Here’s the thing: Comedy is a live endeavor. You get up in front of a different audience each and every night you perform. Even if you’re doing the same material, the audience is different, the club may be different and the night is different so the dynamics change. Therefore, it is essential that you capture each and every performance by recording it either with the use of audio (digital recorder) or video.

With the availability of Flip cams and video recorders on iPhones, Droids and other smartphones, there’s almost no reason not to be able to video record each set that you do. Sometimes there are restrictions at certain clubs and if that’s the case there should be no reason not to audio record every set.

Each set we do as comedians on stage gives us an opportunity to learn something new. We can try a new joke, make a discovery on stage involving a new inspiration we got while telling a joke, or respond to a heckler or other live moment in the audience. The recorder is also essential if you have a bad set. That’s right! You want to review those bad sets too!

We learn most from our mistakes and when we record a bad set, that recorder is like a black box on an airplane that goes down. The recorder has everything that led up to the crash and you can learn a lot from it. Sure it hurts to watch or listen to a bad set, but if you’re listening to the bad set you’ll discover new things. I used to hate to listen to a bad set.

But you know what? Now I rarely if ever have a bad set. How did that happen? By constantly working on my sets by listening to them constantly and eliminating mistakes.

We all hate to listen to ourselves at first, because our voices sound so “weird” on a recorder.

They do, don’t they?

But that’s how our voice sounds to other people. We hear our voices differently because we hear our voices through our Eustachian tubes and it filters our vocal nuances. If you keep listening to your voice on a recorder you’ll actually start to hear it the way other people hear it whenever you speak. So get used to it an record yourself!

When you do a set, take the audio recorder with you on the stage, take it out of your pocket and set it right on the stool on the stage. Doesn’t matter if they audience sees it. I remember when I used to watch Jerry Seinfeld workout at the clubs. He would bring his recorder up onstage with him and set it on the stool. I would think to myself, “Wow, he’s constantly working on it, isn’t he?”

Jerry Seinfeld is financially the most successful comedian of all time.

Comedian Lesson:

Learn from the best and bring your recorder on stage. Always!

In the 25 years that I’ve been a professional comedian, I’ve faced a lot of so-called myths that have spread around the comedy circles. It’s amazing that no matter how much you work to diffuse those myths or prove those myths wrong, new comedians seem to continue to nurture and spread tired, hugely over-told and wildly understood myths. I’m using this particular post to point them out and bust them. So that they don’t continue to stifle up-and-comers. Here they are:

1. Don’t laugh at your own jokes.

One of my students was performing her act on stage and despite the fact that she’s an attractive girl, she wore this “scowl” throughout her act. It’s wasn’t a result of her point of view or her emotional approach to the joke, it was just a scowl. At the end of her set I said, “You should smile more. It opens up your face and shows you’re having a good time.”

She said, “ I don’t want to because a comic friend of mine said I shouldn’t laugh at my own jokes.”

That particular rule of thumb is so misunderstood. There’s a difference between enjoying the material and “laughing at your own jokes.” I think that rule is better applied to those comedians who laugh because the joke doesn’t get laughs. The comedian who laughs to say “hey look at me I’m funny…” is what that rule of thumb is better suited for. But you can laugh and enjoy and giggle and play all you want.

If you want to see someone who blasts that rule to smithereens, watch Craig Ferguson work. He has a great time is always laughing at himself.

Here’s a bit of theater science: “The audience is in whatever state the performer is in.” So if you’re having a good time, the audience has no choice but to have a good time.

2. Prop Comics & Guitar Comics are all hacks.

Gotta put this bitch to bed once an for all. There are a lot of comedians that think that just because they prefer to be monologists, that anyone who uses an instrument or a prop is a hack. That’s NOT necessarily true. Guitar and prop comics are simply adding an additional dynamic to the overall show. Those who waste time calling them “hacks” are either naïve or jealous.

A good guitar comic is probably booking more festivals and New Years’ shows at a substantially higher dollar rate than a monologist, because the music can take the audience to another level of participation.

If you are using props, impressions or a guitar, you better be good and the jokes better be solid and interesting, original and funny. There is a tendency for a prop comic, an impressionist or a guitar comic to use their props or instruments to get easy laughs. If you do this, you’re going to wind up being classified as a “hacky” comic. But then again if you were a strict monologist and your material wasn’t interesting intelligent, original or funny, wouldn’t you be considered “hacky” anyway?

