Tips for upcoming stand ups..

[baby G]

A question. Do people reckon it is easier doing comedy in a character or as yourself?

[Scarlett]

If it were me (and its never EVER going to be :scared: ) then I'd say it'd be easier to be a character...because the real me on stage would be a nervous wreck and probably be sick :puke: all over everyone. I'd just think pretending to be someone else might help with that a bit....but then I'm sure there are others who'd say its easiest just to be yourself.

I'm with sooty...anyone who gets up in front of others like that is probably braver than I'll ever be! Good luck to all of ya.

[comedychick]

[quote:post_uid0][b:post_uid0]from Fiona Rohana posted at 1:53 pm on Dec. 13, 2001[/b:post_uid0]

:uhoh:  nice to know you think of me like that.  I was in the same heat as katisha this year and gave her nothing but compliments because her material was fantastic. Just because i'm also competing doesn't mean i'll tell someone their stuff is crap.  But if thats something *you'd* do to win comedychick...*shrugs* Thats on your shoulders.
[/quote:post_uid0]
It was a joke :tongue: sorry you took offense. Of course I'm not like that, I've had friends in the same heat as me too. No big deal.

[quote:post_uid0][b:post_uid0]from monkeyboy posted at 8:18 pm on Dec. 13, 2001[/b:post_uid0]

i have a couple of good friends going who already know my material and im going to scatter them around the room so if i look at someone that freaks me out, i can look back at them and regain confidence. [/quote:post_uid0]
You've never been on stage before, have you? The most you'll see of the audience is the first 3 rows, if anything.

[quote:post_uid0][b:post_uid0]from baby G posted at 10:13 am on Dec. 14, 2001[/b:post_uid0]

A question. Do people reckon it is easier doing comedy in a character or as yourself?
[/quote:post_uid0]
I used to think it'd be easier to do comedy as a character, made up one but never performed as her. I decided that I wanted people to like me for me, not who I was pretending to be. Plus the character I'd created would've ended up being totally different to the material I wrote so it wouldn't have worked. I think it just depends on the person, what they're more comfortable with.

[Pautiric]

Stand up is not an easy thing to do. Myself, being someone who did alot of theatre before hand, i find that just getting up on stage as myself is still a bit of an iffy situation, but my advice is as follows (taking this from personal experience, as someone who suffered a near comedic fatal flop - though i have been recognised as the chick with the boobs who told the audience to fuck off or shut up until i finish hehehe)

As a beginer, develop a script... learn that script but not word for word, you do not want to appear to be acting. Just keep reading it, say it out loud, practice... but do not learn it word for word. If you are worried about stage fright and forgetting lines, write a few 'prompts' on the outside of your pointer finger and thumb so you can see them when you hold the mic.

Do NOT use a fully developed character at first. If you do this, you tend to just follow your script and if someone heckles you or something goes wrong, suddenly you are brought back to reality and it is you up there, totally unprepared. Just use a character base, but keep your mind alert. Most character comedians are not like that at first. Look at Mark trevorrow. When he started, he was just a tacky singer with the rest, his character came with him realising how funny it was and whilst the style was changing, he kept it.

As you spend more time on stage you will become more confident and though you may find yourself starting in a character, you will become alot more yourself... will start to improvise a bit more.

As for rehearsing and so forth... If you need an opinion, ask one or 2 people, but i find that the more opinions you get... the more doubtful you become and you start wondering why you thought your material was funny, so when you do it... you are paranoid and don't have fun. Which is what the whole thing is about. Having fun! Remember that if one audience does not find it funny, try it again anyway... You will not build up confidence and ability by getting friends to read your material or listen to it... you can only do it by getting up there and trying it, and if it does not work, don't let it get to you.

It probably sounds stuck up for me to say it like that, given that i have only been doing it for a few years... But it's people like myself and others in the same situation who know best because we remember. Just like school... Someone who has just learned something is a better 'tutor' than someone who learnt it years before... why? because we remember what it took to make us understand.

My main advice is just HAVE FUN and don't think too much. If you make jokes in a social group you do not put it past everyone first to make sure it's funny... you just say it, if people laugh, great... if not.. shit happens! And that the fun lies in making an arse of yourself, and laughing at yourself when you do.

[comedychick]

Sure you may've been longwinded Paut, but that was good advice...particularly this bit:
[quote:post_uid0][b:post_uid0]from Pautiric posted at 3:32 pm on Dec. 14, 2001[/b:post_uid0]

Remember that if one audience does not find it funny, try it again anyway... [/quote:post_uid0]
Different audiences like different things. I know my Raw stuff this year was absolutely killer material and the audience loved me (hey I'm egocentric, let me say that :tongue:) but just over a week later I did exactly the same material in a different competition at a different venue and I died on my arse. Not one laugh.

The important part is knowing what is funny to you. If you enjoy the material you're saying, the audience is bound to like you as well. Paut's right when she says sometimes it's the audience, not the material. Some audiences just don't get intelligent humour, some audiences don't enjoy dick/bum humour, it is good to try to judge your crowd. If you know the venue, you can usually pick what kind of an audience you'd be performing to. Like the Brass Monkey, which is the only place I can perform without much notice, the audience members don't usually relate to female comedians unless they're rude or dirty. That's just what I've noticed during my time there - it's not just me. There aren't many female comedians that perform there for that reason.

