A very good point, Success! You say, “…now requires a focus effort on being funny. No longer can you just be funny when you want or let humour occur spontaneously.”

Because a comedy act is so public and the comedian is now RESPONSIBLE to make the audience laugh, we try to write to get it right (no pun intended!) and to feel more secure in our material. That may be why we see so many who try to ‘wing it’ bomb — their material may sound fine in their heads, but there’s a big difference between IMAGINING how your act will go and VISUALIZING it as part of performance preparation; so, we try to “write it out” so we can be more confident — which, as you point out, adds pressure and becomes a chore. Then no one has fun because you are struggling to recall your script and the audience cannot feel the connection with the performer.

It beings forth a completely different mindset for people. Now there is this added sense of pressure. Now I need to script everything so that I know that I will get the laughs. Then comedy starts to become a chore. I was about to head down that path.

Now I just want to have fun again. I want to share my story and my observations. I want to have fun in the processes. Like you said Steve, this requires information that can be applicable to the comedian.

I’m currently trying to shorten the wording in my sets without losing meaning or diminishing the joke. It’s all in how you say it, not what you say.