The skills of a comedian are not judged on how bad they bomb but on how well they handle the situation as it happens and once it’s over. As a comedian, the ability to laugh at oneself is equally important to be able to get laughs. Bombing is often a result of new material that hasn’t been polished or worked out yet, or it could just be because the comic has had an off night thus creating the right mix for a bad set.
Bombing is as inevitable as death; it can happen with anyone. Whether it’s on the stage or in a group of people, we have all been there – telling them something humorous, and expecting a promising laugh, but when nothing comes, the bells of failure start ringing, making itself evident. Bombing is a curse that can affect anyone, no matter who you are. If you pursue any form or shape of stand-up comedy, you will most definitely have to face bombing once or more.
The worst part of the bombing is that it occurs immediately. It’s like you are put face to face with your worse enemy, and you could only use your words to prevent your ultimate death. Often comedians are overly dramatic – but bombing is the worst part of the stand-up comedy. However, bombing is also the most crucial part for those who are seeking a growing career in stand-up comedy. You cannot learn without failing, and without learning, you cannot make a life.
Defining Bombing
Bombing is a phenomenon in stand up comedy where a comedian tells their material to a crowd and receives no or a negative response to the material. While most comedians consider this a failure, it is not; it is feedback to a comedian’s first draft or the early version of the material. Just like an author or filmmaker, the final product, the reader or viewer sees is tested and reviewed by other people until it is as close to perfect as possible. In stand up comedy, our material has to be performed in front of people to “edit” and ensure the funniest version of the material.
Imagine you are standing up on the stage, performing your stand-up comedy. You take a deep breath and deliver your first joke, but as soon as you did, no laugh came from the crowd. Your palms started to sweat. You prepare yourself for the second joke, but again it doesn’t get any laughs. Your face flushes with an embarrassment, suddenly the spotlight shining above you gets a bit brighter, and a thin layer of sweat starts forming on your forehead. You clear up your throat while roaming your eyes anywhere but the audience. You whisper a silent prayer, and say your third joke – but you’re met with total silence. You try to remove the knots in your shoulders by shrugging it off and smile, but you seem to have forgotten how to react in such moments.
Time goes into slow motion, making each passing minute turn into an hour, making it undeniably unbearable – and you morosely contemplate if your time up here will ever end. But as soon as you stop to think, the realization hits you like a truck as you whisper under your breath – Oh no! I am bombing right now. You try to act cool, but you can’t help the panic that starts crawling over your skin. Your breaths start getting shallow, and you pretend it’s not bothering you. You keep using the best of your material and hope the next joke will win a few laughs, but you can’t help the bubbling feeling inside you that’s getting worse asking you, will it?
Bombing Is Not Failing
Everyone faces blunders from time to time, but for comedians, errors are more immediate and nerve-wracking. In this case, comedians know they are bombing when they are bombing. The comedy industry is known for having the most famous names who have faced bombing like a champ, which every comedian should aspire to do as well. Traces of the bombing are useful.
Anyone who overcomes it is a true comic hero. Some comedians even go as far as to encourage embarrassing bombing in front of a room filled with strangers by saying terrible and humorless jokes. Comedy is probably the only form of performing arts that encourages bombing on the stage. Experienced professional comedians contentedly encourage the early birds in this industry to experience a time worth bombing. But why do we register bombing as a public insult and a dreadful failure?
Bombing on stage can mean that you are trying out some new material and finding it’s rhythm and cadence. In other words, you are creative with your humor. Bombing is part of a creative process to find the odds and identify where tweaking is needed. If you never bomb, it means you never worked hard or did anything new. Every comedian bombs. It’s part of the process. Some comedians bomb gracefully and learn from their experience, while others look like fools.
Bombing is a right of passage for every comedian and often happens early on in a comedian’s career. However, plenty of comedians have bombed even after finding success. If you’re a stand up comedian and find yourself on stage with an audience that’s not responding, the best thing to do is not to panic and continue with the routine.
When comedians bomb they have our four options:
- 1. Get mad or sad and blame the audience for a bad set.
- 2. Keep delivering jokes as if nothing’s wrong.
- 3. Deliver material that is different from what has been bombing.
- 4. Try out some crowd work.
If you’re bombing and it’s just painfully obvious that there’s no saving the set, comedians have found success with leaning into that bomb and acknowledging it. NOT blaming the audience. A lot of people want to be involved and love when comics riff off them. That’s a way to win them back over that’s worked in the past. But, you know, sometimes it’s a lost cause. So do your set, brush it off, and be better next time! Definitely don’t blame them – and don’t let a bad set taint your comedy. Keep going up and recover from the bad set as quickly as possible.
How Famous Comedians Handle Bombing
While some people are worried about bombing, successful comedians appreciate these moments of failure. They know that bombing is a problematic deal when it comes to comedians. They are up on the stage with a spotlight shining above them, making them the center of the attention. Whether it’s standing in front of a comedy club or a private gathering, you have to give your best, and no slip-ups are forgivable – After all, you are the comedian in the room!
So, the underlying question is: how are comedians who bomb able to be successful?
Let’s quote Michael Jordan here when he said, “I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” If you’re worried about failure, you won’t make the necessary attempts to succeed. After all, even a bad night is one of the many steps taken to achieve your long-term destination. Every comedian has bombed. It is part of the process of refining jokes, your set, your stage presence, and your timing. If a comedian has not bombed, they have not taken chances.
Every bomb will shape your comedic voice and comedy career. Every set back makes you stronger and smarter in every aspect of your life. If you are not bombing at all, you are just trying to play safe. Our goal is not to confuse the success rate of our career with these inevitable bombs. The option to see the positive aspects of your journey is the energy that goes on when you encounter such difficulties.