How To Be A Stand-up Comic
For those who are looking for information on how to be a comic, it’s a fairly straightforward process.
Here’s a basic outline of what you need to know:
1. Locate places to perform. Development as a stand-up comic is dependent upon live audience performances.
The vast majority of comedians start out performing at comedy club open mic nights.
The number of performing opportunities on a weekly or monthly basis for a new comic can vary widely depending upon where they live.
Individuals who desire to develop and deliver an "adult" stand-up comedy act are pretty much restricted to the comedy club arena.
Individuals who have the ability to develop and deliver clean stand-up comedy material potentially have many more performing opportunities outside the comedy club market as well as at open mic nights.
2. Develop a 3-5 Minute act. Usually comics are afforded 3-5 minutes of stage time when they first start at open mic nights.
It will be during these 3-5 minute performances that a comedian will develop their initial core stand-up comedy material that provides the foundation for developing additional material.
3. Progressing as a stand-up comic. Once a comic has a 3-5 minute stand-up comedy routine that consistently generates audience laughs, their next order of business is to move forward and develop 10-15 solid minutes of stand-up comedy material.
When this happens, a comic is in a position to obtain opening act spots.
Moving forward to the feature act, then headliner spots is a matter of simply having enough material that kills for each spot, along with developing a reputation for being able to perform at a high level with consistency.
While it takes time to develop a reputation, the speed at which a comic can progress is directly related to the speed at which they are able to develop and deliver a stand-up comedy that rocks audiences.
Note: If you are new to stand-up comedy and would like a detailed, "insider" view of the world of stand-up comedy, I highly recommend that you get your hands on a book called Comic Lives by Betsy Borns.(#ad)
This awesome book details the humble beginnings, challenges and successes of many of the "household name" comics you know today.
What I have presented here may seem somewhat simplistic, don’t be fooled.
It takes talent, dedication, persistence, experience and knowledge to be able to entertain audiences at a high level -- a level that will lead to more and more performing opportunities.
So if you wanted to know how to be a comic, those are the basics in a nutshell.