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Any of you fine folks from the Halifax area?
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Aug 17, 2013 20:32
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 04:12 |
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My city is down to 2 mics a week, Monday/Tuesday. Probably the worst days to try and make people laugh, and one of them is an hour's bus ride from my place so I rarely can actually make it. It's super frustrating because if I'm lucky I get 1 night a week of 5-7 minutes so it feels like I am literally making no progress, and the last handful of sets have just been me eating poo poo and questioning life choices afterwards. I actually got legit heckled for the first time 2 weeks ago which was terrible. I've been doing this on and off for about 8 months so I'm honestly surprised it took so long. I had just delivered the punchline to a joke where the setup was giving a handjob to my dealer for weed, but ha ha no not really, I'm not an 18 year (local liberal fine arts college) girl. I had just written it and it went over decent I guess but then this girl near the front was just like "YOU'RE RUDE". If this were stdh.txt I'd probably have had some killer bon mot and left with everyone applauding  but no instead it totally threw me off my game and I stumbled through the rest of my set like an rear end in a top hat and thought of like a million witty retorts the second I set foot off stage. I think i mumbled off some lovely "yeah whatever thanks" variant but a couple of my comic friends said they felt super bad for me so obviously I didn't handle it with grace and poise. Thinking about getting into standup? Do it. It can be fun and you will meet some really interesting people and develop an entirely new perspective on things. Also you will hate yourself and probably start drinking heavily.
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Jan 23, 2014 15:05
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http://splitsider.com/2014/08/finally-a-video-game-that-lets-you-experience-the-bleak-life-of-a-struggling-comic/quote:There are very few artistic depictions of what it's like to be a standup comedian. Haven't tried it yet myself but the premise made me smile, can't wait to give it a shot.
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Aug 7, 2014 22:36
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Sataere posted:Ended up only hitting two open mics last night and still forgot to record myself. Not that it would matter too much. Not a lot of success and I know why. Learning how to talk like I'm having a normal conversation in front of an audience is a lot harder than it seems. It is depressing to know that I probably have another six months of growing pains for stage presence at a minimum. And in another 2 years someone might throw you $20 to do 15 minutes in front of drunks who don't care about you or what you have to say. Welcome to the soul crushing world of comedy.
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Oct 24, 2014 16:07
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Sataere posted:When jokes don't work, it seriously pisses me off. Mostly, because I know it is my fault.
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Oct 24, 2014 22:04
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Sataere posted:So do you guys spend any time actually practicing saying the jokes you are going to say, or do you just jot them down and go out and say them? I write all my poo poo out (ALL of it) because I have a strong writing background and had to do tons of public speaking when I was younger. Tying in to that, my method is to repeatedly practice bits over and over and over and over again, sometimes in front of a mirror, sometimes when I'm having a smoke break, pacing around my living room, waiting at the bus stop, etc- I use evernote religiously so I've always got my jokes on hand. The up side is that once I've gotten a piece down that I'm comfortable with I can minimize um's & ah's because I know exactly what I'm going to say. Also it's easier to pay attention to crowd reaction at any given point because I don't need to focus entirely on what line comes next, which translates to an easier time jotting down notes after I'm done. This also adds to confidence on stage. The downside is that I'm really not quick on my feet (I could never do improv) so if I don't have a joke to that level I can get thrown off easily and then it's just a loving trainwreck of trying to remember where I was going with it. Hecklers and screwing up a new piece are definitely my achilles heel in that regard. And while I've never had this criticism levelled at me personally (that I know of), I know that over rehearsing can absolutely suck the feeling of spontaneity out of a joke. I've heard lots of comics rip on others for telling jokes word for word the exact same every time. At the end of the day though it's just what works me. edit: Ironically I wrote this reply while procrastinating practicing a new bit for tonight about a pimp beating me like it's a 3rd date with jian ghomeshi. thunderspanks fucked around with this message at 20:27 on Nov 12, 2014 |
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Nov 12, 2014 20:18
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Sataere posted:I find it odd that comics would make fun of someone telling a joke the same way each time a bit silly, unless they are referring to audience interaction. A punchline is generally a punchline and the wording for making a joke work seems very specific. Sorry, I should have specified. I'm talking exclusively about open mic'ers that are by no means ready to be doing the exact same bits over and over identically each time hoping that maybe this time people will laugh. Yes if you have an actually polished and funny joke you're going to be repeating it more or less verbatim, that is a given.
