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Greek Tragedy posted:Hey All, There just aren't going to be that many drinkers going out on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, maybe you could argue for some cheap drink specials. Comedy clubs are up there with strip clubs for overcharging for drinks. Nobody is going to want to watch a 'free' comedy show where it costs $5 for a PBR to listen to amateur hour. Also, are there many other bars nearby? Like in a college town bar district, or are you in stuck off in some suburban strip mall away from the action? thrakkorzog fucked around with this message at 10:36 on Jul 5, 2013 |
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Jul 5, 2013 09:13
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Greek Tragedy posted:We have a decent population (over 200000) but there are nights when there are literally just the 7 comics performing that night in attendance. Of course the This still happens all the time at open mics in NYC. My only advice is plug, plug, plug your show to everyone.
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Jul 8, 2013 05:38
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Well, just got back from my first open mic. Like I said, it was the first round of an open mic contest. I wasn't super happy with my set, but it was still good enough to get me first place for the night and into the finals, so I really can't complain. I didn't totally blank, like I was worried about, but my setlist got fuzzy enough that I ended up improving a decent amount, as well as throwing in a few bits that I hadn't prepared at all, skipping a few that I had, and eating up enough of my time that I didn't feel comfortable going for my closer. The club has a pretty strict no heckling policy, which I, honestly, don't like. I want to work on my ability to deal with them, but I had the "fortune" of having a lady near the front get slightly heckle-y. Heckling isn't really the right word, but she just really wanted to be a part of the show (as hecklers do). I felt that nothing she said caught me off guard and I was able to deal a little with crowd work thanks to her. You can actually see in the video where the door man goes over and tell her that she'll be asked to leave if she speaks up again. The feature and headliner for the evening were both very supportive and gave me some constructive feedback. Probably the best advice I got was simply to speak up. It being my first time up, I felt awkward holding a mic and didn't really know how to handle it. But, I think next time will be better. My main concern is going into my next one with any sense of security, whatsoever. I had a good night and my set was simply funnier than my competition. That doesn't mean that I'm actually funny. It just means that I got lucky. So, now I have two weeks to get a better set together for the finals. I can't let a minor "win" lure me into a false sense of security. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJnDpbnSAX0 *sorry for the audio/video quality.
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Jul 11, 2013 05:49
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This may not be the place to ask this, but what's the deal with Patrice O'Neal being considering a "comedian's comedian". I listened to an album of his today, and it's so incredibly misogynist and mean. There was never one inkling during the entire set that he thought women existed for any other reason than to please men, or thought that during sex the man should have any regard for whether a woman is enjoying it. I'm not saying he should have been censored or anything, but I'm wondering why exactly he was/is so revered among stand-ups. Was it just because he wasn't afraid to say anything, despite how crazy it was? Or is there another dimension to it I'm missing?
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Jul 13, 2013 05:13
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It could also be partly because he's dead, and died before majorly screwing up or fizzling out (as far as I know).
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Jul 13, 2013 18:36
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Ccs posted:This may not be the place to ask this, but what's the deal with Patrice O'Neal being considering a "comedian's comedian". Probably because alot of comedians are misogynists and loving mean. I'm not saying all of them by any means, but when I was a weekly host at my home club I met a LOT of douchebags. So many in fact that anytime I meet a comic that's genuinely a good person, I make note of it and my boyfriend has started noticing, when I describe a comic we're going to see or I'm opening for, when I say "and he's really just such a nice guy". He finds it funny that I distinguish that, but it's sort of rare amongst the road comics I've met. I respect Patrice O'Neal and liked some of his material and thought his delivery was usually the thing that made a bit work, but honestly I wasn't a huge time fan of his. I also wouldn't say he's this comedian's comedian. He was definitely not anywhere near my list of favorites, that's for sure. tl;dr- I agree with you, but a lot of comedians are douches, so that's probably why he's called that.
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Jul 13, 2013 19:55
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Ccs posted:This may not be the place to ask this, but what's the deal with Patrice O'Neal being considering a "comedian's comedian". it's because he did it with charm. a huge portion of his audience was women, and he would use his clownish logic to make them laugh at things that should have been totally offensive.
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Jul 13, 2013 20:42
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The Laughing Devil in NYC is being sold.  I have a show lined up there in October, so now that's probably not happening.
