School Of Laughs

A common question I hear is “what do I do if I feel my comedy has leveled off, or plateaued?"

It’s a great, insightful question that infers both frustration and aspiration. To help relieve the first and achieve the second, we’ve put together a podcast and a “scorecard” to help you address your strengths and weaknesses. This is all done in an effort to help you isolate what needs more work in your comedy career.

This episode is especially geared towards those who have been at comedy for a year or more and have some experience on stage. Newer or aspiring comics should also gain some insight by listening to the areas that all comedians need to be aware of when attempting to pursue comedy full time.

In all, we cover 10 areas of focus and give them each a weight of 10%. I know for a fact that my score is lower than I want, but higher than it used to be. Listen to the show and give yourself a grade. I guarantee you there is an area where you could benefit that you may have overlooked.

Better yet, subscribe to the Insider Tip Newsletter and I will send you a .pdf of the checklist. Just email us at [email protected] and put “Comedy Scorecard - Insider Tip Sheet” in the heading.I’ll make sure you get the official tip sheet and I promise to keep your email anonymous and spam free. If you are already on the newsletter list you will receive this scorecard in the next newsletter.

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF LAUGHS:

A common question I hear is “what do I do if I feel my comedy has leveled off, or plateaued?"

It’s a great, insightful question that infers both frustration and aspiration. To help relieve the first and achieve the second, we’ve put together a podcast and a “scorecard” to help you address your strengths and weaknesses. This is all done in an effort to help you isolate what needs more work in your comedy career.

This episode is especially geared towards those who have been at comedy for a year or more and have some experience on stage. Newer or aspiring comics should also gain some insight by listening to the areas that all comedians need to be aware of when attempting to pursue comedy full time.

In all, we cover 10 areas of focus and give them each a weight of 10%. I know for a fact that my score is lower than I want, but higher than it used to be. Listen to the show and give yourself a grade. I guarantee you there is an area where you could benefit that you may have overlooked.

Better yet, subscribe to the Insider Tip Newsletter and I will send you a .pdf of the checklist. Just email us at [email protected] and put “Comedy Scorecard - Insider Tip Sheet” in the heading.I’ll make sure you get the official tip sheet and I promise to keep your email anonymous and spam free. If you are already on the newsletter list you will receive this scorecard in the next newsletter.

 ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF LAUGHS:

From the floors to the ceiling, the sound and lights, to the stage height and microphone types - this is my dream club.

Why dedicate an entire episode to something like this? I get asked quite a bit about these specifics from comics who are putting on their own shows. In fact, the info discussed in this show as all yours for the asking. I put together a checklist in a .pdf you can request. All you need to do is shoot a quick email to us at [email protected] and ask to join the “INSIDER TIP SHEET”. In the subject of the email be sure to also include “Perfect Comedy Club Set-Up”.

(Current members of the Insider Tip Sheet will automatically get this Perfect Comedy Club checklist in the March 15 newsletter)

I’ll send you the club spec sheet and sign you up for the bi-monthly newsletter all in one smooth move. In each newsletter you’ll get links to the most recent and interesting stories and clips from the internet revolving around stand-up comedy, comedians, festivals and the industry. You’ll also get blog recaps and podcast links in case you missed any or haven’t subscribed yet.

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe in iTunes , or STITCHER and leave a comment and ranking.

From the floors to the ceiling, the sound and lights, to the stage height and microphone types - this is my dream club.

Why dedicate an entire episode to something like this? I get asked quite a bit about these specifics  from comics who are putting on their own shows.  In fact, the info discussed in this show as all yours for the asking. I put together a checklist in a .pdf you can request. All you need to do is shoot a quick email to us at [email protected] and ask to join the “INSIDER TIP SHEET”. In the subject of the email be sure to also include “Perfect Comedy Club Set-Up”.