Thankfully Raw is going to be at Werzel's again next year! woohoo!!!!!!!!!!!! hehehe. I'm not sure if I'll write all new material again, or if I'll try out my Brass stuff from last week there. I don't want to die for Raw, I actually want to do better than an encouragement award this time hehe...that means I'd have to make the state finals, and #### it, I'm out of practice!

[Kathryn placing]

OK, tips.....

Don't know that there is really a check list of lessons to give, but here are some thoughts I have on the subject. Keep in mind that this is something very different for each individual, but feel free to take my ideas, or completely throw them out as crap.

Writing down key words is a good one. Once you have a joke in your head, you usually just need a key word to remind you of the joke. if you want to write it on your hand, try writing it on the back/side near your thumb. That way when you hold the microphone it is easy to see and less noticable when you look at it.

Personally, I have never written on my hand. I write it on a bit of paper and then look at the slip of paper 50 to 100 times before i go on stage so i remember the order of those key words. I don't have anything written with me on stage because, if I have it there I will look at it, and i don't like the audience to see me checking my notes.

I never tell jokes to family members or non comedian friends before I try them on stage any more. What is funny during a conversation, and what is funny during stand-up is very different things. If I went with my friends and family, I would never have tried material that I would now consider some of my best.

Remember, that performing is not only what you say, but how you say it. Don't be affraid to use your voice, your face or even your body to tell a joke. But avoid over rehearsing. If something looks too rehearsed (unless that is a character decision) the audience won't buy into it. An audience wants you to provide the energy, and if you are up there reciting jokes instead of telling jokes, there isn't generally a lot of energy (again, unless it is a character decidion).

Personally, I didn't want any friends or family around the first few months that I did comedy. If I was going to fail, I didn't want lots of friends and family there to see it. I have only started letting friends and family start to came and see gigs a few months ago, once I had developed a certain amount of confidance with being on stage.

Finally, try and have fun on stage. It isn't facing a firing squad. You up there telling some jokes. It should be something you are enjoying. And if you are having fun, then you can't be too nervous. And if you are having fun, generally the audience will too.

I restate, fell free to ignore any or all of this. I have only been performing for a year now, so I'm hardly a seasoned professional. But these are some things that I have found that work for me.

Remember, you can be anyone you want to be on that stage. But that is the HARDEST thing about comedy. Finding your character and deciding just who it is you want to be.

[comedychick]

[quote:post_uid0][b:post_uid0]from Kathryn placing posted at 3:42 pm on Dec. 15, 2001[/b:post_uid0]

Personally, I have never written on my hand. I write it on a bit of paper and then look at the slip of paper 50 to 100 times before i go on stage so i remember the order of those key words. I don't have anything written with me on stage because, if I have it there I will look at it, and i don't like the audience to see me checking my notes.[/quote:post_uid0]
That's the way I've been - with paper on stage, it looks very unprofessional. I know a bit of leway is given to those just starting out, but it still looks unprofessional.

In my most recent performance, I didn't even bother looking at the paper I brought with me with my material on it. I had it there to look over before I went on, but I didn't use it. It comes with time though, I think it probably gave me a bit of confidence knowing I had it there.

It depends though, in the right context you could use paper notes on stage and not look too unprofessional. It's magic when a professional comedian does it! I may've mentioned it in another thread, but I'll mention it here too because it's relevant. You may know that I went to see Wil Anderson a couple of nights ago - he read some material from a few sheets of paper. Reason the audience didn't have a problem with it is because it was all new material that he'd just written that day. If you use that excuse, I suppose you could take paper on stage hehe.

Anyway, I've probably responded to this thread too many times already...hehe

[serena]

Also watch and listen to as much comedy as you possibly can. Then you quickly find out what the tired old jokes are. Then concentrate on the new material, new topics.

If I hear one more joke about the following cliches (unless its particularly clever) I'll surely die "Has anyone noticed..." - how bad airline food is, how dope gives you the munchies, how the other line moves faster, how queenslanders are stupid, how tasmanians are inbred, how adelaide is boring, that new zealanders sleep with sheep, americans are loud, the english are whingers, how islamic/muslim people become taxi drivers, another hilarious "bin" joke, anything stolen from joke emails, how cats and dogs differ, that girlfriends nag and spend up on the credit card, that boyfriends are lazy and only want to watch sport on the tele, that people with a poor grasp on english say funny things, that the internet has porn on it and volvo drivers don't have indicators - etc etc etc.

This of course can be used to your advantage because an audience who is expecting one of these style cliche jokes will be delighted and surprised by your fiendish twist on them.

Good luck, and like everyone else has said, just walking onto that stage is your first achievement. Standing out in the crowd of other newcomers will be your second.

[manda]

>>> Moved to MOSH Archive. <<<

[unfrufru]

don't do material based on your first sexual experience with a stuffed animal. and don't mention your lust for kerry packer

[Munchkin]

Originally Posted by unfrufru

and don't mention your lust for kerry packer

Unless you want to work for ch 9

[unfrufru]

Originally Posted by Munchkin

Unless you want to work for ch 9

no then u just talk about how kerry packer has an unnatural obsession with your kidney