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Jul 14, 2013 01:08
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E the Shaggy posted:The Laughing Devil in NYC is being sold. drat. they do a lot of festivals there too...
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Jul 14, 2013 05:36
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Ccs posted:This may not be the place to ask this, but what's the deal with Patrice O'Neal being considering a "comedian's comedian". I think you're simplifying his comedy some and should give him another try, or at least point out some specific bits you didn't like and why. I think Patrice O'neal was probably one of the greatest comics of all time, and I don't think he ever implied anything like what you got out of it. Because he did comedy without disclaimers and without making the jokes "safe", he left things with room for interpretation. If that was your interpretation, that speaks to what you saw in it, but in fairness he never said that. I think a lot of the biggest comics were really into him because even as you're going "oh my god, that's horrible" as he says something really out there, there's always deep logic to it. Even if you disagreed with something he said, he could always back up what he was saying and argue his position to an infinite degree because he really believed it--there's was no persona, no difference between him on and off stage. To do a style of comedy that offends people and is so different from most people's values yet be completely honest and unapologetic takes a special kind of integrity. I think it's pretty incredible to have a guy at that level never disavowing what he said or hiding behind the classic dodge of "it's just a joke, I don't really believe what I'm saying." That said, he probably was an rear end in a top hat, but who cares now? So were Picasso, Richard Pryor, Nabokov, etc.
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Jul 15, 2013 06:22
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Patrice O'Neal was fantastic and I agree with anyone and everyone who finds him to be. Smerdyakov said it better than I could, but just pretend I typed out agreements with all his points. I love listening to other comics telling stories about Patrice because I get the feeling that he was simply the person he was and didn't pretend to be anything else.
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Jul 15, 2013 14:40
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Patrice O' Neal was in Philly shortly before he died. The main club there (Helium) is just a couple blocks away from one of the better open mics in the city. He stopped by the mic after his show, did a set and hung around outside with other open mic comics. I didn't go that night...... I did at least get to see him live that weekend, but I'm still kicking myself over that.
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Jul 16, 2013 05:06
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Seriously, I applaud all of you whole-heartedly for taking this risk and trying to make people laugh. I wrote twenty minutes of material last year, I think solid stuff, but threw it away because Im a loving pussy. Going to start working on some more, waiting for my balls to drop. BTW if you any of you do Anthony Jeselnik style offensive stuff, I may have a joke for you if you want it.
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Jul 25, 2013 04:15
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jimcunningham posted:Seriously, I applaud all of you whole-heartedly for taking this risk and trying to make people laugh. I wrote twenty minutes of material last year, I think solid stuff, but threw it away because Im a loving pussy. just do it. no matter how good the material is, you're gonna do some bombing, because not every crowd is gonna be your crowd. and bombing actually becomes kind of liberating and fun if you just run with it. when i bomb, which has been a lot since i'm only three months in, i use it as an excuse to act as belligerent as i want. i did a show in easily the most hood bar in new haven, ct this week in which everyone bombed. one of the more experienced comics was trying to do some crowd work and these two girls just sat there with their arms crossed and wouldn't even answer his questions. it was amazing. and on the flip side, i also had the best set of my life this week in front of some really talented and experienced comics this week, which earned me some respect and two bookings.
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Jul 27, 2013 15:49
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Oh neat SA has a standup comedy thread. I'm an NYC based comic that's been doing it for a few years. I was curious if any other Goons did comedy. I'll read through the thread but is anyone here based in NYC?
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Jul 28, 2013 22:53
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I performed at my first open mic night this past Wednesday and I'd like to receive some honest criticism. My friends and family have all told me they think I did great, but I am looking to see what I can work on. Keep in mind this is my first time up on stage and I only did about 3 minutes: http://youtu.be/HAZqxkMnODA (I apologize, not the best quality)
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Aug 4, 2013 16:52
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Karl Ontario posted:I performed at my first open mic night this past Wednesday and I'd like to receive some honest criticism. My friends and family have all told me they think I did great, but I am looking to see what I can work on. Good material, good stage presence.. need to work on not laughing so much at your own jokes!
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Aug 6, 2013 05:12
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Ussr posted:Oh neat SA has a standup comedy thread. I'm an NYC based comic that's been doing it for a few years. I was curious if any other Goons did comedy. I'll read through the thread but is anyone here based in NYC? I live in NYC and have been thinking about giving it a shot. I don't have a set yet, so it wouldn't be for a little while if I do, but I see a fair amount of shows.
