School Of Laughs

MARYELLEN HOOPER joins us today on the School of Laughs podcast. A veteran in the world of stand-up, Maryellen Hooper's comedy has taken her from clubs and colleges to theaters and television.

She's appeared on many late night talk shows including several appearances on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno. Her half-hour special on Comedy Central called "Lounge Lizards" received rave reviews and was played on heavy rotation. In 1998, the comedy industry awarded Maryellen "Funniest Female Stand-Up Comic" at the American Comedy Awards. Recently, the Walt Disney Company has asked Maryellen to perform on all four of its beautiful cruise ships.

With the recent postponement of large gatherings during the COVID-19 pandemic, Maryellen has to adjust like all other comedians. The good news for us - she has time to join the podcast!

We cover a lot in this episode, including ...

• Adapting during COIVD-19
• Preparing financially for work interruptions
• Becoming a student of comedy
• How she started comedy in late 80's
• Being an extra in Miami Vice
• Moving to New York
• Hanging with Adam Ferrara, Ray Romano, Kevin James
• The move from NYC to Los Angeles
• Moving from L.A. to Florida to raise family
• The showcase that got her 46 bookings
• How Disney Cruises were affected
• Finding comedy in tough times
• Working on a kids book
• Acting led to comedy
• Best advice for new comics

Learn tips on speaking from Steve Lowell (CSP). Steve is the past National President, Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS). Steve is incredibly gifted at helping identify their "expert insights." These are the things or then thing that makes a speaker different from all the others. The expert insights are what you can provide that people need and are willing to learn. We discuss how he helps speakers tap into those.

We also talk about how his business has been impacted by the recent COIVD-19 "stay at home" lockdown. And, we address a few things speakers can do if they have a little extra time now to get better at their craft. There are a lot of tips on speaking in this episode which will benefit comedians as well.

Steve has authored two Amazon best-selling books Deep Thought Strategy and From Stage Fright to Spotlight. The latter provides over 100 tips for speakers to get more comfortable onstage so their message shines through.

https://www.stevelowell.com/ is the best place to order Steve's books and learn more about his speaking programs.

Even more exciting is the news that Steve has personally invited all my listeners to attend his virtual event on Thursday April 16 as his guest. If you have not yet attended a WEN Global Event, this is your opportunity! All you have to do is go to www.TheLowells.Global to save your seat...just tell them The Lowells sent ya!

TIPS ON SPEAKING SHOW NOTES

We cover a lot, including:

• Selling from stage without "selling"
• Secular Altar Calls
• Converting sales on bigger ticket programs
• Speaking for "free"
• Transformational content
• George Carlin's The Planet is FINE routine
• The three different levels of speakers
• Deep thought strategy
• Uncovering your expert insights
• Why you don't have to be different
• How to appear to be different
• Why you might need a tennis instructor
• Brian Tracy's "Eat the Frog"
• Focusing on the outcomes for the audience
• 99 speakers secrets to mastering the stage
• Being the catalyst for excitement

And much, much more!

Aaron Weber is a standup comic born and raised in Montgomery, Alabama. After graduating from Notre Dame in 2014, he moved to Nashville and started doing standup. Since then, he's become a regular at Zanies Comedy Club and has performed all over the country. In 2018, he competed in the Laughing Skull Comedy Festival and was a part of John Crist's record-breaking Human Being Tour.

We get into a lot of fun topics today, including:

• Performing some comedy at Notre Dame
• Memorizing comedy specials when he was a kid
• Becoming the youngest comedian to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, TN
• Going to his first Nashville open mic night
• The benefits of being easy to work with
• Performance skills learned on the John Crist tour dates
• How he got invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry
• His approach to writing comedy
• Keeping his material fresh
• Spotting and correcting "tics" on stage
• Building his own web site to look like a MySpace profile

And a whole lot more!

Learn more about Aaron at www.aaronwebercomedy.com

Today's episode is in response to the extreme number of cancellations of events due to the COVID-19 Corona Virus Outbreak. We will approach it from three angles.

First, let's take a brief moment and acknowledge how lucky we are to be performers in the first place.

Second, let's remember the others affected in our industry.

And third, how can you add language to your contract to affect cancellations in the future.

