The life of a stand up comedian can be thankless. You spend hours carefully crafting jokes, only to get three minutes on stage at an open mic. If you want to perform in an actual show, you have to beg five of your friends or family members to come sit through a two hour show where you perform for five minutes (and let’s not forget about the two drink minimum). But the question remains the same: how do I get discovered?
The better question is, what have you been doing to get discovered? An agent isn’t just going to come knock on your door with a giant check. Directors don’t go to open mics to find some rare, still undiscovered talent. If you truly want to make it big, you have to give comedy everything you’ve got. Like Kevin Hart says, “Everyone wants to be famous. No one wants to put in the work.” Here are some guidelines to help get you going in the right direction.
The Road To Being Discovered
Originality
Originality is the key to making a mark in this competitive industry. This is something that bookers look for while scouting talent. Think about what might make your act stand out from the hundreds of other stand up comedians trying to get noticed and focus on that. Brian Regan has his crazy faces and voices. Jim Gaffigan has his offended audience member voice. Sebastian Maniscalco has his big gestures and theatrics. Demitri Martin has his whiteboards. Get the picture? Comedians who make it big have some kind of gimmick or something that makes them different from all the others. Start coming up with ideas to make your sets unique to you.
Always Be Writing
Another thing which you should start working on immediately is crafting jokes. Think about the hosts of late night shows or famous stand up comedians. What people love about them is how well their jokes are crafted.
Crafting a joke is an art that comes with practice. The only way to master it is to keep on writing, writing, and more writing. When you practice writing you come with new and better ideas. Too many comics wait for something funny to happen to them and then make a joke out of it. This is an excellent way of coming up with ideas but it should not be your only way.
If you practice writing you will not have to wait for something funny to happen, you will have the ability to make anything funny. You need to be writing jokes every single day to strengthen that muscle. Remember, you need to work to get discovered.
Stage Time Is King
Once you have prepared a well-crafted act which could last for 5-7 minutes, then comes what you do on stage. Writing will give you a better act, but how you deliver your act in front of the audience is another skill that must be developed. The more often you go on stage the better you are with your act, timing, and comfort level in front of your audience. There is no other alternative to this.
When it comes to being the best stand up comedian you can be, nothing can beat stage time. If you are one of those comedians who is looking for notoriety, you should be hitting the stage at least three times a week. If you don’t have the time or inclination for that, I suggest you look for alternative career options.
Of course, there are things that can and will go wrong. Sometimes your jokes won’t get laughs, you may get heckled or even go blank in front of a crowd. This is why you have to get as much stage time as possible, to work through these issues and get better at dealing with them. Tom Papa told me that he used to be sick all day if he knew he had a five minute set coming up that night, but now he could get out of bed and do an hour on stage and kill every time. Your consistency and hard work will eventually pay off. Don’t be dejected by your failures, instead learn from your mistakes.
Success, if not fame, can become your reality if you work hard. Worry less about the future and work more in the present. Jay Leno once said, “write faster than everybody else and your reputation will precede you”.
Develop On The Road
When you have the script and you excel at the act then you are done with half the job. Now hit the road and develop it. The day you start working a set night after night is the day you start building as a comedian. The beauty of the road is that you start working on elements of comedy all day long. You start writing material during the day and then deliver it at night. The process gets refined sooner and without waiting at open mics.
Your mind will be full of new comical ideas and you will start following your passion. When you feel the authority over your content then you will get offers to perform on television or let people follow you on YouTube and post sets there.
Enjoy The Journey
You need to be in the business for the right reasons. If you are just in the comedy game to become famous then get out now because the probability of becoming a celebrity comedian is low. If you enjoy the work you do and give your best then you will definitely reach a great level of personal gratification.
Fame is not assured but the pleasure in what you do can be achieved. There is also a ton of opportunity for comedians who can write. Just because you aren’t on screen, doesn’t mean you can’t make money writing for the guy who is. As in all aspects of life, it’s important to enjoy the journey.