Please note: The review for this advanced Premium Article can be found here.

Even though I have provided all the techniques and secrets to easily write a stand-up comedy routine that kills from scratch in the Killer Stand-up Comedy System…

I want to provide yet another step-by-step example of how to write a stand-up comedy routine using my system—starting with nothing more than a single headline out of the news.

Just like in my previous advanced Premium Article…

I’m going to take you through the process that I would use to write a brand new stand-up comedy routine very quickly that gets big laughs.

You can also use the comedy material I present as your own use if you so desire.

Some things to be aware of before we begin:

1. Most of laughter impact of ANY stand-up comedy routine comes from the delivery, NOT from the words as they are read from paper or a word processor.

So as you go through the process with me below, realize that what I will be presenting will probably not “read” funny.

2. In the Premium Article Starting Your Stand-up Comedy Act: Your First 60 Seconds, I took a more “experience” based approach in developing that comedy routine. In this Premium Article, I am going to employ a more “observational” and “perspective” based approach, using my own sense of humor to react to what I have observed.

3. Premium Articles should be considered an independent supplement, not a replacement for the extensive techniques, strategies and secrets revealed in the Killer Stand-up Comedy System.

Note: This article is one of two in the Advanced Comedy Writing Package that is provided as a bonus with the Killer Stand-up Audio Training Course when it is made available.

 

I was looking at CNN.com (I look at it briefly everyday) and I saw this news headline:

Man calls 911 while struggling with police

While I didn’t laugh out loud, I immediately knew that this line had great comedic value for me. I began to visualize some guy holding a cell phone, telling 911 he was getting accosted by the police and needed help.

In other words…

This single line touched my funny bone and I instantly began to use my own sense of humor to play out the various scenarios in my mind.

I also knew that this line was both a set-up and a punchline—in a single sentence. So, I don’t even have to come up with the first punchline.

Here’s the way I would set this comedy routine up (with an overall initial attitude of disbelief and amazement):

A lot of strange stuff in the news
Saw this headline
Man calls 911 while struggling with…
**The police

Here’s what you need to know about this set-up:

1. It only takes 17 words to get to the punchline which is “The police”. I added one word to the headline—“the” police instead of police. This was done to accommodate my own speaking rhythm.

2. I would deliberately pause an extra second or two after this line: Man calls 911 while struggling with…

That will add more anticipation (and create a bigger laugh) because no one will be suspecting that the man is calling 911 to report the police who are trying to bring him in.

3. There are actually 3 major perspectives or points of view I can easily take using my sense of humor to make fun of the situation:

The man calling 911
The 911 operator
The police

In order to develop this bit further, all I need to do is experience this situation in own mind from one or all of these perspectives.

In other words…

I need only to “play out” what could have happened, using my own warped perspective and sense of humor from each point of view.

I should also let you know that I didn’t even read the article. I didn’t have to in order to visualize the wild and crazy events that could have occurred.

Let’s start from the perspective of the guy who is calling 911 on the police. Punchlines are identified with **.

A lot of strange stuff in the news
Saw this headline
Man calls 911 while struggling with…
**The police

What was that guy thinking?

[I would then take a crouching position, holding the phone (mic) and imitate fiercely fighting off the police with the other hand. I may throw a lame kick towards the police during this part of the routine.]

You gotta help me! I’m being attacked!
**No I can’t hold…
[to the police]
Back off – just back off!
**Can’t you see I’m on the phone here?
[back to the operator]
Yes, I’m getting beat up!
**No, don’t send them
**That’s who’s beating me up
Can you sen…
** Hello? Hello?

Here’s what you need to know about this bit:

1. The real laughter power from this bit comes from acting out how the man may have reacted in that situation.

It is the body language, facial expressions, voice inflections and tone variations that gives this comedy routine serious laughter power.

2. It only took a 4 word line to move right into the meat of this bit:

What was that guy thinking?

3. There are only 75 words in this bit, making it about 40 seconds long WITHOUT the laughter. It would probably be over a minute long with the laughter.

4. Notice that there are 6 punchlines in this routine. This is a PERFECT example of how staying on a single topic allows you less time for set-up, more time for reactions (punchlines).

Body language secret: Turn the microphone upside down when talking on the phone. This makes it easy to simulate talking on the phone while keeping the microphone close to your mouth and gives you one hand free for enhanced body language power.

Now, let’s flesh this bit out from another perspective.

A lot of strange stuff in the news
Saw this headline
Man calls 911 while struggling with…
**The police

Can you imagine the operator handling that call?

[on the phone]

911 – What is your emergency?
[pause]
I’m sorry I couldn’t make out what you said
** Can you turn down that whacking sound?
What address should I send the police to?
[pause]
Oh, wow. Then…
**What address should I send the paramedics to?

Now, let’s approach this from the police perspective.

A lot of strange stuff in the news
Saw this headline
Man calls 911 while struggling with…
**The police

I can just see the police there going:

[To the other police office while in a crouching position, shifting foot to foot, angry as if ready to attack.]

Hey! That guy’s talking to 911!

