Rules of Standup Comedy

I’m writing this while it’s still fresh in my mind. I just got back from a so-so gig. Actually it wasn’t that bad, it was just that one of my new jokes bombed and so even though my staple bits got decent laughs, I felt like I had a horrible set. I committed a couple of rookie mistakes, which I would like to share with you, whether you’re an open miker or a working comedian.

Never open with a new joke. Never! I don’t care if you think the new stuff is killer; rarely does opening with a new bit ever work. I always forget this rule. Tonight, was a painful reminder that new jokes should be treated like newborn babies. You don’t just throw them out in the water and expect them to swim on their own right away. You got to let them grow up first, sandwich them between stronger material, and let them develop stronger punch lines. My mistake was a classic case of over-enthusiasm. The new material drowned and with it, my stage confidence. So I had to fight an uphill battle the whole time.

Second mistake that I committed was going over my time. This is a rule I almost never break. But tonight because of desperation and my ego getting bruised, I went about 5 minutes longer than I should have. I got my big closing laugh at the end but I should’ve been more disciplined and considerate of the other comedians by ending my set when I should’ve, regardless if I ended on a high note or a low one. I don’t like stage hogs and I was one tonight. I will be better about this in the future.

Lastly, I have to remind myself never to beat myself up over one lousy set. A great comedian acknowledges that he didn’t have the best set but will move on and improve in his next performance. That’s why you got to keep hitting the stag and keep working out.

lyn says:

March 31, 2010 at 8:23 pm

i think all people undergo “so-so” dilemmas in terms of career once in a while..

i’ve also experienced such cases not as a comedian (since i’m not a comedian) but as a writer. can’t explain why there are some occasions that we can’t give our best in our professions…

Tim says:

March 31, 2010 at 9:53 pm

yeah, i know. but i guess that’s how we grow. we need to make “mistakes” once in a while just to wake us up and make the experience more interesting.

TS says:

June 3, 2010 at 1:17 pm

I have been doing stand up for about six months and I have learned quickly that bombing is part of the job. I just came off a great set last weekend of all new material (there is only one place in town to do stand-up and usually its the same crowd so its ALWAYS all new material) so I’m riding high, but the two or three sets I did before that were all horrible and my confidence was really low.
As you have been doing it much longer than I have you know this already, but this experience has really taught me just to keep battling/ writing and keep experimenting with different jokes. Also, you are totally right that a bad first joke can kill your confidence and set the tone for the rest of the set. I think that the audience judges you off the first joke and then is either sold on you or skeptical. If they are sold then they are wanting to laugh the rest of the way, if they are skeptical then you have to MAKE them laugh, which is much tougher.

June 3, 2010 at 4:03 pm

Yeah, within the first minute the audience will judge you right away, unless you’re super famous like robin williams then you’ve already won them and anything you will say will automatically be assumed as funny. Sometimes, for some strange reason, it gets to a point when you stop caring what the audience thinks and just know that you’re funny can turn things around. I’ve had some sets where some jokes didn’t do too well, but I didn’t care because I knew those jokes were funny (since I’ve tested them for a long time) and all of a sudden the audience started digging the rest of my jokes. It’s almost like, hey if he knows he’s funny then he must be. The good news is, the longer you do this and the better you get, your bombing will be better than your earlier bombing, if you understand what I mean. Good luck to you and keep up the work.

joey abina says:

June 26, 2011 at 3:13 am

thank you for the pointers sir tim! im a fine arts student at pwu and one day i want to be good just like you sir tim! 🙂 your the best!

July 1, 2011 at 3:16 pm

Thanks, Joey. Good luck to you. When you’re ready to hit the stage, just look for the open mics hosted by the Comedy Cartel. Add them on Facebook so you can be in the loop.