Hey Guys,
How many of you have taken a break from stand up and then have come back to it. Also, what made you stop and what made you start back up again.
For me, I took a break because I got tired of "bringer" shows and also that I stopped having fun at open mics. What made me come back were new jokes and wanting to have 5 mins all to myself on stage. It was actually nice taking a break because now there is almost a new crowd of comedians mixed in with the regulars.
Cheers,
Stefan
eh
Last edited by Ivan; October 19, 2009 at 12:02 AM.
I started a year ago did a few good shows than stopped. I don't have a car and the dude that was driving me became a coke head and started to live a horrible life. he stopped hanging with me and started to hang with dealers and strippers.
I restarted recently but there is no open mics around my area so i have to wait until i can fix my car and i am ready.
Every time Siggers posts all that goes through my mind is "Chosen One"
Siggers NO! What kind of picture are you painting of me here.Originally Posted by Siggers
"(inaudible) I've seen, basically, all of those at this point."
(laughter)
"Yes, but have you ever seen Threen Wolf?"
~ AST Wake Up podcast 07/25/09, the Technology episode
I really wish i can pursue my dream, but i have no money my job isn't the best. I want to start doing what i know i am here to do. But it is so hard there is always something.
Every time Siggers posts all that goes through my mind is "Chosen One"
The only break you should take is your big break when it comes. So many comics have taken breaks only to come back disoriented, trying to find their footing. Longest break I took was a month-that was a real waste of time. I may as well have reset the clock.
This depends of course on how serious you are. If you are a stand-up dilettante no need to avoid breaks. But if you really have a passion for the craft you will start to feel like a break is more like withdrawal than a much-needed respite. A day off is one thing. But even after two days off I feel like I'm starting over again (in a bad way [nerves, beginner mistakes, etc.]).
"You're a ghost!"- Tom Scharpling
Plus, if you don't ever take a break, you can maintain your smugness, and toss around words like 'dilettante' in conversations....
Bob LaRitchie, Brian's Friend
You should take a break from getting pictures taken of yourself drinking. It makes you come off as a lush.
Ivan, I thought you made a good point.
Garrett Gonzalez Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980
For the British flautist, see Gareth Morris.
I can think of approximately two dozen people who could use a long break.
many tine tanies
it's not you, comedy, it's me.
"This is not the Beach Boys. It can't be. Why? No beach songs! I thought it was some kind of joke. All 'Pet Sounds' offers is the opportunity to hear Brian Wilson whine for forty minutes, backed by elevator music. There's barely any Mike Love on the album at all."
At times I am sensitive on the presumptuousness of me telling another how to walk the journey, but I guess soliciting opinions invites it.Ivan, I thought you made a good point.
If your psyche allows you to take a break, maybe you should reevaluate your commitment to the form.
Do you actually mean this?
Being committed to your art means doing whatever it takes to help you grow -- and that includes knowing when it's time to take a break, slow things down, or otherwise create a different work/life balance for a while. Taking a step back and regrouping can sometimes be the best thing a person can do for artistic growth, particularly for work as personal as standup is. If someone takes time off - even years - they will undoubtedly return with more maturity, a different perspective, and a clearer sense of what it is they're looking to achieve from all of this. Not to mention they'll save themselves from complete burnout if they're going through other shit at the same time.
So if someone needs a break, they should take one. I posted this exact sentiment to Michael Ian Black's blog post from this weekend (http://www.michaelianblack.net/blog/...ad-pimpin.html). Read that and tell me he couldn't use a bit of time off.
If someone has such clarity about their life and career that they've never felt the need for a break, that's fine. But that doesn't automatically make them more "committed" to comedy than someone who has chosen to take a break or just take things slower.
You do not get better at anything by not doing it.
Also, perhaps stand-up is not where a person considering a break should be. Write a book, join an improv troupe, [I am not being sarcastic these are perfectly valid arts jesus fuck why would I have to explain that] but treating it like a dime-store hobby to be picked up and put away is now how you commit yourself.
Last edited by Ivan; October 20, 2009 at 3:32 PM.
Stand-up is not the same as masochism, folks.
I took a bit of a break when I started dating the woman who ended up being my wife...and it actually allowed me to re-assess how I was pursuing stand-up comedy. I think I was pursuing a dead-end and this little break (and the happiness of finding someone special) helped point me in the right direction.
And I took another break from stand-up when I produced a weekly alt-comedy showcase/variety show... I'd meant to also be a regular performer on the show, but producing the show made that difficult...and the time I spent on the show started keeping me from other chances to do stand-up. Again, I think that time was well spent and it helped me to better refine the approach I wanted to take when I got the chance to do stand-up...AND it reminded me how much I loved being a performer, and I did NOT want to just produce shows.
The thing is...both "breaks" weren't me giving up on stand-up...it was just allowing myself to slip out of the current for a little bit, gain some perspective and then dive back in.
No one is holding a gun to your head to do stand-up. You can pursue it how you want to pursue it...that's one of the glories of stand-up--it's all on you and what you want to do. Of course, you can't expect to get really good only doing it every once in awhile, or stopping whenever it gets tough. Committing to do it through when it's tough is the best way to learn...but what's the point of that if you're learning the wrong things, going the wrong way--that might make it feel like stand-up is ALWAYS tough...ALWAYS a struggle...ALWAYS not as fun as it really is (and really should be...)
Bottom line...you don't need anyone's permission to pursue comedy however you feel like pursuing it...
pg--...and what works for someone isn't necessarily what's going to work for someone else...--seattle
Last edited by pg13; October 20, 2009 at 11:05 AM. Reason: your should have been you're
This wasn't worth posting. Is there a way to ban someone from specifically one sub-forum. If so, do that with myself and Stage Time. Thanks.
Garrett Gonzalez Morris (born February 1, 1937) is an American comedian and actor from New Orleans, Louisiana. He was part of the original cast of the sketch comedy program Saturday Night Live, appearing from 1975 to 1980
For the British flautist, see Gareth Morris.
Ivan, you sound like you're really young and really into stand-up, which is great. But stop trying to define what it is supposed to mean to other people.
"He's got a dick, why won't he talk about it?"
-Jimmy Pardo
Sure, I'll stop giving my opinion in a forum for diverse opinions on stand-up.
It has begun.
He didn't ask for your opinion. He asked if you had taken a break and, if so, why.
He didn't say "Thinking about taking a break - should I reevaluate my commitment to the form? As snarky as possible, please."
"He's got a dick, why won't he talk about it?"
-Jimmy Pardo
This logic works for things like spelling bees and archery, but not for anything related to 'the arts'. Most people wouldn't say that Michael Bay is a better filmmaker than Stanley Kubrick or Paul Thomas Anderson even though he clearly does it a lot more.
In many cases, art can improve greatly when the artist steps back, reevaluates, and approaches it from a different angle.
In my opinion, the worst comedy is that which has no perspective, told with great confidence by someone with no point of view, by someone who spent all their time learning their craft and no time collecting interesting things to plug into that perfect delivery they've mastered.
(I should point out that I think Ivan's comedy from what I've seen is funny, and he clearly is not guilty of any of the problems described above, whereas mine is non-existent, so weigh my bullshit opinion accordingly)
Bob LaRitchie, Brian's Friend
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