[pause - look of confusion]

**Can we get in trouble for that?

Now, let’s put it all together:

A lot of strange stuff in the news
Saw this headline
Man calls 911 while struggling with…
**The police

What was that guy thinking?

[see stage notes above]

You gotta help me! I’m being attacked!
**No I can’t hold…
[to the police]
Back off – just back off!
**Can’t you see I’m on the phone here?
[back to the operator]
Yes, I’m getting beat up!
**No, don’t send them
**That’s who’s beating me up
Can you sen…
** Hello? Hello?

Can you imagine the operator handling that call?

[on the phone]

911 – What is your emergency?
[pause]
I’m sorry I couldn’t make out what you said
** Can you turn down that whacking sound?
What address should I send the police to?
[pause]
Oh, wow. Then…
**What address should I send the paramedics to?

I can just see the police there going:

[To the other police office while in a crouching position, shifting foot to foot, angry as if ready to attack.]

Hey! That guy’s talking to 911!

[pause - look of confusion]

**Can we get in trouble for that?

Here’s the final breakdown of this bit:

1. This bit is 142 words long, making it about 70 seconds of comedy material WITHOUT the laugher. There should be 20-30 seconds of laughter for this bit—possibly more depending on the audience size.

2. There are 9 punchlines in this bit. I also know that I will get laughs on additional lines that aren’t punchlines, just from the way I say the line and the expression on my face as I say that line and look at the audience.

And because this is about a single topic, once set-up it is pretty darn easy to get “on a roll”.

3. There is another perspective that could possibly be used, which is that of onlookers watching the event as it is happening.

But as I was developing this bit for myself, I couldn’t really come up with anything that I thought was humorous from that perspective.

HINT: Never try to “force” funny on something you actually don’t find funny.

4. This bit is perfect for conversational testing (just do tell anyone you are talking to that you are working on stand-up comedy material).

5. This bit is completely “clean” and well suited for the corporate and other higher paying markets.

Now For The Big Secrets

I have just showed how I could take a single news headline and turn it into a complete stand-up comedy routine without having even reviewing the article.

Big secret #1: Strange and off beat news stories are low hanging fruit when it comes to developing big laugh comedy material quickly and easily. You need only apply your sense of humor and the strategies in the Killer Stand-up Comedy System to be able to produce high impact comedy material at will.

There’s no end to the supply of these stories. Here’s one free resource you can use that is excellent. If you can’t find an offbeat news article there that tickles your funny bone, I would be completely surprised. But keep in mind there are many different sources available.

Most of the time, most if not all of your audience will not have even seen the news story you are talking about. So comedy bits from these headlines and articles are timeless.

I only look at articles that I personally find humorous from the headline. When I read more, I don’t worry about complete accuracy when I’m developing comedy material. I depend on my sense of humor and my reactions to that headline or article to drive my comedy material.

I don’t know if you realized it or not, but…

I didn’t “write” any jokes. I didn’t “write” stand-up comedy material from nothing. I started with a new headline I observed describing a situation and simply played out the parts, using my own sense of humor.

The “writing” part was merely so that I could see if I could eliminate any unnecessary words or sentences and to make sure my punchline structure is sound. I also use the writing part to see if I can add punchlines (reactions) to what I already have.

Big Secret #2: I would try this bit as is, realizing that I would want the biggest laughs from this bit at the end of the bit if I couldn’t get equal levels of laughter from all parts of this bit.

I could either rearrange the perspectives (ie: the 911 operator perspective) or…

I would simply eliminate the perspectives that weren’t getting the level of laughter that I want.

Big Secret #3: You’ll notice that I didn’t mention a thing about “characters” in the development of this comedy material.

That’s because…

I don’t have to try to develop any special “characters” at all in order to develop or deliver this comedy material. All I had to do was be me in those various perspectives. But from the audience’s perspective…

It will appear as if I’m doing “characters”. The reality is, I’m just being myself as I assume role of that perspective the way I want to—through my eyes and using my sense of humor.

Much the way you do when you show your friends your impression of how your Aunt Millie takes out her teeth at night before she goes to bed…

Big Secret #4: Even though the punchlines in this bit come in rapid succession, you still need to give the audience ample time to laugh after each punchline. Otherwise, you will start talking while the audience is still laughing and that will cut off your laughter power.

Big Secret #5: It literally took me 10 minutes to develop this comedy material. That’s primarily because I found the situation both highly amusing and interesting.

It was very easy to let my imagination run wild with what could have happened—from a number of perspectives.

It took me much longer to produce this Premium Article than it did to develop that comedy material.

 

Producing stand-up comedy material that works is really not difficult provided you aren’t trying to write “jokes” and you are willing to trust your sense of humor in the comedy material development process.

I hope you got some real value out of this advanced Premium Article. Please feel free to use the comment box below to share your comments.

Cheers,
Steve Roye
The Professor of Funny for Money

For more information about Steve Roye, author of this blog and the Killer Stand-up Online Course, click here.

Tags: comedy act, comedy routine, how to, write comedy material