TV Theory: Sitcom and Performance by Brett Mills

Television Sitcom was written by Brett Mills and published in 2006 by BFI Publishing. Chapter 3 focuses on how performance is used in sitcoms. 

Acting and performance are defined differently. Acting is seen most commonly in 'serious' dramas or when politicians make speeches as it tries to seem as it is natural and has not been through any rehearsal process beforehand. Performance is seen more frequently in sitcoms, and is dependent on over the top displays of skill by performers. To be enjoyable for the audience a performance has to show the abilities of the performer, for example, in Yes, Prime Minister, although Humphrey's (Nigel Hawthorne) monologues are long, they are impressive to the audience because the performer has the ability to successfully complete them:

Performers can also play several parts in a sitcom to impress the audience with their wide range of skills. 

Narrative depends on acting to allow it to progress, but performance is separate from it and depends instead on the enjoyment of the audience, created from the feeling the performer is doing something spectacular. Both acting and performance are used in sitcoms meaning that they can sometimes be complicated to understand. Friends helps the audience to distinguish between when the actors are performing and when they are acting by making it so it is clear the characters are acting during serious scenes but are performing during comic ones. This is most evident with the character of Ross (David Schwimmer) and the difference between his scenes with or without Rachel (Jennifer Aniston):

A comic scene from Friends

A serious scene from Friends

This leads to audience ending up invested in the character's emotional lives because of the serious scenes. A lot of sitcoms do this including Friends, but also Only Fools and Horses with their themes of marriage, birth, break-ups, and even a miscarriage.

Because of these differences between acting and performance, an audience will have certain expectations of how an actor will perform, depending on whether they categorize them as a serious or comic actor from their previous performances.

Performance interrupts the narrative but not in a way that is annoying to the audience. A performance is based around a character, much like spin-offs, such as Cheers and it's spin-off, Frasier. Award winning performances are those that are able to match the natural sense of the TV show that is being performed in as well as fulfill the audience's expectations of the performer.

Audiences tend to pay more attention to the image on the TV screen rather than the accompanying diegetic sound, meaning that voice actors are not as famous as live action actors whose faces are known to the audience. This is mainly because when performances are analysed by audiences in sitcom, the main focus is the actors physical presence. This is due to the fact that the audience's enjoyment depends on how they are performed to which forms their reaction, changing and shaping how the actor continues performing.

The most acclaimed comedy moments in both the UK and US are physical jokes from the shows Only Fools and Horses and I Love Lucy:

Del's fall through the bar is found funny by audiences because of the aspects of the performance such as that Del (David Jason) does not fall naturally, but falls straight with no attempt to break his fall. Facial expressions also play a large part in this scene, such as how both characters look at the women towards the beginning of the clip, and how Trigger (Roger Lloyd Pack) looks around in confusion after Del falls, wondering where he has gone, playing on audience expectations as he is known for being a stupid character. 

Sitcoms often highlight their own artificiality by the use of aspects such as the laugh track, which attempts to convince the audience that they are seeing the events playing out on their screens as they happen or that they were played out 'live' to an audience in the studio. The audience's participation creates this laugh track and implies that the performer is 'self-conscious' of their own actions and the consequences they will have on the audience's reaction. However, the artificiality of sitcoms also comes from their very nature because they are inside a TV screen, the inside area of which already suggests what is inside is not reality. Animation is often seen as similar to sitcom because it is also artificial as it is drawn. 

Semiotics are signs which allow the audience to derive meanings from movements, gestures, and voices. These signs in theater gain quotation marks and become symbols for meanings which the audience must pay attention to in order to understand the text. In sitcom, these quotation marks make the artificiality of performances obvious, making it clear to viewers that the performer's intention is to make them laugh. 

Sometimes in sitcom narratives, situations arise where the character must pretend to be something they are not to avoid being discovered. The difference between the fictional performance of the character and the real performance of the performer must be made clear to the audience, which is usually signaled by the character performing fictionally in an over the top manner, adding to the comedy. However, in some sitcoms performance is also a part of the character, such as, the character of Jack in Will & Grace with his aspirations of becoming an actor.

Comic performance is different from performance in serious drama as comedy is more social and covers social issues so the audience are an essential aspect.  However, the most distinctive element of sitcom is comic performance so it best lets the audience know when they are watching a sitcom.  Sitcom characters are also distinguishable from others by their signature costumes , movements, and catchphrases, unlike characters in serious dramas. An example of a sitcom character who is distinguishable in this way is Barney (Neil Patrick Harris) in How I Met Your Mother as he always wears a suit, tells Ted to 'suit up' before they go out, and uses hand gestures when he wants to convey he is watching someone:

The origins of comic performance come from the technique of commedia dell'arte which involved performances staged in European markets during the 16th century. Because the performers had to compete with the rest of the loud market they used masks, excessive gestures, and specific character types, each of which had it own set of skills, similar to stereotypes in sitcoms today. However, different actors will perform these stereotypes in various ways, so casting is important to get the right balance between actor and character type. 

Commedia dell'arte literally means performance for/by the artists, so it was a collaborative process, similar to sitcom today. For example, in long running sitcom series, popular characters who are loved by the audience are more likely to be put in the show more often. The audience collaborating in the production process is also evident in sitcom laugh tracks. 

In some shows, there are points where the narrative must be interrupted so the performers can show off their comedic skill. For example, this occurs in Absolutely Fabulous when Joanna Lumley and Jennifer Saunders perform clowning, which is heightened due to the fact the other characters in the show are less over the top:

The funniness of comedy is sometimes created when how the character usually acts is different from how they perform. This means the character performs as well as the actor which is why distinction between the two is required as described above. Comedy narratives are often about a character discovering something new about them or their surroundings, which then allows them to perform in a way they hadn't previously. 

Typically, sitcoms do not use close-ups when shooting but instead use the 'three-headed monster' style, meaning the audience can see the actor's bodies as well as their faces. If close-ups are used on single characters they are framed wider than in serious dramas, signalling that comedies do not want the audience to focus on the character's thoughts and feelings too much. This shooting style aims to keep the audience distanced from the characters which derives from how sitcom performance has origins in theater where the audience see the actors on the stage from a distance away. An example of this shooting style is used in The Good Place:

Because of the nature of comic performance, the body is essential so characters often know the limits of their own physicality and are trapped within them. This can be used to create an element of farce such as in the scene from Fawlty Towers when Basil (John Cleese) serves the German guests:

Since Basil doesn't seem to have control over his actions he offends the guests with his comments and goose-step walk. This gives the audience enjoyment, not only because of the farce element, but also because it fits with the audience's expectations of John Cleese, because he became famous due to a sketch on Monty Python's Flying Circus about the Ministry of Silly Walks. 

The laugh track is the very element of sitcom that best defines it's intentions as it shows the audience's enjoyment, participation, and shows the signs that a comedy is successfully entertaining. 

Catchphrases are known by the audience but are found enjoyable because they are able to join in when a character says theirs. Usually they can tell the character is about to say their catchphrase because it is so distinct that they only use it in certain situations, such as Barney always telling Ted to 'suit up' before they go out (How I Met Your Mother). The element of the audience joining in connects the audience as a collective group who all understand and share in the same interests. The laugh track is evidence of this. 

The biggest thing that draws audiences to tune in to sitcoms is their humor as, although men and women find different things funny, to laugh is the main reason why people decide to watch sitcoms.  

References:

Mills, B. (2006) Television Sitcom. London: BFI Publishing. pp. 67-99.