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Hello, fellow broken talentless hacks, I am Zach Wiseman. I'm a comic currently stationed in San Francisco at Sylvan Housr. I've been doing comedy for about 5 years. I do alright with the saying of jokes. It is not against my religion. Also here's a painting I made. l3ruce fucked around with this message at 13:54 on Jun 18, 2016 |
# ? Jun 18, 2016 13:51 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 09:08 |
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Hey Zack. How'd the flop house taping go?
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# ? Jun 18, 2016 16:54 |
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Don't gently caress comics. You'll get a papercut in a very uncomfortable location.
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# ? Jun 19, 2016 18:14 |
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Serious Cephalopod posted:Wtf do you mean, gently caress other comics? Who books you for shows in your town? Did you read the rest of what I said? Because I was only making the point that I do not write or perform to impress them. I think a set that will kill in a room full of comics will bomb most other places. My point was that you need to write material for you. Don't write poo poo for guys who are only half listening anyway. And it is the same in Chicago. Most of the work you will find comes from comic run rooms. I still won't cater my material for them. I also said that I am not taking a shot at other comics. I mostly love and respect my peers, with very few exceptions. But I have very little time to say what I want to say, so you can bet your rear end I am saying poo poo that I love. I hope everyone loves it, but if people don't, that is fine too. Eventually the joke will work. I wasn't saying to be a dick to them or anything. I support my scene and tons of producer's have told me they love when I am in the audience because you know when I find something funny. This has been an interesting week. I have barely been out, but I may have just found myself on two of the aforementioned production teams. One of which is one of the more highly regarded shows in the area and is run by one of my favorite comics and people. Nothing is set, but I am very excited at the possibility.
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# ? Jun 24, 2016 22:14 |
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Any improv fans in NYC for the Del Close marathon this weekend?
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# ? Jun 24, 2016 23:29 |
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Sataere posted:Did you read the rest of what I said? Because I was only making the point that I do not write or perform to impress them. I think a set that will kill in a room full of comics will bomb most other places. Sorry, reading that again, what I said was really aggressive. I was more flabbergasted, hah. Congrats on producing!
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# ? Jun 25, 2016 21:23 |
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Sataere posted:I think a set that will kill in a room full of comics will bomb most other places. I agree with your overall point of not writing for comics, but this sentence is super inaccurate in my experience. All my most consistent bits worked in a mic full of comics before anywhere else. It's how I know I'm onto something. The hardest place to get laughs, for me, are mics that only have a handful of comics and bar shows where the people didn't know there was gonna be comedy, so anything that works in those environments has to have legs and ends up working great at good shows. freud mayweather fucked around with this message at 15:35 on Jun 30, 2016 |
# ? Jun 30, 2016 15:33 |
A comedy spot near me has open mics every Sunday and Monday, and I'd like to give it a shot. I figure I'll try to write at least 5 minutes of material to perform on Sunday, then maybe write or tweak some stuff and go on again on Monday. Right now I've got a bunch of premises, and I need to work on turning them in to fully fledged jokes and fleshed out bits. Any advice on how to do that?
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# ? Jul 5, 2016 20:06 |
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Drop a punchline every 20 seconds. Finish with your strongest joke. Open with something that addresses how freakish you look so the audience stops thinking about it.
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# ? Jul 6, 2016 07:50 |
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literally this big posted:Right now I've got a bunch of premises, and I need to work on turning them in to fully fledged jokes and fleshed out bits. Any advice on how to do that? Do them on stage over and over again, tweaking and experimenting with them every time.
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# ? Jul 6, 2016 11:59 |
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Definitely don't compare your first time on stage to the first time you had sex.
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# ? Jul 7, 2016 21:09 |
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freud mayweather posted:I agree with your overall point of not writing for comics, but this sentence is super inaccurate in my experience. All my most consistent bits worked in a mic full of comics before anywhere else. It's how I know I'm onto something. The hardest place to get laughs, for me, are mics that only have a handful of comics and bar shows where the people didn't know there was gonna be comedy, so anything that works in those environments has to have legs and ends up working great at good shows. You are right. I have spent too many recent nights in weird alt comedy rooms where comics are trying to out-hipster each other and I am slowly contemplating suicide. literally this big posted:A comedy spot near me has open mics every Sunday and Monday, and I'd like to give it a shot. I figure I'll try to write at least 5 minutes of material to perform on Sunday, then maybe write or tweak some stuff and go on again on Monday. All the advice given is spot on, but the most important thing you can do is try to have fun. You aren't going to revolutionize comedy your first time up, but the more fun you have, the more likely your audience will have fun too. Probably the most important comedy lesson I have learned, forgotten and relearned ad naseum. I have barely been on stage recently, but I am on a comedy high. I have been going to showcases and loving comedy again. The highlight of my week was hitting up the Comedians You Should Know showcase this week. One of the producers got me some comps, so I took one comedy buddy and a non comic buddy out to meet his new girlfriend. I keep getting told CYSK is the premier independent comedy showcase in the country and Wednesday was a glimpse of why people say that. Halfway through an already great show, when the host announced Hannibal Burress to the stage, my comic buddy and I looked at each other trying to figure out where he was going with his joke. Then we realized it wasn't a joke. Hannibal had just dropped in to crush it for 15 or 20 minutes. I'm not even sure it was the best set of the night, because to close out the show, another comic dropped in for a guest spot. Jeff loving Garlin. He started off by telling us he hadn't wrote a set in four years and proceeded to put on a 20 minute clinic on crowd work. It is two days later and I am still riding that comedy high and I didn't even perform. Just a great week of comedy with the added bonus of my non-comic buddy and his girlfriend thinking I am way cooler than I actually am.