We will cover a lot in the episode, including:

• Getting paid for expressing your views
• Uniting people in tough times
• Accepting or declining work as you see fit
• Being rewarded and compensated for your hustle and drive
• Creating work anywhere, anytime
• Rik's last few gigs and how he tried to lighten the mood
• Traveling through busy airports during the outbreak
• Shout out to Cruise Ship performers including Kristin Key
• Gilda's LaughFest cancellations and fast thinking ideas
• Covid-19 Federal Aid Package for Events Industry
• Having a contract
• Requesting deposits
• Adjusting your cancellation policies

And a whole lot more!

If you are already a PATREON supporter at ANY level, you can log into the Patreon news feed and grab both a simple CONTRACT template, as well as update language for your cancellation policies.

If you would like to receive a .pdf describing the cancellation policies so you can add it to your contract and you are not already a member of the free INSIDER TIP SHEET newsletter list, you can request joining by sending an email to [email protected] . Please put "Cancellation Policy" in the subject heading. I will add you to the newsletter list and you will be able to grab the .pdf from the newsletter. Let me know where you are based, how long you've been performing and what level you are at in the game. And if you can, let me know how you found out about the podcast. It will help me design new episodes.

Special thanks to Patreon Sponsor RAY PRICE who has been with us since the very beginning.

And, if you enjoyed the TRUMP bumpers in the episode go follow @EdWiley on TWITTER or visit EdWileyComedy.com

Victoria Jackson joins us today on the School of Laugh Podcast. Victoria Jackson may be best known for her 6-yr stint on Saturday Night Live. She was a regular cast member on SNL from 1986-1992. But even before that she was making people laugh. She became a TV star without her family even owning a TV when she was young. But when she was just 19 she left home and traveled to L.A. to take a shot at showbiz.

She made the transition from handstands to Hollywood and captured the curiosity of millions every Saturday night.

We get into all kinds of discussions today and I learn a lot, including:

• Not having a TV set when she was kid
• How a Rifleman's son got her to move to L.A.
• Marrying a fire eater
• What Tonight Show booker Jim McCawley said to her before her first appearance
• Her 20 appearances on the Tonight Show
• The big difference between Johnny Carson and David Letterman
• What aspect Lorne Michaels said she needed more work on
• Her auditions for SNL
• Why she is taking film classes
• Where she feels she belongs in the arts
• How she got so good at those handstands
• Why she wasn't asked back to the Tonight Show
• What brought her to Nashville
• Victoria Jackson's advice to new comics

To learn more about Victoria Jackson go to ... you guessed it - VictoriaJackson.com

Doc Kennedy is a stand-up comedian and podcast producer based out of Nashville.

Winner of the 2019 Lea Ciastko Spirit of Comedy Award, Doc is also the host of Free to Laugh: Comedy vs Political Correctness.

Originally from Montana and spending years near Seattle, Doc's unique take on life brings laughs to people of all ages across the country performing in churches, clubs, corporate venues as well as entertaining our troops.

• Editing the School of Laughs podcast.
• Connecting through Club 52 Patreon hangout.
• How the Nashville open mic scene used to look.
• Using stand-up comedy to get into acting.
• Working as a live production director.
• Using clips from church promos for Doc's acting reel.
• The Seattle comedy scene.
• Being right of center in a left-leaning environment.
• Cancel culture.
• Doc's podcast Free to Laugh.

And a whole lot more!

FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/DocKennedyLive/

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBswFD4wHq1NkRBtxckuYLg/

VIEW ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/DocKennedyLive

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT:

This episode is brought to you by Patreon supporter JOHN HILL and CLUB 52. Also thanks to TIM KETCHERSID for his ITunes review.

Club 52 is a one-year program designed to challenge you to get bigger, better and more bookable. You will be prompted to examine your material, performance and business practices via email each week.

Visit www.SchoolOfLaughs.com/Patreon for more info today.

In this episode Doc Kennedy and I talk about Dave Chappelle receiving the Mark Twain Prize at the Kennedy Center. We break down Dave's speech and what we comedians can take from it.

Watch the 8 minute speech here!

• What the venue was like.
• How stand-up comedy is unique to America.
• Every opinion has a comedian in its corner.
• Appreciating all comedians, even when their views are offensive.
• It took me years to learn how to play like myself. - Miles Davis
• Dave's appreciation of Neal Brennan.
• What Dave's mom did in helping him grow as a comedian.
• What a Griot is and their value to humanity.
• Sometimes you have to be a lion to be the lamb you really are. - Dave's mom

And a whole lot more!

