So you want to be a stand up comedian

If you haven't got a sense of humour then don't read on.

What is a Comedian ?

Well we all know, that it is someone who has developed the art of being able to make other people laugh.

We can make people laugh in a number of ways.

The obvious one is to tell a joke, or to tell some sort of tale or story.

But what is it that makes something funny.

Lets look at the example below.

A man went to the doctors complaining that his girlfriend loves motorbikes. The doctor said there is nothing wrong in that. The man replied but she loves them so much she rides them all day long, all night long and even when she is not riding them she is working on them. The doctor again tells the man that there is nothing wrong in this. The man says yes but his girlfriend is so obsessed with motorbikes – she even thinks she is a motorbike. The doctor now looks a little worried but tells the man not to worry, and to give his girlfriend these pills reassuring the man that she will be cured almost instantly.

The man says

“That's all very well but how do I get home” .

What makes this funny is that in the simple honesty of the doctor putting something right he then makes something wrong in a completely ridiculous way. Its the ridiculousness off the joke that makes it funny.

So having decided that to tell something that is simply honest but ridiculous how do we start to go about it.

Well the first start is to tell a joke to 1 or 2 of your friends and then gauge their responses.

You then may wish to progress this by telling a group of friends together, say at a night class, or some sort of badminton group, basically anything where you have a crowd of people around you. See if you can command their attention, how long can you hold their attention for, and are you making them laugh.

In other words start practising on your friends.

What else can we do ?

Well we can paint a picture of the joke we are telling by pulling various faces, gestures or postures. Each face or posture indicating one of your characters in the joke. Look surprised if your character is suddenly surprised. Look despairingly if an answer from one of your characters is not understood.

We can do a funny walk or a funny stare whilst telling the story or joke. In other words give more realism to the what your are describing.

Learn from others

Go to stand-up comedy comedy shows, watch comedy on TV, watch what other people do to make people laugh. Basically see what works. Then try it out for yourself on others.

Now give it a go

OK so you have now gone to your first comedy night where audience participation is allowed. You take your first steps. Maybe have a quick drink or 2 to dull the nerves. Most definitely take your toilet break before standing in front of a microphone. Nothing worse than having to rush off the stage on your first night as a stand up comic. Though maybe some people might find that funny.

Be careful not to offend

There is very fine line between saying something that is offensive and something that is funny.

Lets look at the example below.

A man is standing in front of the doctor.

The doctor says

“I have some bad news and some good news”.

The man replies

“What's the bad news?”

Doctor says

“The bad news is – you have a terminal illness”

Man replies

“What's the good news?”

Doctor says

“Don't worry – the illness won't last very long”

You can draw your own conclusions as to whether this joke is offensive or funny.

What does comedy do for us

Well in times of trouble it may just give you that necessary lift to get you through the strife you are in. It may even just save your life.

There was a time in my life when I was feeling that I wanted things to end. Cutting a long story short I sat in front of a good Samaritan telling him there was no point to life any more, and that I was going to swallow some tablets. After 2 hours of trying to convince me otherwise, he told me that he would have to stop our conversation because he had other people to talk too, whose needs where just as great as mine. He finished by saying

“Whatever you do – let me know”.

My sense of humour kicked in and I replied

“What – you can talk to ghosts then”.

From that moment on I was saved and I was on the up again, never to return to that point again I hasten to add.

Making people laugh is one of the best gifts a man (or woman) can have in this world.

I for one thoroughly recommend it.