Stand up comedian or bubble blower?
Copyright 2006 Matt Canham
I got an email from a friend of mine here not so long ago. He is
late 20s - a few years younger than me - and in this email, he
told me how he had taught himself to swim.
He explained in great detail the embarrassment of holding on to
the edge of the pool blowing bubbles, practising the breathing
technique before graduating to a kick board and doing laps up
and down the pool.
With continued effort, he managed to teach himself to complete a
lap of freestyle and now here he is - 5 months later - swimming
1 mile each day. He isn't going to be trialling for the Olympic
team anytime soon, but he has become proficient at it after a
relatively short while.
So too, does it go with learning stand up comedy. It might feel
like blowing bubbles at times and can you either sink or swim up
on stage, but it is a skill you can learn and like any other,
you can get so good at it, it can become a way to make money.
The bubble blowing of stand up comedy.
I think one of the most important initial steps should be to
watch comedians who are already established. Live performances
are best, or DVDs of live performances, where you can see the
performer in their element doing what they do best.
When you are ready to practise breathing techniques, watch each
comedian and make a note of how they construct their jokes. Take
note of their delivery, their timing. Is the punchline obvious?
Try to think about why you find a joke funny. Even better,
observe the way they react when a joke receives only a mild
reaction.
As for the whole issue of copying, here is where I stand. If you
directly take the words of another person and deliver them
yourself, that is stealing material. However, if you take a
concept and improve on it, then that is fair game. A lot of
people have made millions by improving inventions by only 10%,
why shouldn't a student of comedy have the same opportunity?
There is also the issue of delivery. Just because something
bombs for one comic, doesn't mean it will be the same for the
next guy. In most cases, the failure is the result of the actual
performer, not the show and in fact, once you have a routine and
some jokes, your work should be on improving the performer.
The first step is to be honest with yourself. If you are cynical
and full of hatred, that's ok, that's who you are. Similarly, if
you have the most positive outlook on life, then that should set
the tone for your act. Audiences will relate to people who are
honest and comfortable in their own skin. Audiences aren't dumb.
They can sense people who attempt to put on or try to form an
image. If it's incongruent with your body language, your
mannerisms and your vibe, you will be blown out and bomb.
The next step after blowing bubbles is to graduate to the kick
board - the actual jokes or material you will be performing. For
comedy to be effective, it has to be congruent with who you are
- we already know this. So too, do the subject matter for your
comedy. It has to be personal and about things that are
interesting or important to you. A big part of what makes it
funny, is the enthusiasm towards the subject from the comic. It
should be something you are at least passionate about so people
watching will think, this guy knows a lot about this.
How effective would Tim Allen have been if he didn't like cars
and power tools?
The best way to go about the material gathering phase is to
write down your interests, your hobbies and then all the things
about those that you like, dislike and amuse you. Chances are if
they amuse you, they will also amuse others.
Once you have material, you are ready to start swimming. At
first, it will feel weird, your timing will be off and you'll
most likely get water up your nose. Don't worry - it's all part
of the process. It will take some time to work out how your
jokes, your personality and your timing fit in with each other.
The important thing is to practice. At home, at work, at the bus
stop, practise on anyone that will listen. Test single jokes,
test openers, test it all.
Only when you are the stage where you can put a few laps
together, should you think about performing. Remember, you have
to get over your fear of the water, learn how to blow bubbles
and use the kick board before you can swim.