People make fun of Carrot Top because he’s a prop comic. Why would any comedian waste time and energy bashing someone who’s doing what he loves and making a living. Bash all you want. Carrot Top has his own theater in Vegas and is one of the highest earning comedians alive today. Instead of bashing Carrot Top, comedians should ask themselves, “What can I learn from his success?”

I might not be a big fan of prop comedy, but I’m a fan of Scott Thompson, (Carrot Top).

3. “I Gotta Follow That?”

I hear a lot of comedians wait to go on stage and someone really good just finishes and they say something like, “You mean, I gotta follow that?!”

Here’s what I learned over the years in this business. The audience wants to enjoy every comedian. They really want to hear a unique and different point of view. I learned a long time ago that you’re not “following” any body. You’re just “next.”

This lesson was taught to me in a very unique way. I was a fiery and fast feature comedian back in the day, hungry to step up to the headliner position. I was writing my ass off and rehearsing and touring 35 weeks a year. I wanted to headline. So when I took the stage I poured it on. I would always give the best shows I could.

I was in Sacramento working at a club called Laughs Unlimited and it was the first night of the week and I was working with the lovely Diane Nichols. Diane had been on The Tonight Show with Johnny and Jay. I wanted to blow the doors off the place to prove that even though she was on network T.V., she couldn’t follow this gun slinger.

I went on stage and right out of the gate I was hitting all my jokes. Everything worked. I was on fire. I wrapped up and she came on stage. In an exhausted forty-something voice she said, “Wow, ladies and gentleman how ‘bout a hand for Jerry Corley…what a ball of energy huh? (Big pause)… I wish I had that kind of energy…”

The audience laughed hard. She didn’t miss a beat. She wasn’t worried about following me… she wasn’t even thinking about me. She was doing her thing and since the audience is in whatever state the performer is in, they were right there with her too.

I learned a BIG LESSON that night.

That came back to me later in my career too. I was headlining at a resort in Nevada and this guitar comic I admire, Huck Flynn, was booked as a feature. I thought the booker must have screwed up because he was rocking rooms as a headliner before I even started in comedy. But here I was having to follow him… did he take it easy on me? No way! He got on stage and blew the doors off the place. The audience loved him.

Now it was my turn. I remembered that lesson I learned from Diane Nichols… I got on stage nice and easy and I said, “Wow, ladies and gentleman, how ‘bout a hand for Huck Flynn…he can really play with that guitar, huh? (Big pause)… I’m not even that good playing with myself…”

They forgot about Huck and they were now with me, because I stayed true to me and my groove… because I wasn’t following anybody, I was just next.

How To Write Comedy $79 Weekend Seminar IS BACK!

Learn How To Write Comedy In One Weekend!

How To Write Comedy
– Jerry Corley’s Comedy Writing Seminars –
Where beginners go to learn and the professionals go to brush up.

• Find yourself funny but also not knowing how to start in comedy writing or stand up?
• Need a structured process for writing material?
• Are you coming up with the jokes, but they don’t pack the punch you would like them to?

Come to one of Jerry Corley’s Weekend Comedy Workshops and turn yourself into a joke-writing machine with powerful techniques taught clearly and concisely by 25-year veteran stand up and writer for The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. These techniques pack a punch, using structured, easy-to-understand-and-apply concepts that will have you writing solid jokes in no time!

How To Write Comedy – Dates and Times

• March 10-11, 2012 – Burbank,CA – 9:00AM-3:00PM
• April 14-15, 2012 – Burbank,CA – 9:00AM-3:00PM
• May 19-20, 2012 – Burbank,CA – 9:00AM-3:00PM
• June 9-10, 2012 – Burbank,CA – 9:00AM-3:00PM

Jerry Corley’s How To Write Comedy seminars are for beginners or advanced comedy enthusiasts!

If you’re an experienced comedian, I guarantee you you’ll find yourself inspired and reinvigorated with Jerry’s no-nonsense, honest approach to comedy. His ground-breaking techniques of breaking the art of comedy into a science will give you a new command of the art form allowing you to apply these techniques to script-writing, monologue writing or sketch-writing.

If you’re a beginner, this seminar will give you a leg up on the rest of the pack, giving you tools to write like you never imagined possible. You’ll feel the surge of confidence going into your next showcase knowing that your jokes are funny before you even hit the stage!

