Personal Philosophy/What to Expect

There’s no easy way to say this. The life of a comic is hard. It will almost certainly put a strain on your relationships, finances, and both your physical and mental health. If you don’t have a plan going in, it might be the biggest mistake of your life. I know people who’ve put everything into comedy and lost their very will to live. Its messed up but I’m serious… suicide is not uncommon among artists and comedians are no different in that regard. Some do it slowly with drugs and alcohol, others more intentionally. I know it’s easier said than done, but TRY to make sure you don’t let comedy get in the way of living a healthy life. Don’t make it your entire social circle. Don’t make your success or failure at it what gives your life meaning. Doing so probably won’t help you improve, and it certainly won’t make your journey any easier.

This is especially true with the “chips are down” and pleople are at their lowest. This is where comedy truely transcends mere fun and steps into the realm of magic or actual theraputics. The question for a stand-up comedian becomes; how effectively can one control being funny? Exactly how practiced is one at turning it on like a switch? This instructional will not teach you how to be funny, nor will I waste your time musing on what I personally think is funny (as that is 100% subjective). Hell, even the memes I created for visual learners are going to be dry, redundant, and textbook like in nature. This course is not designed to inspire your funny creativity, it is a guide to survival. You and you alone must develop your own voice or formula for your personal brand of funny by writing and testing material. Until you develop your own creative process, you will not be a true comedian. At best this course might teach you how to become a better comedian via osmosis. Where simply being exposed to certain concepts could give you a minor boost to understanding. It’s not designed to GIVE you much by way material so much as repel common bad habits so that your positive qualities can shine more brilliantly. Anyone trying to sell you on a class that will “make you funny” is probably just selling you basic information and more crucially stage time that should and would otherwise be free. The most they will give you is a note or two and some encouragement… both of which you can and should cultivate for yourself. I implore you not to take shortcuts. You have to put in the work and grow your funny organically. You can’t teach funny, just like you can’t teach taste… but you can study it. “So what’s the point of this instructional?” I hear you asking with the frustration of a middle-aged man trying to fix their water heater from YouTube videos. In a word, industry. I’m not going to teach you anything you wouldn’t learn first hand… eventually. My goal is merely to give you some basics to help you survive this comedy thing long enough to get good. I’m going to prepare you for just how unfair, brutal, and thankless this line of work can be… as well as how overwhelmingly rewarding and addictive it is too. It will challenge you, humiliate you, open doors, and kick you in the teeth, liver, and lifestyle choices all in the first couple years. You will see it bring out the best and worst in people by making people happy, sad, angry, and confused… both on and off stage… artists and audiences alike. So lets strap in for chapters that will make you ask, “What am I getting myself into”, “Why would anyone do this?” and my personal favorite, “Why am I terrified and yet still totally down for this?” But, before we get started let’s go over some useful vocab.