Congrats. That was pretty good. My wife’s suffering through a toothache right now, and SHE laughed her ass off (as a side note, she rarely laughs at me anymore…unless I’m naked), so you have that working for ya.
Good stuff Rick!
You remind me of Mike McDonald! (The Canadian comedian, not one of the other 400 guys by the same name.)
Cheers,
Doug
Good show, tho the people chattering in the background were annoying. Yes I’m laughing as I type this and listen to the video. 
You should have incorporated those stories from that thread we had awhile back where fish were mysteriously disappearing from tanks, only to be found a month later swimming around merrily like nothing happened, often after said tank was completely emptied and bleach-cleaned out. But who am I to quibble with genius (put me up there and I’d turn into Cliff Clavin-“what’s up with that?”).
Well done, Rick! You sure had me laughing here–especially when I thought of my own Felines of Endless Defecation.
Okay, I’ll offer a brief review of the set.
On the positive side:
- Rick has a very likable persona and demeanor on stage.
- His timing and pacing were excellent.
- He projected a confidence that very few novice comedians exhibit.
The one negative? The material was just so-so.
This was a very solid set for a newbie. If I’d seen Rick as the opening act at a local Austin comedy club, I’d have said he was pretty good and very promising. He just needs more and better jokes… which I assume he’ll accumulate over time.
Jokes can be written and don’t be afraid to buy jokes. The confidence is worth its weight in gold. Good on him.
That was wonderful, RickJay! I watched it with my son and we thought you came off like a pro.
I enjoyed the set, though I agree the content was a little so-so (I did laugh, though, especially at the truth about Santa). But structurally the set was very sound. You kept interest, the transitions were reasonable, and you tied the ending back to a previous joke. You can fill that with any content and it’ll work well.
Good stage presence, too, and good on you for ignoring the various sounds in the room. The worst stand-up I ever saw was an amateur at an open mic night in Hollywood who got into an argument with a heckler. He wasn’t up there having fun, he just seemed nervous and bitter.
I can critique all I want, but the fact is you went up there and actually did it. That deserves applause all on its own.
A friend of mine has been doing stand-up weekly for the past couple of months. He got another friend of ours into it, too. I don’t know if he’s funny or not (I never went to see his gig), but he’s still doing it so it must be productive for him. He’s not the funniest person off the stage, but I’ve heard that many unfunny people can kill behind a mic.
I’ve always entertained the idea of doing it myself, but I have no idea where to being when it comes to writing jokes. I’ve kept a few in my mind, but to sit down and actually write fresh material seems very daunting. How do I know my joke hasn’t been told by a famous comedian already? I don’t want to look like I’m stealing material.
astorian, thanks for providing some negative feedback. I like criticism. I want to be better.
Yeah, I’d rate my material as 6/10. The narrative was, I thought, pretty good, and it wasn’t the usual “fuck pussy dick pussy fuck fuck” material, but there aren’t enough really HILARIOUS jokes, and it slows down far more than I expected when I introduce the fish bit. But in a seven week course you’re gonna end up with the best five minutes you can come up with… in seven weeks. 
I disagree that my pace was excellent. It was good, not great. I was rushed; there was probably 20 seconds more material than there should have been. A few laughs were stepped on and a few jokes needed just one more beat. If I was asked to do a 5-minute set tomorrow, I would probably cut 15-20 seconds out of the fish joke and ease up on the pace just a little.
My job at this point is to keep working that set, with minor tweaks at most - it’s good enough, if you know what I mean, to get into clubs and test out audiences. Meanwhile, I’m writing material, but not introducing it just yet.
With regards to the background noise and chatter, it actually wasn’t as bad in the club as it sounds on the video. The camera was in the back and picked up more of it than you could hear in the front.
This is actually an interesting question. Just going by my course notes:
- You write jokes basically by writing down every joke and premise you can, saving them forever, and just editing, and editing, and changing and editing. What is written down is almost always too long on stage and needs to be edited. You just keep doing it. The five minutes of gags you saw me telling equated to weeks and weeks and weeks of writing and editing based on hundreds of rehearsals and re-reads. There’s lots of techniques for coming up with jokes that are too long and boring to get into here. Comedy writing’s a course, too.
So just write jokes. Write what you’d say on stage. Say it and write it again, and again, and again. Cut out things that AREN’T jokes (it is 100% likely, unless you’re a one-liner genius, that your material will have wayyyy too much setup and not enough funny.) Write, cut, cut, cut cut cut cut cut cut write some more.
