Laughter and Laughter

No, I haven't jumped ship to work on a sitcom (though I did enjoy working on one fifteen years ago, and I just heard that the one for which I edited last year is going to a festival--yay!). I have been watching Mr. Bean videos with my family, and if you know Mr. Bean, you know that it he has a great way of making you lose yourself in sheer laughter.
 
You would think that working in soap operas would be the farthest you could get from a "laughing matter." I have found, however, that a good soap opera (and I've worked on several good ones) has as much, and sometimes more, humor than a sitcom. And the pace and schedule of soap opera production means that if you can't inject a little humor behind the scenes, the days and weeks are just plain long.
 
I have said (and others say about me) that if I am laughing at a scene, it must really be funny. I find that I can no more laugh at something that's not really funny than cry at a scene that just doesn't deliver. And I am happy to report that this last week of All My Children has given me laughter both at scenes in front of the camera and with colleagues behind the camera. And Mr. Bean, well, Mr. Bean has given me the kind of all-out laughter that just kind of cleanses your body and clears your mind for the next big thing.
 
So, now, I am ready for both Mother's Day and another laughter and tears filled shooting week. Hope it's a laugh-filled one for all of you too.