If you are an "open mic'er" and you have recently developed a pretty solid 6-7 minutes of new material, should you keep rehearsing the same set over and over to get better at delivering it? I feel kind of funny doing that because many of the same people will hear the same jokes. What should I do - there is a limited number of open mics in this area.
My advice would be don't stop writing, keep doing new stuff because a polished 6-7 minutes usually means jack shit if you are really new. In about a year, you'll look back at your 6-7 mintues that you have now and laugh about how you thought that was good, and the same goes for the 6-7 minutes that you'll have when you're laughing at the previous 6-7 minutes.
Hey - didn't see a specific thread for this. I'm doing my first show tomorrow night - have experience with performing (did forensics, theatre, band, etc, in high school, haven't really found an outlet in college, which has brought me to stand-up) but have never, ever done anything comedic before. Is there anything I should know going into it? Or, more usefully, is there anything you wish you had been told before your first time? I don't really have any friends who have experience so even the most reasonably basic advice would be appreciated. Ex: Not "remember to wear pants" so much as "it is never funny to shit yourself onstage."
Put the microphone back in the stand when you are done.
if I had access to a genie I would wish to see someone shit themselves every single day. and then I would try to avoid being alone.Originally Posted by alexmce
Have people not done this? ...where did they put it?
Yeah, I've done that. And I was awful at clearing the mic stand for a while - I mean, I'd move it, but only a few inches to the right or so.
How do you decide whether or not to take the mic out the stand?
As a musician, I kind of get the desire to pretend I'm a rockstar with the stand. And something in me likes the idea of a comic moving around normally carrying the mic + stand.
I'm the complete opposite. Having the mic in the stand leaves my mind free to worry about my jokes. Both hands are free as well. Though sometimes I will hold on to the stand. It is the same way that I tend to hold a podium if I have to speak in front of a group. For some reason, the anchor gives me more confidence.
Thanks for the tips guys - fairly rough crowd of what seemed the clique of guys who normally perform there plus a few bar regulars, and then three of my friends. Thought it went pretty well, didn't blank, missed a key set-up to one of my jokes and was able to roll with it pretty well (turned it into a punchline instead which was kinda fucked up but pretty interesting). Got some good laughs here and there, and positive reviews from my friends.
Here's my thing: the guy who was hosting got up after my performance and mocked the joke I stumbled through. This seems like pretty bad form to me, particularly since it was known that this was my first performance. Is this like... done... in comedy? I ask because it's really fucking with my head... I got pretty positive reviews (obviously to my face but later in the night someone was like "yeah _____ said that you were actually pretty good") but the whole being mocked immediately after is really giving me a complex.
Gotta say though, from now on, I will never be anything but super respectful during someone else's performance. Being up there really changes things.
Last edited by alexmce; September 11, 2009 at 12:35 AM.
Cool name, Alex Mac.
I like moving around, and I feel too stiff if the mic is in the stand.
A lot of times I pick up the stand with the mic in it, (I'm 6'6", so adjusting the stand is a pain in the ass) and simply treat the entire stand as the mic. Usually takes arm strength, but the adrenaline from being on stage compensates for that.
Yeah I'm sure it 's done... by douchebags. Don't worry about it.
I'm similar to Captain Breakfast except kind of the opposite. I generally always take the mike out of the stand simply because I'm short and not terribly familiar with adjusting stands, and would rather just take it out than (possibly) look like a jackass trying to figure it out. Though I noticed watching a video of mine that I hold the mike at a really horizontal angle so I sometimes obsure my face a bit. Might try to adjust a bit.
Trust me, I'm really good at saying the word "Diagnoses" now. Thanks for the encouragement!
If you aren't allowed to make fun of someone as a comedian, then who is allowed to make fun of someone else?
As long as the tone was funny and playful rather than mean, and it was was played for/recieved laughs, shouldn't you just assume he was kidding?
I mean, if that's all the MC did every set, then yes he's a douche, but at the smaller/tighter open mic I've been to, busting balls was normal amongst the regulars. I would almost consider it a compliment that he felt comfortable enough to make fun of you.
You aren't supposed to be offended by anything a comic says. They're trying to be funny, and probably not trying to hurt someone's feelings. Don't be uptight about it.
Why is ball busting hacky, is kind of what I'm asking here. I really doubt the MC said it viciously, but I wasn't there and I could be wrong.
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