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Nov 14, 2014 17:13
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Catman Begins posted:I'm doing my second ever set tonight at Dirty Dicks in London. Did my first set at the tail end of last year at a smaller place in Kilburn where everyone was really nice, but I've heard that tonight's venue is tougher. If its an open mic style environment I'd say don't be worried about taking a crib sheet up with you, especially if you're new. In my experience most places that host a legit show have some sort of table or barstool near the mic for comics to put their drinks and stuff. I usually just toss a small piece of notated paper and my phone with a running stopwatch (I'm bad for not seeing being lit and I much prefer having an on hand indication of my time). If I'm in a 'no notes' environment the best recommendation I can give short of straight up memorization is to get and sort your jokes into a loosely tied order. Definitely easier for story based jokes. Monday for instance my order went- joke about valentines day Best valentines day poem I ever got (ends with a beer reference) beer reference gives me a segue to jokes about quitting drinking but still doing drugs drugs leads to saying the wrong thing while high around my girlfriend which segues into jokes about the mentally challenged cat my girlfriend and I have which leads to jokes about falling in love at first sight with him because he was such an ugly kitten. Each of those lines comprises 45 seconds to a minute worth a jokes, so on paper my list looks like this: -vday -roses are red -quit drinking -doughy -special needs cat -hosed up kitten You can still squeeze in a completely unrelated closer (close on a strong note) if you say something like "alright, I'll leave you guys with this.." Good luck man!
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Jan 28, 2015 12:59
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XIII posted:^another good thing about a line like “I'll leave you guys with this" is it gives the host a cue to get ready. Very good point as well. If you're just starting out, the best thing you can do (other than be funny, of course) is learn some goddamn stage etiquette. KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO. Say something like 'hey, keep it going for _________ (hosts name)' when you get on stage. That keeps the energy up and shows that you appreciate what a tough job hosting can be. KNOW HOW MUCH TIME YOU ARE SUPPOSED TO DO. If your host doesn't suck balls he will light you. If your room doesn't have the standard wall mounted red light he might flash his cell phone/a flashlight/something else at you. Either way, it's house talk for "wrap it up". Don't do just one more bit. Unless, you've been explicitly told something like 'I'll light you when you have a minute left'- then pull out the "I'll leave you guys with this.." line and get your last jokes in. Like XIII said, it gives the host a cue to get ready and also serves as an acknowledgement that you've been lit. You won't always be able to do that of course. if he's lighting you in the middle of a joke just nod. You'll get a feel for things like that as you get more stage time. Don't be afraid of running under time, but seriously do what you can to not go over. Your jokes are going to suck. You're new, that's just the way it is. But if you're capable of doing everything else well enough and running a smooth set, you won't be looked at as just another lovely newbie and hopefully instead will be viewed as someone who they can give more nights to because you won't screw it up for everyone else. Believe me when I tell you that short of personally insulting the host, nothing will get you on their bad side faster than going 4 minutes over and leaving a cold stage. Don't be that guy.
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Jan 28, 2015 17:05
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Sataere posted:Around here, I haven't noticed people being too worried about time unless you are going over by a crazy amount. I don't even notice the light flashing, but that might be because most of my sets don't go anywhere near the time allotted. Not going to or over the time allotted isn't a big deal unless your host is super anal or you're getting paid. In fact given the tendency of comics to run long if left to their own devices, the few hosts I know love when someone goes a little short (on open mics) because it keeps things moving. If you're getting paid you loving bring your allotted time or run the risk of not getting offered paid shows again. This last weekend a guy did his first ever paid middle at Yuks down here (he's been doing mics/guest spots for a few years) and while he bombed pretty hard (Like, the host had to leave the room because he couldn't keep watching) he was supposed to do, and was paid for, a 20 minute set. Walked off stage at 13. Unless they hire a new booker it will be years before they call him again because you just don't do that. As far as thanking the audience I think if you want to do it the best way to approach it until you really find your own voice in the matter is to just be like "Alright that's my time, you guys have been great, enjoy the rest of the show/have a good night". Works for me anyway. And I second XIII's opinion on closing- there's nothing wrong with just going 'well that's my set' and walking off- but giving a heads up for at least the sake of the host is the respectful thing to do especially if you're ending early.
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Jan 28, 2015 20:34
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Shovelbearer posted:I just move the mic stand back in front of me during the last couple of sentences for a visual cue. Yeah that's actually pretty slick, I didn't think of mentioning that. CATMAN, remember to move the stand off to the side when you start. Unless your a handsfree mic talker, and there's nothing wrong with that. I talk with my hands quite a bit so sometimes it's nice to leave the mic in place for a more casual vibe. Otherwise though, move the stand or it becomes a barrier between you and the crowd.
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Jan 28, 2015 21:35
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thunderspanks fucked around with this message at 16:54 on Oct 10, 2019 |
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May 12, 2015 00:13
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XIII posted:Great job breaking the tables with a photo of empty tables. Ahh poo poo sorry, posted from the app, I didn't realize it came out that large. Just threw a timg on it but I don't know if it worked
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May 12, 2015 00:54
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| # ¿ May 3, 2024 04:12 |
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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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