Scott Seifritz is the teacher of the upcoming How to Write Funny class at Writers & Books (four Wednesdays starting 4/11, 6:30 pm – 8:30 pm). He is one of the founders of Rochester Spoken Word and a writer of humorous plays and short fiction. His play, Denny Killington, Master Detective!, was selected as part of the 2016 Region Writers Showcase and his short play, No Encore, was produced as part of the 2017 Rochester Fringe Festival. We recently caught up with Scott via email to talk about his upcoming class.
W&B: So, Scott, we understand you’ll be teaching a four-week class at Writers & Books called How to Write Funny. How did you choose that name?
SS: How did you get this email address?
W&B: Ha, ha! I guess that’s one way to answer the question.
SS: No, seriously. This is my personal email. I only use it for financial transactions and to sign up for free coupons.
W&B: Our apologies. Since we have it though, perhaps you wouldn’t mind telling us a little about your upcoming class.
SS: Fine. As the class title suggests, it’s called How to Write Funny. It’ll be a combination of group discussion and hands-on practice. We’ll talk about humor in writing, and we’ll write pieces that exemplify the various categories of humor, such as irony, parody, word play… I don’t know; there must be a billion different types.
W&B: Hyperbole?
SS: What’s that?
W&B: Will writers of a specific genre benefit more than others from your class?
SS: This class is non-genre specific. Whether you write fiction, memoir, or Craigslist ads, you’ll benefit from this class. I believe humor is universal, like universal healthcare, and therefore transcends genre (unlike universal healthcare which is kind of limited to healthcare).
W&B: What do you hope your students will take away from the class?
SS: Anything that doesn’t have “Property of Writers & Books” stamped on it. That and how to tickle the funny bones of their readers without ending up in tomorrow’s headlines.
W&B: Anything you’d like to say to prospective students?
SS: I hope you’ll consider taking this class, but above all else, I hope you’ll take this class.
W&B: Thank you, Scott, for taking the time to respond to our questions. If you’d like to take Scott’s class, How to Write Funny, you can register here.
SS: When can I expect my coupons?
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Read Scott Seifritz’s instructor bio here
Check out Scott’s upcoming spring workshop, How to Write Funny