TALKING FUNNY

Thoughts Regarding Stand-Up Comedy

OPEN MIC SYNDROME

I post this fully realizing it may ruffle some feathers… still, I have a theory…

Open Mics, in general, are producing weak “booked” or “paid” shows.

CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING…

They tend to be LAZY and LOOSE. Lots of fun, which is great for a mic, but a terrible comedy show education. If we’re not careful, we learn to be lazy.

They encourage MEDIOCRITY. There is little drive to be pro or accomplished. The tendency is to view this as “only practice” which it is – but it forms a mediocre habit.

There is MINIMAL HELPFUL AUDIENCE RESPONSE. We need to perform in front of “comedy hungry” audiences in order to receive honest FEEDBACK (reactions) on our material. Mics are typically “comedian heavy” with minimal true audience members.

They lack PROFESSIONALISM. This ties into the idea of mediocrity. Because we are just testing material, we bring up notes, pay little attention to our actual performance, attire, and other habits that just do not transfer well to a PAID or SHOWCASE opportunity.

They encourage UNFINISHED jokes. Comedians test jokes at an open mic and rarely take them to a more EDIDTED or REFINED level because, at a mic, they don’t need to. The problem comes when that comedian brings those same unfinished jokes to the stage of a booked, paid show. This reeks of “amateur.”

 At some point, the goal-oriented (meaning, wanting to move towards becoming a pro) comedian must take what they LEARN from open mics – fix what’s broken – and then perform ONLY FINISHED, TESTED JOKES in front of PAYING AUDIENCES. For example, comedy clubs, theater shows, festivals, contests, and, if the fates allow, a TV or broadcast appearance!

 The Open Mic Syndrome will NEVER work out well for the comedian in these settings:

A Broadcast Comedy Special

A Corporate Event

A Theater Show

A Cruise Ship

And similar professional shows and events.

My advice…

View the open mic as nothing more than a place to hang out with other comedians and share jokes.

Use this “stage time” as a true TRAINING GROUND to HONE YOUR JOKES and ACT.

Performing your joke at a mic is NOT the FINAL FORM of that joke!! Test the joke again and again at mics until it is 100% SOLID. THAT is the joke you perform at paid shows!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

One common theme I hear regarding open mics is how it’s important to always be testing new jokes to see if they work. While I tend to agree that we need to test new material, the problem I see (as mentioned in the above post) is that far too many comedians never take the unfinished joke to the next level - and even less often to a PROFESSIONALLY finished level - a FINISHED joke that brings the laughs. Why is that?

I think one reason is because comedians feel we never want to appear stale or old hat. Part of the thrill of stand-up is creating and performing a new joke. Even if it fails, at least it’s something fresh and exciting.

I began thinking about musicians… songwriters… as an example, let’s consider someone like Elton John. I once saw a video of him doing some initial work on “Tiny Dancer.” Parts of it were great. And other parts were horrid because he had not yet “finished” the song to a level of professional execution. If he had stopped at that first or second pass of the song, it might never have reached the level of popularity it gained. In other words - he KEPT WORKING on the song! Maybe he only worked on it all alone at a piano. Or in front of Bernie Taupin or other bandmates… and they got to HEAR the “pre-finished” song and possibly offer comments, both positive and negative.

Likewise, you can search online and find original sketches of famous works of art by people like Rockwell, or DaVinci, and see early “sketches” that led to FINISHED art that the world adores. The creativity came in SEGMENTS - a process - and sometimes those unfinished works were SEEN by others before reaching completion.

Why do I bring this up?

Because the process for the comedian is THE OPEN MIC. That is our CANVASS. That is our PIANO. That is OUR opportunity to test - AND REFINE - jokes over several performances. It is quite amateurish to claim that your joke is “one and done” at a mic, or that you should not repeat jokes at the next mic, or the next mic, or the next mic. At a mic, your GOAL is to be in the process of BUILDING A STRONG STAND-UP SET first and entertain the crowd second. As selfish as it might sound - the open mic is FOR US (the comedians) to use as our drawing table or sketch pad. If your first telling of a joke does not work - come back next week with a new version of that same joke that is better. Why?

Because, like Elton John…

and like DaVinci…

You are A COMEDIC ARTIST who is building your on-going craft of STAND-UP COMEDY.