You’re going to suck for the first ten years.

Experience and Standup Comedy

The first time I ever stepped on stage, I thought I was really good. I got laughs, hell, that proves it – I must be good. Never mind the fact that the audience was filled with my entire high school and that I was doing very inside jokes. In my mind, I was good and I was hooked. Then I did the first show without my friends in attendance and I thought, “I still held my own. The audience laughed and they don’t know me. I MUST BE GOOD.” Then I did my first TV show and killed it, hey, of course, after all, I’M GOOD.

Wrong.

I look back now after ten plus years of standup (I’ve started to lose count.) and now – ONLY NOW – I’m really good. Not the best, by far. But, really solid – good.

Signs that indicate you’re finally good:

You can bring an audience back from the dead. And I mean dead. A lot of solid, solid comics went on before you and none of them could break them open and you did. However, you also must keep in mind that you may have simply gotten lucky. You can go on any where in the lineup and still have a great set.

You know how to host without looking like a complete twat and ruining the show for every one.
Audience members find you and want to follow you around. Literally.

This one is big — You can no longer completely tell how you’re doing on stage. After a while, you don’t hear the laughs in the same way. You may have a really great, solid set, but because it doesn’t have the electricity of an absolute crush, you think it’s a medium to shit set.

You’re really relaxed during SILENCE. And I don’t mean at your house. I mean on stage.

Until all of those things happen, you suck.

Here’s what to do while you’re sucking:

Develop some humility: I’m not saying you should kill your confidence. Never do that. Confidence is king in comedy. But, realize you have a lot to learn and try not to walk around like everything outside of being on Letterman and your own development deal is below you. Believe me, that attitude adjustment alone will help you get more work.

Become a student of comedy: Maybe you’ve reached a level where you don’t do bringers, you don’t hang around the clubs much any more because you want to have a life. That’s ok and a solid progression. But, that doesn’t mean you can’t grab a TimeOut NY and pick out a veteran standup who’s been doing standup for like 20 years or more and go see him or her. You should. And you should go as an audience member. Your only goal should be to enjoy it. Afterwards, analyze. During, just enjoy.

Write, Write, Write. I have a newer standup friend and he sends out these “Jokes of the Day”. I guarantee you this guy is going to get a writing job off of it one day because the jokes are really good and they keep getting better and better. So, write like crazy, every day. Do it, like it’s your job. Because it is.

Get up, Get up, Get up. If you write every day and then you get up and try the stuff, as long as you have some natural talent, you will eventually get good. You have to be okay with bombing. Don’t do what makes the audience laugh because that will NEVER make you good. You have to do what makes you laugh. That will really bring you to a new place. A lot of comics can’t do it though. They won’t take a risk because they’d rather be in that place where they’re killing, but really the other comics think they are boring. They finally take a risk and they bomb. And the comics in the back of the room are going, “I knew this guy sucked.” They’re saying it, believe me. Watching other comedians fail is delicious, blood sport for comedians. So, usually the medium comic who takes the risk and fails, never risks again because he wants to quiet the comics in the back of the room (even if they are only in his mind). If you’re that kind of comic, then quit and become a doctor. At least your mother will be happy with you.

Notice, I never said in the above that if the industry likes you then you are good. If you think that – that industry heat makes you good – then you are Carlos Mencia. ***

Courtesy of Coffee and Showbiz