Have you ever seen a comedian, or comedy troupe, repeat a bit over and over and over again, until the blatant lack of grace was painful to watch? In recent years, that’s almost become the norm, especially on shows like “Saturday Night Live.” If comedy writers had known about the Rule of Three, and better yet, followed it, they might have avoided the problem and actually had the funny skit they intended.
In summary, the rule of three is: do not repeat a bit of comedy more than three times. When done right, the first time can be funny, the second time funnier, and the third time can build into a comedic crescendo. A fourth time though, and it’s the comic equivalent of beating a dead horse: The horse doesn’t react, and neither does the audience, at least not in a good way.
Think of the great comedians of the past, whether you think of the likes of Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Red Skelton, WC Fields, and Jimmy Durante, or comedy teams like the Three Stooges, the Marx Brothers, Abbott and Costello, or Laurel and Hardy. . — Can you think of them “beating a horse” like that? No; it was something they learned the hard way, performing in front of live audiences and adjusting their humor based on audience reactions.
This does not mean that a comedian, humorist, orator, or clown cannot repeat a mannerism more than three times; obvious examples are the slow, drawn-out “Good!” by Jack Benny. or “Were you there, Charlie?” by Baron Munchausen. which they repeated hundreds of times during their careers, but rarely more than 3 times in any given performance, if that many.
Variety is the spice of life, but the old saying that “brevity is the soul of wit” still holds true. Whether it’s in front of children or adults, in front of a Rotary Club or on national television, the Rule of Three still applies.
It should also be mentioned that the Rule of Three is not limited to verbal humor. Whether you’re doing slapstick comedy, from throwing or getting a pie in the face, or being kicked in the ass like Charlie Chaplin, or even the patented Three Stooges routine, the Rule of Three still applies. How long would a Three Stooges short be fun if Moe started poking Curly in the eye, then Larry, then Curly again, then Larry again… over and over again for fifteen minutes?
In short, everyone should apply the rule of three to keep their humor short, funny, and memorable!