- Learn basic joke techniques and try to incorporate them all. You don’t HAVE to fill a checklist, but just play around with stuff:
- Self-depreciation (this is highly recommended; note I led off with this)
- Exaggeration
- Listing things in threes
- Analogy
- Shock value
- Staying topical
- Funny voices. People adore accents and funny voices. I dunno why, but they do.
- Being friendly. You will get more laughs if you are likable. Comics who can be mean and make the audience laugh are rare talents.
- It’s very unlikely you will steal a joke accidentally, but it’s possible. Generally speaking, though, even if you write what is effectively the same joke as some other guy, your retelling of it will be from a unique perspective and with a different theme.
This actually came up; one of my classmates wrote a bit about buying porn. Two weeks later he was absolutely despondent beause he had seen a skit online that was very similar. But the class agreed that it didn’t matter; the “it’s uncomfortable to buy a porn mag” concept is a common one, what mattered was his particular perspective.
RickJay–I loved the Feline of Endless Defecation.
I also liked the prospect of inviting a lady friend to your swinging bachelor pad, showing her the living room, the kitchen, the den, your room, and the big box of crap.
You sounded like a pro.
The truth about Santa and the dying fish were also funny. I liked the term “fishcatraz.”
The next time you’re on stage, please tell us all and post a link to the video.
Thanks!
Other things I think I did wrong:
- I’m transferring the mic back and forth too much; it’s distracting. Next time I’m going to keep in in the stand until I segue to the cat bit, and keep it in my left hand more consistently.
- Although I realize nobody here knows me or has seen me before, so you wouldn’t know, I look INCREDIBLY stiff and uncomfortable. Just nerves, I guess.
- I look downwards too much; have to keep the eyes up. (This isn’t as much of a problem as it appears, since the audience is below the camera, but still.)
- I’m too fast and stepping on jokes; need more beats, and a pause between “Nemo’s friends” and “Fishcatraz” (originally this was going to be “Auschfish,” but I’m not that daring)
- The “suave and sophistiated” voice isn’t sufficiently distinguishable from my regular speaking voice
- “I went through more goddamned fish…” joke just doesn’t work; might function if put after the funny fish voice, but I think I’ll drop it
- Until about 2:00 the mic is too far from my face
- I trail off quietly a few times
- I can see a lot of little wording changes I could implement
- I still need to lose 30 pounds
I call sneakbragging.
Hi Guys,
Im impressed and read all your posts … well done to all .
I was never a big fan of comedy, however yy boyfriend has just started Stand Up and he will have his 2nd audition next week !!
We are from Malta very small island, and Stand Up comedy is not that popular here … If he passes his 2nd Audition he will perform his 1st show infront of 300 people …
Any tips you guys can give me, since you are much more experienced …
tell him not to worry if he stinks at first. It gets better with practice. As long as he has fun he’ll be OK.
[QUOTE=Lara schembri = how was your first performance on stage ? What do you do if you see that you are not managing to make the audience laugh ?
Rise, zombie!
Come watch me!
Absolute Comedy Toronto, Wednesday, October 12. 2335 Yonge St., $6 at the door. Call ahead to reserve your spots; seating at 8, show starts at 8:30!
I’m funnier now.
Actually I now have two sets; a modified version of the one linked upthread (ants are out, more punchlines and gags around the other themes added) and an entirely new one that’s slightly edgier but still needs work. Not sure which one I’ll do.
I’ve also been to a LOT of comedy and holy crap… these people are good, I tells ya. Well, some of them are. The variance in quality is really quite surprising; there are people you can see for $10 who will make you howl with laughter, and there are people who have been at it for years who are just NOT FUNNY AT ALL.
Rick, having watched your clip. I think you’re much funnier than I could ever be.
I’ve thought a lot about doing standup comedy over the years, and quite a few people have suggested it to me, but I can’t figure out a way. People think I’m funny because I’m someone who can come up with snappy answers to stupid questions, or bizarre answers to completely normal questions, and break up a room full of people. But I can’t just be spontaneously funny on my own – I need a stimulus to respond to. I can’t even write jokes – when I’m the one mentally composing the “normal” questions, my brain is somehow imprisoned and I can’t come up with the off-the-wall responses that I can with another person around. That’s maybe the biggest reason I participate here – lots of stimulation and prompts to strange ideas, and even better, lots of other like-minded people who will run with the stimulus OR the response in refreshing ways.
Good luck! It looks like you’re having fun, which is the most important part. I’ll give you one funny thing I said to a friend not too long ago. I would be honored if you can figure out a way to re-write it and use it in your act.
My friend got a phone call at work and chatted for a few minutes and hung up. She told me her husband had just called from Latvia, and he was riding the Riga ferry right now. I told her that I hoped for her sake that he was talking about a boat. (it’s better verbally than in writing)