Stand Up Comedy Clinic

What Do Comedy Bookers Mean When They Say They Want it ‘Clean?’

There is no absolute definition for clean. Here's something you should never do...

I was on the road with this comedian from Salt Lake City and we got a call from a booker in the middle of the week to do a corporate show for a bunch of gold miners. It was a dinner and everyone was well dressed. The pay was $1000 for the headliner and $500 for the feature act.

When we got to the event this huge dude in a tuxedo comes up to us--There's something scary about a huge dude in a tuxedo. Like, first of all, what tuxedo company rents shirts with a 22-inch neck?

Anyway, he says to us, "We need this show to be clean because the wives are here." The comedian I was working with was told by some other comedian that when they want it clean all you have to do is ask the audience, "Do you want the clean stuff or the dirty stuff?"

So He got up onstage and said...

Don’t Suck! The 9-minute Comedy Mastermind Session

This could be the most important 9-minute comedy lesson of your life.

In the next 9 minutes you're going to learn a lot! I mean a ton! I'm calling this article my 9-minute Comedy Mastermind Session.

When it comes to comedy writing and theory, my argument always focuses on structure.

"Structure is king!" I'll usually say.

Getting to the point and getting the laugh with a strong point of view while saying something that actually means something is crucial but structure is where the laugh occurs, not just...

late night tv hosts

Opportunity for Writing in Late Night TV Continues to Grow

The opportunity for writing in Late Night T.V. continues to explode. We've never had more movement in that industry. There are more shows. And more shows need more content.

Who's going to provide that content?

Comedians and writers like you!

political correctness

Why Are These College Kids So Damn PC?

Got an email from a student today. It said...

"The lesson I learned tonight is that university students are PC to the point that it is unnatural. These are the people posting PC crap all over Facebook! At first I was confused about my inability to connect with the crowd. I felt it from my first joke (about marriage/children).

So how do we make this work?"

When You Do the Work…

Just wanted to post a quick shout-out to my boy Joshua Jackson. Joshua just won the Clairmont Comedy Competition in--of all places--Clairmont, California. I was humbled that Joshua thanked me in his celebratory post on Facebook. Josh attended the Stand Up Comedy Clinic for a while and busted his butt developing his act. Week after week Josh went from a guy who didn't do a lot of stand-up to really developing into someone who understood the fundamentals. Every week Josh showed up to class early, asked questions before class, was not afraid to disagree when something wasn't working, and applied the new lessons he learned to his material. Then what happened?
Ira Glass on the Creative Process

Ira Glass on The Creative Process

Do It Again and Again...and Again... This post was shared by student Patrick Kanehann who's followed this mantra and has continued to get better and better and better! Ira Glass, the host
Stand Up Comedy Clinic

Comedy Clinic Student Wins CA Funniest Female!

You know it's a beautiful Memorial Day weekend in Burbank, California when the smell of barbecue overpowers and masks the usual combined Burbank stench of of smog and Glendale. And while