You’ll be writing comedy in your first hour…

When you come to one of Jerry Corley’s “How To Write Comedy” Weekend Seminars be prepared for 2 things:

1. A lot of information in a short period of time.
2. To write more jokes than you’ve probably ever written in a day.

In the 2-day, information-packed seminar, you’ll be treated to some of the most power joke writing techniques used everyday by professional comedy writers who crank out 60-150 jokes per day and once you grasp these techniques, you’ll find yourself empowered to write new material on a daily basis.

Jerry teaches in a workshop-style environment getting you to write the material right away! You’ll be amazed at how quickly you’ll be putting the joke formulas together and cranking out your own quality material.

Using video examples from professionals like Dave Chappelle, Brian Regan, Bill Hicks, Jerry Seinfeld, George Carlin and many more, you’ll get to see first-hand how these professionals use the comedy formulas Jerry teaches. Jerry can literally help you turn yourself into a comedy writing machine! You will walk away from this 12-hour, 2-day seminar, with tools that will put you miles ahead of the rest when it comes to joke writing.

Here’s what you’ll learn at Jerry Corley’s “How To Write Comedy seminar…

• What makes people laugh.
• How to write jokes from scratch whenever you want.
• How to beat writer’s block
• The number one reason comedians and comedy writers stare at a blank page
• How incongruity is the most powerful formula in comedy.
• 4 Comedy Formulas bookers look for when booking television comedians
• How to build your jokes into a routine that flows and sounds conversational
• How write for late night shows.
• The 6 elements every joke needs to be funny
• 10 ways to beat writer’s block
• The 1 secret about comedy writing that every writer/comedian needs to know.
• How to stand out from the pack, get recognized and get work.

In this seminar Jerry teaches you how he was able to work 40 weeks out of the year touring the club and college circuit and making a good living in stand up comedy.

Here’s what people are saying about Jerry Corley’s Comedy Seminars:

“If you are an up and coming comedian or you are just getting your feet wet in the world of comedy take this course! Jerry has been a professional comedian for the past 20 years and has the unique ability to teach at any skill level…” [more...]

“Jerry Corley’s Stand Up Comedy class was amazing. I went into in wanting to learn how to write funny. Never wanted to do a stand up rountine. Didn’t think I had it in me. With his help and guidance, I performed a 10 minute set in front of 90 people. It was one of the greatest nights of my life. He knows his comedy and is great at teaching it. I would recommend this class to everyone.” [more...]

“Jerry has turned my comedy dream into a comedy reality by allowing me to find my own unique voice. Without his comedy class and caring support I would not have come so far, so fast.”
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The most powerful comedy seminar in the industry is coming to a city near you! Click the link to find prices and register in your city early as many of these seminars sell out!

REGISTER FOR
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So, what are you waiting for? Take advantage of this rare opportunity to get intense, concise comedy instruction from the top comedy coach in L.A.!

Choose your preferred date from the drop-down menu:

Choose Date of Seminar

Sat. & Sun. March 10-11, 2012 – 9am-3pm Sat. & Sun. April 14-15, 2012 – 9am-3pm Sat. & Sun. May 19-20, 2012 – 9am-3pm Sat. & Sun. June 9-10, 2012 – 9am-3pm

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Check out this How To Write Comedy video demonstration on YouTube.

If you’ve been keeping up, then you know how much I love to study comedy structure. I’ve broken comedy down into 12 major comedy structures that all the greats use. In fact, great or not, when an audience laughs, odds are they laugh because one or more of the 12 major structures are in play.

Let’s take a look at Marc Maron. He’s always made me laugh. He’s to the point, he’s truthful. If he didn’t step away from comedy for so long, I think he would be one of those comedians who could stand alongside Louis C.K.

After you watch this short clip, let’s look at the structures in play.

Marin has kind of a throw-away, I-don’t-really-give-a-shit-if-you-laugh delivery. Notice that he still allows time for the audience to enjoy the humor. Each time the audience laughs, comedy structure is in play:

“…she texted me like fifty f**king times…”
Slight chuckle here. Isn’t this recognition? Haven’t we had someone like that in our lives or don’t we know someone like that?

