Avoiding The Excuses That Hinder Stand-up Comedy Success
As I was reflecting on the stand-up documentary “I Am Comic” that I was chosen to participate in, it is really humbling to realize that…
Out of all the comedy teachers on the planet, I was chosen to be a part it. Not comedy teachers from Los Angeles or New York. Not comedy teachers from some sort “established” comedy school. But wait, it gets better…
I don’t have any TV credits as a comedian. I don’t have a book available in the major book stores or on Amazon.com. I don’t even know how to write a stand-up comedy “joke” in the “traditional” way (thank God).
But of all the stand-up comedy “gurus” they could have chosen…
They chose a stand-up comedy guru who lives in a small town in Kentucky that doesn’t even have a comedy club. And what some people don’t know is that…
The production company (Uber Content) wanted to come from LA to Bowling Green, KY to film me. It was only dumb luck timing that put me in Los Angeles for business at the same time they wanted to film me.
Wow!
And I may be wrong, but I believe that I am the only comedy “guru” to be featured in a stand-up comedy documentary in awhile.
How was I “discovered”? Internet research on comedy related software.
It’s all amazing to me, considering that just like most comedians…
At the beginning of my comedy career, I fantasized about being in my own televised stand-up comedy special. As a matter of fact, I wanted to be the first comedian on active duty in the military with their own full blown comedy special.
But I realized that due to market dynamics and the state of televised stand-up comedy at the time, that wasn’t going to happen for me.
But I would have never guessed in a million years that I would be a part of major stand-up comedy documentary. That was never anything that ever even crossed my mind.
All I know is that I am not very good at too many things. I have two ex-wives who will gladly verify that statement. 
So bragging is not something I get to participate in regularly.
But when it comes to stand-up comedy…
If you can find ANYONE who knows the real mechanics and dynamics of comedy and humor better than I do, please let me know who they are. I have been and will continue to be a student of this amazing and gratifying performing art.
If you managed to read this far, know this…
It’s not about where you live, how old you are or any other “excuse” you can come with to justify why you aren’t getting ahead in stand-up comedy or in your life in general.
It’s ALL about going after what you want and being the very best you can be for any audience that you perform for. Have the courage to know when you are great at what you do and capitalize on it to the extent possible.
Take action, be persistent, be a real pro and make it a point to be a real student of the art, science and business of comedy. Forget about excuses and focus on what you can do to move forward.
Once you do that, an amazing thing will happen…
Opportunities will start knocking on your door. The only thing that remains at that juncture will be…
Will you be ready to open the door when opportunity knocks?
Once it has gone to a wider release, I hope you get the chance to check out the stand-up documentary “I Am Comic”. Let me know what YOU think.
Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money
About the Author/Founder of the SCP Blog
Steve Roye is the author of the Killer Stand-up Comedy System and is a globally recognized expert in the field of stand-up comedy material development and presentation strategies -- for entertainers as well as speaking professionals.Please check out the Featured Articles page for direct links to articles on this blog for pro comedians, comedy entertainers, and speaking professionals.
Last 5 posts by Steve Roye
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Tagged with: comedy club • comedy school • I Am Comic • stand up comedy • stand-up comedy documentary
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I think comics who like to wallow in excuses and cutting down other comics forget that doing so does nothing to move your career forward and gives people a negative impression of you. I recently discovered a seven part interview of Carlin from the American Insitute of Television on TV, and what struck me the most is how the best cynic of our time had such a positive attitude when it came to his career. He was realistic and willing to do the work, but there was a gratitude and appreciation that you might not expect from the word’s foremost cynic.
This is probably why Carlin dreamed of being on the Jack Paar show in the early 1960s, and while largely unknown, managed to make it happen only ten months later. And most of the TV appearances that followed came even quicker than that. It’s very similar to advice from Robert Kiosoki, author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, keep your mind on your own business. Translated to comedy, it means focus on what you visualize as success and work towards it without getting distracted by all the negative energy and background noise. I incidentally agree strongly with Steve’s and Kiosoki’s advice.
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