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# ? Jul 8, 2016 18:35 |
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That's not really a comedy high so much as being a shameless consumer/audience member/garbage person. Comedy high has more to do with performing and/or bending an audience to your whim.
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# ? Jul 9, 2016 11:05 |
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Vicious.
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# ? Jul 11, 2016 05:43 |
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revolther posted:That's not really a comedy high so much as being a shameless consumer/audience member/garbage person. I get what you are saying, but don't agree. Anytime I am energized about comedy, that is a comedy high. In that stretch of days, I just watched comedy. I then spent all my free time writing new sets and tinkering with old ones. Too much of comedy is outside performing. If I only had that euphoria, it would diminish the entire experience. Performing is weird for me. I don't get excited about a good set so much as hate myself after a poor one. I only really enjoy sets that are fun. But a lot of times, that just means things went off the rails and got interestingly weird. I expect to perform well. I always have gotten more excited writing jokes. And I am seeing visible improvement in my writing. I do find it interesting that you think supporting my local comedy scene makes me a garbage person. What is your local scene like? How often do you go out hitting open mics? Do you do that exclusively? Are there comic run showcases in your area? If so, do you go watch them? I'm more confused by the insult than anything. Calling me an audience member just for watching comedy seems silly. So the minute a comic decides to watch a show, they become less of a comic? Is this only true for live comedy? Or any stand up comedy? If your can't get excited about watching local comedy, how can you expect regular people to be excited about one day coming out to see you? Sataere fucked around with this message at 01:09 on Jul 13, 2016 |
# ? Jul 13, 2016 01:07 |
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Shovelbearer posted:So I did the Hard Rock Cafe show and it was a really good time! In fact, I have video to share: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-JqwgkFcRQ So was skimming the thread to see what I missed on my comedy hiatus a while back and stumbled onto this. I love your writing. That PBR joke would kill hear.
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# ? Jul 13, 2016 15:22 |
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Tonight - a Sunday - is my first time ever to open for a touring comedian. A stop that was not announced officially as a part of his tour. On a weeknight. At a theatre for $12. Where the majority of recent standup shows have failed, sales-wise. The night after a big main street summer festival. ... here's to hoping.
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# ? Jul 17, 2016 16:26 |
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How many times did you go up at a mic before you did 7-10 at an actual show? I've done a couple dozen mics and I want my drinks comped. I think I'm ready.
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# ? Jul 19, 2016 23:18 |
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Mortley posted:Tonight - a Sunday - is my first time ever to open for a touring comedian. A stop that was not announced officially as a part of his tour. On a weeknight. At a theatre for $12. Where the majority of recent standup shows have failed, sales-wise. The night after a big main street summer festival. How did this go? Also, who is the comic if you're able to say? HEY NONG MAN posted:How many times did you go up at a mic before you did 7-10 at an actual show? In an actual club? Never. At A local showcase? Probably around six months. Didn't get poo poo comped either.
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# ? Jul 21, 2016 23:57 |
I generally stick to open mics but have done about a half dozen 7-10min guest spots at yukyuks in the last few months, which in my opinion were my strongest sets in the 3 years I've been in the scene. I'm spending this summer in a rural town for work about an hour's drive from where I live, and so I was caught off guard at a local bar a few nights ago when a bartender shouted out "Hey man I saw you at Yukyuks!!" and started chatting up a storm about how he was with a bachelor party and how much they loved the show. It was actually a little uncomfortable because I was drinking away getting t-boned on the highway a just few hours prior (and sure as hell not feeling 'on') but then he told a cute girl "he's a super funny guy!" and talked me up and wants me to go party sometime with him and his crew. It's kind of weird and surreal but hey, sometimes ya do it for the story (and hopefully tits). revolther posted:That's not really a comedy high so much as being a shameless consumer/audience member/garbage person. You're 11 months into your comedy career so please keep in mind that literally no one respects your opinions on what is/isn't __________ .
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# ? Jul 24, 2016 18:21 |
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But I just saw Edward Murphy at a Casino and now feel like king of the world!
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 12:28 |
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I'm a lapsed comedian, but watching other people do stand up live does get me in a joke writing mood. That's party of why I like to go up au open mics first - I love listening to other comics. Anyone else?
