Standup comedy is a wild form art form. Virtually all of your practice and learning is done on stage before an audience. Imagine buying a used guitar, going straight to a bar and playing Smoke on the Water to 50 open-mouthed people. But that’s standup.
The fact that you learn as you go is one reason people are terrified to try. It’s so intimidating that doing a set at an open mic is a popular punishment for guys who finish last in their fantasy football league.
But if you have the bug, its intoxicating. Remember, though, as you get on stage and start to get laughs, you are still learning. Don’t burn bridges early on.
Here are some habits you might consider adopting:
BE PATIENT
Terrific! You managed to stand on stage telling jokes for 3 minutes at your first open mic. That doesn’t mean you’re ready for an agent.
It takes most people years to build up their material and stage presence to the point that they can even feature at a comedy club.
For your first year, work on adding to your collection of jokes that work and getting more comfortable on stage.
Don’t get down because you’ve been doing comedy for three months and no one is booking you.
It’s frustrating when others that don’t seem as funny are getting booked. But focus on you. The more you get on stage and refine your material, the better you get, and people will notice.
Also, slow your roll. It’s tempting to put your first standup video on the Internet to share with the world. I’d suggest waiting. You’re just going to get better.
Heading out of town to mics and shows is a great idea to network and get more experience, but wait until you feel really good about your five minutes so you make a good impression in another city.
BE LISTENING
In standup, you have to be confident. If you aren’t sure your jokes are funny, the audience definitely won’t think so.
You have to go on stage with swagger. However, you need to listen to the audience. Are they laughing at your punchlines?
When you do open mics, this is the feedback you are looking for. Do your jokes work or not? If a bit routinely fails, you need to change it up or ditch it.
Record your sets and listen back objectively. A joke isn’t successful because — there it is! — one person laughed at your punchline. You want most everyone laughing.
So many comics have blinders on and seem to think they did well, when the audience sure didn’t think so.
Don’t make excuses for your jokes or fall in love with them. I hear comics all the time tell a joke that bombs and say they like that joke and the audience never does. That means you should drop it. The audience ultimately decides what’s funny.
Also be open to feedback — especially if it’s solicited — and take it for what it’s worth. Most comics only want to hear they had a great set. If you are willing to accept you have things you could improve, you have an advantage.
If you don’t know where in your set the audience should be laughing, you need to look at how your material is structured. The most common joke form is premise/setup and punchline. Some comics are out there doing premise, premise, premise with no punchlines.
If you think that the audience should be laughing non-stop because the premise is so funny, you will be disappointed. Standup does not work that way.
BE EASY TO WORK WITH
Be a good member of the comedy scene in your area.
It’s a pretty low bar. If you can keep from sexually harassing other comics or the staff and avoid getting arrested, you’ve already got a leg up in a lot of scenes.
Don’t be the comic that wants a little extra time whenever you’re on stage and claims to never see the light that signals their time is up.
You pull that enough and no one wants to put you on a show.
Be on time and follow the venue’s rules for language and content.
Don’t pull any fast ones like trying to get a guest spot by saying the headliner has vouched for you when you have never talked to the headliner.
Treat the staff at clubs and venues well. These people may decide if you get a spot.
If you are constantly late or pushing boundaries, people will not be eager to work with you.
BE RESPONSIVE
If your goal is to becoming a working comic or at least get paid to do comedy, be easy to contact.
Make sure you have social media accounts, especially Facebook and Instagram, that include your name and a photo of you. Your email should ideally include your name.
Often, especially for comics just starting to be considered for guest spots or hosting spots, the opportunities come out of the blue. The club needs a host that night or hast a guest spot available. The first comic who responds gets the gig.
If you don’t check your emails or messages or texts for days or weeks, bookers are going to stop bothering with you.
Even if I am booking a show three months out, if I don’t hear from you in a week, I’m moving on.
BE READY
You have a solid 5 minutes plus. You’ve networked across the region. A few headliners will vouch for you.
Congrats! You’re ready to reach out to ask for gigs.
You ditched your nasty69@college.edu email and have yourname@gmail.com email.
You have a headshot that’s in focus with a plain background and not some grainy photo of you on stage in front of the Gary’s Guffaws logo.
You have a solid 5-minute video to send out.
You got this!
Good luck!
