I want to paint a visual picture for you—one that will explain EXACTLY why naturally funny people in everyday life struggle to get laughs with their stand-up comedy material.
Before I continue, let me say this—an individual CANNOT “write” themselves into having comedy talent on stage. An individual CANNOT “write” themselves into getting the big laughs on stage, no matter what any so-called comedy teacher or book on stand-up comedy tells you.
Now let me explain why with a music analogy…
Let’s assume that you want to learn how to play the piano, so you go to a recognized music teacher who provides piano lessons.
When you get there, you are introduced to a piano that only has 6 keys that work out of the 88 keys on the piano.
But the teacher tells you that you can learn how to play the piano like a pro by simply focusing on understanding and mastering the 6 keys that work on the piano.
So you study and practice everyday for months using only the 6 working keys that your music teacher insists will give you most of the skill you need to master playing the piano. Read the rest of this entry
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.
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
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.
One of the reasons that I simply despise the stand-up comedy term “joke writing” is because it automatically generates the expectation that the path to being funny on stage is the result of “writing” something on paper in the literal sense or using a word processor that will magically be hilarious when spoken on stage.
There are hordes of people who struggle week after week, year after year trying to pan through written “joke” after written “joke” and develop their “joke writing” skills, only to discover that most of their “jokes” don’t generate laughter when delivered on stage.
In my professional opinion, I believe “joke writing”, as it is visualized and implemented by most people is one of the most stagnating and limiting aspects of comedy material development, especially for those who are naturally funny people wanting to take a real shot at stand-up comedy. Read the rest of this entry
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.