Anyone have any tips on this please?
Constructing and Writing Stand Up Material
Quote: Mike Dan-Carter @ October 3 2008, 4:49 PM BSTAnyone have any tips on this please?
Can't you just watch your favourite comics and see what they do?
Quote: Seefacts @ October 3 2008, 4:51 PM BSTCan't you just watch your favourite comics and see what they do?
Yeah I have, but just wondered whether there were any tips on how to contruct my material. Does it have to go with a theme i.e. Ricky Gervais' Fame or Animals?
Quote: Mike Dan-Carter @ October 3 2008, 4:54 PM BSTYeah I have, but just wondered whether there were any tips on how to contruct my material. Does it have to go with a theme i.e. Ricky Gervais' Fame or Animals?
You do what the hell you like - stand up is one of the purest forms of comedy.
I don't know why that was funny, but it was Seefacts.
Anyway, he has a point, no real way of going about it, there are loads of ways to approach it, and this is probably where you're getting confused?
Like one liners, monologues or the ricky gervais style one man sketch show type stand up with some storys throw in.
It is good to watch a lot more comedy thought, and just take from real life, sometimes it can be very funny, you just have to search it out and sometimes add some Zing to it.
For example, I'm considering being a Retainer Fireman, I intend to write a few jokes about it. Do you get the Idea?
Hope this helped.
Quote: Paul W @ October 3 2008, 5:04 PM BST
I wasn't trying to be difficult, but stand up - the possibilities are endless in many ways.
Errr... use a microphone. Hmmm... do it in front of a willing audience (preferably a drunk one). Ahhh... be funny.
Quote: Seefacts @ October 3 2008, 5:09 PM BST
Exactly, one of the best examples of just being "Out there" with joke writing comes from our very own Stuart Laws:
"What did the pelican say to the elephant? GAHHH!, It's a pelican, what do you expect it to say?"
I pissed myself.
This advice is gold, if you look at it in a very strange angle.
Yeah, all stand-up is different. And you definitely should watch and learn from the best. But it's not unreasonable to ask people who've done it before what writing tips have worked for them. Ignore Seefacts. He is dismissive about everyone.
There are definitely a few structural 'guidelines', obviously the greatest comics break all the rules, but with that caveat, these all seemed like helpful bits of advice to me:
- Start and end on your two best jokes.
- Make sure all the gags are phrased so they have the punch word right at the end. Nothing worse than keeping talking "over the laugh".
- Cut, cut, cut. Billy Connolly can get away with waffling for ten lines before delivering a punchline. Most of us can't. Setup, punch, setup, punch. Even if you're telling an anecdote, tell it through gags.
- Write loads and throw most of it away. A lot of comics reckon they write ten gags to get one good one.
- You need a high gag rate. Three or four a minute if not more. So you probably have to write 200 gags to get enough good ones for a five-minute set.
- Remember to "headline" sections of your material - if you're about to do some gags about the Large Hadron Collider, make sure you throw in a "transition" line so people know what they're listening to. If you suddenly start joking about a subject unexpectedly, people can miss the first couple of laughs because they're thinking "why the f**k is he talking about teapots now".
- Callbacks are good.
Er, that's all I can think of now.
Quote: Griff @ October 3 2008, 5:24 PM BSTYeah, all stand-up is different. And you definitely should watch and learn. But it's not unreasonable to ask people who've done it before what tips have worked for them. Ignore Seefacts. He is sneery about everyone.
Don't talk shit.
Stand up is an open book, about a billion pages long. It's just too vague to give a decent answer - as you've just proved.
- Start and end on your two best jokes.
That's not just stand, it's all comedy.
- Make sure all the gags are phrased so they have the punch word right at the end. Nothing worse than keeping talking "after the laugh".
All comedy.
- Cut, cut, cut. Billy Connolly can get away with waffling for ten lines before delivering a punchline. Most of us can't. Setup, punch, setup, punch. Even if you're telling an anecdote, tell it through gags.
All comedy.
- Write loads and throw most of it away. A lot of comics reckon they write ten gags to get one good one.
All comedy.
- Callbacks are good.
All comedy.
If someone REALLY wants to learn, they need to do their own research by watching the people they admire and seeing how they do it.
Quote: Griff @ October 3 2008, 5:24 PM BSTIgnore Seefacts. He is dismissive about everyone.
Oh, not 'sneery' anymore then.
Quote: Seefacts @ October 3 2008, 5:28 PM BSTIf someone REALLY wants to learn, they need to do their own research by watching the people they admire and seeing how they do it.
Like sneak into their house and watch them write up their material?
Watching it is a great way to learn, but I'm sure you didn't learn how to technically write scripts for sketches and sitcoms just by watching them.
I'm sure there are tricks and tips fellow performers can pass on to each other and where to draw ideas from.
Don't assume you can improv.
Have a couple of back up gags you're confident with.
Always answer each question you raise.
Make comedy about things people get.
Tell the whole routine as an over all story.
Convert funny ideas into gags, they won't work on their own.
Don't do it drunk.
Practice practice practice.
Start with a self contained attnetion grabbing joke.
Quote: Leevil @ October 3 2008, 5:31 PM BSTLike sneak into their house and watch them write up their material?
Watching it is a great way to learn, but I'm sure you didn't learn how to technically write scripts for sketches and sitcoms just by watching them.
I'm sure there are tricks and tips fellow performers can pass on to each other and where to draw ideas from.
But with stand up, there's no format of writing it down needed.
I also don't think you can 'pick' the type of comic you are. You could advise 'do some stuff about life' but in reality the person might like doing whacky Harry Hill stuff.
Stand up is basically a personal manifesto almost.
That's not just stand, it's all comedy.
Well, those things might apply to all comedy, but they're also the biggest mistakes I've seen made in open spots. Also, as far as answering the question "does anyone have any tips on constructing and watching standup" goes, I would say they were slightly less vague than "f**k off and watch a DVD". But still. Mike can read the posts and decide what's useful for himself.
But with stand up, there's no format of writing it down needed.
He wasn't asking about format, dickwit, he was asking about how to construct a routine.
Now, go f**k yourself. I'm off to the pub.
A good stnadup routine looks like an essay.
1 minute a page, 4 gags minimun a page.
Eventually reduce to bullet points after you memorised it.
Jokes need to be written out long hand to get the correct feel.