How to Build a Routine

Getting Your Routine Together

Having a routine is essential for stand-up comedians. Yeah, it definitely helps to be a comedy natural who can make your buddies and girlfriend bust a gut laughing after you've got a beer or ten running in your bloodstream and doing all sorts of things to your brain cells, but being naturally funny is only the first part of becoming a good comedian. Getting a routine ready is a necessity if you're planning to take your show out of the bar room and onto the stage.

Okay, you may be wondering why you need to build a routine. Adlibbing wisecracks is all well and good, and you can probably slam most people down in a “dissing” match when the urge to trash talk hits you. Yeah, these definitely help on stage, but trust me, there's nothing worse than being on the stage and suddenly having one of those rare but annoying attacks of "dummyfication", where your neurons suddenly go on strike and leave you with an IQ that's roughly on par with a flea's toenails. Then you're left there on stage looking like a slack jawed “doofus,” with your eyes bugging out and your wit suddenly as sharp as a spoon - a wooden one.

Your routine pretty much shakes hands with your wits; the routine allows you to send your brain into autopilot, firing off jokes without straining your brain. You can save the spontaneous cracks for those times when members of your audience decide to get overly interactive, and start to trash talk you. Then you can feel free to return fire and let the rest of the audience have a laugh at the poor sod's expense.

Okay, that said and done, here's the first thing you need to know when you're making a comedy routine. Have a stage personality, but make sure it meshes with your real life personality. There are different types of humor, ranging from subtle jokes to sharp barbs and witticisms, to self-deprecating humor, to parodies of famous people. These are just a few examples.

Ask yourself what type of wisecracks you toss off best; make sure that you go with the ones that make people laugh, NOT the ones that leave them trying to decide whether they'll laugh or beat you senseless with a nearby stool. Save those kinds of wisecracks for on-the-fly shots at the audience once you've got them warmed up.

Keeping your routine in line with your personality puts as little pressure on you as possible, allowing the flow of your jokes to come naturally. Trying to adapt a style of humor that's different from your personality can come out sounding like it is forced. This is definitely NOT a good thing.

Start with writing a 5-minute routine designed for your buddies. Since they know you best, they'll actually be both easier on you AND harsher than a real life audience. They will be easier in the sense that, because they're your buddies, their personalities mesh with yours and they probably already find you funny to begin with. Harsher also because they're your buddies, and will probably take every opportunity to smack your butt down while you're performing for them.

Having a routine made for your friends is also a good thing because your buddies will probably be there at the bar for your first performance. Most likely, they'll be leading the audience in laughing, but will also likewise be tossing their own share of barbs at you - at which point they can be the first victims of your anti-trash talker material.

Once you got a 5-minute routine down, practice in front of a mirror. Make sure that whatever stage personality you're conveying, your body language and facial expressions match. These little things count for a lot when carrying an act. Be animated. Expressiveness, even in as simple an act as tossing a silly grin or waggling your eyebrows, can make the difference between sending a room into gales of laughter or getting showered by tomatoes. Canned tomatoes, unopened.

You should also practice pitching your voice to match the jokes of your routine. Occasional lapses into using a monotone voice can actually add an edge to certain jokes, however, doing it all the time is a sure fire formula for flat lining your audience. Modulate your tone keep it hopping all over the place. Speak in a bouncy, lively fashion and adjust your tone for special situations in your routine like doing a parody of someone.

Okay, now that you've got these tips down, get to writing your routine! And be sure to warn your girlfriend and buddies that you'll be using them as test-bunnies (I think guinea pigs and lab rats are too darn small to properly experiment on) for your first routine.

Should You Have a Stage Name?

Is Your Real Name Funny Enough?

Getting a stage name is a choice most people in the entertainment industry have to think about. As we all know, a stage name is a name an actor, musician, artist, or comedian gets and uses on stage for his or her performances. There are many different reasons why people get stage names, and some of them are even serious, like the people whose parents had a little too much hash back in the 70's when they were trying to come up with original-sounding names for their kids.

Still, in the comedy industry, having an amusing and unusual name is actually an advantage.

Some of the more serious reasons for taking a stage name include having the same or a similar sounding name to a famous personality. There's nothing worse than trying to get bookings for your comedy act when your name sounds like that of a famous star, for example. Yeah, I guess it WOULD generate a bit of extra publicity, but is it actually worth the extra aggravation when the crowd that turns out for your performance comes to your show expecting a different kind of "performance?" No way!

Then there are those guys whose names are pronounced like the sound made by a cat getting its tail mangled in the dryer. Yes, people might get a laugh out of your name, but will that really contribute to the rest of your act? You can't just go introducing yourself every 60 seconds to keep the audience laughing. And keep in mind that comedians get part of their publicity by word of mouth. Word of mouth becomes very difficult when the people who found you funny have to make 10 attempts to get your name right when they're telling their friends to see your show.

