my stand up

[tjamick]

well, i just got back from doing my stand up. it really sucked. i got really nervous (i've never had stage fright before, but i've also never preformed my own material either). i got a few laughs, but nothing worth being proud of. i was only up there for about five minutes, and canned two of my bits because no one was laughing as it was and i didnt want to put them through more then needed. they didnt boo me or anything, and they were really nice about it (they knew it was my first time so they were pretty forgiving). but i'm gonna go back to it next time and hopefully do better. i may make a sketch video instead and do something tied into the sketch on stage. the guys that organized it were really cool. before the show we talked about comedy, mr. show, dave coulier, the 20's, bush, and the president.
it kind of sucked that my 20's comic wasnt that well recieved. a few people liked it, but for the most part it was silence. i'd say that only 8 of the 20 people there liked it.

[klaus_kinski]

You might want to refocus your goals from succeeding at stand-up to helping me marry apotatojudge. When pursuing stand-up, you'll be faced with ages of disappointment. Get apotatojudge to marry me and you'll have a lifetime of appreciation. Think about it. Get back to me.

[Stabby]

maybe people were just too sad because bush only won by a little bit you know gott let the wounds heal tj but your comedy will help them out of the deptression! "Whatta president!" that joke KILLS!!!

[3v3+Z]

You've got giant balls for even trying, Teej. And to say you're gonna do it again, you've got a couple motorcycle helmets in your sack. This is not something I could ever do. Not alone. Not without a guitar or something.

The following thoughts should be ignored since I have no experience and no idea what I'm talking about. Find your voice. Some people do well by playing up their nervousness, be it by getting quiet and shy or by rushing through a million words a minute. Some turn their nervousness around in some way. Sometimes that can be some variation on the screaming comic thing. Other times it manifests itself as contempt for the audience. I don't know. I'm just thinking, try things different ways. See what feels right. See what works. Of course, limit that to things you're comfortable with. If you don't see yourself as a Steven Wright or a Sam Kinison or a Richard Lewis or whatever, for gosh fucking sakes DON'T DO IT! And ignore everyone's advice. Especially this, but I already told you that. So why are you still reading. You just couldn't help yourself, could you. Well guess what: You ignored my advice to ignore my advice when you proceeded to read this paragraph! Therefore, YOU PASSED THE FIRST TEST! Congratulations! Now get the fuck out of here and start punching up your act!

[tjamick]

The only reason I got so nervous was because I’d never done it before. I used to do a good amount of acting (plays and a few commercials), so I’m used to being in front of an audience. My problem was that I as doing something I wrote myself that I was never too sure of in the first place (I’ve done things before that I have written, but they were either songs or sketches with other people in it). I need to make a better act before I do any more of it. What I’ve noticed is that I can be really funny in a conversation or when writing for several people, but when it’s just for myself my stuff turns to shit. Another thing, which may be a problem is that, I get caught up in originality. Several people have told me that I should start out by ripping off other people’s acts. I can’t seem to bring myself to do this. I can’t even do a joke that seems too much like something some one else would do. I also have this problem when it comes to writing. If I get an idea for a sketch and the premise seems even a tad like another sketch that’s been done I wont write it. I’ve had several ideas for news sketches, but refuse to make them because mr. show and monty python did so many even though they're completely different (now, by this logic I shouldn’t have a problem writing those because monty python did news sketches 25 years before mr. show, yet this didn’t hold them back, but I still do). I tried to vary my act by having regular stand up pieces' as well as Steven Wright-ish weird jokes, but I planned on putting those ones in as I went on, but my first one failed (they either didn’t see the irony or it wasn’t funny, and I’m going with the latter of the two), so I didn’t/forgot them. I hope to start writing more stuff and just picking out the really funny stuff for next time, but ideas don’t come to me in the proper form that often. Usually when I get an idea for something its a sketch idea that would translate poorly to stand up, or its just a funny idea I have that could only work if I follow through on it, for an example, my brother and I plan on running against each other in the next mayors race, he'll be federalist and I’ll be anti-federalist. Our yard signs are gonna be of us facing in opposite directions with mean faces so when you put them together you see us facing off, but that wouldn’t translate well to stand up.

[3v3+Z]

Sounds kinda like you're trying to fit a square peg in a round hole.

I have an idea, but I'm not sure what it IS yet really. Maybe you could start a one-man-band style approach to a sketch comedy "troop". No idea how that would work. I'm just throwing something out there. Bob Newhart used to do a lot of one-sided phone conversations. (I think. Maybe I need another comedy history lesson.) B&D did a lot of stuff where they interacted with prerecorded video footage, often of themselves. Sounds like you might already be thinking a little in that direction. And there's always ventriloquism. I don't know. Could there be something there???

