become a comedian

How To Become A Stand Up Comedian

Posted: 6 January 2010

What is the real difference about being a stand up comedian or just a plain comedian? Well, the definition of each can either be the same or very different. The main difference as people see it is that a stand up comedian is doing a sort of improvised performance. Even though experienced comedians know that they almost always are well practised performances. A stand up comedian strives to be funny at a moments notice, he should be able to walk up on a stage and instantly get the audience attention. An ordinary comedian does not have to do that, he can simply write sketches and get his monthly sallery from that. I would personally say, that it takes so much more to become a stand up comedian than just an ordinary comedian.

Where to start?

First of all, as I said before, your performance should seem to be improvised. It's a skill just to make your show look good. Try going up the stage with a few everyday life situations, and try to start off by saying something like "you know the annoying ads in the middle of a tv-show that...". It's important to always get a connection with the audience in the beginning. Try to generalize the audience brutally, and come up with the most general subject that you know at least 90% of the audience has experienced, but which you can still make a good joke about. If you follow this tip, you are sure not to fail, and that's good to a start. You won't probably be the most funny comedian they have ever seen because that would require a better story, but it would still be worth their time.

How to move at the stage

An audience will instantly spot if you are nervous if you are doing strange movements. It's easy to say to act naturally, but it can be very hard to do when you are in front of a big crowd. There are a few simple tricks I recommend you to follow, to better handle the situation. For instance, get your hands to do something naturally. Put one of your hands in the pocket and let the other one hold the microphone. Make sure to hold the microphone as still as possible. Then let your legs do the classic walk, which you have seen so many, not only comedians but speechers do. Walk to one part of the stage, not to fast, not to slow at the same time as you are talking. Then stay at that part of the stage for a while, and look out at the crowd in front of you. Then move at a steady pace to the other side of the stage and look out at the crowd there. This will show the audience that you are confident, and this I would say makes 50% of the show.

Conclusion

I know, I've been rushing this through, and that there are a lot of essential details to add, but as you already might know, this site offers a complete become a comedian course, which I really recommend you get your hands on. It will teach you how to make your jokes, where to find gigs to work with, give you real-life situation examples etc. I promise you that you will find more information than you need in this course.