Many people ask me how to get started on the road to being a comedian. Many people think it is an easy way to fortune and fame, but the truth is that for every Seinfeld, Rock, Hart, or Rogan there are hundreds of comedians still doing five-minute sets in small clubs and bars that did not make enough money to buy a drink. The steps to being a comedian are not as easy as they sound but are simple to follow.
- Watch and Listen to Top Comedians.
- Watch and Listen To Open Mic Comedians.
- Write Ideas (Premises) for Jokes.
- Write Jokes, Lots Of Jokes.
- Practice Jokes at Open Mics.
- Listen to Open Mic Set and Rewrite Jokes.
- Repeat.
Watch and Listen to Top Comedians.
If you want to be the best you have to study the best. When I was younger I discovered the styling of Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Steve Martin, and Eddie Murphy. Being able to hear people talk about regular things in a funny way shaped how I emulated stand up comedy styles with setups and punchlines.
If you wanted to be a football player you would study a pro football player, basketball you’d study Jordan, Kobe, or LeBron. The point is that to be better you have to study those who are already successful. Don’t just watch their stand up read their biography or autobiography. I learned more from Steve Martin’s biography Born Standing Up:A Comic’s Life than I did from his stand up. Watch their interviews and read things they wrote. There will be gold in there.
Learning what not to do can almost be more valuable then what you should do. There are nuggets of gold including pitfalls that come from listening to and watching top comedians.
Watch and Listen To Open Mic Comedians.
Going to open mics are both interesting and terrifying. Sometimes it can be painful to watch people try new bits or recite the same old tired material week after week. For some people the open mic is as far as they will go in comedy. It’s not good or bad it just happens. Watching open mics and seeing the patterns gives you a look at what people do to stop themselves and what others do to push themselves to the next level. Plus you’ll hear more body part, dating, and semi-racists jokes then anyone else and realize that some people either don’t know funny or have a weird sense of humor.
Open mic comedians will be your peers for years. As you grow you will gain friends, comrades, and opportunities from the comedians you hang around. Half of an open mic is just about hanging out. The more you go the more you grow and the more you grow the more paid spots you’ll get in the future.
Write Ideas (Premises) for Jokes.
Everything can be funny. Is every version of every idea funny? No, not even close. Some premises and ideas just don’t work. Can you make jokes about anything, sure. However you have to remember that not every topic will work coming from certain people. Topics should fit you and your voice, style, and look. Should a blonde haired blue eyed Nordic looking guy be doing Jewish jokes? He might be Jewish but it may seem anti-Semitic based on his looks. You have to look at perception when doing a bit.
Write the things you know. The things you love, hate, bother, annoy, encourage, and confuse you. Most likely you will find common ground with people and your take will be something some has thought or wanted to say for years. Be original while being universal. I know that sounds impossible but comedians do it everyday and many do it well.
Write Jokes, Lots Of Jokes.
Did you write a new joke today? How about yesterday? When was the last time you wrote a new joke? Last week? Last month? Last year? If you aren’t writing something everyday you are shorting yourself. I have jokes I have written years ago sitting in a file because I wrote something I was not able to perform yet and may not be able to perform for a few more years.
A joke you write today may not be one you perform now but don’t let that stop you. If you write one joke a day you’ll have a new half hour of material every year. Plus you’ll grow faster if you take time to work on the ones you think ha the most potential to turn into longer bits making it possible for you to build an hour from a simple premise and single joke. Put in the work everyday.
Practice Jokes at Open Mics.
I know back to the open mic. You’ll be there a lot. Some are free but many are not. In fact most are paying to get on stage either through paying for a “spot” or buying a drink just to get their name thrown into a bucket, hat, or bowl in the hopes of getting two, three, or even five minutes on stage in-front of other comedians trying to get stage time. It can feel like a waste of time but the more you do it the better you get and the bit you started with as an idea becomes a killer bit that ALWAYS works.
If you spend the time at the mic working on material you will see changes. An open mic is like a gym. You have to go to get stronger and sharper. If you don’t hit mics and work on your jokes, timing, and stage presence you will lose the muscles you built up before. Sure open mics seem like a waste of time. You wait around for your named to be called only to have a few minutes (usually up to five) of stage time to work on a joke or bit.
Listen to Open Mic Set and Rewrite Jokes.
So you made it through the open mic and you recorded your set. Here comes there worst part of comedy. Listening and reviewing your set. There is no pain as bad as hearing yourself tell jokes and waiting for the response. On stage you are often in your own head and don’t process everything but when you listen to a recording you can hear (or if you recorded a video) see yourself stumble, misspeak, and fail in ways no one else even knew occurred.
This is the best thing you can ever do as a comedian. Reviewing your material is the toughest thing to do but must be done to get better. Listen to where you delay, where you rush, where you deliver a punchline and where the audience actually laughs. Sometimes they are not the same. If you find that the audience laughs at something, that was the real punchline. Go back and rewrite, add tags, and keep getting more laughs.
Repeat.
If you do the above things, you will shoot past many other comedians, who may be funnier but don’t put in the work. Jerry Seinfeld is funny and put in work. Now, look at the results. Any comedian on TV or with a special did those steps. The truth is: comedy is hard. Sure many people make it look easy, but that’s true for all kinds of things. No one comes straight from their mom and knows how to read, write, and speak. Comedy is a skill. Sure it can be taught. But that means it also has to be refined, practiced, and honed. A good skill wanes without constant sharpening.
Comedy is all about working the material until is consistently gets laughs and holds the crowd for your allotted time on stage. Never give up on a bit. Maybe it’s not ready yet or maybe you aren’t in the right place in your life or comedy for it to work, but that’s why you study, write and rewrite. You will become the funniest comedian not because of your jokes but because the work you put it to make those jokes sharp, tight, and funny.