Another reason for getting a stage name is if, by a cruel twist of fate, your parents had a sense of humor even more warped than yours. If that's the case, they might have decided to give you a name that sounds like an obscenity. If this is the case, it's a fifty-fifty if you want to take a stage name or not, depending on whether your humor runs to the weird. Just keep in mind that you'll have a hard time getting bookings for gigs at places that run to "clean" humor if the owners think your real name is a stage name that you took on to advertise off-color humor.

Then there are the guys whose parents chose dorky names. Getting a stage name is a prerequisite for you if you feel you fall into this category. Heck, getting a legal name change sounds like an option to me, depending on how dweeby your parent's name of choice.

In any case, if you do decide to get a stage name, make sure that it's one that not only appeals to you, but that it's one that is catchy, easy to pronounce, and easy to remember. You want your stage name to be something that people can recall at the drop of a hat, and will be able to tell others about without having to wrack their brains. This kicks up the odds that people will remember you. Of course, this won't help your career at all if your act sucks anyway, in which case you can at least move to another city and assume your real name again when you get laughed out of town for bombing.

On the opposite note of bombing, if we assume that your act is a success, getting a stage name also helps not just in the recognition game. Because your name will sound "cool" (it better be, you're the one who picked it this time, not your folks, bubba!) it's actually legal to have your stage name changed into your real legal name. You can now have the name you've always wanted! Unless of course your own warped sense of humor made you pick a stage name that's dweeby, obscene, or unpronounceable, in which case your application for an official name change may be rejected outright or will, at the very least, be delayed for several decades by people debating on whether something like Iamthepurplepeopleeater is a valid and legal name for another human being.

Hiring A Comedian Manager

The Guys Behind the Stage: Comedian Agents and Managers

If you're serious about taking your career as a comedian to a higher, more professional level, you should really look into getting a manager or talent agent. No one runs alone, and no matter how talented you are in the biz, you can only rise so far on raw ability. The old axiom of "It's not what you know, it's who you know" is especially relevant in the entertainment industry.

So first things first: You're probably asking yourself why you need to bother getting an agent, when we've all heard horror stories about actors, musicians, and yes, comedians, who got their careers messed up by a sloppy agent. Well, there are several answers to this question, and I'll go through them one by one.

First off, without an agent or manager handling your career, you're pretty much stuck to relying on your own personal contact pool when it comes to finding a gig. While this may be enough if you know a lot of club owners in your area, in the long run it won't be sufficient for your needs if you plan on taking your show to other cities.

Booking for gigs at places and finding work for you to do is what agents and managers do for a living. They rely on their own pool of contacts, which, by the very nature of their work, tends to be more extensive than the average person's. They contract jobs not only in your area, but also in other venues outside your normal operating zone.

Furthermore, once you've established a good rapport with your agent or manager, they will have a much greater idea of your personal capabilities, meaning they will be able to find gigs for you in places where they know the audience will cater to someone with your sense of humor.

Admittedly, different people tend to find different things funny. Some groups appreciate dry humor, others slapstick comedy, and still others prefer parodies and cynical barbs. Your manager will have a good idea what type of approach you take, and find you audiences receptive to it, guaranteeing you won't be a flop.

Also, when it comes to booking abroad or in another town, it's your agent's job to arrange all your travel, food, and lodging arrangements. Imagine having to do this yourself. It seems easy enough to do. Heck, we plan for these things all the time when we're going on vacation. But it's much more convenient to leave the job to an agent who knows the turf you're going to better than you do. Besides, once your schedule becomes busy enough, this service is a godsend.

Imagine having a gig in your town, then having a gig the next day in a neighboring town. Can you handle a full night's stand up comedy on stage and still have enough moxie left to arrange everything for the next day's run? Most people who insist on managing themselves get worn out this way.

Okay, now that you know the reasons why you need a manager or an agent to handle this kind of stuff for you, what now? Well first off you need to find a good, reliable one. Don't immediately accept any offers from talent scouts if one on a gig approaches you. Scout out your potential offers, and also check comedian forums for the names of reliable agents and management companies that know what they're doing. The wrong sort of agent will screw you over for a percentage, and news like this travels fast in the industry.

Find someone who knows that the success of their careers are inextricably bound up with the success of yours. Then contact all the potential good ones you find, and meet them in person. The questions you need to ask include trying to find out how they manage the careers of other comedians aside from yourself, how extensive their contact pool is when it comes to potential places for booking you for a gig, what their percentage is from every performance you make, and how often they will be finding gigs for you to do.

Once you meet them in person, before giving a yes or no, do your research on them. Ask around with people you trust if they've done any jobs with these agents. Once you find someone who you feel will be a good agent for your career, then it's just a matter of trying out working with them and going from there.