Forum: Stage Time

I wanna start this up again. I really loved reading about people's experiences in the last thread. I think it was really helpful to a lot of people, plus a lot of it was comforting to read for a beginner comedian. I myself am dying to get on stage for the first time but there's absolutely no...

I did a small interview documentary about four Finnish comedians and one American guy. (The American is Phil, who you probably have seen on this board.) Here you go: http://youtu.be/DRNjvHhrung - English subtitles are available, just click on CC.

Going on with what Shig asked about, starting the thread for posting videos of sets and jokes. It'd be really cool to do feedback so we all can get better (keep it tasteful ladies and gentlemen). So I'll get the ball rolling. Here is a sketch idea I had. I call it Poem Bashing. ...

Hey All, Recently I started reading news websites for about a half hour and trying to craft jokes in the style that you would see on the Tonight Show or Late Night or Weekend Update. In the interest of Progress I'd like to post a few I came up with today. Let me know if I have the...

FROM SET TO SCREEN: THE SITCOM SEARCH A Sitcom Pitch Initiative for Comedy Performers - Presented by the New York Television Festival and Just for Laughs * NYTVF and Just for Laughs are looking for hilarious new sitcom ideas (and the masterminds behind them) to compete in a first-ever joint...

So I decided that I wanted to go to open mics when I was 16. I read Patton Oswalt's Myspace blog, back when Myspace was more than just a social networking site for spambots. In one post he addressed the e-mail of a new stand-up comic. The advice he gave basically was to just make it up on stage as...

I live in Baytown, 20 minutes outside of Houston (30 minutes from any good comedy club, of which there is only "3?") I can't find a god damn open mic. I've been to three different bars and asked for the opportunity to start an open mic. So fuck it. I'm just going to go to different karaoke nights...

So I am moving from Boston to LA in a couple of months. I know I will have to start over pretty much and looking for places that I can get stage time. So anything you got would be appreciated.

Come on, y'all. Everyone here started doing standup so they could be on cool posters around their city. PYF cool comedy posters! Post ones you made. Or, post ones that advertise you, the famous stand up comedian from the internet! These are two posters I made for a local open mic. ...

Heyy - not sure if anyone cares - After nine years in Helsinki I moved to San Francisco. I got a job with my company in Sunnyvale, going to rock the CalTrain every day, and bomb at open mics in the evening. Really looking forward to getting to know the comedy community here. Can't wait to...

I thought this would be a good thread for beginning comedians who have questions to ask more experienced comics-not one experienced comic in particular, but seasoned comedians in general. For instance, why do comics often say you can't make it too early? What happens? There are some comics who...

I've been submitted entries to The New Yorker's weekly cartoon caption contest. It makes for some good warmup before I start a writing session. What other online humor competitions do you participate in? I'll compile a list. Then eat lunch. === New Yorker...

I thinks this is a funny problem that I have. Even after I listen back to sets that were recorded, sometimes I can't tell why crowds are laughing. I think this joke is funny...but either: 1. It can't be THAT funny...right? 2. They're laughing at me. 3. Someone's flashing the crowd behind me. ...

This might just sound like a lack of self will, but I'm really thinking that if I had friends that also did stand up comedy, I would be more willing to get myself to go to open mics. I have probably performed at about 24 or so open mics over 3 years. I really wish I would perform more, and I think...

I've had days where I look at my material and think it all sucks and I'm a hack, but now now it's been weeks and months. I'm just not proud of what I'm writing anymore, and not exactly sure what'll make me "proud", and if that can get laughs. I partially moved to SF to challenge myself - it's...

This is going to be another open thread for discussing the things that working comics get upset about (thus, the title of the thread. I feel like I'm explaining too much. That tends to happen when I've been trapped in the car without someone else to talk to and then, when I do have the chance to...

I'm good at writing jokes. I'm good at performing jokes that I've written. Is that not enough?

From Executive Producers Jack Black and Joel Gallen comes the next big comedy event... The Biggest Laugh, the first ever sketch comedy group competition series coming soon to a major broadcast network! Tenth Planet, Sony Pictures Television and Jack Black's Electric Dynamite are searching for...

I'm from the Seattle area and right now a bunch of my comedy friends are making the move to New York and putting pressure on me to join them as well (we're comics in our early 20s fresh out of college). I'm hoping to do so within the year but I'm still a bit fuzzy about the logistics of moving...

