34 Normal people express their sense of humor by memorizing joke; comics transform their life experiences into punch lines and write their own jokes. […] Most people hide their defects; we comics show them to the world.
Comedy clubs will often set aside one night for amateurs, and many bookstores, bars and colleges have open mikes… They are comedy boot camps—the worse they are, the more seasoned you become.
289 A good class offers a safe place to fall flat on your face, a chance to work on something risky rather than settle for the easy, hack joke. Classes give you a weekly structure, forcing you to show up and come up with new material. Audit the class first.
Comedy supplies: pen, pocket notebook, large binder, 100 index cards, voice recorder/phone.
37 Keeping an Idea Book
64 A joke has a setup, turn and a tag.
69 Read all joke examples out loud. Jokes are broken down into five parts: Attitude, topic, premise, act-out, mix, act-out. The attitude, topic and premise (setup) is serious. The act-out and mix is the funny bit.
71 What the joke is about is called the topic. It has one of four basic attitudes: weird, scary, hard, stupid. “You know what’s weird/scary/hard/stupid about ______?
74 A premise is also called an opinion, a point of view. It must clearly and precisely answer the question of the attitude+topic. It’s usually more insightful than funny. I good premise is also an original observation.
78 I, me or my in the premise, it’s too self-absorbed and won’t interest the audience. Once the audience is interested, you can bring in specific personal elements. But don’t make it into a story about “you.” Comedy writing is an intense investigation into what it means to be a human being—not what it means to be you.
79 A premise is not a description of what happened (not a story). It’s a cut-to-the-chase, get-to-the-point, original observation.
88 A joke starts out general so everyone can relate, and after the premise is the time to bring in the specifics about you.
95 Mixes generally start with “What if,” and are most always followed by another act-out.
108 Almost everything (and anything) in your life can be turned into a comedy topic if you care about it enough. The more painful or humiliating something is, the more likely it is to make an audience laugh. It’s kind of a trade-off: bad for your life equates to good for your act.
Chris Titus, “When I was being a happy comic, it was a lie. I found that my anger would work onstage and started experimenting with it. Then as much as the happy guy thing was bullshit, so was the angry thing. I finally found a place where I could just be myself and realized that I could do anything onstage—if it’s funny.
Watch your favorite comic and write a few of their jokes and answers to these questions:
1. Is their attitude stated or implied? What is it?
2. Is there an act-out? A mix?
3. Where do they get the most laughs?
4. What personal details did you learn about the comic’s life?
5. What did they do to get the laughs?
6. What topics did they use in their act?
7. What are their signature topics?
If you watch enough comics you might get depressed, because it will seem like every topic has been done. Well, yes, they have. Except for one, that is: your life.
112 What are your authentic (signature) topics? Be sincere instead of funny.
114 Excise: Childhood Writing
127 All topics need to be relatable.
133 Make sure you are in fact doing an act-out and not explaining. Become the type of person you are joking about rather than describing.
134 Mixes—comparison jokes: you can compare any two things—“president of the United States” and “your grandfather”.
135 Another way to do a mix is to change the environment. For instance, if the topic is “your self-absorbed mother,’ put her in a different occupation like a suicide hot line.
138 There is no need for anything in between jokes. If a sentence is not part of a joke, then it’s part of a problem. If you feel the need to use words in between jokes, then use an attitude word to segue: “And you know what else is stupid … ?” (Insert new topic.) Or “Another weird thing is …” (Insert new topic.)
140 Open with something that is obvious about the room. Whatever you decide, be willing to toss it off if it conflicts with the mood of the room. Get on the same wavelength as the audience. If every comic before you opened with, “How are you all doing?”—start with a joke about that. If there is something really obvious about the audience, do a joke about that.
141 Audiences take time to warm up to someone.
142 Make sure your opening sets a tone that you can sustain. And don’t assume the audience is interested in you. They’re not.
144 Even if your jokes are rehearsed, they have to sound spontaneous to sound real.
145 Make sure all your jokes are in the present tense: “I am” rather than “I was.”
147 Greg Proops: “You have to be sincere and talk about what’s real for you. Don’t be sexy and then talk about how you’re not getting dates. Or if you seem smart, don’t talk about nonsense. Don’t be afraid to talk about what you really think.”
148 The best person to poke fun at is you. That’s how you get the audience’s sympathy, rapport.
149 Tom Dreeson: “There’s no such thing as a victimless joke. Each joke has a target and you have to make sure that whoever or whatever that target is—they deserve it.”
151 “What about using props?” Props aren’t worth the schlep and can ruin your timing when you go looking for them. They also create a disconnection from the audience. Rather than showing the audience the big stupid hat your mother wore, describe and mime it. You’ll most likely get a bigger laugh if you leave the prop to the audience’s imagination.
154 “How do I memorize my act?” Break it into chunks that make sense, such as four categories—special challenges, childhood, current issue, and relationship.
163 “How do I stop from being so nervous?” Change your attitude about it. Being nervous can be funny, while being calm, together, confident, and perfect can be a bore.
172 How to pick a current-event topic (1) don’t pick one because you think is funny. There is no such thing as a funny topic. There are no funny ideas. It’s what you do with an idea that makes it funny. (2) Don’t pick weird topics, but rather have unique opinions about ordinary topics.
176 Another way to come up with your premise is to react to other people’s opinions. Repeat what you read or heard, then give your hit on it. Steve Marmel current event exercise: Read USA Today. Pick one story and break it down into bullet points. Take each point, turn it into a premise and create a playoff.
185 Creating great material is all about rewriting, cutting and pruning.
186 A callback is when you call back, or mention again, something you brought up earlier.
187 List of three: set up a pattern on the first two ideas and then turn it on the third: “Bears, beats, Battlestar Galactica.” The first two set up a pattern of expectancy and the third is a surprise.
189 A runner is a catchphrase that runs through your stint.
194 Timing, not something you can learn from a book, try to do right, or even think about. In fact, if you are thinking about your timing, you can be sure it’s off. Attitude creates timing. Here’s a tip: Don’t talk while the audience is laughing.
Stand-up is not a monologue—it’s a dialogue with the audience. You talk, then the audience talks (by laughing, hopefully), and then you respond to the audience.
195 You never just stand there—always convey an attitude. While they laugh, you add a tag to the joke by repeating the attitude. There should never be even one moment when you’re onstage and attitude free. It’s the kiss of death because audiences respond to emotions, not words.
208 In the morning, spend ten minutes writing stream of consciousness—whatever comes into your head—ignore all rules of grammar, spelling and even logic.
209 Write ten “what if’s.”
209 Pick at least two current-events topics and write ten opinions about each of them.
209 Record yourself ranting for ten minutes about one topic. Do not stop talking.
213 What is the difference with a one-person show?
> Don’t have to make the audience laugh the whole time
> Tell a dramatic story, using humor
> Audience doesn’t have to be included
A person doing a solo show takes the audience on a journey.
214 One reason to do a one-person show—you have a burning desire to tell a particular story.
272 In a speech, end your talk with a “heart story.” This is something that will move them emotionally.
291 Goal sheet, this week I will
- write for ________ minutes each morning
- create ________ pages/minutes of new material
- perform ________ times
- try out ________ new jokes
- call at least ________ new people to help my career
My ultimate career goals are
___
___
___
___
___
In order to achieve these, the actions I need to take are
___
___
___
___
___
Get a mentor. Seek them out. Buy them lunch. Tell them specifically what you like about their…
Do not ask them to do something for you. Only if you get a return email. Also, just ask for honest feedback.
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