Stand-Up Comedy and Creativity

[ravlondon]

I did Stand up for the first time in 2016 at 21 years old, the topics were childhood, personal development, culture, psychology.

I took a lot of inspiration from Actualized at that time.

I'm looking to get back into it in 2021.

 

Has anyone done stand-up or similar?

What practises do you do to get the humour and creative juices flowing?

Edited November 28, 2020 by ravlondon

[mandyjw]

Awesome! I don't do stand up, but running seems to be a really good way to get in a flow state where funny connections occur to me. 

[Yarco]

I've heard from a few people that taking improv classes really helps. Not specifically with standup, any kind of public speaking, being able to think quickly on your feet and come up with snappy comments, getting comfortable in front of a group of people, etc.

[Oliver Saavedra]

Tim Ferris just had a podcast with Jerry Seinfeld which was SO GOOD, talking about systematization of the practice and many insights about creativity.

I remember he recommends weight training and trascendental meditation or something around that. 

[nistake]

I heard that people who do standup are constantly observing their environment, looking for jokes. I'd say that's a good practise. Be on the lookout, try to make jokes out of the most ordinary events. Maybe carry a small notebook with yourself and jot down ideas on the spot and work on them later. That's what I'd do.

[charlie cho]

I don't know if you know Bill Burr. Listen to Bill Burr's monday morning podcasts. And also, you can search on youtube of what Bill Burr thinks what one needs to have in order to succeed. He comments also on how a stand up could be a ble to succeed. One thing that goes deep into me is that he says he tries not to think too many thoughts in his stand up. And not be too emotional. Basically, he's very zen about it. And he literally said that he goes for being zen when he does stand up. Ironically, Bill Burr bashes on self help a lot (to make fun). Anyways, not only is the guy fucking hilarious, (and I think he has a lot of hurt from his childhood listening to his stories, he self admittedly says he didn't have a nice childhood), he is intelligent and truly loves his audiences. I urge you listen to his advice on stand up or widely how he percieves how success comes through youtube videos. 

[Bubba66]

Congratulations, you are partaking in the purest form of free speech, and a form of modern philosophy. 

I did standup for three years on and off again, started the very same time that you did actually, in 2016. I rarely went up on stage with a script. I dont know how you feel about scripting your jokes, but times when I "killed it" I did so without a script, and with a recent and relevant anecdote from my life.

Something that really helps me is to reflect on the type of people who laugh at my jokes: are they your friends who like to set things on fire? Are they your buddies from Law School with a dry sense of humor? Are they your siblings who laugh at your physical expense? This tells you your joke content and style (physical-pratt humor, Ryan Renolds-paced wit, Jerry Seinfeld story-telling, George Carlin Nihilism, Etc.). 

Really sit down and journal or ask yourself about WHO you are usually making laugh in your day to day, and then pretend to be speaking to that person once you are on stage. This also plays into that old public speaking rule of "speak to one person at a time, and you will do fine." 

Think about which is more fun and less stressful: trying to make your best friend laugh for ten minutes, or trying to make a whole crowd of strangers laugh. 

 

Also remember the Legend Steve Martin: Props, wit, music, and hell, even a skit or powerpoint presentation can be damn funny. Its the ultimate art form, left up to you and your audience's interpretation.