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THE ONION UNPEELED WITH SCOTT DIKKERS [226]

Release Date: 10/15/2020

School Of Laughs

It started in July of 2014 and has run the course of over 255 episodes. If you have a question about stand-up comedy we have covered it on this podcast. So as we wrap, where do you go from here?

GOALS TRACKER WORKSHEET EPISODE [EP. 254]

School Of Laughs

Today we focus on the year ahead. What are you trying to accomplish moving forward? Yes, it's the annual goals tracker worksheet episode! You can download the Goals Tracker Worksheet .pdf by visiting www.schooloflaughs.com and clicking on the GOALS TRACKER tab.

MARKETING TIPS FOR COMICS WITH TRACY DeGRAFF [EP. 253]

School Of Laughs

Sharing marketing tips for comics is the one and wonderful Tracy DeGraff. After penning her first book, "Laugh Anyway Mom", Tracy took classes at The Second City in Chicago hoping to take her stories to the comedy stage.

17 SHOWS IN 27 DAYS - LESSONS LEARNED [EP. 252]

School Of Laughs

I just wrapped up 17 shows in 27 days. I am still learning after 31 years! Sometimes I think those qualities are more important than talent. Probably not, but they help! Nevertheless, this episode is chock full of comedy lessons learned during the 17 events performed.

COMEDY WIN-WIN OPPORTUNITIES WITH CHESTER GOAD [EP. 251]

School Of Laughs

Today I am discussing comedy win-win opportunities with Chester Goad. I met Chester a few years ago at the BIG PODCAST conference with David Hooper. We've been in the loop ever since. During the past 18 months, we've spent many hours on coaching calls. Sometimes it is spent developing material, or creating a game plan. And always, trying to find win-win opportunities to develop his stage time and material.

CREATING A COMEDY CD with BRIAN KOHATSU [EP. 250]

School Of Laughs

Have you thought about CREATING A COMEDY CD? Brian Kohatsu joins us today to talk about a project that had been on his list for roughly 5 years. Coivd gave him time to finally knock it out and he knocked it out of the park!

FREQUENTLY ASKED COMEDY QUESTIONS [EP. 249]

School Of Laughs

Do you struggle with memorizing your jokes? Have you ever had problems with your voice during a show? What are the pros and cons of using props or musical instruments on stage?

GETTING STARTED with CHRIS RUPPE [EP. 248]

School Of Laughs

We cover ...

LONG LIVE JEANNE ROBERTSON [EP. 247]

School Of Laughs

In July of 2017, I had a great time talking with Jeanne Robertson. We discuss a career that started in the late ’60s and has carried her into the 2020s.

BOUNCING BACK, BO BURNHAM & BITS [EP 246]

School Of Laughs

In today's episode, Jonnie W. & Brian Bates join me. We discuss how the comedy scene is bouncing back, the latest Bo Burnham special, and how changing one line in a joke can take it to newer and sometimes better places.

More Episodes

In this episode, I get to discuss the history of The Onion with founding member Scott Dikkers. Dikkers helped found the original Onion newspaper. He’s served as The Onion’s owner and editor-in-chief, on and off, for much of the last quarter-century. In 1996 Scott founded the website, TheOnion.com .

In the mid-2000s, Scott headed up the creation of "The Onion News Network" web series, serving as a director and executive producer. The series gave rise to many viral videos and a TV series on IFC. The web shorts won a Peabody Award in 2008.

Scott led The Onion’s rise from a small, unknown college humor publication to an internationally respected comedy brand. He gathered a talented team of writers and editors over the years, working with them to develop The Onion’s culture of creative freedom and brutal honesty, its distinct comic voice, and its reliable process for generating award-winning satire, day after day.

In this episode, we discuss the evolution of the Onion and quite a bit more.

Today we talk about a variety of ideas, specifically:

Early funny TV that caught his eye
Digging Dr. Seuss
Difference between MAD and Cracked magazine
An interesting way that Steve Martin's book Cruel Shoes affected him
Conner O'Malley and his unique approach to comedy
New publications like the Babylon Bee
Niching down into satire and parody
How a lawyer went from trying to sue the Onion, to becoming a lawyer for the Onion
Hiring people to do the things you don't like to do
A typical publication week at the ONION
Advice on direction from Baratunde Thurston
How Drupal editing almost killed creativity
The Onion news segment on Dana Carvey Show hosted by Stephen Colbert
The many "almost breakthroughs" while scaling The Onion's reach
How a beginner can approach comedy
My story about milk and Emo Phillips

And much, much, more!

Notable Quotes:

"Nothing inspires me more than when I see something that's not good."

"One of the highest compliments we can pay to a bit, or a joke or whatever is, oh, that's so stupid."

On hiring new writers:

"Early on, I would take anybody, anybody who came in and showed some eagerness to do it like that was the commodity. The commodity wasn't the writing talent. The commodity is “who's willing to step forward and say, I will try it, I will do it?”

On people wanting to write for The Onion

"I don't understand why all these people submitting to The Onion don't just start their own publication."

On getting started in comedy writing:

"It's such a slow, gradual process of starting to do something new and learning a new skill which writing comedy is. It can be tricky for people to get started and see any progress because most people are terrible at it when they start any new skill and comedy writing is no different."

"if you don't love it, you'll never succeed at it because you need that love to propel you through those early years when you're stuck."

Where can I find info on Scott Dikkers and his comedy classes?

www.HowtoWriteFunny.com

www.ScottDikkers.com

Notable Quotes:

On hiring new writers:

Where can I find info on Scott Dikkers and his comedy classes?

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