(Current members of the Insider Tip Sheet will automatically get this Perfect Comedy Club checklist in the March 15 newsletter)

I’ll send you the club spec sheet and sign you up for the bi-monthly newsletter all in one smooth move. In each newsletter you’ll get links to the most recent and interesting stories and clips from the internet revolving around stand-up comedy, comedians, festivals and the industry. You’ll also get blog recaps and podcast links in case you missed any or haven’t subscribed yet.

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe in iTunes , or  STITCHER and leave a comment and ranking.

• his his time in the San Francisco comedy scene
• the benefits of being able to write for t.v.
• and the value of pursuing different niches

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF LAUGHS:

ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF LAUGHS:

You asked for it - you got it. One frequent request from listeners is to have an episode 100% focussed on writing. So, I challenged Gavin to come in with a handful of ideas he wanted to turn into jokes. Together, we go over his ideas, pick one and spend the episode exploring various angles until we decide what the premise should be for the bit. This is a raw, unedited live comedy writing session.

We use a process in the episode I call “EXPAND, CONDENSE, DEFINE".

The first part of the process is to EXPAND upon the topic. Allow yourself time and permission to brainstorm on the topic without trying to edit yourself at the same time. Your brain has two hemispheres and when you force it to analyze as you create you end up with brain lock. So, we start with the mindset that “any idea is as valid as the next."

Next, we look at the various ideas and CONDENSE the list down to the best few concepts. Granted, this is still guesswork since we haven’t told the joke onstage, yet. But we use our gut feeling on what the best 2-3 angles are on the subject.

Finally, we DEFINE what our premise should be moving forward.

I used to always start with there premise and then try to justify it with punch lines and tags. I still do that sometimes, but I find it much more liberating to talk through an idea and arrive at various points I never intended or expected to arrive at. By moving the pressure of the premise to the end of the process, we free up the brainstorming and allow all ideas to be valid - not just the ones that fit our preconceptions of what the joke is supposed to be.

At the end of the episode, the next challenge for Gavin is to take the ideas and form the jokes. So ... stay tuned for what he comes up with (or doesn’t - haha!).

PLEASE let me know what you think about this episode. If you enjoy this format I will record more with other beginning students and some established comedians so you can glean their approaches as well.

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe in iTunes , or STITCHER and leave a comment and ranking.

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ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF LAUGHS:

You asked for it - you got it. One frequent request from listeners is to have an episode 100% focussed on writing. So, I challenged Gavin to come in with a handful of ideas he wanted to turn into jokes. Together, we go over his ideas, pick one and spend the episode exploring various angles until we decide what the premise should be for the bit. This is a raw, unedited live comedy writing session.

We use a process in the episode I call “EXPAND, CONDENSE, DEFINE".

The first part of the process is to EXPAND upon the topic. Allow yourself time and permission to brainstorm on the topic without trying to edit yourself at the same time. Your brain has two hemispheres and when you force it to analyze as you create you end up with brain lock. So, we start with the mindset that “any idea is as valid as the next."

Next, we look at the various ideas and CONDENSE the list down to the best few concepts. Granted, this is still guesswork since we haven’t told the joke onstage, yet. But we use our gut feeling on what the best 2-3 angles are on the subject.

Finally, we DEFINE what our premise should be moving forward.

I used to always start with there premise and then try to justify it with punch lines and tags. I still do that sometimes, but I find it much more liberating to talk through an idea and arrive at various points I never intended or expected to arrive at. By moving the pressure of the premise to the end of the process, we free up the brainstorming and allow all ideas to be valid - not just the ones that fit our preconceptions of what the joke is supposed to be.

At the end of the episode, the next challenge for Gavin is to take the ideas and form the jokes. So ... stay tuned for what he comes up with (or doesn’t - haha!).

PLEASE let me know what you think about this episode. If you enjoy this format I will record more with other beginning students and some established comedians so you can glean their approaches as well.

If you enjoy this podcast, please subscribe in iTunes , or  STITCHER and leave a comment and ranking.

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ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF LAUGHS: