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 …
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 …
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 …
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.
WRITING PUNS. The Pun Store exercise
THE PUN STORE 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. I run a BLANK store. (Let the internet help you find a random object.) How’s business?Pretty ________ (insert adjective) Example: I run …
You must be logged in to post a comment.