Setlists/notebooks on stage

[Vercetti]

Janeane Garofalo's recent Punchline interview got me thinking about setlists and notes on stage.

What do you guys do with notes and lists and all that? Do you bring setlists to the stage? Do you make it up on the spot? Let's TALK about it.

Me? I used to be a pretty fierce "by the setlist" kind of guy. Lately though I've been getting away from that and just working it out before hand. For me personally it's more fun that way as a performer. Watching other guys I don't care whether or not they use notes as long as they're funny. Everybody works differently.

[Just Brett]

I'm still using the notes on a napkin trick... every time i take a drink I look at the list. But I tend to rely on it, and i'm too much of chicken shit to not take my notes up there.

I hate relying on a list. Just gotta memorize it.

[lorianddori]

i have never not laughed because a guy uses notes. If i see a guy with a really well memorized set, I just assume he has done these jokes for a long time. When i saw zach galifiankis do stand up he used notes as he often does and it makes the jokes more exciting because they seem fresher and I wonder if that's the first time they have been told. I personally like using notes because if a joke bombs i can play it off like it was just something stupid I came off with that afternoon and if it goes good then score!

[ASR]

I write my set list down every night, but I'll just stuff it in my back pocket before going up. That way, if I truly TRULY need it - like, only if I'm completely bombing and I'm already at rock bottom - then I can take it out and look. Really, though, I forbid myself from looking at it once I'm on stage.

I used to be pretty strict about following it exactly as I'd written it, but with more experience lately I've been able to deviate and string unplanned bits together on the spot. I much prefer it when it works out that way.

[brandom]

I agree with her. Its never bothered me to see a comic use notes on stage as long as the material drawn from it had at least been somewhat thought out.

You obviously don't want to use notes if you're doing some sort of showcase and nobody knows who you are yet. But, otherwise, as long as you aren't up there reading off a paper most the time and just do an occasional glance here and there, I would say its fine. I agree with what Janeane said about how the reason some comics don't use them is because they are doing the exact same set every night. I'm all for hearing a comic I like testing out their new stuff.

I loved it when Todd Glass performed on the Late Late Show(Kilborn days) and he comes out with a paper and he says something like: yeah im using a piece of paper on tv, I don't care.

[pg13]

There are plenty of valid reasons to not bring your notes on stage.

Here are a few...

1) Using notes ruins one of the most effective illusions of stand-up comedy...the illusion that you're just thinking these funny things up as you go. The audience suspends its disbelief--they know you've got an act, they know you've got "jokes"...but the way you present them, it can seem like you're truly "in the moment"...and that makes it exciting for them.

2) Most experienced comedians point to using notes on stage as a sign of an inexperienced comedian. (This is part of the oft-noted bitterness from traditional-style comedians towards less persnickety alt-comics.) It can seem that way to audiences too...that the performer simply isn't ready for the opportunity given to them (particularly galling if the audience has paid money for the privilege.)

3) If it isn't inexperience...it's seen by some as a sign of laziness. "I bet you're just wearing your every day clothes on stage, too..."--many a bitter comic who was taught that you memorized your act and dressed better than the audience.

(For those of you who don't care what your peers think, just remember that most of the work you'll find is not due to your talent...but due to references from peers who tell people that you're funny.)

4) You're no Janeane Garofalo. You're no Todd Glass. (Unless, of course, you are...then, obviously, it's ok. Rules are there for those who are not yet strong enough to know which ones you can bend and/or break.)

5) You train yourself to be dependent on your setlist or your notes--meaning, you won't truly know and embody your material...forcing you to be less in the moment than perhaps you could be... Your brain on stage adrenalin probably knows better what to do, where to go, how to react...than your brain in the green room before your time on stage could guess.

pg--Personally, I don't have a problem with a small set list, left on a stool. I do that. I also don't have any issue with anyone using anything that helps them be as funny as they can be. I do that, too. But seeing an endless parade of comics who bring their entire notebooks on stage...or rifles through pages trying to find that one funny thing they wrote down on that one day...or spends more time staring at their notes than attempting to connect with the audience in front of them...that makes me feel like everyone in that audience are wasting their time and money (unless it was billed as a workshop...and then, caveat emptor.) Of course, I might just be a curmudgeonly traditional based comic yelling at you damn kids to get off my lawn.--seattle

[James Smann]

I just bought three comp books and a pen set today. I'm going to start writing down new material for a non-musical stand up set of totally "James" stuff, away from the musical thing. I actually started thinking about whether or not I'd bring my notes or book on stage with me; and the truth is I don't want to, but I know in the beginning, at open mics especially, I'll totally bring notes up.

Maybe I'll just scribble reminders of the whole bits in the book on a different page and bring THOSE up as a set list, but I'm really trying not to do anything but really work the new material to its best possible form...and if that means bringing them on stage on a piece of paper, so be it.

That said, PG has absolutely valid points though, and they're the reasons that at the end of the day I want to memorize my set; which I really don't have a problem doing with the musical-comedy stuff, so I don't see it being a big issue with this new project.

[JuanCarlos]

One of the first times I went onstage I wrote my setlist on my hand (Stewart Lee does it too!), a fellow comedian chided me for it and I never did it again.

