My First Stand-up Comedy Performance Flopped – Now What?

Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 3:32 am  
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If your first performance as a stand-up comedian didn’t go as well as you would have liked for it to…

You are certainly not alone, myself included.

But since I’m a cup is half full instead of half empty kind of guy, here’s what I will tell you:

Only very few people have the courage to get on the stand-up comedy stage and risk their sense of humor in public.

That’s a major accomplishment all by itself.

But more importantly, you now also know that stand-up comedy is not anywhere near as effortless as experienced comedians make it look to be.

So, knowing what I know now, here’s what I would ask about that first performance that didn’t go well:

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For more information about Steve Roye, author of this blog and the Killer Stand-up Comedy System, click here.

Why The Opening Stand-up Comedy Act Has The Hardest Job

Wednesday, February 8th, 2012 at 3:29 am  
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The opening act in the stand-up comedy environment is arguably the hardest spot in a line up of comedians — particularly from a laughter generation stand point.

It’s often referred to as the “bullet taking” spot.

Here’s why that is, no matter what “level” the comedian is at when performing in that critical opening spot…

In comedy venues that are set-up properly, most individuals are seated closely together with strangers — people they have never met and don’t know.

Instinctively, we are “on guard” around people we don’t know and there’s usually a measure of tension that exists until that tension is released and a feeling of “safety” for a lack of a better term exists (from group laughter).

From the comedian’s perspective, the audience is “cold” at this point.

Enter the opening act. Their job is to break this tension with laughter — and it can be much more difficult to get going when starting with a “cold” audience.

This is something to recognize when using Comedy Evaluator Pro for performance evaluation because…

A comedian will usually NOT get the same response as an opener as they will performing the exact same material as a middle (feature) act or as a headliner.

The important thing to note here is to be aware of this “cold audience” situation and put into perspective that it’s more difficult to get a “cold” crowd going than to get a “warmed up” crowd going.

When I was working as a comedian for the Coach House chain in the mid 90’s, their stand-up comedy line-up was ALL headliners. Rarely did a middle act get on the show.

I have performed in every spot — opener, middle and headliner. Same material, but always slightly different results as an opening act — more so than any other spot in a line up of comedians. Why?

It simply takes more time to get an audience from “cold” to “warm”.

So don’t get discouraged if your material doesn’t quite get the response you would like in the opening spot. You have a tough job there that most comedians appreciate.

For more information about Steve Roye, author of this blog and the Killer Stand-up Comedy System, click here.