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Prop comedy is acomedy genre in which performers use humorous objects, or conventional objects in humorous ways. The stages and films term "prop", an abbreviation of "property", refers to any object an actor handles in the course of a performance. Though some form of prop comedy has likely existed as long as there have been comedians, the genre reached its zenith in thevaudeville era. The vaudeville teamOlsen and Johnson used prop comedy extensively in their long runningBroadway revueHellzapoppin.
Aprop comic is acomedian who uses prop comedy. Prop comics are sometimes looked down upon by other comedians, and the term is sometimes used derisively. However, some, such asTommy Cooper, rose to critical acclaim as their props revolved around agimmick (such as Cooper'smagic) and the comedian's character around that gimmick.
Props are any items that the comedian or comic uses in an absurd way. These can be hand props, such as a book orslapstick, costume props (such as tearaway pants), and set props (such as a breakaway chair).[1]Another example is therubber chicken.
The TV comedy game showWhose Line Is It Anyway? has a round calledProps in which two teams of comedians are each given a prop each and must improvise with them to humorous effect.
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