I forget my set order a lot of the times, but the half-remembered, half-improvised (more like three quarter remembered really) thing that happens sometimes makes the show feel very organic and alive, makes the connection with the audience (as pg said) much stronger.

I don't agree with a lot of the supposed "rules" of the craft of Stand Up. But I do agree that stopping your flow to stare at a piece of paper is pretty lame. I'd say figure out how to look at your cheat-sheet without the audience noticing or have a pretty good joke ready when you pull out the index card.

[ErikNielsen]

I've always written my set lists on my hand. I feel like any slight interruption to my set is going to ruin my act for the most part -- I can't pause. Pausing throws me out of character. And sometimes I don't even have to look... but sometimes I do, and it's a good thing I have it.

And I like to mix up my material; at any given point, I'll have a general framework (which used to be roughly "opener, one-liners, jokes about dating, mid-length jokes, closer" for a 5-10 minute set... not sure what it is right now.) But not having to memorize a set list frees me up to do exactly the jokes I want to do at any given show.

I feel like those advantages, for me, far outweigh any disadvantages. Maybe comedians who do longer bits, or do shorter bits, or can incorporate a pause organically into their act, etc. feel otherwise.

(But yeah -- having an actual piece of paper is generally pretty distracting. That, to me, is a bit much.)

[soce]

I write all my jokes online right here.

I have a folder called Jokes and a folder called Setlists. I write up enough new jokes to fill up one screen, then I start a new note with more jokes. For setlists, I copy the jokes I want to do in one show all onto one note. I found that it's nice and easy to do, and it saves paper, and I always carry my internet phone with me, so I can read it right before my set.

Also, that means I can write jokes either at home on the computer or when I'm out and about on my internet phone. Each new jokes generally only has around 6 words, so it's easy to jot down and save.

Generally one screen of jokes is approximately 5 to 8 minutes worth of material.. approximately 4 or so loose jokes at an open mic or 10 or so tighter jokes for a booked showcase set. Once I work my way up to longer sets, I figure by then, I'll have my tighter jokes better memorized.. We'll see!

And specifically due to comments by pg13 and others here on AST, I have so far always memorized my set in advance and never referred to my notes while on stage. Early on, I'd hit the stage at the mics and forget half of my jokes then wing it, but in general, I'm getting better keeping my sets intact.

[Bucky_Sinister]

I have a weekly show where I work out new stuff. Always take notes onstage with me there. I don't use them anywhere else.

[Just Brett]

I have a weekly show where I work out new stuff. Always take notes onstage with me there. I don't use them anywhere else.

I'm about to have the same opportunity. A local dive bar is letting us use their stage as an open mic once a week. How long are your sets? I just hope I can crank out 4-5 minutes a week at some point and it being okay to use notes...

But there are clubs about an hour away West or North of me; places that I'd like to not use notes.

[CodyK]

I try to write my set list a couple days before a show so I have some time to practice it beforehand. But it usually only all "comes together" the day before the show, which only leaves me two days to practice and memorise as well as possible.

I often forget things on stage. For my first show I had it on A4 paper in my back pocket, but it looked so bad pulling it out (on camera). So after that I'd write keywords only on a very small slip of paper and sticky tape it to the back of a Listerine Pocket Pack.

I've had to pull that out a couple times since and nobody said anything but I really hate how it interrupts the flow. So the very last time I did it, I had prepared (and said), "Sorry I sometimes forget who I am... turns out I'm Listerine." This got a bit of a chuckle and seemed better than nothing.

I'll probably continue, though I'd like to work out a few more one-liners for myself.

[funkyrhino]

I write all my jokes online right here.

you may like Google Docs even better. It allows you to edit documents similar to Word.
I find it way more functional than Yahoo Notepad.

[Roadside Phil]

I use a tiny set list on stage, but try to keep it as unobtrusive as possible. Coming from a music background where it's totally acceptable to tape a set list to the monitor, it's been a hard habit to break. Of course it's only if I'm doing 30 min or more. Shorter sets I can remember.

I never go on stage with notebooks and such. I'll rehearse and memorize a bit at home for a week or two and then take it on stage and edit from there.

I always have my set list out before I start. Pulling it out of the pocket, I think, is more distracting. And one time I did it and pulled out a grocery list instead. I fessed up to the audience and got a good laugh out of it.

[soce]

you may like Google Docs even better. It allows you to edit documents similar to Word.
I find it way more functional than Yahoo Notepad.

I am definitely a fan of google docs as well. Currently, I find it easier to access and edit my joke notes directly from my phone using yahoo, but I use google docs for other purposes.. Generally collaborative ones, where I'm sharing the same script or talent contact list with multiple partners.

[Vercetti]

I'm making an attempt at going "paperless". Basically saving all my jokes and setlists to Google docs and uploading them to my iPod Touch from there. Not sure whether or not I'd use it onstage but I figure it would be a good tool to work and write with.

[Michael Williamson]

In a year of telling jokes, I have yet to go onstage without a set list. This hadn't bothered me until recently when I got scared of my set list. I'm just starting to rely on it more than I'd like, I guess. I plan on weaning myself off of it, I'm just not too sure how to start doing that.

I'm not bothered by others having sets at all. Different processes for different folks, I suppose.

[Cupid Stunt]

It's REALLY hard to host a comedy show successfully when you keep looking at your notes.