Those of you who know, know that I'm trying to make it as a stand up comic/flair bar-tender, and after a long history of experimenting with NGO's, Zee Sports and NDTV, but after having jobs I I feel like I belong. I know i have not been in the scene long enough to see if its going to last, but sometimes you just know...
Anywho, this piece is about some of the stuff I face as a new standup comic, and just a few do's and don'ts that have worked for me. This is NOT an expert advice column, just stuff that I have gone through as a noobie, I'm sure everyone has problems of their own with this field... but here are some of the things that I just wanted to let out.
Stage Fright? It will eventually go: June 2009, first five minutes on stage, friend told me to carry a glass of water on stage to calm the nerves, after the most 300 seconds of my life I realised the glass was half full (Yes I'm the positive type), and not because I drank it, I spilled it from all the shaking. Even Today every time I take a new stage there is a sense of nerves but eventually they settle, so keep getting back up there.
Blaming the audience does you no good: Yes, there are times where the audience is not the most excited one, but a lot of the audience depends on the organiser, and there are times where you just can't help it where even seasoned pro's will have a hard time, and I have not even performed to a drunken lot of scousers yet. When you get a bad audience, fair enough, but if half the acts are getting laughs and you did not manage the same then you need to review your act and not the audience.
My best moment in stand up: Well, the best moment in my stand up life so far was performing well in front of 300+ at the Indian Habit at centre auditorium. A very close second was when I had a terrible show at an open mic soon after, I got off stage, and... I did not feel bad after that, not one bit, they say you will learn more from your bad shows, and from that one I learnt that I had enough confidence in myself that even after a bad show, I knew I had good ones left in me.
Write Write Write: Oh this is a good one because they say you must practice what you preach. I Love writing, but only when I’m in the mood, which regrettably is very rare, and I’m the one who loses out, no one else. The more I write, the more material I have, the more material I have, the more good jokes that will come out of it, the math is quite simple really.
Don’t be afraid to fail: There was this one time where I was repeating a particular joke at every show, and man did it kill me eventually, now what has happened I can’t repeat this joke at any show till people forget it or a completely fresh audience. The thing about new material is that it won’t always work, even the funiest of comedians will struggle with new stuff… but the trick is to keep going at it, else you will be known as the guy who has 10 jokes and that is that.
Don’t Steal: There was this one time where I was so desperate for a laugh on stage I told a Mitch Hedberg joke knowingly, it did not work and I felt like I had murdered someone, its fair enough if you have think you have an original but someone has already did it. There was this one known comedian who had whacked out jokes straight out of Eddy Murphy’s Delirious, and I seriously stopped laughing half way through his set because even if he had an original joke in him, I was certain it was a stolen one, and if you are looking for a career in stand up, you will not get a single gig if you steal
Comedy is a bit like sex: Think of the audience as a woman who is ready to fornicate but is not quite turned on yet… if you jump right in with the “down and dirty” she is not going to take it well… similarly if you start your gig with really dirty jokes up front 8 out 10 times the audience will grimace, have a few warm ups ready before you get to the dirty stuff.
Don’t lie to yourself: If you have had a bad show admit it, if you have had a good show, don’t be afraid to give yourself a pat on the back, and no matter what happens in the show, back yourself for the next one
Learn to deal with Hecklers: Many people have different ways to do it, some comedians are so good at put downs that hecklers don't dare to say anything, and some are so good with befriending the heckler that they feel guilty to heckle, but you have to make one thing clear, its your show and your time on stage
This is pretty much all I have for now, if any questions (Valid ones) you are free to post comments.
