Repeating Jokes ad infinitum

I understand that in the world of professional comedy, a comedian will typically have a set routine that they do night after night as they tour around. The jokes are well tested and proven to be funny nearly every time. You can't really expect anything else from them; it's not like we would be surprised to find out that a musician plays the same songs for their shows. A joke is much like a song, it's carefully crafted to produce a response, and timing, rhythm and tempo are just as important in comedy as it is in music.

For my purposes, however, it's a little painful. I'm not touring the country, I'm playing the same venue week after week. And it's not like we're pumping through audiences, either. The most likely audience for me is an audience of other comedians, they were there last week and will probably be there next week. My thoughts are to at least have enough material so that you're not repeating anything more than once out of four times at a given venue. Even then, I still think you should re-write it, tweak it, or add something that's going to make it funnier. Until I tell a joke that has people rolling on the floor the entire time, I'm pretty sure I'm not done with it yet.

That brings me to the flip side of the coin, which is listening to the same jokes from fellow comedians week after week. It's painful, annoying, and these aren't getting any funnier with age. You should of course try it out a few times since the mood of a given audience on a given night shouldn't be the final word on what's funny and what isn't. However, my thoughts are that if you're going to tell the same joke over and over in exactly the same way, it better be comedy gold. If it ain't, then keep working on it for your own sake and the sake of the audience. If it is, then put it in your back pocket for a while and try out new stuff. That's what we're all up on stage for anyway. Not to tell the same joke a hundred times until you find the right audience, but to tell it in a hundred different ways until you finally tell it just right.

Better, but a long way to go.

So, I went on stage at Club Deluxe last Monday as part of their comedy showcase. My jokes went okay, they got some laughs, but they only revealed to me how amateur I still am. The comedians who came after me had tight sets that got laugh after laugh. Mine got a few chuckles, but I just couldn't keep the crowd at the feverish pitch that comedians strive for. Granted, I'm still new at this whole thing, but it really put in perspective where I'm at in my development. On the other hand, going on stage before so many comedians who are between my level and the level of a professional is really helping me understand where I need to go next. 

In my set on Monday, I brought out some of my best jokes, and many of them went okay, but they really didn't get the response I was hoping for. It could be that my timing is still off, or that I'm not building enough tension before the releasing punchline. Either way, I took away a slightly better understanding of what makes them funny or unfunny than when I walked in. For example, I botched the punchline of the Tupperware joke by literally one word, and it made all the difference. And for some reason my Sports joke drew as much sympathy as laughs (notice the "awww"). I'm still digesting the lessons of that night, but it at least went well enough that the host personally mentioned to me how much I've been improving and that he was still happy that I was able to bring in a small crowd of drinking, cover-paying customers.  :P

Here it is, let me know what you think.

Back in the Mix

So, I recently tried entering the Butterfinger Comedy Showdown, with no success. Granted, I'm new at this and really shouldn't have the audicity to think that I could already win comedy competitions, however this one was different. This one was poorly marketed. It was only open to submissions for a month, and by week two there was still only one submission... and it sucked. The caveat for the submission was that it had to somehow reference Butterfinger, but according to the rules, it couldn't mention any other brands... or any people, real or fake... or insult anyone... or be more than a minute long. 

With my hands tied, I tried to give it a shot since the prize was a trip to LA for an appearance at the Comedy Store, where you competed with one other winner for a spot at the Just For Laughs festival in Montreal, which is huge. In any case, you can see my video submissions here and here. Granted, not my best work, and it didn't help that you could hear the cook in the background and that this was an absolutely dead night at the BrainWash, no one was laughing at anyone. It was painful, and I felt a little like a corporate sell out whore, but I still think I did better than a few people that made it into the top five, namely, the stupid bitch listed under elham.jazab. I'm not sure if she was picked for demographics or what, but she really did suck.

In any case, I then went on a vacation for a little over a week, and so bottom line was that I hadn't told any good new material for a few weeks. I went up last Thursday, however, and killed, so I'm pretty glad to not be doing comedy for anyone but me once again. This upcoming Monday I have another part in the Club Deluxe showcase, which I'm very excited about. Last time I appeared, I literally brought over 20 people, which was pretty substantial considering that this was the first time I had been up there and that there were only a little less than 30 people in the entire place. Nonetheless, as I've noted, I was less than ecstatic over my last performance, so this one I'm bringing my A-game. I'm only bringing stuff that I've tested a few times before and on which my timing is about as good as it's going to get. We'll see how it goes, wish me luck.