I get really amused by what I can only describe as the “television intelligence” and “that’s the way it’s always been done” approach that permeates society when it comes to developing stand-up comedy material that actually works for the stage.

Ooops! Pardon me—I was supposed to say “write” stand-up comedy. That’s how it’s done, right? All you have to do is “write” jokes that read funny on paper using any number of established “joke formulas”, right? It’s really just a matter of “plug-n-play”, isn’t it?

Then, all you have to do is say the jokes you wrote to an audience and they will wet their pants laughing, right? And if a joke doesn’t work, it’s because you didn’t “write” it properly. That’s how stand-up comedy really works, right? Read the rest of this entry

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

I am always amazed at the low quality information one can find online about “how to write a stand-up comedy routine”. I also often wonder how many people actually try some of the nonsense found in some of the tops spots in the search engines.

Let me provide you a real life example:

In the #1 spot on Google, I found an article that provided this seemingly basic process describing how to write a stand-up comedy routine:

Write some jokes
Put the jokes in order
Decide what your stage persona is going to be
Rehearse your act
Work out your timing Read the rest of this entry

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

I can tell by the search terms that people use to find this blog that there continues to be a stream of folks who appear to be looking for the “pot of gold at the end of the rainbow” when it comes to “writing” stand-up comedy material.

One of the frequent search terms that people use to get here is “how to write punchlines”.

For those folks who are convinced beyond a shadow of a doubt that “writing” is the key to being hilarious on stage, may I recommend that you make a small investment in any number of inexpensive books that are available on “writing” stand-up comedy.

Personally, I find the “mainstream” approach to “writing” stand-up comedy material or how to write punchlines much akin to the 1700′s concept of bleeding sick people to remove the evil spirits that cause illness. A lot of people had to croak before that process was chucked into the “this really doesn’t work that good” category. Read the rest of this entry

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