[tjamick]

actually, one of the organizers and i were talking about that. i wrote a parody sketch of "who's on first" about a man explaining baseball to a pony. we talked about having the pony being a sock puppet, and i talked about doing it by myself, but that may end up being kind of cheesy. iwrote a sketch a few months ago about a guy who keeps breaking character, and then while breaking character does it again. the sketch its self was kind of lame, but the concept was pretty good. i may try re-writing it and preforming it next time.

also, my brother and i have been talking about making a sketch "movie" that starts out as a documentary about a guy played by me, and it slowly becomes more and more negitive. eventually i stand up and start to yell at him. next i'd go on stage and punch him. we start rolling around on stage and go under the screen. the projector would start again with us rolling up the screen. every few minutes the camera would go off into another direction and lead into a sketch. when the sketch is over it would go back to us fighting. after 5 or 6 sketches we wind up backstage. we'd then come out and end the film.

[3v3+Z]

Do it up. You da man.

[tjamick]

hmm.....

not THAT bad of an idea. i might give it a try, i mean if it doesnt work out then so what? i'll try anything once as they say hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahahahaha




(slightly smiles)

[terris]

i didnt want to tell you teej but ill break it down

number one: more stage diving, if you jump out on the audience they will embrace you with love and laughing, or more laughing if you are lucky

number 2: try and tell jokes about things that people will laugh at try stuff like things that you find funny, always a good place to start or sometimes finish

number three: dont be afraid to smile, if you smile they might trust you more and if they do that could be good for everyone in the room

number four: really feel out the atmosphere before telling a joke, analyze the situation, maybe your joke should be told in a good way for a situation requiring it

this is just some advice ive accumlated in my 3 years on the touring circuit, give it a try, you just might try something

[tjamick]

thanks. i got a little more mellow about half way through and i know that next ime i'll do better. i dont plan on doing it again too soon because i need some time to work on my material. do you have any audio or video of your stand up terris?

[terris]

no because i havent actually perfomed stand up, only sketch and improv

lots of improv, i was that annoying kid in highschool who was the captain of the improv team

i can't really be bothered to write a stand up act, im sure if i did it would be very kaufmanesque

with less punchliney jokes and more weird setups

[tjamick]

ah, so you too are an improv nerd. cool. i have no problem doing sketches or improv in front of people, just stand up appearently. i was thinking about doing a kaufman-ish thing, but i wasnt too sure how well recieved it would have been and i wanted to get used to being up there first. i really dont think that a bit like that would have gone over with that crowd despite them all being alternative comedy fans. like i had mentioned earlier, my 20's comic, which i preformed properly, only got a few laughs. my brother says i had a better result then i think i did which is either true and i was too nervous to realize it, or is a lie he's feeding me to give me confidence.

[terris]

my first time doing stand up im going to bomb, like really fucking bomb, i want people to start puking im going to be bombing so hard, like its gonna be a shit storm of bombing, and im going to love everyminute of it, im going to smile as i bomb on purpose, and when im done, ill be like you think that was a bomb, you should have been in hiroshima you fucks

and then ill walk off


i figure itll get me over the whole nerves things, and i find that funny

[tjamick]

what i had origanally wanted to do was to go up and do a really hacky act and then ahve a friend go up and do the same hacky act. during it we'd use the same heckle's and come backs on each other, but that didnt work out because i couldnt find anyone to do it with me. after that i wanted to preform a sketch i had written about political ads, but i had the same problem, no one to do it with, so i just decided to do some stand up. i have a notebook that i had written some of my stuff in over the summer (most of it was shit) and i just did that aswell as one new bit.

[apotatojudge]

Originally posted by tjamick
what i had origanally wanted to do was to go up and do a really hacky act and then ahve a friend go up and do the same hacky act. during it we'd use the same heckle's and come backs on each other, but that didnt work out because i couldnt find anyone to do it with me. after that i wanted to preform a sketch i had written about political ads, but i had the same problem, no one to do it with, so i just decided to do some stand up. i have a notebook that i had written some of my stuff in over the summer (most of it was shit) and i just did that aswell as one new bit.


In that case, I think this thread should be titled, "You, Sit Down" instead of what it is now.

[terris]

let's do a stand up tour together teej. everydate can be performed via webcam to the rest of the board

[3v3+Z]

Have you ever read the hack faq (http://www.stormpages.com/hackfaq/hackfaq.html)? I remember stumbling onto it a while back when a friend of mine was contemplating trying standup. I haven't read it in a while, but I remember it being semi-interesting.

