How often do you get on stage and perform stand up comedy?

[John Santana]

Whether it's open mics, or if you're a professional comedian, how often, on average, do you get up on stage and perform stand up comedy?

I will start. I usually get on stage once per week.

[scamboogah]

I love that, in the conversation with us you're having in your head as you wrote that post, we all wondered, "Who will start?"

Calm down everybody, calm down. I have decided to go second.

On average, once every 15 months.

[Kentock]

I get up between three and five times a week, but the best nights are the ones where you can do multiple sets. It's hard to do in Philly but it happens occasionally.

[CaptainBreakfast]

Standup 1-2 times per week, improv 1-2 times per week, grandiose performances in the shower 7 times a week.

[Cameron]

It probably averages to about twice a week, and that's going up as much as I possibly can.

This week I'm only able to go up once, but last week I went up four times.

[Alex Mac]

At least once per week, sometimes more. Varies between all sorts of settings.

[Phil]

Close to once per week. I could stagetime maybe twice a week here in Helsinki if I really wanted.

[ASR]

School year: once a week.
Summer: once.

[CaptainBreakfast]

Summer: once.

Do not let that get you down. You know what you can still do? Write. I was approached with a similar dilemma, and the maxim still stands: Write every day, get on stage as much as you can. Only on stage once for three months? That's fine. But, keep writing. I read in an old interview with Dana Gould that while he was going to college, he only got onstage about 3 times during one summer, but kept writing as much as he could.

You can do it!

[youtube]tnsWKoMrG7I[/youtube]

[ASR]

Yeah, I'm writing a ton. The problem is that I really like to test my jokes because I never know for sure how I like them until I try them on stage. That's really more of my own problem, and the fact remains that I am still writing.

Today I went over to Mark Ridley's Comedy Castle and introduced myself to some of the guys over there. They said they'll try to get me on within the next couple of weeks. So that's really good news.

[Alex Mac]

Until then, you should not only write but actually just go to the shows and watch. Stay as close to the action as possible, if you will.

[ronfunc]

I usually perform 3 times a week. once a week at least. I like to perform every other day if possible

[klorjne]

I guess I'm the least active here, only a few times a year. I keep myself busy with other performances (music and the like) but I really only do my stand up itself a few times a year. Hoping to change that this summer, though. Soon as I get back home.

[CaptainBreakfast]

Until then, you should not only write but actually just go to the shows and watch. Stay as close to the action as possible, if you will.

Depends on your definition of action.

9/10th of the headliners that come through here come from the hackiest pool of cessville in the entire midwest. Is it worth it to constantly watch comedy that makes one cringe?

[MJEH]

Standup 1-2 times per week, improv 1-2 times per week, grandiose performances in the shower 7 times a week.

Wow, I wish I masturbated in the shower every single day!

I'm confused. Out of all these "performances", which ones are funniest?
The stand-up, the improv, or the "grandiose" shower performances???

Could you become an internet star with your shower performances?
Where would you send them? GayTube? XTube? YouTube's "Restricted Material" Section?

[Alex Mac]

Depends on your definition of action.

9/10th of the headliners that come through here come from the hackiest pool of cessville in the entire midwest. Is it worth it to constantly watch comedy that makes one cringe?

I guess it may depend on the location more than anything. Or rather, the type of club or open mic you are frequenting. If you find the right place, you might get to notice how certain people progress (if it is an open mic) or just see some good comedians (if it is a respectable venue). At the very least, you are close to the community. This is part of the reason I took a job at a comedy club recently. Well...that, money, and stage time...

As for watching cringe worthy comedy, I think there is some benefit to that as well. It reminds you to be the best you possibly can be.

[Cameron]

[youtube]tnsWKoMrG7I[/youtube]

I was in the front row at this show. Hardwick humped my face.

[MarkAgee]

7-10 times per week.

Don't avoid watching the hacks. They're doing some things right. That's why they kill, and that's why they get booked. If you can't figure out what to emulate, at least figure out what to avoid.

Also, sometimes hacks are nice dudes that can help you out getting stagetime/work.

[JayP7]

During the school year I was doing alllmost 1 a week for standup plus sketch & improv rehearsals (and then the ocasional sketch/improv show taking its place)

Since schools' ended I hadn't performed til this Wednesday, but it's a pretty solid open mic with a tooootally different demographic than im used to (mostly 50-60 y/o dudes playing acoustic folk songs) which is cool so hopefully i'll at least have that like once a weekish for the summer.

And then next semester I'm gonna try and pull 1 standup show and 1 improv show per week. We'll see how that goes.

[Cameron]

It's interesting to me that so many of you guys do both stand up and improv. Maybe that's how it typically is, but here in OK the stand up and improv scenes are very much divided.