dedicated to producing comedies (as opposed to angsty black-turtleneck dramas.)

Some of the writers he helped to develop at the Punch Line Theatre include

• David Crane, co-creator of Friends
• Michael Patrick King, writer/executive-producer of Sex in the City, creator of 2 Broke Girls
• Kenneth Lonergan, writer-director of You Can Count on Me & Manchester by the Sea
• Peter Tolan, writer of Analyze  This, creator of The Jim Gaffigan Show

Comedic actors that Steve has worked with include Jack Black, Nathan Lane, Bob Odenkirk, Oliver Platt, Mercedes Ruehl, and Nia Vardalos.

Comedy is the art of hope.” – Steve Kaplan

Steve came on The nsavides Podcast to discuss his comedic theories and how we can use them in our work, whether we are writers, performers, or just ordinary men and women looking to connect with others in more engaging ways.

Some of the things we discuss include

• How comedy tells the truth about who we really are
• Why creative hubs like the Punch Line Theatre produce so many distinguished alumni
• How the comedy works on shows like Annie Hall, Big, The Big Bang Theory, Groundhog Day, Inside Out, The Odd Couple, Seinfeld, and Silicon Valley. 
• How to make a dramatic scene more comedic and vice versa
• What is it about comedy that make it inherently hopeful
• Why the best comedies involve teamwork

Plus, Steve is offering a substantial discount to those who plan to attend his upcoming Comedy Intensive on January 28-29 in Los Angeles. (You’ll have to listen to the show to find out how to get it!)

Listen to the Episode