Stand Up vs. Theatre - it's a whole new ball game
From the desk of Jeff Love:
So I'm five hours away from making my sophomore performance as a stand up comic. Somebody asked me the other day if it was any different than doing theater. I'm hard pressed to think of anything MORE different from doing theater. I mean sure, there are certain characteristics that are the same. In both you're "performing" in front of an audience, timing and words and sometimes props are involved...but comedy is far less forgiving than theater. In theater, an audience, even if they are going to see a comedy, is open to anything. Stand up audiences, on the other hand, expect to laugh...period. It doesn't necessarily matter why, or when, or how...but if you tell a joke, do a bit, or tell a story during a stand up set and there isn't a laugh, you've failed. Period.
The thing that makes stand up both thrilling and absolutely petrifying is that you only have yourself to rely on. Even if you do an act that relies on exact wording, chances are you're still doing material you've written, and again, if no one laughs, they know exactly who to blame.
Even my act, that doesn't have a typical setup-punchline delivery and is about a guy on stage who's petrified, won't be funny if the wording and timing is off. And it's a very funny thing about comedy, not everyone has the same opinion as to what's good comedy, but truly bad comedy is something that most people agree on. I've been to clubs where nothing but strangers from all walks of life sit there and watch some poor schmuck get up on stage - something they all admit they could never do - and tells something he thinks is a joke, and nothing but crickets.... While sometimes there'll be comedians who say something that some people don't respond to, but others will.
It's that definite freeze of time...when a joke doesn't land...that is the performance equivalent to getting the wrong chamber in a game of Russian Roulette.
Hopefully tonight I won't be reminded of that silence before my five minutes are up.
So I'm five hours away from making my sophomore performance as a stand up comic. Somebody asked me the other day if it was any different than doing theater. I'm hard pressed to think of anything MORE different from doing theater. I mean sure, there are certain characteristics that are the same. In both you're "performing" in front of an audience, timing and words and sometimes props are involved...but comedy is far less forgiving than theater. In theater, an audience, even if they are going to see a comedy, is open to anything. Stand up audiences, on the other hand, expect to laugh...period. It doesn't necessarily matter why, or when, or how...but if you tell a joke, do a bit, or tell a story during a stand up set and there isn't a laugh, you've failed. Period.
The thing that makes stand up both thrilling and absolutely petrifying is that you only have yourself to rely on. Even if you do an act that relies on exact wording, chances are you're still doing material you've written, and again, if no one laughs, they know exactly who to blame.
Even my act, that doesn't have a typical setup-punchline delivery and is about a guy on stage who's petrified, won't be funny if the wording and timing is off. And it's a very funny thing about comedy, not everyone has the same opinion as to what's good comedy, but truly bad comedy is something that most people agree on. I've been to clubs where nothing but strangers from all walks of life sit there and watch some poor schmuck get up on stage - something they all admit they could never do - and tells something he thinks is a joke, and nothing but crickets.... While sometimes there'll be comedians who say something that some people don't respond to, but others will.
It's that definite freeze of time...when a joke doesn't land...that is the performance equivalent to getting the wrong chamber in a game of Russian Roulette.
Hopefully tonight I won't be reminded of that silence before my five minutes are up.
Labels: Jeff Love, Variety Show, Writing Series
posted by Melanie at
12:28 PM
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