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Aug 6, 2013 05:18
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Barracuda Bang! posted:I live in NYC and have been thinking about giving it a shot. I don't have a set yet, so it wouldn't be for a little while if I do, but I see a fair amount of shows. Well dude, I've gone to mics with a few really new dudes to help peer pressure them on stage so if you need that person I would be more than happy to go with you. Just PM me.
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Aug 7, 2013 04:40
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Ussr posted:Well dude, I've gone to mics with a few really new dudes to help peer pressure them on stage so if you need that person I would be more than happy to go with you. Just PM me. I have another friend who said the same thing you did. I'm not ready with a set yet, but I'll keep it in mind and reach out if I go in that direction. Thanks, though, that's a cool offer. I hope to take you up on it one day
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Aug 7, 2013 06:06
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Barracuda Bang! posted:I have another friend who said the same thing you did. I'm not ready with a set yet, but I'll keep it in mind and reach out if I go in that direction. Thanks, though, that's a cool offer. I hope to take you up on it one day Best way to get a set ready is to sign up for an open mic and tell your friends. You'll have no choice but to come up with material or else you'll look silly backing out.
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Aug 7, 2013 14:17
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Barracuda Bang! posted:I have another friend who said the same thing you did. I'm not ready with a set yet, but I'll keep it in mind and reach out if I go in that direction. Thanks, though, that's a cool offer. I hope to take you up on it one day you probably have a set already. i'm sure there's a lot of material you use in your day to day life that you can get stage-ready for your first mic.
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Aug 8, 2013 16:40
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Hey guys, so I'm doing a senior project on comedy and I'm planning on interviewing a bunch of comedians on their craft. And in a few months I'm gonna do a 5 minute routine at my school and give a little workshop on comedy. I have some questions ready, and if you guys have any suggestions, about anything, I'd love to hear them. If some of you wouldn't mind answering some of these questions, i would be very grateful. When did you first know you were funny? What was the first way you exhibitioned your comedy Tell me about delivery a bit When you wait an extra second before or after giving the punhline, what effect do you think that has Does your routine ever change during the night? Like you find something sticks so you go deeper, or the opposite? How do you judge a room in order to change your coming bits an jokes? How important is irony to you? How long do you typically spend forming and polishing a joke? When is it”done”? How do you practice? In front of a mirror?
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Aug 15, 2013 16:26
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If you want answers from a rookie open mic'er, let me know.
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Aug 15, 2013 18:28
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Any of you fine folks from the Halifax area?
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Aug 17, 2013 20:32
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Karl Ontario posted:Best way to get a set ready is to sign up for an open mic and tell your friends. You'll have no choice but to come up with material or else you'll look silly backing out. This is a good idea, or if you want to feel like a rockstar sign up for a bringer show and tell all of your friends. Bringer shows are make believe standup shows that really mean nothing but they can help build confidence and give you the nerve you need to really start hitting the open mics which will improve ability to stand on a stage and talk into a mic which will eventually improve your ability to write jokes.
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Aug 20, 2013 18:32
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XIII posted:If you want answers from a rookie open mic'er, let me know. That'd be great, thanks. I also interviewed the comic Will A. Thomas. I got about 45 minutes of him talking about comedy. Would any of you guys like to see it? Ill upload it to youtube
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Aug 20, 2013 20:19
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Will it spoil me posted:That'd be great, thanks. Shoot me an email at stick1300 @ gee mail Also, yes.
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Aug 21, 2013 02:40
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I'm telling you all that I'm going to sign up for an open mic Tuesday night so that I can't back out of signing up for an open mic Tuesday night.
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Aug 26, 2013 00:41
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captain platypus posted:I'm telling you all that I'm going to sign up for an open mic Tuesday night so that I can't back out of signing up for an open mic Tuesday night. Post this on your Facebook so your friends will put pressure on you to follow through. That's what I did.
