Anyone here ever tried standup comedy?
Discussion
I do a little comedy writing in my spare time but have never got further than chats with a couple of producers and low level feedback from the BBC....bottom line, theres thousands of wannabe writers and very limited TV money - even if you happen to be good.
Anyway....i wondered about doing standup..open mic stuff. Just wondered if anyone here had ever given it a go? By all accounts you need a huge ego and to be a little nuts (must cover a few of you!)
Anyway....i wondered about doing standup..open mic stuff. Just wondered if anyone here had ever given it a go? By all accounts you need a huge ego and to be a little nuts (must cover a few of you!)
I've sometimes thought about it, i reckon i could get a 5-10 minute routine sorted out sometimes, but i never really go much further.
A local pub does a comedy night, i know they've had Tim Vine in before and that might be a bit easier than going to a dedicated comedy club.
Obviously, make sure you say funny stuff you think of, and not just refer to yourself being hideously fat (Jo Brand), gay inuendo (every gay comedian) or ethnicity (that Muslim woman, or Omid Djalli)
Whilst they can have their moments, the audience deserve more than someone taking the piss out of themselves.
I suppose the last thing is to be yourself, don't take yourself too seriously, let them know it's your first time, maybe work that in, tell them the last time you lost your virginity was similar, only more people were laughing.
Get them on your side and you'll be fine.
The one thing i would prepare is a back up plan for hecklers, it's unlikely, but if it does happen, tell them how embarrassed you are that the first person who heckled them didn't come up with anything original, and you feel really let down.
A local pub does a comedy night, i know they've had Tim Vine in before and that might be a bit easier than going to a dedicated comedy club.
Obviously, make sure you say funny stuff you think of, and not just refer to yourself being hideously fat (Jo Brand), gay inuendo (every gay comedian) or ethnicity (that Muslim woman, or Omid Djalli)
Whilst they can have their moments, the audience deserve more than someone taking the piss out of themselves.
I suppose the last thing is to be yourself, don't take yourself too seriously, let them know it's your first time, maybe work that in, tell them the last time you lost your virginity was similar, only more people were laughing.
Get them on your side and you'll be fine.
The one thing i would prepare is a back up plan for hecklers, it's unlikely, but if it does happen, tell them how embarrassed you are that the first person who heckled them didn't come up with anything original, and you feel really let down.
Old flatmate in London was in that game, had some success but that waned and he is now a photographer...money is crap and success is not based on merit but pure blind luck. So that'll be like life in general then.
There's bound to be open mic/newcomer slots in the comedy clubs near where you live. That'll be the place to start!
Good luck with it if you do decide to go that route!
There's bound to be open mic/newcomer slots in the comedy clubs near where you live. That'll be the place to start!
Good luck with it if you do decide to go that route!
ks.Yes, I've tried it. A friend of mine who was a courier was offered a gig at a local tavern. He was always telling jokes and due to his work, was in the position of being told a lot of gags so he had a heap of material. He was a fairly popular bloke so when his first gig came up the room was filled. To warm up the audience, the management put on a folksy acoustic guitar/singer guy who cranked out some golden oldies and Pete was scheduled to do two sets with another music set between. As the first music set progressed, Pete got more and more nervous and subsequently, sank a few drinks to try to calm his nerves. WRONG! Make it a rule not to get pissed before a performance! When it finally came time for Pete to go on, he required a bit of coaching to get on stage but eventually, the peer pressure from so many of his colleagues and friends prised him out of his chair.
Looking at the poor bloke up there you could see he was sh!t scared and half drunk. This was not going to end well. He started into his routine and mumbled his way through a couple of jokes. We all tried to encourage him but the regulars were stony. After around ten to fifteen minutes of torture, he looked done in and was just staring at the audience. All of a sudden he announced "hey! I see Ben down there in the audience, he's going to come up and tell you a couple of jokes!" He meant me :-O!
Not wanting to look like a piker, I took the stage. Now I have a few jo0kes that I could recite in my sleep so I launched into a favourite one about a guy who goes deer hunting out of season. As I began to speak, I noticed my legs were rapidly turning to water. As I went on, my voice became shaky and I was watching the audience for reactions WRONG! Always fix your eyes on a point on the back wall of the room, never look at the audience! They won't know, they'll assume that you're looking at someone sitting behind them. I arrived at the punchline and surprisingly, the multitude did not go into paroxysms of mirth, piss themselves and fall off their chairs. The response was a murmur of amusement. Two gags later I was all in. I could barely stand up and I'd almost lost the power of speech. Quaking, I left the stage.
