Hey guys, I love it when someone posts something that I actually have some experience in, yay!
Long story short - after getting really baked one time and watching some standup specials on Netflix, and being surprised that this one person who couldn't entertain me at ALL was actually producing 2 sitcoms on TV. So I thought "shit, I could do that", so the next few weeks I kept writing down whatever funny thought popped into my head, and before I know it - I was hitting the open mics in NYC.
Here are some lessons that I learned:
1. It's waaaaay harder than you think it is.
2. There is some stuff that you might find hysterical, and your friends might find hysterical - but the audience just won't, and sometimes it's because they just CANT connect to the material at all - one of the reasons a guy like Joe Rogan is successful is not only because he is hilarious - but he attracts a certain kind of crowd - a Joe Rogan crowd. Crowds are always a factor.
3. Open mics are depressing - most of them are just other comedians practicing their stuff, most of the crowd is dead. You can have killer material - but the vibe in the room is often not one of laughter.
4. Picking the rights open mics is important - one lady that ran an open mic had a drink included in the ticket price and always asked you to bring 1 friend - a tipsy NEW crowd made all the difference and got you better feedback. On the flip side - if you can make a depressingly dead open mic crowd laugh - you are a star.
5. The high that you get from a good performance is addicting.
6. The low that you get from a bad performance is depressing.
7. The next level of shows are the "bringers" - which means you have to bring several friends with you, usually 5-10. You will run out of friends fast, especially in the early days when you suck, so you might be forced to sell tickets to randoms, this is depressing.
8. You become more aware of everything - interactions, etc. You also become better at explaining stuff to people
9. You become even more non-PC. Remember the Daniel Tosh "scandal"? You respect him more as a comedian then the random non funny critics that just try to bash him. It's beautiful.
10. The second you think you're nice - you'll get baked and watch a legendary comedy special, and be humbled right back the fuck down. It happened to me with Eddie Murphy's Raw - in my opinion, stylistically the single greatest standup special of all time.
11. Comedy really truly is a labor of love - the more you do it, the better you get. The more you do it, the less bad nights you have. the more you do it - the better the reactions, and your confidence skyrockets.
So would I recommend standup? For sure. But I would only recommend it if you have something you want to express and a desire to get it out. Because yes, it will suck. But its so worth it.
Also - manosphere humor gets received pretty well sometimes. For example - one time I was talking about Roosh's "cost per notch", and bragging that mine was in the double digits. Then i said "Which is impressive, because let's face it, it cant go to single digits. You can't be smooth for under 10 dollars ((((sexy r&b voice)))) hey giiirl.... you can have whatever you want... from mcdonalds... off the dollar menu... within reason"
Long story short - after getting really baked one time and watching some standup specials on Netflix, and being surprised that this one person who couldn't entertain me at ALL was actually producing 2 sitcoms on TV. So I thought "shit, I could do that", so the next few weeks I kept writing down whatever funny thought popped into my head, and before I know it - I was hitting the open mics in NYC.
Here are some lessons that I learned:
1. It's waaaaay harder than you think it is.
2. There is some stuff that you might find hysterical, and your friends might find hysterical - but the audience just won't, and sometimes it's because they just CANT connect to the material at all - one of the reasons a guy like Joe Rogan is successful is not only because he is hilarious - but he attracts a certain kind of crowd - a Joe Rogan crowd. Crowds are always a factor.
3. Open mics are depressing - most of them are just other comedians practicing their stuff, most of the crowd is dead. You can have killer material - but the vibe in the room is often not one of laughter.
4. Picking the rights open mics is important - one lady that ran an open mic had a drink included in the ticket price and always asked you to bring 1 friend - a tipsy NEW crowd made all the difference and got you better feedback. On the flip side - if you can make a depressingly dead open mic crowd laugh - you are a star.
5. The high that you get from a good performance is addicting.
6. The low that you get from a bad performance is depressing.
7. The next level of shows are the "bringers" - which means you have to bring several friends with you, usually 5-10. You will run out of friends fast, especially in the early days when you suck, so you might be forced to sell tickets to randoms, this is depressing.
8. You become more aware of everything - interactions, etc. You also become better at explaining stuff to people
9. You become even more non-PC. Remember the Daniel Tosh "scandal"? You respect him more as a comedian then the random non funny critics that just try to bash him. It's beautiful.
10. The second you think you're nice - you'll get baked and watch a legendary comedy special, and be humbled right back the fuck down. It happened to me with Eddie Murphy's Raw - in my opinion, stylistically the single greatest standup special of all time.
11. Comedy really truly is a labor of love - the more you do it, the better you get. The more you do it, the less bad nights you have. the more you do it - the better the reactions, and your confidence skyrockets.
So would I recommend standup? For sure. But I would only recommend it if you have something you want to express and a desire to get it out. Because yes, it will suck. But its so worth it.
Also - manosphere humor gets received pretty well sometimes. For example - one time I was talking about Roosh's "cost per notch", and bragging that mine was in the double digits. Then i said "Which is impressive, because let's face it, it cant go to single digits. You can't be smooth for under 10 dollars ((((sexy r&b voice)))) hey giiirl.... you can have whatever you want... from mcdonalds... off the dollar menu... within reason"