stand-up-comedy-idiotsIn the US we live in a world of perceived automatic entitlement, with folks concentrating on some sort of hand out instead of working to reach their dreams and goals.

And when they don’t get what they want, they whine and complain. Comedians are no exception.

I had some goober visit this blog and start complaining about how he can’t get comedy club gigs, how he can’t get butts in the seats to his self-promoted shows and how advertising costs too much.

And I must say, my response was less than favorable.

If you have followed me anytime at all, you know that I am NOT a fan of standing in line at comedy clubs to get stage time or work. I developed my stand-up routine completely outside the comedy club scene in the beginning.

Ironically, being able to kill an audience when coming “out of the woodwork” actually opened comedy club doors for me.

You should also know that comedy clubs represent the lowest for of life when it comes to pay for comedians. Still, comedians stand in line at the doors comedy clubs like lemmings, waiting for their “big comedy break”.

I have promoted many, many comedy shows during my active stand-up career. And let me be the first to tell anyone, right to their face…

If your stand-up comedy show is comprised of open mikers who couldn’t find funny with a 50 man working party, your show is doomed from the start.

“Boo hoo hoo – I don’t have the money to advertise or promote my stand-up comedy show.”

ATTENTION ALL COMEDIANS: Stand-up comedy is a BUSINESS — show business to be exact. It is the BUSINESS that fuels the stand-up comedy, not the other way around. It takes money to make money. Surprise!

If you are broke, then have two choices: be creative on your promotion or gather the funds needed to promote your business. If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.

For the relatively few comedians who actually do have a killer stand-up act: what are you doing to build your online fan base? You can do that online with a super minimal budget at first and grow it big (ask Dane Cook for details). That’s why I set-up my other blog.

But what do I hear? “Oh, that’s hard. I can’t do that.” The underlying message is actually this:

“I don’t want to do that. I just want to be funny, get discovered and have the TV helicopter whisk me off to fame and fortune with minimal effort.”

If any of this applies to you, stay off my blog and my websites. When I was developing my own stand-up comedy career:

  • I had my full timejob in the US Navy
  • I taught 2-3 comedy traffic school classes per week (8 hours per class)
  • I was going to school for a Master’s degree
  • I was doing 3-5 paid comedy gigs per month, along with a ton of free gigs
  • I had a wife and three children to care for

Everybody wants to be a star. But very few are willing to do the work or pay the price needed to become one. Even fewer are willing to work to develop their stand-up comedy skills to a high level.

HINT: Having a mouth and two thumbs does NOT make a person funny or even trainable, no matter what the “name” stand-up comedy teachers say to part money from unfunny people.

So if you want to whine and complain about your stand-up comedy adventures, best go somewhere else. The Prof is severely allergic to that BS.

Raging against stand-up comedy incompetence,
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.