I have my first real stand-up comedy gig tomorrow.

[theryno665]

I say "real" because while I've been doing Open Mic sets for just over a year, one contest and a couple showcases, this will be my first comedy set over 5 minutes. I have done two 5 minute sets a few times but not 7-10 minutes consecutively.

Anyways, I managed to get a spot on a show this weekend when one of my other comic buddies had to pull out. Like I said, this will be my first time doing up to 10 minutes at a time so I'm pretty nervous, not to mention I'm pretty much going into this one blind. I don't know how many people will be there as I usually perform in front of like 40, maybe 50 people tops. I'm not worried about running out of material, I have plenty of material though I've tested out some jokes more than others. But I'm still getting my bearings being on stage and developing some sort of stage presence. My main worry right now has to do with stuttering. More often than not, my sets usually go smoothly. But I've had a couple times (including a few days ago) where if I stutter once or twice early on, that triggers something off and I end up stuttering even more. I'm wondering if you guys have any tips on dealing with something like that.

[Sir Woodrow]

You're a far braver man than I, good luck and kill 'em dead.

[Cranjis McBasketball]

Steven Wright's whole comedy style, I mean, the way he speaks, is because the first time he got on stage he was nervous as hell and the audience loved it.

Hedberg had f***ing terrible stage fright, so he wore sunglasses to disguise the fact his eyes were closed, grew his hair over his eyes and looked down.

Be yourself. That's all the stand-up advice you need. Bombing is good, even better than doing well.

I wish I could be a stand-up, it's what I really want, but, I just can't. I understand your fears, but your better than me, because you can get on stage and talk to people.

[theryno665]

I've thought about using my general awkwardness to my advantage and have it become my "character" but then again, I don't really want to cop out and use that as justification for if I end up sucking, you know what I mean?

I do need to develop some sort of stage presence. In that contest I did, I had probably the best set I've done up to this point and had people telling me I should have won, but I didn't place in the Top 5. I was told by the guy running the contest, a professional comedian, that all I really need to do is develop my stage presence. Once I do that, I'll take off because my material is already good enough.

If you want to try out stand-up, find an Open Mic near you. That is unless you have major social anxiety, because I totally understand. I still get nervous as hell just about every time I go up but I still do it, mostly because this is one of the few things I'm actually good at and might have a shot at success with, so I can't really back out now because what else am I going to do?

[Futureraven: Beelzebruv]

Awesome news man, if your nervousness is going to come out anyway you might as well take advantage of it.

I did my first open mic night 2 weeks ago, stuttered, forgot my lines but got the biggest laugh of the night, can't wait to do it again now I've got some confidence in my ability.

[knuckles]

I was recently in the same position you are in- I had done open mics for two years plus and lucked into a FIFTEEN minute gig, which I got paid for,too!! WOW!! Thought I was going to bomb, but actually, the extra time I got was a god send and I f***ing killed it!! I did so well I actually got some bookings off that set, which I was soooooooo grateful to get. make the most of it and just have fun, let your talent show through and enjoy yourself.

[Crusty Ruffles]

The worst comedian I ever saw had a multicolored wife. One joke she was black, one she was white, one she was some sort of latin.

As long as you can keep your shit together better than that, you're golden.

Knock em dead, kid!

PS - Just remember if something bombs, play it off as a bomb masquerading as a joke. Gets 'em every time!

[theryno665]

Oct 22, 2011 13:35:56 GMT -5 knuckles said:

I was recently in the same position you are in- I had done open mics for two years plus and lucked into a FIFTEEN minute gig, which I got paid for,too!! WOW!! Thought I was going to bomb, but actually, the extra time I got was a god send and I f***ing killed it!! I did so well I actually got some bookings off that set, which I was soooooooo grateful to get. make the most of it and just have fun, let your talent show through and enjoy yourself.

I'm not sure if I'm getting paid but I heard there are going to be bookers there since this is a new venue for comedy. So if I do well, I may get more bookings. Plus I think they said food and drinks are comped so I'll do a show for free food and exposure if I'm not gonna get paid, especially since I'm not even driving to the gig.

[Urethra Franklin]

Good luck, brother. My first break like that came when the headliner pulled out and I was given the headlining spot and 12:00. I was overwhelmed at first, but I think you'll find that you have more material than you realize and it's going to be a lot easier than you think. Break a leg!

[theryno665]

Alright, so the gig went pretty well last night, all things considering. It was me and two other guys that drove an hour and a half to a roadhouse in the middle of nowhere for the show. First of all we were worried because the headliner didn't show up until like literally 5 minutes before showtime, so we were wondering if we would even have a headliner at all. But then he shows up and brings two other guys...who are also performing. So my planned 10 minute set goes back down to 5, which eased my nerves a little bit, but it also meant we were going from "probably not getting paid" to "definitely not getting paid". But we got free food and drinks so whatever. There was some kind of drama because me and my buddies got dropped down to 5-8 minutes but the headliner told his guys they could do 5-10 but the one guy did like 20 minutes mostly due to the drunk crowd. I don't let drama get to me but that also kinda shows the cut-throat nature of this business.

Anyway, my specific set went pretty well. I didn't really stutter or flub my lines. I wasn't shaken up (beyond my normal demeanor anyways). I didn't even need to read off my notebook or anything. But I didn't know this until afterwards but we were basically the entertainment for that small town's 20 year high school reunion. So my jokes about being a penis-gimmicked superhero and subduing bankrobbers with my sperm webbing went about as well as you'd expect. I did get to work on my stage presence a bit but I'm afraid it kinda came out too much like Daniel Tosh's delivery instead of my own. But still, it was a learning experience.

[rapidfire187]

Keep at it dude! Doesn't sound like an entirely bad time. I've performed on stage a few times (rap, not standup) and have had much worse experiences. If you can perform in front of a crowd that doesn't give you much of a reaction, it makes it that much more sweet once you finally get it right and get a great reaction.

[Glitch]

Glad you had a good show despite the backstage politics. I seriously hope you got a bigger response from the audience than the headliner. XD

[theryno665]

Oct 23, 2011 14:53:00 GMT -5 Glitch said:

Glad you had a good show despite the backstage politics. I seriously hope you got a bigger response from the audience than the headliner. XD

I didn't. That's OK though, he was funny in his own right but he definitely played the room. Him and one of his other guys spent a good chunk of their sets just making fun of drunk audience members. Personally not my style but I would like to get to the point where I can command a room like that.

[Mr. Snrub]

Glad to hear your show went well

I know what you mean about stuttering once and then doing it loads, I'm the same whenever I have to do a presentation (ofc not the same but you know what I mean), if I can get through the first 5 mins I'm usually fine, but if I start badly I stutter a lot and trip over my words.

All I can suggest is just persuade yourself it doesnt matter if you fail horribly or perform incredibly, just persuade yourself what you're doing is not of any importance, it usually helps me.

Or you could have a few shots before you get up there, that will ease your nerves for sure

Keep up the good work anyway sir

[Crusty Ruffles]

So my jokes about being a penis-gimmicked superhero and subduing bankrobbers with my sperm webbing

Haaaaaaa! Now I need to hear your set.

Glad everything went as well as it could have, too!