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT:

This episode is brought to you by Patreon supporter GLEN DENEHIE and CLUB 52.

Club 52 is a one-year program designed to challenge you to get bigger, better and more bookable. You will be prompted to examine your material, performance and business practices via email each week.

Visit www.SchoolOfLaughs.com/Patreon for more info today.

Jeremy Nunes has appeared in The Break-Up, Last Comic Standing, two PBS mini-series, Comcast on Demand, a National Geographic Special and heard on ESPN Radio. Jeremy's clean and witty comedy show has been in demand for 18 years, mainly because of his clever observations, unique storytelling style and ability to improvise with his audience.

• Trying to be Chris Farley.
• Why Ryan Stiles inspired Jeremy to try improv comedy.
• Similarities between being a Mayor and being a comedian.
• Valuable advice from Dobie Maxwell.
• Taking classes at Second City.
• Tips for promoting a show.
• Value of hiring a videographer.
• Wearing make-up for video.
• Distributing a comedy special.
• Taking veteran comedian advice.
• Tips for getting time off from a day job.

And a whole lot more!

FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/frontporchcomedy

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/user/frontporchcomedy

VIEW ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/jeremynunes

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT:

This episode is brought to you by Patreon supporter EDWARD REUBEN and CLUB 52.

Club 52 is a one-year program designed to challenge you to get bigger, better and more bookable. You will be prompted to examine your material, performance and business practices via email each week.

Visit www.SchoolOfLaughs.com/Patreon for more info today.

It is time for the 2020 Stand-Up Comedy Goals TRACKER episode. This show is a nerdy, comprehensive deep dive into measurable comedy goals for sand-up comedians. Fame and fortune are payoffs, but not necessarily great goals. And, goals in and of themselves won't make you funnier than anyone else. But they should make you funnier than you are now if you set them correctly. Without them, you may find yourself immersed in bitterness and resent everyone else's success.

"What you get by achieving your goals is not as important as what you become by achieving your goals." - Henry David Thoreau

In this episode, we talk about specific daily, weekly, monthly and annual Stand-Up Comedy goals. It is the behind the scenes planning that no performer admits to doing (and many don't). But you aspire to be better than you are now, so you are thinking strategically about the year ahead. Congratulations!

We cover four areas of goals in this 2020 Stand-Up Comedy Goals Podcast episode. Specifically:

Writing - how much time are you giving yourself to be creative and develop material?

Performing - are you getting out of the house and getting on stage enough to see progress?

Earning - what is your income from comedy and related skills?

Investing - how much are spending to get your name out there so people can find you?

GET YOUR FREE GOAL TRACKER WORKSHEET.

Visit Episode 207 show notes page at www.SchoolOfLaughs.com.

You can drag the images off the page and print.

Jane Atkinson is founder of The Wealthy Speaker School, which provides online courses, group coaching and live events for all levels of speakers, helping people look at speaking as a business. Jane has over 30 years experience in the speaking business, has authored four books and is host of The Wealthy Speaker Podcast.

• If you don't get YOUR fee you haven't shown them enough value.
• The discovery call.
• Planning strategically what your outreach is going to be.
• Making 50 connections, a month or 50 connections a week depending on how aggressive you're going to be.
• Avoiding the spray and pray approach.
• You can't you can't make big decisions playing small.
• Do a lot of homework on the audience.
• Being someone who doesn't listen with their mouth.
• What changed as a result of our work together.
• Knowing what's working, what's needs fixing.
• Do I need a team or somebody to hire to get in there?
• Think about your business as a whole, rather than that day to day working in the business.
• Is your website clear on the value that you're bringing to the table?
• Is your video is being effective in getting you the gig every time?
• How are you reaching out to people?
• What target markets are you approaching?
• Using virtual assistants such as Biz Ease.

And a whole lot more!

FOLLOW ON FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/Jane.Speaker.Launcher

WATCH ON TWITTER: https://twitter.com/janeatkinson

VIEW ON INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/janeatkinson1/

SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT:

This episode is brought to you by Patreon supporter CHRIS RUPPE and CLUB 52.

Club 52 is a one-year program designed to challenge you to get bigger, better and more bookable. You will be prompted to examine your material, performance and business practices via email each week.

Visit www.SchoolOfLaughs.com/Patreon for more info today.