Writing Comedy: DP Students Meet the Authors of Zelig

Jokes are never born by chance. They have rhythm, structure, and often take shape when someone finds the courage to laugh at themselves. This was the starting point of a comedy writing workshop that involved a group of our DP students, accompanied by Professor Elena Triantafillis, in a close encounter with the world of professional comedy writing.

Hosted in the halls of the Hotel Bologna in Mestre, the workshop was led by Giovanna Donini and Andrea Midena, long-standing authors and screenwriters for the acclaimed television show Zelig. The event, organised by the Walter Tobagi Cultural Circle, offered students an immersive experience in one of the most sophisticated areas of contemporary writing: comedy, entertaining, yet grounded in precision and technique.

Through examples, backstage stories from television production, and shared reflections, Donini and Midena revealed one of the core principles of humour: laughts arise when expectations are overturned. It is a delicate mechanism, they explained, requiring technical skill, awareness and careful attention to the audience’s perspective. A key element in this process is self-irony, often the first step in transforming personal limitations and everyday observations into effective narrative material.

The workshop also explored the performative dimension of comedy, where text meets the stage. Midena described how, during rehearsals, actors such as Claudio Bisio and Vanessa Incontrada often reshape written material through improvisation and creative exchange with the authors, turning the script into a living, collaborative process.

Far from being a purely observational experience, the seminar-style format allowed students to immediately apply what they had learned. Under Giovanna Donini’s guidance, participants engaged in hands-on comedy writing exercises, experimenting with timing, structure and narrative rhythm, and discovering that making people laugh is anything but instinctive.

The evening concluded with enthusiasm and engagement from all involved. Beyond offering a first-hand look into the world of professional comedy, the workshop successfully combined creativity, cultural enrichment and meaningful interaction with industry professionals, perfectly reflecting our educational vision and academic approach.