Creating a Comic

I’m still on a bit of an adrenaline jag from last night, because I did a set with about 80% new material and almost all of it did well. Woo-hoo!

The rule of thumb is to try a joke three times before deciding whether it works or not. I’ve heard this repeated so many times by other comedians that it’s sort of like institutional gospel at this point. It’s a fine rule, I think, for the pros, and for other regulars who’ve built up enough of an act to have a stable of reliable jokes that are guaranteed to get laughs.

Open mic comics have yet to
develop their funny muscles

But I don’t think it’s a good rule for beginners. During a comic’s formative stages, we have too many underdeveloped muscles: figuring out how to structure a setup, learning where to put the voice inflections, and remembering which part comes next, for example, are all skills that require a lot of effort in the beginning. It can be hard to distinguish which jokes didn’t work because of the delivery, and which ones didn’t work because they’re just stupid jokes (and there are plenty of those).

For beginning comics, I think it’s worth doing a joke or bit as many times as you continue to believe in it. Stage time at the beginning is more about developing a stage presence than polishing material.

I’ve currently got a routine, about graphic novels, that didn’t get many laughs at first. At all. Convinced that it was good material, though, I did a lot of tinkering with the setup and delivery in order to get it to the point where it finally started getting them, which only happened reliably after about the fifteenth performance. I’m glad I stuck with it, too, because it’s become one of my solid backstops, good for half a dozen laughs every time out. Hopefully some of the new stuff from last night will join it!

Related entries on this site:

• How to tell if new material is any good
• How to write a joke: Joke Structure
• Preparing a set list
• Working new material into a stand-up set
• New jokes through the wringer
• Writing for the comedy stage
• Open Mic: First Timer Primer

 — Posted by CJ under Creating a Comic. Please comment or trackback!