One of the things I was asked to do when being filmed for the stand-up comedy documentary I Am Comic which premieres at the Slamdance Film Festival this month was to evaluate a Jeff Foxworthy performance before he became a household name.

I don’t even know if that scene made it into the film. But here’s what happened during my part of the filming…

When I arrived at the Uber Content studio in Hollywood, Jordan Brady (director) and Ritch Shydner (host) had already preselected 6 or 7 comedians for me to evaluate using my Comedy Evaluator Pro software. A Jeff Foxworthy performance before he became a comedy star was one of those earmarked for evaluation.

The Jeff Foxworthy performance I evaluated (for 3-4 minutes) was in a comedy club venue and I am going to roughly guess that there were no more than 300 audience members in that venue for that performance.

I started the evaluation at the very beginning of Jeff’s comedy club set, which tends to be the weakest part of a headlining comedian’s comedy routine overall.

After 3-4 minutes I stopped the evaluation and determined Jeff Foxworthy’s PAR Score to be 35 — an average of 35% of each minute evaluated (21 seconds) was filled with laughter, cheering or applause.

Here’s what I know from that brief, yet revealing evaluation:

1. Jeff Foxworthy was just “coming into stride” with his routine when I was asked to stop the evaluation. I suspect that had I evaluated more of his comedy routine, he would have had a PAR Score approaching 40, which is very significant for a comedian in a venue of 300 audience members or less.

2. ANY comedian who can achieve and maintain a PAR Score of 35 or above consistently is noteworthy anywhere, regardless of fame or popularity.

Then Ritch Shydner asked me this question:

Does a comedian’s “star power” have an impact on their PAR Score?

The answer is yes, but it mostly has to do with the audience size a comedy star can draw and perform for rather than the “awe factor” of watching a comedy star perform. Big comedy stars don’t usually perform in 200-300 seat venues. And the larger the audience, the longer (and stronger) laughs can be which directly impacts a comedian’s PAR Score.

Keep this in mind — no matter how big a comedy star a performer may be, if they are NOT funny, they aren’t going to get a great PAR Score just because they are a comedy star no matter how big (or small) an audience may be.

But just like me, you will have to wait and see which one of my scenes actually made it into the film. And my anticipation to see the film is building I must say!

The stand-up comedy documentary is called I Am Comic and managed to rate a special screening at the Slamdance Film Festival in Jan 2010.

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.

On Friday Jan 15, 2009, I got the opportunity to interview comedian Ritch Shydner, the host and narrator  for the new stand-up comedy documentary “I Am Comic” (directed by Jordan Brady) which will be premiering at the Slamdance Film Festival later this month.

The recording of the almost 19 minute interview is provided below. And I will tell you this—you will be hard pressed to find another comedian on the planet who is as passionate about the art of stand-up comedy as Ritch Shydner.  Click here for a short list of the all-star comedians featured in I Am Comic.

So that you are able to put a face to the voice in the interview, here’s a clip from stand-up comedy documentary I Am Comic that features Ritch in the very first scene, talking about the Internet:

Probably one of the most important parts of this interview comes when I asked Ritch how stand-up comedy had changed, since he interviewed and talked with dozens of comedians at all levels in the business.

And that important part is about the need for comedians to actively market themselves because of the competitive nature of stand-up comedy.

But also keep this in mind as you listen to the interview…

Ritch’s viewpoint is influenced from his years in LA, both as a great stand-up comedian, but also as an accomplished comedy writer in Hollywood who has worked with countless comedians over the course of his career.

NOTE: There are plenty of lucrative opportunities for comedians outside the Los Angeles or New York City areas in markets outside the comedy club market. But the need for marketing is a constant for any comedy performer no matter where they live.

Here’s my interview with Ritch Shydner, host and narrator of the new stand-up documentry I Am Comic:

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Run Time:
19 Minutes

I think you will find my interview with Ritch Shydner fast paced, interesting and revealing. And we do talk a little bit about my Comedy Evaluator Pro software, since it is featured in I Am Comic.

Ritch gives an honest assessment of the software and talks about one application of the software that he does not think would be favorable – having comedy clubs or booking entities select comedians solely on their PAR Score.

I would have to agree 100%. The software is a tool that can only be used to measure and quantify laughter generation — nothing more. Comedians will always need to be reviewed for content and showmanship for booking purposes.

I think you will really like my interview with Ritch Shydner, host and narrator of I Am Comic, which premieres on Jan 27 at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City, UT. Thanks a TON to Ritch Shydner for the great interview!

Please leave your comments on my blog below once you have listened to the interview. If you have questions that you would like me to ask Ritch in a future interview about stand-up comedy or I Am Comic, include those as well.

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.

I just got back from the Slamdance Film Festival world premiere of the stand-up comedy documentary called I Am Comic directed by Jordan Brady and narrated by comedian Ritch Shydner.

So, what’s the verdict? I am going to predict right now that I Am Comic is going to be a wildly popular film, not just among stand-up comedians, but among anyone who is a fan of stand-up comedy.

Let me start off by saying this—I Am Comic is certainly NOT your typical documentary. This film is not only interestingly informative, it is seriously funny and entertaining throughout the entire film—even in the more dramatic and serious moments that are captured in the later part of documentary.

You won’t find a more fascinating or revealing look at stand-up comedy, not just as an art form but also as a career and a business as told by comedians from all levels of stand-up comedy than you will in I Am Comic.

I Am Comic is not just an expose of life on the road as comedian. The documentary also covers a number of topics including comedy material development, theft of comedy material by other comedians, and the impact of the Internet among others.

Yes, my Comedy Evaluator Pro software was featured in the film and my scenes initially drew some disapproving groans but ended on a funny note. Did my part and my software have a significant impact on the film? Without a doubt! I know that from the level of questions asked at the end of the film.

And yes, I suspect my software will continue to generate controversy as the popularity of the film expands once it is available for distribution.

I Am Comic is so well done and so damn funny that in a perfect world, I would hope that this hard hitting stand-up comedy documentary would have a shot at movie theater distribution before heading to cable TV and DVD distribution. Why?

Because I already know that movie theater audiences will laugh their rear ends off. The world premiere screening had about 80 people watching the film for the first time and they laughed hard during the entire film.

I was also given permission by Jordan Brady to collect an audio recording of the film and the audience reaction while I was there. So, sometime next week, I will actually have the first PAR Score ever for a comedy movie—a great baseline for other comedy movies to shoot for (which I already know will be difficult—this stand-up comedy documentary is just that funny, from beginning to end).

Needless to say, I will be interested to see the relationship between the film’s popularity and its PAR Score.

My special thanks goes out to Jordan Brady for giving me a role in this film and to Ritch Shynder for asking hard hitting, provocative questions during his interview of me that gave my scenes real impact.

I will keep you posted as the stand-up comedy documentary I Am Comic makes its way from film festival introduction into wider distribution.

Am I excited? Without a doubt.

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.