Classic stage fright.
Pete had been taking more courage while I was on and when I finished, he was so smashed that he couldn't come back on. No further performances were requested....
Here's what I learned.
1. Preparation is everything. Practise your material until you're utterly sick of it, really. It has to roll out like that poem you memorised as a kid to impress visitors. Your material has to be second nature, when I was in a band we played the same two sets for five years. We looked like consummate professional musicians when we weren't because we knew all the songs by rote.
2. Never ever, ever, look at the audience ever ever ever. Got it? Never ever ever....................ever. Fix your eyes on a picture or a light fitting or a pattern on the wallpaper at the back of the room. It has to be an inanimate object that you're not hoping will laugh.
3. Do not consume any Dutch courage prior to your performance. It will not, repeat NOT improve your act or your material. It will make you look like a drunk nervous fool and wipe out all the lessons learned in points 1 and 2.
4. If you can, try out your material on a person who is hard to amuse. Your girlfriend/wifes Dad is usually a pretty good bet! Also, practise in front of a mirror. You do need to move and make gestures to enhance the jokes, practise until it hurts. If you stand there like a bunny in the headlights, the audience will stop listening to the jokes and think "Look at this git, he's scared sh!tless!"
Doing your own material should make the process a little easier but I forgot my lines when I was in a play that I wrote! Practise... All the best of British to you if you go ahead with it. You never know what doors it might open.
Looking at the poor bloke up there you could see he was sh!t scared and half drunk. This was not going to end well. He started into his routine and mumbled his way through a couple of jokes. We all tried to encourage him but the regulars were stony. After around ten to fifteen minutes of torture, he looked done in and was just staring at the audience. All of a sudden he announced "hey! I see Ben down there in the audience, he's going to come up and tell you a couple of jokes!" He meant me :-O!
Not wanting to look like a piker, I took the stage. Now I have a few jo0kes that I could recite in my sleep so I launched into a favourite one about a guy who goes deer hunting out of season. As I began to speak, I noticed my legs were rapidly turning to water. As I went on, my voice became shaky and I was watching the audience for reactions WRONG! Always fix your eyes on a point on the back wall of the room, never look at the audience! They won't know, they'll assume that you're looking at someone sitting behind them. I arrived at the punchline and surprisingly, the multitude did not go into paroxysms of mirth, piss themselves and fall off their chairs. The response was a murmur of amusement. Two gags later I was all in. I could barely stand up and I'd almost lost the power of speech. Quaking, I left the stage.
Classic stage fright.
Pete had been taking more courage while I was on and when I finished, he was so smashed that he couldn't come back on. No further performances were requested....
Here's what I learned.
1. Preparation is everything. Practise your material until you're utterly sick of it, really. It has to roll out like that poem you memorised as a kid to impress visitors. Your material has to be second nature, when I was in a band we played the same two sets for five years. We looked like consummate professional musicians when we weren't because we knew all the songs by rote.
2. Never ever, ever, look at the audience ever ever ever. Got it? Never ever ever....................ever. Fix your eyes on a picture or a light fitting or a pattern on the wallpaper at the back of the room. It has to be an inanimate object that you're not hoping will laugh.
3. Do not consume any Dutch courage prior to your performance. It will not, repeat NOT improve your act or your material. It will make you look like a drunk nervous fool and wipe out all the lessons learned in points 1 and 2.
4. If you can, try out your material on a person who is hard to amuse. Your girlfriend/wifes Dad is usually a pretty good bet! Also, practise in front of a mirror. You do need to move and make gestures to enhance the jokes, practise until it hurts. If you stand there like a bunny in the headlights, the audience will stop listening to the jokes and think "Look at this git, he's scared sh!tless!"
Doing your own material should make the process a little easier but I forgot my lines when I was in a play that I wrote! Practise... All the best of British to you if you go ahead with it. You never know what doors it might open.
Edited by Fresh_Clip on Monday 4th January 23:15
Edited by Fresh_Clip on Monday 4th January 23:18
Ok....90% convinced nmyself! The harder i hear it is the better chance of looking good!
Just need to write about 10 mins worth and get it slick
I'm going anecdotal with a bit of venom....think Michael McIntyre crossed with Dennis Leary in Eddie Murphys red jump suit from delirious (maybe not the jump suit)
Just need to write about 10 mins worth and get it slick
I'm going anecdotal with a bit of venom....think Michael McIntyre crossed with Dennis Leary in Eddie Murphys red jump suit from delirious (maybe not the jump suit)
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