“…I was showing people…she’s f**king crazy…look how f**king crazy she is…”

Another laugh at the act out. Again recognition is in play. Haven’t we all shown someone a stupid, whacky or crazy texts? But this is all a set up for the larger 3-way build-up (triple) play, because what’s next?

…then on the fifty-first text was a picture of her pussy…and I said, “Well, maybe…you know…I could…you know…”

It shattered our assumption because he laid out two early opinions building up to how crazy this chick was and there’s NO WAY I could get involved with this…
He totally misdirected us then POW! Shattered our prediction of where he was going.

Also he has recognition still in play because guys will let a lot of stuff go when sex is involved, right?
In addition, Marc’s delivery is so damn conversational and real, that we recognize that nuance in people.

But that’s not all, let’s listen to the next joke where he uses recognition again then incongruity:

“…but like two texts after that, the guy who was building a bookshelf for me, texted me a picture of the bookshelf and I was actually more excited about that…”
Recognition and surprise are in play here. When he says, the guy texted me a picture of the bookcase…(we wonder what he’s going to say, then)…I was actually more excited about that (surprise) and we recognize that place where sometimes there are more important things than sex. Hmmm…is that also ambivalence?

And here comes the incongruity:

“…there was a part of me that was thinking…you know, “I don’t have to be afraid to put things in there…” (things in a bookcase juxtapose with things in a p*ssy. One won’t give you a disease both they both relate) Clear incongruity.

“…and I know that will last…” Incongruity again juxtaposing relationships with the bookcase.

So there you have it. Marc Marin uses structure in his comedy too. When a laugh is present. Structure is present.

Feedback? Leave me some notes. Love to hear your interpretation!

Every once and I while I get an email from someone promoting their event, wondering whether my ‘readers’ will be interested. In most cases it’s a case of someone wanting to reach people for free. I have no problem with that. It’s creative and it means they are doing their job shamelessly promoting their event.

I do my best to vet the event, to make sure it’s not just some “bringer show,” that wants to exploit the students in my classes or my readers, have them bring all the students friends to “their” show and collect “their” door money. Those I DO NOT promote, because there is no mutual benefit for my readers or my students.

Once in a while I receive a great opportunity for up-and-comers to get exposure. I believe this is one of them.

Levity Entertainment is promoting an online comedy competition, where the winner will be able to appear before Levity talent agents for possible representation.

Who Is Levity?

Levity Entertainment is owned by Robert Hartman and Judy Marmel Brown. They are the majority owners of the “Improv” comedy clubs and they are vertically leveraged with a couple of other production companies responsible for specials that appear on HBO, Comedy Central and other channels. They are some pretty heavy hitters in the comedy arena and only positioned to become bigger sluggers. So, in a nutshell, they are GOOD TO KNOW!

Here’s the Deal

All you have to do is submit your stand up comedy video (no more than 5 minutes) and follow the instructions on the page.

Remember to please read all instructions, details and official rules before submitting! Then keep up with the project and maybe you might be luck enough to be chosen for this new comedy project. The great thing about this project is, no matter where you are from, Levity will fly out out to L.A. to be a part of this!

So what are you waiting for? Give it a shot and GOOD LUCK!

I’m a huge fan of Jeffrey Ross. Love him or hate him, you have to agree that he is the Roast-master. Watch this video and get a little bit of insight to what it takes to be a roast-master to get up there at the podium and totally degrade the ones you love. Take a look at the short video then, if you take this busting balls stuff seriously go by his book. I’ve read it. It’s great. Enjoy!

Holidays are great fodder for humor and joke-writing. Valentine’s Day is one of the best targets for jokes, probably due to the fact that it deals with relationships, thus provides a avenue for catharsis. Not to mention that it’s something we can all relate to. At The Stand Up Comedy Clinic, we try to help hone the student’s awareness of joke opportunities. Here are some of the top Valentine’s Day jokes by Comedians, see if it doesn’t stimulate your own funny bone to write your own jokes… share them with us in the comments sections below!

Happy Valentine’s Day!

A friend of mine sent this video. It really gets to the hard and fast point with success; How badly do you want it?
I’ve always wanted to be a standup comic. I put my whole life and soul into it.
I lost one marriage and one “almost marriage” because of it… and I’d do it again…IN AN INSTANT! Because it’s all I wanted.

How bad do YOU want it? After you watch this video, LEAVE ME A COMMENT and share HOW MUCH YOU WANT IT!

