Becoming A Comedian: The Hardest 3 Minutes
When I made the decision to become a comedian back in 1992, I hit one of the most difficult road blocks in my comedy career–coming up with just 3 minutes of solid, big laugh, A-list comedy material.
After about 6 months I had 10-15 minutes of material. Not good material, not at all. I had a bunch of “jokes” strung together, some of which got laughs from time to time.
Even though that all changed when I developed the Killer Stand-up Comedy System for myself, I made an interesting observation…
No matter where you are at in stand-up comedy, your progression in a stand-up comedy career will ultimately be dictated by 10 minutes or less of hard hitting stand-up comedy material or less, whether on a DVD or a live showcase for work.
Here’s my take on this subject:
If you can develop 3 minutes of killer comedy material, you can develop 20 minutes of comedy material. Why?
Because if you can kill an audience in just 3 minutes, it means that you have captured your own natural sense of timing, you should be able to “feel” where a punchline (reaction) needs to be, and you should have a good sense of your own delivery style.
In my humble opinion, you should be just as comfortable doing 3 minutes as you are doing 30 minutes on stage.
Your First Steps[ ** Sorry... This content is available exclusively for SCP Blog Members ONLY. Please Login or Register to access this MEMBERS ONLY content ** ]
I am going to do a complete post on this in the future, but in my opinion if you are not recording and reviewing your act frequently, your are not a serious player in the game of comedy.
There is a Premium Article available that takes you step-by-step through the process of delivering your first minute on stage to get the absolute maximum laughter impact in the shortest period of time.
It’s called Starting Your Stand-up Comedy Act: Your First 60 Seconds.
Click here to check out the review of that Premium Article.
Final Thoughts
Probably the most important thing I would do it not try to work with a single joke or a couple of jokes. I would start with a topic–talking about an experience, an idea, an observation, an event, an opinion or whatever. It’s far, far easier to work with a mound of undeveloped comedy material than to try to write a joke, then write another joke that will compliment that joke and on and on.
I would also be very cognizant of the fact that it’s not the words and sentences that I will say that will get the laughs–it will be how I say what it is I have to say that will get the laughs I want on stage.
But no matter where you are at in your own stand-up comedy career, just know that even if you develop 90 solid minutes of hilarious comedy material…
You still need to be the master of 3 minutes.
Now, get ready for the BIG show!
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
- The Big Punchline Secret Nobody Talks About - March 10th, 2010
- What Are The Best Comedy Topics? - March 8th, 2010
- Comedy Show Promotion Basics - March 8th, 2010
- Performing In Comedy Venues With High Ceilings - March 6th, 2010
- Headliner Level Performance In Just 9 Shows? Meet Killer Stand-up Comedian Wendy Bax - March 6th, 2010
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Steve,
I am a graduate of the Second City writing program in Chicago. I finished 9 years a ago have an arsenal of comedy sketches for groups. About 6 months ago I became fascinated with stand-up and purchased your Killer Stand-up program. Excellent material!
My tip for a newbie on trying to create their first three minutes is to use a funny story they find themselves telling over and over. The hard part for many people is to think of a story that they do repeat. It’s easy to find one – ask your friends or family – “What funny story of mine is your favorite to hear?” You’re likely to get more than one. This is your starting point.
I then would record the story onto a tape or if you have a microphone on your computer, record the story using the computer software. (By the way you can buy Adobe Audition or other recording software for under $25.00 on ebay or shareware). These programs can use file formats that save space over WAV files.
Once I have it recorded, I do like you say in this YouTube post – I transcribe the story the way I said it, word-for-word. It’s easy because you can pause and type it up. From there I apply your Killer Writing techniques and get the material in format and reduce the setup lines and increase the punchlines.
By the way, I had already done as you have posted here, and transcribed my favorite comedy bits into your format and it has helped tremendously in my own writing.
I also record my material onto the computer and convert it into MP3 format and transfer it onto my iPod. I can then play it over and over and learn my material faster. I can also re-record my material and learn the changes faster. I even record my favorite comedian bits in my own voice so that I can apply their delivery techniques to my own material. I don’t mimic them, but I do try to get their cadence and inflections, so I can see how it adds to the laughs and then bring that to my delivery.
I am rewriting my old multi-actor sketches into solo stand-up material and your techniques are allowing me to hone that material to razor sharpness. As one of my favorite big name comedians says – his act is really just a number of two minute plays where he plays all the roles – I am finding my act is getting stronger with better, original material for myself. Thanks again!
Thanks for your comments!
I hope folks take the time to read it — there is some valuable insight in these comments.
Cheers,
The Prof
Thats a grate post but one thing never easy to make people laugh its true dear
funny stories’s last blog post..we are living in hindustan