shockingMost people don’t know this but…

I had no intention of ever becoming a stand-up comedy teacher, coach  or “guru” at all. That happened by accident in 1997.

I had been a professional comedian for four years by then and had already been headlining big venues and comedy clubs for well over over two years.

Teaching anyone anything about stand-up comedy wasn’t even on my radar. Most people who can actually perform stand-up comedy at a high level DON’T teach it—unfortunately that job is usually filled by those who couldn’t find “funny” with a 50 man working party, much less teach anything of real value about it.

One night in the fall of 1997, I got a call to do a recently set-up bar gig. I knew the gal who set it up; she was fairly new to stand-up comedy and had set-up the room for stage time (a common practice).

I didn’t want to do the gig for a number of reasons:

1. It was a bar gig. Bar gigs usually suck because people usually go to bars to drink and shoot the breeze with their friends—not watch a show.

2. Bar gigs are usually comprised of open mikers or folks who can’t really generate laughs, which means there is no real show for the audience.

Interesting note: There was a time when non-funny comedy and comedians were marketed as “alternative comedy”. It was usually rude, very raw and funny only to other comedians (this type of comedy is commonly referred by many comedians as “cutting edge”). Haven’t heard much about alternative comedy for awhile, oddly enough.

I made it clear that I didn’t want to do the gig, which was very close to my home at the time. But she begged me to come because she didn’t have anyone strong on the show.

I agreed, but with the stipulation that I was on early in the show so I wouldn’t have to be out late (you tend to get up early for work in the Navy).

I went to the gig and it was set-up well for a bar gig and the room was packed.

But when the first comedian got on stage and wasn’t funny, the audience began talking among themselves. Loudly, I might add.

The second comedian came up and he too was not funny. The audience continued to talk among themselves. That comedian tried getting the audience’s attention by talking louder—but the louder he talked, the louder the audience got.

The show so far was two awful comedians with two bad sets — back to back. The audience was now loud and completely ignoring the stage.

Then it was my turn to hold the mic.

I came to the stage and in a lower voice said, “Hey, do you want to hear a joke?” Then I proceeded to tell a killer street joke that I had in pocket for just such occasions, keeping my voice low as I told the joke.

Within seconds, I could hear audience members telling one another “Shut up! He’s telling a joke.”

By the time I got to the punchline of the joke, I had the audience’s attention and they laughed hard at my street joke. I transitioned right into my stand-up act and for the next 10 minutes I destroyed the room.

The next comedian who took the stage couldn’t follow me and within 60 seconds the entire audience was talking loudly to each other and ignoring the stage, just like it was before my set.

When I got off stage, the gal who was promoting the show eagerly asked me if I could teach her how to do comedy like I did it. I said I would give it a try and we set up a meeting at a local restaurant to talk how I approached stand up comedy and got the results that I enjoyed.

When I showed up at the restaurant two days later, there were six people there, all wanting to know my stand-up comedy secrets. I was blown away. I wasn’t really prepared for that kind of response.

At the end of that first lesson, they literally begged me for more. So, I agreed to do it for $10 per lesson, paid in advance. I had no idea what to charge for that sort of thing, because teaching stand-up comedy really wasn’t high on my list of things to do.

But faster than an Olympic sprinter on steroids, there was $60 sitting in front of me and the next lesson was scheduled.

That’s how I became a stand-up comedy educator. Three years and dozens of stand-up comedy classes later (all done in my home), the Killer Stand-up Comedy System was born.

Almost 10 years later, my system has been sold in over 20 countries around the world and I have managed to either tick off or intimidate almost every “known” stand-up comedy teacher on the planet because…

I know that the stuff they teach is much like trying to treat syphilis with Mercury—more harmful and stagnating than good for funny people who really do have raw comedy talent.

So, if you ever wondered how I became a stand-up comedy “guru”—well it started by accident and certainly not by design.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

About the Author/Founder of The Stand-up Comedy Professional

Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and author of the content made available in the Comedy Pro Membership Program available on this site.

Over the past decade, Steve has established himself as a leading, globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development, delivery and entertainment business strategies for comedy entertainers as well as speaking professionals.

For more information about Steve, please check out the About The Author section on this site.