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 16:15 |
Serious Cephalopod posted:I'm a lapsed comedian, but watching other people do stand up live does get me in a joke writing mood. That's party of why I like to go up au open mics first - I love listening to other comics. I've only been to three open mics so far (and performed at two of them), but I love seeing what people have to say, and how they say it. Some people just want to go up and say some silly jokes, and some people really have something to say. It's a rare bit of honesty that's hard to find anywhere else.
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 21:09 |
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The last time I went up I spoke exclusively about Arbys for five minutes straight.
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 23:04 |
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HEY NONG MAN posted:The last time I went up I spoke exclusively about Arbys for five minutes straight. Is your name Preston?
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 23:17 |
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No and I will find anyone stealing my jokes about Arbys and put a stop to it.
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 23:53 |
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revolther posted:That's not really a comedy high so much as being a shameless consumer/audience member/garbage person. Yeah, I hate audience members too. (???) Sataere posted:So was skimming the thread to see what I missed on my comedy hiatus a while back and stumbled onto this. I love your writing. That PBR joke would kill hear. Thanks bud!
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 23:53 |
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Especially if his name is Preston.
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# ? Jul 25, 2016 23:53 |
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Watching stand-up in general (whether a show or a mic) fires me up to write too, I think there's a logic to it. Tonight I got to be on a show with one of my comedy heroes (one of the Kids in the Hall) and he was amazing, and nice to everyone. I was happy because it seems like any time you meet a hero they turn out to be a dickhead, but not tonight!
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# ? Jul 26, 2016 04:43 |
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Did my first night of double dipping by chance last night. Felt super good to do the same bits again in front of a whole new audience. I understand why people do it now.
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# ? Jul 28, 2016 21:31 |
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In one day I went from "first time doubling up" to "mad that I couldn't do it again tonight". Anyone here in Seattle? Get at me and let's do something.
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# ? Jul 29, 2016 07:11 |
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revolther posted:But I just saw Edward Murphy at a Casino and now feel like king of the world! Man, you are crushing it with these hard hitting insights on how watching comedy makes you a piece of poo poo. I noticed you completely ignored my response in lieu of these oh so clever zingers. Put up or shut up. Tell me why I am wrong. Serious Cephalopod posted:I'm a lapsed comedian, but watching other people do stand up live does get me in a joke writing mood. That's party of why I like to go up au open mics first - I love listening to other comics. I would go a step further and say if you aren't watching comedy on a regular basis, you are stunting your development. You might figure out some things on your own, but watching people further along can really help you figure out how to approach writing and performing. I try to go out once every couple of weeks just to watch a local show. I try to target people or shows I know are good, just to see what the hype is about. Sometimes, it is hard to drown out the echo chamber that is local comedy.
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# ? Aug 2, 2016 02:15 |
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Why would you fight with open mic'ers in this thread when you can do that in a myriad of ways in your own local scene?
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# ? Aug 2, 2016 09:46 |
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HEY NONG MAN posted:Why would you fight with open mic'ers in this thread when you can do that in a myriad of ways in your own local scene? I don't start fights with open mic'ers in my scene. I don't berate my audiences either. Calling people out is the domain of the message board. This is all I have. Don't you take this from me!
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# ? Aug 2, 2016 20:02 |
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Berating your audience is the best loving part. Give it a shot sometime. Those fuckers deserve it.
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# ? Aug 2, 2016 21:16 |
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HEY NONG MAN posted:Berating your audience is the best loving part. Give it a shot sometime. Those fuckers deserve it. Those fuckers don't laugh nearly enough. They don't even give me a standing ovation for my set ups
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# ? Aug 2, 2016 23:19 |
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I was talking to a local guy who i think is super funny (so obviously he's moving to LA next month) and he said to me "I hate almost everything about comedy up to and including being on stage. I just like the idea of comedy and working bits out in my own head." I don't know what else to do with this. It's sitting with me right now.
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# ? Aug 4, 2016 07:27 |
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A large number of current local headliners in my city are all gearing up to move to the States (LA) at the same time. I wonder how this will effect anything
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# ? Aug 5, 2016 01:00 |
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I've gone up six times in seven days. I don't think it's sustainable, though.
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# ? Aug 5, 2016 08:00 |
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# ? May 13, 2024 09:08 |
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HEY NONG MAN posted:I was talking to a local guy who i think is super funny (so obviously he's moving to LA next month) and he said to me "I hate almost everything about comedy up to and including being on stage. I just like the idea of comedy and working bits out in my own head." I suspect if you talked to him a month from now, he would feel differently. At a certain level, comedy becomes a job and everybody has days where they hate everything about their job. Also, this is migration season for local comics. Gotta get out before winter hits. The Berzerker posted:A large number of current local headliners in my city are all gearing up to move to the States (LA) at the same time. I wonder how this will effect anything It means more opportunities for the next generation. HEY NONG MAN posted:I've gone up six times in seven days. I don't think it's sustainable, though. It is, but if it stops being fun, take a break. poo poo, that would be a light week for me the past two months. As often as I go on stage, you would think I would suck less.
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# ? Aug 6, 2016 00:58 |