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Aug 26, 2013 01:14
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XIII posted:Post this on your Facebook so your friends will put pressure on you to follow through. That's what I did. I don't have a whole lot of friends here---I just moved up a week ago. I have told a few of my friends from back home. e: I did just tell the friend who normally talks me into doing uncomfortable things and he wants me to tape the show. How do you all rehearse? I'm currently talking to the stuffed lion who sits on my television. captain platypus fucked around with this message at 01:45 on Aug 26, 2013 |
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Aug 26, 2013 01:26
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captain platypus posted:I don't have a whole lot of friends here---I just moved up a week ago. I have told a few of my friends from back home. Definitely film it. I have a drat hard time watching my sets, but what I've learned (like to stop swinging my free arm around) has been super valuable. I usually run through my set a handful of times alone/to my dog the day of. Then, one or two of the other open mic'ers come over a couple hours before it starts and we will run through our sets and tweak things. Well, sometimes. About half of the time we just end up bullshitting.
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Aug 26, 2013 02:40
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captain platypus posted:I don't have a whole lot of friends here---I just moved up a week ago. I have told a few of my friends from back home. Absolutely tape it man. it sucks watching yourself at first but you very quickly learn all the poo poo you don't wanna do anymore. I host an openmic and you can tell the ones that tape and watch and the ones that don't. The one's that tape and watch rapidly get better because they cut out all the distractions. also, don't lean all over the mic stand, it's distracting as hell. just take the mic out and put the stand behind you. break a leg!
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Aug 26, 2013 03:54
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Okay. Thanks, you two!
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Aug 26, 2013 13:59
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Apparently my phone only does half-minute video, but I did get up there. I can see why you'd want to film. It's a five(?)-minute period where I was just on autopilot and I don't know how I did. I got some laughs and compliments, though. Funnily enough, my favorite part got almost no laughs, and something that I didn't even consider a punchline did. Thanks for the help!
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Aug 28, 2013 11:38
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So I've only done three open mics myself at the start of the year and haven't done anything for a long time, does anyone else get stage blindness/deafness - as in you can't really see or hear if you're getting a response - while you're up there? After I listened back to a recording of my first one I got enough laughs, but I really could not tell whatsoever at the time how I did. I'm signing up for local improv course just to get my performing confidence back up again since I haven't done anything for ages - kinda like taking a few driving lessons if you haven't driven in years. I really ought to write some more material too. Even though people seemed to find the other stuff funny, I wasn't hugely chuffed with it (even having my last bit being about how un-proud I am of it).
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Aug 28, 2013 11:52
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Question Mark Mound posted:So I've only done three open mics myself at the start of the year and haven't done anything for a long time, does anyone else get stage blindness/deafness - as in you can't really see or hear if you're getting a response - while you're up there? After I listened back to a recording of my first one I got enough laughs, but I really could not tell whatsoever at the time how I did. I could tell whether I was getting a response, but the whole thing---even though I clocked it MANY times at five or more minutes---went by in a flash and didn't allow much time for analysis or self-correction. quote:I'm signing up for local improv course just to get my performing confidence back up again since I haven't done anything for ages Heh, me too. You don't live in Maine, do you?
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Aug 28, 2013 12:59
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Question Mark Mound posted:does anyone else get stage blindness/deafness - as in you can't really see or hear if you're getting a response - while you're up there? I think that's just part of the curse that is being new. I've found myself barreling through material on stage and I think you just have to learn to slow down and try to feel where the crowd is at. I've only done this once, but taking a drink up with me gave me a good way to kinda of reset myself when I notice that I was doing it. I know you weren't being literal about the blindness part, but my friend complains a lot about not being able to actually see anyone, so he has trouble interacting with the crowd. I'm short enough that I can see people really well, so I have a little more visual feedback on how things go over.
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Aug 28, 2013 14:09
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^^^ I've been pulled onto the stage before by a big name act for more audience participation stuff and I have a major respect for those guys - with the stage lights of a large venue you literally can't see past the first five rows.captain platypus posted:I could tell whether I was getting a response, but the whole thing---even though I clocked it MANY times at five or more minutes---went by in a flash and didn't allow much time for analysis or self-correction.
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Aug 28, 2013 16:10
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Question Mark Mound posted:does anyone else get stage blindness/deafness - as in you can't really see or hear if you're getting a response - while you're up there? I tell lots of our brand new micers that this is totally normal. Stage deafness. Seriously, it's a thing I have experienced and heard from many comics. You kind of can't hear anything because your heart is pounding or you're thinking of your material, but they could really be laughing! that's another reason why video is important, it records not just you, but them too. Focus on the confidence building in improv. Improv is totally a different game than stand up, BUT i think the stage time is good no matter what to just build comfort and confidence on stage.
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Aug 29, 2013 07:18
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