One amendment to the advice I gave before where I advised you to ignore everyone's advice: Listen to everyone's advice, but don't feel you need to FOLLOW it. It's like the Bible: It's not ALL bad. You can learn some interesting lessons from it, but take it all with a grain (or pillar) of salt. Just use what works for you. But, again, ignore my advice, except for right now when I'm telling you to ignore the advice of ignoring my advice. That previous sentence was kind of redundant, so ignore that, too. Also ignore this post. And my existence. That's my advice. Don't follow it.

[tjamick]

i actually had a few peices mocking hacks, but no one responded to my first two, so i gave up on the rest.
i've actually been looking for a person or some people to do sketches or stand up with, but most of the people i know wouldnt be that into it or are in college and are too cocky to be in a group started by a high school kid, so for now i'm pretty much alone in this. once i graduate and go to school for either film or writing i'm sure that i'll find some people who i can do stuff with.

i just got this idea right now, so it may completley suck, but it would be kind of funny to have a few guys dress as women and talk about their vaginas for a bit. they could get overly descriptive and make "jokes" about their loosness. "i've had so many kids that my vagina is like silly putty. if you hold it on a news paper it copies the print. of course if i cough the paper might get sucked up"








okay. maybe that wasnt that funny.
whatever

[Pali]

Don't sweat it. As far as I can tell, 90% of the material that any comedian comes up with is complete shit. It's just a matter of coming up with 10 times the material, and working out what's good and what isn't.

Too obvious?

[CptPlanet]

Keep doing it. Find open mic nights. Go to local clubs and realize that it's better to be original and not get laughs than to be hacky and show complete contempt for your audience. In fact, maybe going to local comedy clubs and heckling the hacks might be a good way to get some free publicity/practice. Or maybe I'm just talking out of my ass.

Nevertheless, don't despair. We stand as one!


Also feel free to run bits and jokes by me. Assuming my advice was worth a shit at all the last time you did it. If I steered you into a shallow reef with my terrible sense of what's funny and what isn't, then I guess just ignore this.

[agent_PUNT]

Some advice I got was "the best comedians aren't the one's with the best material, but the one's with the best confidence"

If you go up there knowing your material is good, you can make any audience, YOUR audience.

Tj, when I come down next weekend we should spend an hour making a 5 minute video to play at one of your shows.

[freetibetwpurch]

i don't think that's the best advice. brian regan makes the audience his, and he makes people laugh, but i think his material sucks ass. truly successful comedians do the material that they think is funny, and they don't simply pander. some of my favorite comedians don't even make me laugh out loud all the time. Janeane is great, but i enjoy just listening to her more than anything.

[apotatojudge]

I was only kidding when I was being mean earlier.

Do you know how fucking rough it is for me to make people laugh? Unless I'm complaining about my boyfriend, IT'S JUST NOT FUNNY.

[agent_PUNT]

Originally posted by freetibetwpurch
i don't think that's the best advice. brian regan makes the audience his, and he makes people laugh, but i think his material sucks ass.

I shouldn't have said "the best comedians"... I should have said "the most successful"... confidence in your material.

apotato: I think your "Jew York City" quib was probably funny. The fact that it bombed was funny too.

[tjamick]

we should definatley make a film. we have a pretty good DV camera and some editing software, so we have all of the stuff needed to do so. we should try to make a loose script so we can improvise some parts. my acting ability isnt that good, but the comedy's what matters.

[agent_PUNT]

I've got an idea of what we could do. I'll PM you. We can always just post it here if no one else wants to ever see our ugly faces.

word.

[tjamick]

cool.
i can work on a script and send it to you and you can work on it and so forth.

[agent_PUNT]

i've been pretty sick lately so I'm far behind on all my creative projects, aka terris is still waiting for my phone call.

When you're sick it's really hard to be creative and foreward thinking...

I've been barely able to maintain an erection. Which is really shitty because the anal thermometre isn't nearly as fun when you don't have an erect penis..

Okay, I think I'm feeling better now.

In conclusion, I'll start working on some stuff tonight.

[tjamick]

i've been in a bit of a creative rutt latley as well, but the biggest reason is because i dont know many people that have the same sense of humor. i'm sure that once we start bullshiting and throwing ideas back and fourth we'll end up with a really good, solid sketch.

[terris]

call me soon nick, love terris
ps i have your medicine, its in my penis

[tjamick]

the pictures of the event were posted at aspecialthing.com (http://p089.ezboard.com/faspecialthingthetenaciousdfanboardfrm2.showMessag e?topicID=1969.topic) they're at the bottom of the page. mine isnt very good, and it looks like i have cottage cheese under my shirt.