We’d all love to be as good as Jon Stewart at the Daily Show. (Wouldn’t we? I would! ) Current events jokes can be a pain because they are related to a moment that will end soon so you can’t use the joke over and over as you would more …
ACTING EXERCISES FOR STANDUP COMEDIANS
Here are some solo exercises you can use to improve your acting skills. Good actors can make things believable. Being credible onstage for an actout joke or a sincere punchline is crucial. You also need performance skills and good vocal variety. Try these tools from the world of acting when …
COMEDY CADENCE. Mastering rhythm
(Especially when performing for non-native speakers) Controlling your cadence is crucial for any stand-up comedian. But it becomes even more important when performing for audiences where English may not be the primary language. In this post, we’ll look at cadence techniques to maximize laughs, as well as specific tips for …
NEW JOKES OR OLD JOKES?
Hopefully some of the jokes you wrote from your first open mic got a response. Keep whatever was working for you, and bring those jokes back. Can you add new jokes to the same premise? (A Tag). A lot of knowing if jokes work comes from practicing the jokes multiple …
COMEDY PODCASTS. For comedians by comedians.
The Best Podcasts for Stand-Up Comedians Learning Comedy You can learn a lot from the pros. We recommend the following podcasts which are specifically for LEARNING to write comedy. Topics covered are everything from comedy personas to breaking down joke structure and performance skills. URLS change all the time, and …
THE SECOND OPEN MIC
So you survived your first standup comedy open mic. Congratulations. Whether you killed it or you bombed or (more likely) something in between, you are no longer a standup comedy virgin. You got up there and showed the audience you have a right to be on that stage. Congrats. Now …
WRITING YOUR FIRST FIVE MINUTES OF COMEDY
So you want to start standup comedy. Where to start? A good way to find topics for your first five minutes of standup comedy is to have a think about yourself… what’s unique about you? What are your most pronounced personality traits? You cannot control whether an audience will laugh at your …
SETUP & PUNCHLINE. The two parts of jokes
The key to writing a successful joke is to make sure you understand how joke structure works. PREMISE. First you need a setup. This is a topic that is what your joke is about. It could be about relationships or politics or or even an anecdote of something that happened …
JOKE INSPIRATION LIST.
Check out our joke inspiration list before heading to your next open mic. For new comedians it can be difficult to know what you should write jokes about. For more experienced comedians it can be easy to get writers block and not be able to think of any fresh ideas. …
PREMISE DECONSTRUCTION. Using Improvisation to find Joke Premises
As a standup, you know the importance of strong, focused premises. But coming up with great ideas can be difficult. Taking a tip from improv can help spark new premises in a low-pressure, creative way. The format “Armando” asks an improviser to give a truthful, autobiographical monologue about a word …
JOKE RACK SIMILES. Comparing unlike things.
Write original punchlines using comparisons to random objects. Fill In The Blanks with an object, and then write your own punchline. Sex with me is like a (blank). We will choose ‘meeting’ for this example.. Now write your own punchline. It lasts too long and 80% of the people don’t …
THE SIMILE GAME. Comparing two verbs using like.
Choose two random activities that end in -ing. Say why the two unlike things are alike. Speaking Russian is a lot like turning on a fan, because when you’re near either things are spinning. Tossing horseshoes is a lot like buying groceries because nobody wants to play that game.
101 TOM SWIFTIES. A Pun exercise
A Tom Swiftie is a short joke that uses a slightly different double meaning for an adverb, which is great for practicing wordplay jokes. Pun a phrase with an adverb, using the format: “[phrase]” he said “[adverb]-ly. I have a split personality,” said Tom, being frank. “I hope you freeze to death”, …
WRITING PUNS. The Pun Store exercise
Write as many puns for each ‘store’ as you possibly can. Then pick a new store and repeat till you feel your Dad vibes flowing. THE PUN STORE I run a BLANK store. (Let the internet help you find a random object.) How’s business? Pretty ________ (insert adjective) Example: I …
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