Make up a routine then walk into local clubs and start performing for free or for a few bucks. If you're good, get an agent, go to either NY or LA and start playing the clubs there that welcome anyone up for either free or for payment of about $20.
If you're good, someone will see you and book you into the regular club circuit. Someone will give you a bit on a TV show and if somebody else sees you, you might get hired for a comedy show or a sit-com then move into movies. Keep dreamin'. Expect to bomb sometimes.
Jay Leno has gone to a comedy club to perform every Sunday night all while doing the Tonight Show for 20 years. That’s a true comedian.
It's not that easy for several reasons. First of all, there are thousands of people vying for a comic's job in a profession that uses only a couple hundred people.
Second is pure luck. You have to be somewhere where someone with power sees your act, likes it and gives you a shot at the big time. This is why you always have to be out there on stage, to be seen.
Thirdly, it's the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. People watch someone for awhile then they get tired of that kind of comedy act. They want something new and fresh.
Comics have to pay their dues either in front of a live audience alone or in an improv or theatrical group doing live shows.
First off, study as many comics as you can on the Comedy Network. You can imitate bits from each one but if you're good, you have to develop your own style with your own unique schtick.
Your life becomes one constant thought process of thinking up jokes or funny stuff. Many comics get their material from reading newspapers.
Nothing is worse than a joke heard before. It's embarrassing for the comic. Try to think up original stuff.
Develop an entire stand-up routine that's at least ten minutes long with extra material so you don't get caught with time left and nothing to say.
I saw a couple of guys bomb really bad One guy was intimidated by the process and couldn't do it. The pros come out loud and acting relaxed even if they're feeling lonely and weak. That's why they're pros. I watched Sinbad in his heyday come out on some show and half of his
act was about what transpired in the previous half hour on the show. He was so good, he just kept making it up and if something fell flat, he didn't have time to lose momentum. He was onto the next joke.
The other guy I saw screw up was up there babbling, somebody heckled him, he started bantering with this heckler. He took it personally. He didn't either ignore the heckler or have a quick solid response to the guy. He lost his momentum by trying to fight the guy with wit which caused him to lose the focus on his act.
Stand-up comics spend hours every day perfecting their routines but even that's not enough because the tension is always there before you perform and you never know what the audience is feeling. You have to feel them and do an act relevant to them. You should intuitively feel what an audience is feeling. You get a pulse for them and act accordingly. Sometimes they're in a good mood looking for a good time. Other times, they're cruel. It's like show me what you can do sucka.
A joke has two parts, the setup and the punchline. Timing is everything.
Some comics swear and some use explicit sexual language then there are Christian comics who perform at churches.
Every comic has a style. Some are more visual, some are verbal. Some use props. Some are character comics. They play several characters. Some pick one theme like a Mexican comic who focuses on Meicans in America or Margaret Cho who does the Chinese-overweight-aging-woman bit.
What is your dominant persona onstage? George Carlin is the curmudgeonly cynic. Dennis Leary is in your face, loudmouth, angry American. Native comics poke fun at the stereotypes about them. Be who you are.
If you're good, someone will see you and book you into the regular club circuit. Someone will give you a bit on a TV show and if somebody else sees you, you might get hired for a comedy show or a sit-com then move into movies. Keep dreamin'. Expect to bomb sometimes.
Jay Leno has gone to a comedy club to perform every Sunday night all while doing the Tonight Show for 20 years. That’s a true comedian.
It's not that easy for several reasons. First of all, there are thousands of people vying for a comic's job in a profession that uses only a couple hundred people.
Second is pure luck. You have to be somewhere where someone with power sees your act, likes it and gives you a shot at the big time. This is why you always have to be out there on stage, to be seen.
Thirdly, it's the zeitgeist, the spirit of the times. People watch someone for awhile then they get tired of that kind of comedy act. They want something new and fresh.
Comics have to pay their dues either in front of a live audience alone or in an improv or theatrical group doing live shows.
First off, study as many comics as you can on the Comedy Network. You can imitate bits from each one but if you're good, you have to develop your own style with your own unique schtick.
Your life becomes one constant thought process of thinking up jokes or funny stuff. Many comics get their material from reading newspapers.
Nothing is worse than a joke heard before. It's embarrassing for the comic. Try to think up original stuff.
Develop an entire stand-up routine that's at least ten minutes long with extra material so you don't get caught with time left and nothing to say.
I saw a couple of guys bomb really bad One guy was intimidated by the process and couldn't do it. The pros come out loud and acting relaxed even if they're feeling lonely and weak. That's why they're pros. I watched Sinbad in his heyday come out on some show and half of his
act was about what transpired in the previous half hour on the show. He was so good, he just kept making it up and if something fell flat, he didn't have time to lose momentum. He was onto the next joke.
The other guy I saw screw up was up there babbling, somebody heckled him, he started bantering with this heckler. He took it personally. He didn't either ignore the heckler or have a quick solid response to the guy. He lost his momentum by trying to fight the guy with wit which caused him to lose the focus on his act.
Stand-up comics spend hours every day perfecting their routines but even that's not enough because the tension is always there before you perform and you never know what the audience is feeling. You have to feel them and do an act relevant to them. You should intuitively feel what an audience is feeling. You get a pulse for them and act accordingly. Sometimes they're in a good mood looking for a good time. Other times, they're cruel. It's like show me what you can do sucka.
A joke has two parts, the setup and the punchline. Timing is everything.
Some comics swear and some use explicit sexual language then there are Christian comics who perform at churches.
Every comic has a style. Some are more visual, some are verbal. Some use props. Some are character comics. They play several characters. Some pick one theme like a Mexican comic who focuses on Meicans in America or Margaret Cho who does the Chinese-overweight-aging-woman bit.
What is your dominant persona onstage? George Carlin is the curmudgeonly cynic. Dennis Leary is in your face, loudmouth, angry American. Native comics poke fun at the stereotypes about them. Be who you are.
