If you strongly believe that the key to becoming a powerful and funny comedian is to “write” jokes the way all the “traditional” stand-up comedy books, courses, workshops and online websites say that you should…
I truly wish you the best of luck because luck is really all you are going to have to depend on when it comes to actually developing a stand-up comedy routine that actually works on stage using the “conventional” joke writing methodologies.
Related article: Still Trying To Figure Out How To “Write” Punchlines Out Of Thin Air? Now That’s Funny
Related Video And Article Link:
To review the article with links to all interview segments, click here.
Just disregard these concrete facts as you set out on the difficult path to “writing” stand-up comedy “jokes”:
1. Anything that is “written” on paper is one dimensional. Stand-up comedy on the other hand is 3 dimensional (words + voice tone variations + body language), with the words being used representing only 7% of a comedian’s ability to generate laughs from an audience.
Related Article: Are You Using A One Dimensional Approach In A Three Dimensional Performing Art?
In other words, the “writing” part is the LEAST significant part of getting laughs on stage. But that’s not what all the so-called stand-up “gurus” say or focus on.
Here’s another way to put this:
While a steering wheel is an essential part of an automobile, it is pretty much worthless without the rest of the car.
2. No matter how funny an individual thinks they may be in everyday life, stand-up comedy can be overwhelmingly brutal if a person doesn’t really know how to structure a stand-up comedy routine and know what they are doing on stage.
Merely having two thumbs and a bunch of paper written “jokes” is not enough to generate big laughs on stage.
3. What “reads” funny on paper may have great value when it comes to greeting cards, but when it comes to stand-up comedy…
Most stand-up comedy material doesn’t “read funny” from a piece of paper, no matter what system or method you use to develop a stand-up comedy routine.
Hint: Transcribe just one minute of your favorite comedian in action from a YouTube video to verify this. Show what you transcribed to friends or co-workers and see if they fall down laughing.
I’ve said this before and I will say it over and over again:
If you are a truly a naturally funny and entertaining person in everyday life and you want to approach stand-up comedy in the most difficult and time consuming way possible, possibly taking years to make real progress, do this:
1. Check out all the free information online about how to “write” a stand-up comedy routine.
Check out eHow.com — they have videos full of the same old useless and ineffective information you will get in most stand-up comedy workshops and classes.
2. Get your hands on a couple of the most popular books on “writing” stand-up comedy. They are available here from Amazon.com.
Note: Save a buck — you can get most of these used for cheap.
3. Take a comedy workshop or class offered in your local area (review #1 above before you do this — again, another money saver because you will get little more in a stand-up comedy class than you will from online videos that are available for free).
Spend just 6 months using what the all the other stand-up comedy “gurus” have to offer — see if it really works for you. Send me a YouTube video of your act when you are able to produce 18+ seconds of laughter on stage for each performing minute (PAR Score 30+).
Then, when you discover how extremely difficult it is trying to “write” and deliver a powerful stand-up comedy routine using the “conventional” approach…
Come back and check out the Success Stories on this page — see if getting results like that appeals to you after sucking on stage a couple of times.
Fair enough?
About Steve Roye
Leading stand-up comedy educator and trainer, providing proven 21st century strategies and techniques for individuals who wish to become comedians on a professional level. For a detailed stand-up comedy resume go to: Steve Roye's Stand-up Resume.
I am taking a comedy course at the Improv in Orlando. I no longer have stage fright and my natural sense of humor is flowing in my joke writing. However I am curious to see what your course has to offer and am considering taking your course once I complete my class. Steve, thanks for all of the information. Follow me on twitter @KelliCgreen
Having the benefit of waywardly trying to “find my way in the dark” using my own methods, then using joke formulas, I can personally say that from working with Steve’s system, there were a lot of “Ah-ha!” moments.
Writing used to be painful and worrysome to me.
Now its a fun adventure, where I wonder where the next thought will take me.
It snapped me out of the “everything’s GOTTA be perfect” mindset. Severely second guessing myself with writing is gone and has taken a lot of pressure off me.
Just watch a headliner club comic on youtube. Not TV comics. You then realize that not everything you say needs to be a gem. Your own sense of humor and Steve’s structure will guide you through.
I found joke formulas constricting, almost as if I had a gag in my mouth blocking what I wanted to say. Dont’ get me wrong, only the best one-liners that I had were recycled into my act, along with my steve-inspired material.
Hell, a few chapters into the course 1 writing guide, and I was already developing material that was stuffed back in the recesses of brain, waiting to be released from their prison. The precieved need of adherence to joke formula structure was their warden. He’s gone now, and the inmates are running wild!
Congratulations on your ‘break out’! Feel free to ‘kill’ as many audiences as possible. With any luck you’ll get ‘sentenced’ to more stage ‘time’. Look forward to seeing your work.