One of the biggest complaints I receive from comics and students trying to get mic time is that “everything seems to be a bringer show.” 

Several of my students “burned out” their bringers, early in the game, just trying to get more time on stage to develop their act and build to thirty minutes…

Which leads me to the second most popular complaint: “How’s a comic develop 30-minutes when the only spots in town are six minute sets or, at most, ten?”

If you’re not familiar with the “bringer show,” read my post on bringer shows…

Let’s face it, a comedian has limited opportunities to play longer sets where he doesn’t have to worry about packing the room with his family and friends. So instead of complaining, let’s try to find solutions.

One of the best ways to get around the bringer show trap is to set up your own room. That’s right! Find a bar or restaurant or lounge that is a good location for a comedy room and pitch the idea to the owner.

In setting up a comedy room there are a couple of things to keep in mind:

• Let the owner know why it might be good for their business. Keep in mind, the only thing they are concerned about is how it will benefit their business. If they don’t see the benefit, then they probably won’t like your offer. Once you give them your best pitch and they can’t see the benefit, then move on to the next room.
• Try to set the room up outside of the L.A. or your city’s perimeter. L.A. is filled with a glut of rooms. Your odds are better if you get to the outskirts of town.
• Book quality comedians.
• Set the show up professionally.
• Run a tight show that runs about an hour and a half to an hour and forty-five.

Two of my students, David Conolly and Brian Zuanich, decided to set up a room in Long Beach at the Cohiba Club at the pier. They set up a curtain, lights and sound because they wanted to “transform” the club into what resembled at comedy club. They did a great job too! They put on their first show January 28th. The show was standing-room only. They put quality comedians on the stage, (all students from my Stand Up Comedy Class and they audience loved it.

The owner did well at the bar (They had a bar/door split, where the club kept the bar and Brian and David kept the door). As a result of the successful evening, the owner told them, that normally he doesn’t do this because comedy “sucks.” But this group was a “class above the rest.” Now they are to have a regular show once a month in Long Beach.

Once they have this successful formula in place they just need to duplicate it in different locations outside the L.A. perimeter and they could wind up with weekly shows.

Keep in mind that your job as the show producer is to  keep the best quality comedians on the bill and allow for one new person per week. If you consistently have good comedic talent on the stage and you have relentless promotion, then you might have some success, although there are no guarantees. Comedy rooms can be more fickle than a 9th grader during a first kiss. (I can say that because I was a ninth grader once and during my first kiss…the only thing I remember is that she told everyone how fickle I was).

Promoting and producing a comedy show as a comedian can be beneficial in multiple ways. You will benefit from booking your own room, building relationships with other comedians who want work and getting work from those other comedians who book rooms.

The bigger your network of comedians and friends in the business, the more opportunities come your way in the long run.

So go get a room and watch your reputation grow.

Most comedians I know are always looking for ways to improve. One of my goals as a comedian for 25 years, writer, comedy school owner and personal comedy coach, is to give my students the best information I can find, regarding comedy, so when I received a call from Eddie Brill that he was coming to L.A. to teach his comedy workshop, I wanted to be sure I put it on my comedy blog so that everyone has access to it.

Regardless of what your life’s study, you don’t reach a level of success by only learning from one teacher. I’ve taken the Eddie Brill workshops and he gives sound advice with regard to comedy. Eddie is a comedian’s comedian. He has a passion about the art of comedy that shared by only a few comics that I know.

Eddie’s experience as a comedian that spans nearly 30 years, and his inside knowledge as the talent coordinator for Late Night with David Letterman, (he was recently fired according to the Chicago Tribune), gives the comedian or anyone interested in comedy the opportunity to gain some unique knowledge from a person truly in the know.

Despite the recent development at Letterman, I would urge any comedian to attend Eddie’s weekend workshop or his evening seminar, not only for the knowledge Eddie imparts with regard to comedy, but also to add another quality connection to your comedy network, as Eddie continues his work coordinating the Great American Comedy Festival and surely will have his hand in another position in television as a talent coordinator in the near future.

Eddie will be in L.A. teaching his his workshop at the Hollywood Improv on January 26th, 27th and 28th. If you want to add another dimension to your understanding of stand up comedy, take the  Eddie Brill Comedy Workshop. Be sure you use the VIP Code: “Jerry”.