3 Secrets You Must Know Before You Try Stand-up Comedy

3 Secrets You Must Know Before You Try Stand-up Comedy

If you are one of those people who have heard this statement over and over again:

“You should be a comedian!”

Then the chances are pretty darn good that you have seriously considered taking a shot at stand-up comedy.

If that describes you and you want to progress quickly, here are 3 secrets that you must know before you jump into the stand-up comedy arena…

Secret #1: You don’t have to fabricate or invent some sort of special “stage character” to make rapid progress as a comedian.

Unfortunately, most people looking to try stand-up comedy are under the impression that they must develop some sort of special “stage character” in order to succeed as a comedian.

That is 100% false and actually adds an unnecessary level of difficulty to developing a stand-up comedy act that gets noteworthy laughs.

The truth of the matter is — you are already the most unique “character” that you will ever be.

You already have a well developed sense of humor, along with natural expressive comedy traits that you use effortlessly to make others laugh in everyday life.

These attributes make up the unique “character” that you already are and that you can easily use to your advantage as a comedian if you know how.

Let me put this another way — the comedy mechanics that you use naturally to generate laughs from friends, family, coworkers, acquaintances, etc. are exactly the same as those that will generate the biggest laughs on the stand-up comedy stage in the shortest time possible:

httpv://youtu.be/cRO15L3Bs8w

This secret ties directly into the next one…

Secret #2: Don’t fall into the trap of trying to “write” your stand-up comedy material from a blank piece of paper.

This can set you back in a big way and here’s why:

There is a HUGE difference between trying to “write” stand-up comedy material from a blank piece of paper that is crafted to be “read” (which actually sets you up to bomb on stage) and…

Knowing how to structure what you want to say and express to an audience in a way that takes full advantage of ALL of your already developed natural comedy talent and ability:

httpv://youtu.be/eEnFMh4dvkA

As mentioned in the video, don’t discount this important fact if you are serious about capitalizing on your comedy talent quickly as a comedian:

Audiences don’t “read” stand-up comedy material — they experience it as it is expressed and delivered by the comedian.

Plus, trying to “write” anything from a blank piece of paper is difficult to say the least.

But developing big laugh stand-up comedy material can be easy provided you know how structure your unique sense of humor and incorporate your natural expressive comedy traits into your comedy material for the stand-up comedy stage.

Then there’s the “money secret” that is rarely talked about…

Secret #3: The most abundant and potentially lucrative performing opportunities for comedians are available to those who are able to develop a clean stand-up comedy act.

Comedians who are only able to develop a blue or an “adults only” stand-up comedy act are pretty much confined to the highly competitive, low paying comedy club market.

Don’t take my word for it – check out this article from the Wall Street Journal:

At Stand-up Comedy School, Students Clean Up Their Acts

However, comedians who can develop and deliver a clean, high impact stand-up comedy act can also capitalize on high paying, low competition comedy markets outside the comedy club arena such as:

  • Corporate functions and events
  • Golf and sporting events
  • Association, civic and fraternal club events
  • Country club events
  • Christmas parties
  • Cruise ships and more

Note: Typically, these types of gigs can pay from $20-$70+ per performing minute depending upon act quality, experience and reputation.

Final Thoughts

With over two decades of combined experience as a successful headlining comedian and stand-up comedy educator, I can tell you this with great certainty:

There is a very hard way and a there is a much, much easier way to approach stand-up comedy if it is your desire to do so.

If you are serious about taking a shot at stand-up comedy and want to make progress in the shortest time possible…

Avoid the unnecessary mistakes most aspiring comedians make. Those mistakes are identified in detail in the 5 free online lessons available on this website.

There are few experiences on the planet that can compete with the thrill, respect, admiration and sense of accomplishment that comes with making an audience laugh out loud.

I hope the information that I have provided in the brief report has been of benefit to you and I wish you the best success in your stand-up comedy adventures!

For more information about top comedy trainer Steve Roye, use the About The Author link at the bottom of the page.