Archived Comments

164 Replies to “Archived Comments”

1. Hi, i’m 16, everyone in school laughd at all the things i do, they all say eyy ryan, you should be comedian! and i want to, i just don’t know where to start and how to do it. Could you help me out?

   • Ryan, I would start by checking out the articles on this blog. Then you are going to need to start looking for potential places to perform. If you work clean, you can potentially perform for any audience. If you work blue, you will be very limited in places you can perform at because of your age.

     When it comes to act development, I would recommend that you get a hold of the Killer Stand-up Online Course. Otherwise, you will only get academic definitions that aren’t helpful from virtually all the other resources and books that are available. If you are serious about stand-up comedy, you might want to let your parents know that could be something you want as a birthday or holiday gift.

2. I have a real life story which I believe could make a very funny comedy sketch in the right hands, (which of course I am not) How would I go about selling this story to a comedian?

   I believe it would suit comedians such as Michael McIntyre, or comedians who make great stories out of real life situations. I would appreciate if you could get back to me.

   • It would be difficult (if not impossible) to sell a single story to comedian without a history of developing material specifically for a comedian already.

3. Hi, Steve…

   I just watched your video introducing the 2 and a half minutes of comedy standup, transcribed and the 4 questions to follow, and then the actual video of the comic doing the routine.However, there was no transcription…no questions…and no video of a guy to a bit. Maybe I didn’t something wrong. Can ya help?

   One other thing: You say that standup material that’s funny when spoken is not funny when read. I’ve read Steven Wright’s stuff and I find it extremely funny when read. Is he the rare exception?

   I realize the older comics…like Bob Hope…had material that was funny when read. But that was because their writers wrote actual jokes, rather than rants about stuff that pisses them off – which the current trend of comedy writing is all about.

   Anyway, can you help me find the transcript, questions, and video you mentioned in your video?

   Thanks.
   Jim

   • Jim,

     You have to have javascript enabled in your browser for the unlock link to work. When it does, you will simply need to Like, Tweet or +1 to access the info provided.

     Stand-up comedy material can read funny if one is able to visualize the comedian for whom the material is associated.
     In other words…

     If you did not know the material you were reading was from a particular comedian, you will find that very little of it will actually read funny from paper. It doesn’t matter if it material performed by Rodney Dangerfield or Brian Regan.

     The important point is this: folks who are trying to “write” their way to big laughs on stage using only words that “read” funny from a piece of paper are severely screwed — end of story. Conventional “writing” may work for greeting cards which are designed to be “read”, but does not for stand-up comedy, regardless of the the “style” a comedian uses

     Developing stand-up comedy material for the stage that actually works well actually has little to do with words and sentences as they are “written” on paper — usually “written” in a format designed to read instead of being said and expressed in a manner that accentuates an individual’s natural comedy talent and skill set.