As ContainsNuts say, let's try and contain the discussion in here then, peeps. Copy and paste from the Workshop thread if you need to.
Can you teach comedy?
Yes you can teach comedy techniques and you can teach obvious mistakes to avoid.
But you can't teach the magic fairy dust.
Agree with Lee that even watching TV shows is a way of being taught, even if it is self-taught.
And, with Tim, I think we're all agreed that the crucial element to a script, the unique voice, is unteachable. It can be refined or polished by the writer (to a degree) but it cannot be transferred from one person to another in the same way as learning French or Maths or Plot structure.
Haven't we had this thread before? I'll sum it up from what I remember about last time; some think you can, some think you can't, some think you can teach things like structure and technique but not that vital spark that turns it from a good script to a great script. There will also be some disagreement over whether such a thing as 'natural ability' exists.
Have I missed a humungous debate?
A Mark Blake course didn't teach me to be funny, but it helped avoid school boy errors.
Damn, I just made myself sound like a bit of a cock there. Hm.
Did you? Are you guys having fun with out me.
I think the critical diference is in can you teach people to make strangers laugh.
I only opened this up to prevent the Workshop thread being swamped by a bubbling debate. 
But an apt summary, Matt.
Quote: sootyj @ December 6 2008, 5:55 PM GMTHave I missed a humungous debate?
A Mark Blake course didn't teach me to be funny, but it helped avoid school boy errors.
I seem to remember a big old debate/argument about it a while ago. My view is that it can help with technique, and structure, and all those things, but some people just have that natural ability to write funny that no amount of teaching can give to someone who doesn't.
Absolutely.
Natural funny bones can be buried well beneath school boy errors, like over writing, cliche, needless grossness, poor dialogue etc.
But if those bones aren't there you're going nowhere.
Albeit I've kinda taught half a dozen unfunny people to write 118 118 gags.
You can teach people about writing, but not how to be funny. I think being funny is a natural talent. Your mind either works that way or it doesn't.
Quote: sootyj @ December 6 2008, 6:01 PM GMTAlbeit I've kinda taught half a dozen unfunny people to write 118 118 gags.
Are you running some kind of sweat shop for 118 jokes? I suspect I'll be seeing you on Panorama, some day soon.
Quote: SlagA @ December 6 2008, 6:08 PM GMTAre you running some kind of sweat shop for 118 jokes? I suspect I'll be seeing you on Panorama, some day soon.
No just generous, albeit haven't you read "how it works sootyj,"
To echo others.
You can teach structures, layout and plot devices - but you can't teach someone to be funny. It's a natural talent that not many have.
I've known a couple of people who did 3 month stnadup courses, practised and so on.
And both completely failed on the night.
Weirdly one guy got his material rewritten for him (so it was fairly funny) and switched to the original on the night.