Current Events > stand-up comedy is pretty damn hard

(+) Yeah! (+)

I ate it twice last night and am signed up for two more mics tonight

Man fan joke never fails.

What type of humor are you doing? Clean? Deadpan? Dark?

Talk about your pussy, worked for Schumer

I consider myself a funny guy with a good sense of humor, but the idea of performing standup is utterly terrifying and confounding to me. I give you mad props for putting yourself out there.

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YookaLaylee posted...

What type of humor are you doing? Clean? Deadpan? Dark?

I'll post some stuff eventually, not this week. I'm not sure the answer to that yet.

Honestly, keep at it. Throw out various topics at the crowd to see what sticks and make that your niche.

Richard Pryor starred off using props for his stand-up gags to be like Bill Cosby. Thankfully, he ditched that shit when he went his own lane.

- Don't be afraid of bombing.
- Keep all the footage of every stand up. (You can profit off of that shit after you've made it big)
- Don't go to the same comedy club or you'll stagnate.

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Thanks

ProfessorKukui posted...

Ask for a chair or stool.

Why? There usually is one anyway

Doom_Art posted...

I consider myself a funny guy with a good sense of humor, but the idea of performing standup is utterly terrifying and confounding to me. I give you mad props for putting yourself out there.

Try it

Vicious_Dios posted...

Honestly, keep at it. Throw out various topics at the crowd to see what sticks and make that your niche.

Richard Pryor starred off using props for his stand-up gags to be like Bill Cosby. Thankfully, he ditched that shit when he went his own lane.

- Don't be afraid of bombing.
- Keep all the footage of every stand up. (You can profit off of that shit after you've made it big)
- Don't go to the same comedy club or you'll stagnate.

Yeah I try new bits if I have time. I've not even done it ten times yet, though. There are only so many clubs I can get to around here but I am going to try to get 7-9 sets a week in at 6-8 clubs. I'll pick a few days to get to different clubs farther out of the city. I don't have a car so that'll be a long bus ride each way.

berlyman101 posted...

Why? There usually is one anyway

the joke, your head

I'm a pretty funny guy and make a lot of people laugh. Not punch-lines or anything, I'm just really quick and snarky. The only way I would ever be able to do stand up is if it just so happened. I can't be put on the spot to be funny, it has to happy naturally.

Remember that the audience is usually right. If they don't find something funny, tweak it or cut it next time.

Unless you're going for the Norm Macdonald angle where you dgaf and that's part of the charm, in which case I can't even begin to comprehend the size of your balls.

Trumble posted...

the joke, your head

I have enough hemorrhoids from sitting all day

Bad_Mojo posted...

I'm a pretty funny guy and make a lot of people laugh. Not punch-lines or anything, I'm just really quick and snarky. The only way I would ever be able to do stand up is if it just so happened. I can't be put on the spot to be funny, it has to happy naturally.

I'm the same. It's different when people are expecting you to be funny and there's a spotlight on you. I'm hoping my natural humor breaks through.

I'm about to go out

I listen to a lot of stand ups in interviews and podcasts. Seems like all of them eat shit once in awhile. And it seems like it never gets easier lol

Xavier_On_High posted...

Remember that the audience is usually right. If they don't find something funny, tweak it or cut it next time.

Unless you're going for the Norm Macdonald angle where you dgaf and that's part of the charm, in which case I can't even begin to comprehend the size of your balls.

I doubt he even started with that ability, but he still had to deliver his lines well.

Have a great time, TC!

Good for you, man. Go for it.

I have a buddy who does standup and he told me once about a guy at an open mic who got up on stage, told one joke, nobody laughed, and he just went well thats my time! And ran out the back door of the building into the night, never to be seen (by my friend) again.

So you are doing at least better than that guy.

what a great audience

it gets better! keep at it my dude. It can be a ton of fun. Some of the most fun I've really had.

first set went OK. I didn't do any material, just straight off the top for five minutes. There were some down parts but I stuck through it.

I perform stand up as well! I'm getting a lot better too. It's just not a city big enough to have a booming thriving open mic every day of the week

MrToothHasYou posted...

I have a buddy who does standup and he told me once about a guy at an open mic who got up on stage, told one joke, nobody laughed, and he just went well thats my time! And ran out the back door of the building into the night, never to be seen (by my friend) again.

So you are doing at least better than that guy.

That's honestly pretty hilarious in its own right.

I think I could do it with enough practice.

Also if all else fails, steal another comedians material and reword it to get the audience warmed up for your own stuff.

Robin Williams stole other comedians material all the time (albeit unconsciously) when he was first starting out, but its how he got his early laughs.

