Archive for 'jokes'

Writing Stand-up Comedy Material: How To Spot A Stand-up Comedy Rookie

Saturday, February 4th, 2012 at 1:58 am  
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One thing I know about stand-up comedy beyond a shadow of a doubt is this:

Individuals who actually have comedy talent tend to struggle needlessly because of their own false perceptions when it comes to developing and delivering stand-up comedy material that actually works on stage.

Let me show you how to spot a stand-up comedy rookie in a heartbeat — someone who has probably never even been on a stand-up comedy stage, but seems to know definitively how the stand-up comedy “writing” process works.

Below is a comment submitted on this blog. If you subscribe to what this individual perceives as accurate or factual as it relates to “writing” comedy material that is delivered to LIVE stand-up comedy audiences…

Then you too are probably destined to take the most difficult path possible (like most others) when it comes to generating big laughs on the stand-up comedy stage (and I explain exactly why in my comments that follow):

Stand-up Comedy Rookie Comment

I think there definitely is room to study “how to write a punchline” not that I disagree with you because I thought your interactive writing guide freebee was great.

It’s just that I read the IWG then I read “how to write and sell your sense of humor” by Gene Perret (two very different approaches to comedy writing) and the latter has really has allowed me to be able to write jokes (from my natural sense of humor) out of thin air – funny ones.

What you’re doing here is great but I don’t think you should dismiss all other methods. A comedian that is unable to write a joke out of thin air (the correct way – and there is a correct way to do it) is missing out on a large aspect of their comedy writing exploration. I have applied your method AND ‘gag writing’ methods and use them both to great effects.

I understand you are trying to sell a product and I appreciate that. Just saying…

Whether someone buys what I have to offer doesn’t change the issues at hand or the RESULTS comedians want to get on stage. Subsequently…

I will continue to categorically dismiss ALL so-called “conventional” methods when it comes to developing stand-up comedy material intended to be PERFORMED and not merely READ from a piece of paper.

Related Video Update: Do You Know This Secret About Stand-up Comedy Material?

Now if you really want to know the brutal truth about why the person who made that ill informed comment above is a totally lost stand-up comedy rookie…

Click here to unlock the rest of this article

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

Stealing Stand-up Comedy Material: A Big No No

Sunday, January 29th, 2012 at 8:29 am  
Comments (1)

It’s a really sad state of affairs when a comedian takes it upon themselves to steal comedy material from other comedians.

Unfortunately, it’s a reality in stand-up comedy.

Any comedian who has the ability to effectively deliver stand-up comedy material on stage should never have to resort to stealing comedy material — ever.

So, why does it happen?

It happens because…

Comedians who are “joke thieves” really don’t know how to quickly and easily develop their own original comedy material.

And I have to tell you that this condition does not surprise me at all, given the fact that most comedians are stuck trying to write “jokes” the hard way.

I will be the very first to tell you that conventional joke writing is not only very difficult, but even the most popular comedy teachers can’t seem to teach folks how to “write jokes”. I know I can’t and I don’t pretend that I can.

So I don’t show comedians how to write jokes. I show them how to structure what they want to talk about on stage. There’s a huge difference between that and trying to write jokes one at a time the hard way, which is like trying to dig a swimming pool with a spoon.

When I was actively performing, I have seen comedians perform small pieces of my own comedy material — word for word — while I was sitting in the audience. And yes, I did approach them about it after the show.

There is a big difference between stealing a comedian’s material and parallel thinking, which can result in the development of very similar stand-up comedy material.

By the nature of stand-up comedy itself, comedians must talk about things that all audience members can understand. Subsequently, there can be some overlap with the development of very similar material.

But if you are developing stand-up comedy material that is personal to you, you should have relative few issues with parallel thinking material.

The bottom line:

Don’t steal another comedian’s comedy material. Take the time to educate yourself on how to develop your own high level comedy material.

It is really not that hard to do IF you have comedy talent and you are using the Killer Stand-up Comedy System.

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