Funny First
***Just to be clear, this isn’t a thing where I’m telling other comedians what they should be doing. I don’t claim to be any kind of authority on comedy; just bringing up (ranting about) things that annoy me and, IMO, convey a misunderstanding of what comedy is***
Stand up comedy really is the best. I love it. It took me a good number of years of being an idiot before I found something that I clicked with. I’m not a special case. I know a ton of comedians who are in the same boat. Stand up has that effect on different people from all walks of life…so why do so many comedians become fixated more on projecting an image and drift away from actually doing comedy? Below are a few things that stick out to me as ways to divert yourself from the reality that comedy is tough, and progress doesn’t come easy.
-Bill Hicks Syndrome: Main symptom of this condition is believing you are Bill Hicks incarnate. You’ve stopped caring about “silly jokes” because the world is going to shit and you’ve gotta tell it like it IS, man! Let’s give you the benefit of the doubt that your views are not the exact same as everyone your age. What you have lost sight of is WHY people gave a shit about what Bill Hicks said: he was funny. You can be as right and profound as the day is long, but that doesn’t make anyone want to hear what you have to say. People listen to comedians because they are funny, and ALL great comedians who offer up insightful social commentary do so under the auspices of making people laugh. You HAVE to get good at the nuts and bolts of stand up before you can impose your beliefs on the masses. Partly because, if you’re not funny, you’re just another asshole with an opinion…but for the most part, your views are undeveloped because of your comedy inexperience. The art of doing straight up funny material teaches you how to actually connect with people and get your ideas across clearly. It makes it very apparent that pedestrian points of view do not resonate with people….Honestly, if you don’t become a competent joke teller, you won’t even notice that your “profound insights” are hack. If you think joke structure and word economy don’t apply to your “raw truth,” then you are closer to Pat Robertson than Bill Hicks. I think people forget that great comedians are actually comedians and not prophets.
Bein so goddam edgy that people better just fuckin deal with it: Yeah motherfucker, that’s right. Anyone who’s put off by yer cunt jokes are just PC cunts who can’t handle the baby cunt rape-a-thon you call your set. How frustrating it must be to know you’re an amazing comedian, but have to constantly perform for crowds of pussies who can’t handle how funny you are. These people especially bug me because they are not fucked up/twisted/uncompromising…if you truly have a dark sense of humor, it will come out in your jokes. Being overly abrasive is another way to not really commit. An uptight crowd could easily explain why your fingerbang bit didn’t connect…while that “what’s up with apples?” bit is just clearly not funny. If being dark takes precedence over being funny, you’ve already stopped doing comedy. And by the by, I love dark humor; but when it is forced it is painfully obvious that you’re not confident in what you’re doing and are obsessed with projecting an image.
The High-Concept Novice: Some comedians choose the path of “post-ironic comedy satire” right out the gate. The prospect of telling your jokes and hoping people laugh can be very scary, so some folks prefer to just take it to another level right away. You probably wouldn’t get it, because neither you, nor the avant garde conceptualist on stage have a clue what’s going on. In the same vein as uber-dark comedians, insta-alt comedians are geniuses that many common folk won’t understand. Joe Schmo isn’t smart enough to appreciate nonsense, but insta-alt comedian has been at this for 3 weeks and is already the coolest. There are no real “rules” in comedy, but at least have some respect for the craft and clock some hours before trying to reinvent it. There are comics who are truly quirky people and are really unique and hilarious, but even an unconventional route requires learning, and mocking something you don’t know how to do makes ya look like a jackass.
I know what I’m doin…where’s my career? You are miles ahead of when you started comedy, and everyone agrees you are funny. Boom. You’ve done it! You’ve mastered comedy. Just wait for the industry to knock on your door in Bumfuck, Iowa and offer you a career….sadly, this is a real mindset. People go from not funny to funny and fail to realize there is an endless ladder of progression ahead of where they are now. They also think they are gonna be the comic from Bumfuck who made it. Unfortunately, no one gives a shit about Bumfuck and they never will…that is not an injustice either. Living in Bumfuck is hindering your progression and skewing your perspective of the actual world of comedy. If you don’t take the initiative to move where you need to be, why the hell would anyone come to you? Anyone is a big fish if the pond is small enough. Bitterness grows wild in small ponds. Frankly, if you think you’re the shit, you need to run into some people who are way more the shit than you; and those comics will always exist. There’s no way you can progress as a big fish. Sorry, but you’re not owed success just because you think yer great. And being far away from a big scene makes it easier to think you’re a big deal, and that you’re getting screwed over by an industry that’s unaware of you. It’s ridiculous to think you got dealt a shit hand when you haven’t even gotten all your cards yet.
that was long!