A friend of mine asked me to post this in case any up-and-coming comics here were interested: http://www.talenthouse.com/perform-for-sideshow-network?tab=0 As an online network of various high profile audio and video comedy acts, the Sideshow Network’s collection of digital performances...

This is a sneak preview for open mic emcees of a brand new (and free) open mic list. It's for NYC open mics only. Please point your mobile device to... http://nycomedylist.com/prelaunch/ …and let us know what you think. We hope you think it's a huge improvement over the current online...

Hosted a nightmare show at a sports bar last night. Drunk asshole was overserved, sexually harassed my 5 lady comics at my all female show before they even hit the stage and then proceeded to heckle me during my hosting set. My counter is to take a nice guy approach and say "I really hope you're...

I'm not a real big proponent of Podcasts (no attention span) but a fellow comic bud of mine just started one that I think is of interest to the regs of this board. It's called "Comics Coming Up" and has well over 20 episodes of varying length (45min to 1hr+) and covers a wide range of...

I dunno why I think this needs a thread but I want to vent to other people who know this sucks. I'm really sick of booking. I'm making the transition atm from mostly open mics to more free/$5 booked shows in bars/restaurants and then showcase shows at a club. I have my dates at the club booked...

How about a thread where we help each other with our jokes? Maybe you have a new joke you want to try out first? Or maybe you need help editing an existing joke? Just post it here. (This thread could be for longer bits, topical stuff and one-liners go here)

I sorta knew about both of these but I didn't know they were both coming so soon: Second City is opening up a new, strictly stand-up theatre on its 'complex' and a Laugh Factory is opening up, both within the next month or so. My question is (if any) what sort of opportunity is this?? I just...

Hey guys. There was originally a longer self-deprecating defeatist intro full of vulgarity and nude photos (okay, not the last part) on this post, but I chopped it off to make it shorter. But then I wrote this explanation about it, so it ended up being the same length anyway. Let’s move on. ...

Hey, so I'm moving to Chicago Feb. 1st from Southern California, because I want to get better somewhere other than LA. I've been doing open mics consistently for a year now, and first went up a couple years ago. Those are hardly credentials, but I'm saying that I'm not moving there with no idea...

When you write your jokes/sets do you use pen and paper or type them out on a computer? This may seem like a stupid question, but I've just recently started writing jokes in preparation for my first attempt at stand-up and have found that for whatever reason it's easier when I'm writing it out on...

Is anyone else having a problem with parallel thinking? I wrote a joke last week in the News jokes section about Mubarak looking good for his age and how he must be doing whatever they do to preserve mummies. Then, last night, they said that it's proof that Egypt is good at preserving things....

Title says it all. What are you're guy's goals for this year in comedy? And also when you complete your goals post here with proof :)! I will update the page with red text on completed goals. AliasRomanian 3/23/10 1. Get a new 10 minute set (I only have 5 minutes as of May 15) 2. Become...

Anyone know where I can get quality stage time that isn't a bringer show? I'm going to be heading down there for an audition in January.

any other helpful tips aside from practice, practice, practice?

I know this has been discussed before, but I'm wondering what you've come up with that you feel works and isn't mean or dismissive. We were poking gentle fun of someone at work, and the one friend I really talk to said, "hey, Jen, you can use that in your stand-up!" It's sweet when everyone goes,...

I'm very close to self-publishing a book, Turn That $#!+ Off!, with comedic takes on politics, sports, and entertainment. What tends to be the average number of pages when it comes to books by comedians? I'm at close to 150 pages at the moment. The settings are for 5.5 x 8.5.

So, I've been writing material, but haven't gone up at any open mics yet. I live in Lancaster, PA and am just looking for any good open mics, the closer the better.

What were the mathematical formula computer programmers used to create the internet? Al Gore Rhythms.

What's the best advice you can give a comedian under the age of 21 (18, even, for that matter) living in Portland, Oregon? Comedy is my lifelong dream, i've done it a few times, and I write all the time. But it seems like all the shows offered in Portland are in bars; therefore, over 21.

Taken from Kyle Kinane's tumblr:

I want to start recording my sets so that I can see what bits work and critique myself, etc. A few things I've noticed by checking out many youtube clips from other people is that mostly the audio quality seems to be horrible, full of echo, and the audience is overpoweringly loud. Do problems like...