MarveI posted...

I think I could do it with enough practice.

Also if all else fails, steal another comedians material and reword it to get the audience warmed up for your own stuff.

Robin Williams stole other comedians material all the time (albeit unconsciously) when he was first starting out, but its how he got his early laughs.

That shit's how you get blacklisted if you get caught, I wouldn't recommend it.

JKwaffle posted...

That shit's how you get blacklisted if you get caught, I wouldn't recommend it.

Yeah I know. I just mean when its your first couple times on stage, you at least need to get a feel for what works and what dont.

And you cant if youre crashing and burning out the gate. Going in cold turkey with untested material seems like a death wish.

MarveI posted...

Yeah I know. I just mean when its your first couple times on stage, you at least need to get a feel for what works and what dont.

And you cant if youre crashing and burning out the gate. Going in cold turkey with untested material seems like a death wish.

I see your point; what I've seen some people do when starting out is say at the start of their set "Hey, this isn't original material, I'm just trying to get my feet wet, this is 'so-and-so's' material" and then go from there. Good way to cover your bases while accomplishing your point as well.

Vicious_Dios posted...

Honestly, keep at it. Throw out various topics at the crowd to see what sticks and make that your niche.

Richard Pryor starred off using props for his stand-up gags to be like Bill Cosby. Thankfully, he ditched that shit when he went his own lane.

- Don't be afraid of bombing.
- Keep all the footage of every stand up. (You can profit off of that shit after you've made it big)
- Don't go to the same comedy club or you'll stagnate.

This is very good advice! Also Richard Pryor is a comedy hero of mine. He had multiple sclerosis, like me, and made the fucking best of it.

JKwaffle posted...

I see your point; what I've seen some people do when starting out is say at the start of their set "Hey, this isn't original material, I'm just trying to get my feet wet, this is 'so-and-so's' material" and then go from there. Good way to cover your bases while accomplishing your point as well.

Yeah exactly. It also helps if you can go on after somebody funny, or if the audience has already had a chance to drink. I remember seeing a guy I knew totally bomb on stage and it was entirely cuz he was the first one out. The audience was stone cold.

A warmed up audience goes a long way when youre still green.

Trumble posted...

the joke,
your head

Ftfy

MarveI posted...

Yeah exactly. It also helps if you can go on after somebody funny, or if the audience has already had a chance to drink. I remember seeing a guy I knew totally bomb on stage and it was entirely cuz he was the first one out. The audience was stone cold.

A warmed up audience goes a long way when youre still green.

The best open mic's I've seen are the ones where the host is someone who's been doing comedy for a while, and they tell a couple of jokes at the beginning to warm the audience up. Helps ease the "first-one-out curse" a bit.

Good for you for creating something TC. Keen to see/hear any of your material

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=preston+fontana

This is me :3 Prepare yourself for...

The turbonerd

JKwaffle posted...

The best open mic's I've seen are the ones where the host is someone who's been doing comedy for a while, and they tell a couple of jokes at the beginning to warm the audience up. Helps ease the "first-one-out curse" a bit.

Yeah definitely. Heck, even pros dont like going on without an opening act.

Tough crowd

Post audio

Some motivation:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/user_image/4/2/5/AASfTXAACtMx.jpg

The second set kind of sucked but the crowd was pretty dead/drunk. It's cool though because I hung out with a couple other open mic guys after and they were supportive.

EyeWontBeFooled posted...

https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=preston+fontana

This is me :3 Prepare yourself for...

The turbonerd

I watched your most recent set video. The self-deprecating parts toward the end landed well there. The timing on the "as one does" joke was right on and the "always watching" voice from Monsters Inc. is a strong impression.

berlyman101 posted...

I watched your most recent set video. The self-deprecating parts toward the end landed well there. The timing on the "as one does" joke was right on and the "always watching" voice from Monsters Inc. is a strong impression.

Thank you! It is definitely a set I'll be running with for a fair bit.

As someone who used to do it, I know the struggle. Kudos for sticking with it.

Stewman_Magoo posted...

As someone who used to do it, I know the struggle. Kudos for sticking with it.

How long did you do it?

berlyman101 posted...

How long did you do it?

About 5 years off and on. I did ok, but knew I wasn't going to get anywhere doing it so I stopped.

I've been itching to get back into it though, if only just for fun.

dream job of mine tbh

i also live right next to sf

should really just give it a go sometime

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anyway, props, tc!

going out again for a mic

Hope you have a humiliation fetish because I'm coming to boo your ass.

have a great show!