People Who Stand Up: Advice Please

I know some folk on here do stand up and - God Preserve me - I'm considering the possibility myself. What advice can you offer, besides don't do it!''?

Thanks in advance.

Marc.

Do it. Why not?

Keep it simple- write 5 minutes of original material, make it decently gag heavy. Anticipate your punchlines- if you're one liners, aim for a punchline every 10- 20 seconds. If you're doing anecdotal you can relax that but be wary that in a 5-10 minute set you should never let it get to 1 minute without a decent laugh (I aim for 30 seconds, but it's not always possible depending on your style).

Don't alienate your audience (rape/paedo style shock comedy is seeing a backlash on the open mic circuit) and try not to be too aggressive (unless it's part o your act and you're willing to take the risk and are damn funny to back it up). Take about your self or topics you're passionate about.

Decide whethe you want your mic in the stand or not. In the stand frees up your hands but holdsyou in position, holding the mic restricts a hand but allows you to move freely on stage. Personally for me I like to stand centre stage, mic in hand, feet shoulder width apart. If you're nervous about looking at the audience, a good tip is to focus just over their heads. Talk to all of the audience, not just one section (unless it's a mad shaped room and you're forced to).

Go visit a few open mic nights, and get a feel for them. Pick the one which you like the feel of and ask for a cheeky 5. Theres always a chance of getting a spot on the night, but depending where you are you may need to wait weeks or months (hopefully not)!

Enjoy yourself. Most people don't smash their first gig, so take what you can from the experience. Find out what works and what doesn't. Over time the audience will let you know which jokes they like and which they don't- take their feedback- write, rewrite and replace (where necessary).

If you want feedback on your planned material, whack some in critique or ask around- someone will always give you a hand.

((you didn't say what level if advice you wanted, so I went beginner- sorry if some of this is glaringly obvious))

((I didn't know

Sort for all of the typos; I'm on my phone. I'll correct it when I'm back on the PC.

Thanks Nat. No, never done it before in my life but been thinking about it for a while. I'd probably favour a series of one-liner style jokes that have a theme. I will have a go at a 5 min set and post it up to see what folk think.

How long have you been performing?

and consider a stndup course it won't make you any good but it can be a good way of getting the shite out of the way

Quote: M Paterson @ September 5 2011, 9:23 PM BST

Thanks Nat. No, never done it before in my life but been thinking about it for a while. I'd probably favour a series of one-liner style jokes that have a theme. I will have a go at a 5 min set and post it up to see what folk think.

How long have you been performing?

View original

Me? Only a year in so I'm not overly qualified to gig you too much advice.

Quote: sootyj @ September 5 2011, 9:35 PM BST

and consider a stndup course it won't make you any good but it can be a good way of getting the shite out of the way

View original

If you get a good one it can provide you with a nice safe environment.

But don't feel you need to- there's little you'll learn on a course that you won't pick up by gigging.

Well that's true Nat but a one or two day course can save you a month or two learning on the circuit.

Also it can help you looking a complete dick on your first gig or two,

Great advice by Nat there, not much to add except enjoy yourself and the audience will enjoy your performance, be confident or learn to fake confidence, never say that you're not really a comedian (if you talk about your current job do it in the past tense if at all possible) and if you do take the mic out of the stand move the stand out of the way and out of reach so that you aren't tempted to fiddle with it.

Excellent additions! A bit of mic control is always a bonus. If you're not used to being behind a microphone then see if you can get hold of a mic and amp (if you don't own one) and just have a listen to how it affects your levels.

Tony's absolutely right about confidence or faking it. If you can convince the audience you know what you're doing it's a big help (even if you're really shitting yourself).

Quote: sootyj @ September 5 2011, 11:11 PM BST

Well that's true Nat but a one or two day course can save you a month or two learning on the circuit.

Also it can help you looking a complete dick on your first gig or two,

View original

All true, but why would you want to save yourself a month or two on the circuit? That's the best bit!

Quote: Nat Wicks @ September 6 2011, 12:41 AM BST

Tony's absolutely right about confidence or faking it. If you can convince the audience you know what you're doing it's a big help (even if you're really shitting yourself).

View original

Nat's right about Tony being right. All issues about material etc to one side, the gulf that seperates the good from the not-so-much in the people I see is confidence in delivery.

Good material delivered weakly negates the good material.

Wow, thanks for all the responses. All good advice from everyone. I used to play in bands and have a bit of chat between songs, so I'm kind of familiar with crowds, but I know that won't necessarily help with comedy.

So the key things are:

Good material, a laugh every ten seconds or so.

Be confident or good at feigning it

Have fun!

Thanks all.

Don't knock it Jasper Carrot and Billy Connoly both started as folkies doing funny filler between the songs.

One thing I will say is keep your dignity. Don't fight with hecklers, or shout at people talking and if people don't laugh well they didn't.

Glad I found this thread, I wanted to ask the exact same question! I think my material would be more anecdotal(sp?) though. Some true, some exaggerated, but all made up.

That's fine as long s you structure your stuff in a joke like format.

Remember strangers afren't amused by how crap your photocopier is if you don't set the scene properly.

Know that you're going to bomb (be terrible, or terribly received) at first, probably a lot, possibly for years, and be okay with it. If/when you do, don't take it out on the audience. Test your material on anyone who'll give you notes. Record your set and give yourself notes. Know how to use a microphone. Be in the moment and ready to roll with whatever happens. Know what you uniquely bring in your "voice" - a very specific personal thing will go down way better than a general thing you think is funny. Punchline at the end. Use call backs and structure it like you were building a physical thing. Pauses can be as important as words - find your rhythm and the spaces for the audience to laugh.