Where to Get Comedy Material ?

Writing Your Own Comedy Material and/or Hiring a Free Lancer

Putting on a comedy act is never an easy task. That is because making people laugh is a tedious and serious matter. A joke can invoke endless laughter for one person but not another.

That way, the greatest challenge a comedian must face is the challenge of making his jokes and antics click not just to a few of the audiences but basically to almost all of them.

You can never please everybody, and no matter how seasoned and experienced a comedian, there will still be flaws that would inevitably rise up from his performance.

The audience's preference is also ever changing. With the emergence of many other forms of media portals, a joke can be overexposed to a wider scope of audience. Thus, the audience tends to be weary and seeks out other, newer jokes.

Experts advise comedians and would-be-comedians to take ample preparation prior to the performance to make sure a comedy session would be a sure hit.

You would be amazed to know that even seasoned comedians prepare their own material. Material is somehow like a script that a comedian has to memorize for presentation.

The significant actions, props, sequences and special instructions are also indicated in the material. Thus, it becomes the standard and necessary guide that would help the comedian put on the act smoothly and effectively.

Writing the Material

It isn't easy to write comedy material. Comedians would certainly agree that performing is much easier compared to writing comedy material.

That is because writing material is a special and tedious task that requires the writer to focus, brainstorm, solicit ideas from others and think insanely of ways that would be funny to other people.

Here are some simple guidelines that would help you write your own comedy material.

Know your audience. This is the first and most basic requirement when you are writing comedy material. To know the audience, be prepared to know something about their demographics likes and dislikes, culture, their religion and basic information about them. By doing so, you will be able to write jokes or punch lines that would be appropriate and funny.

Know your ability and be familiar with your own performance technique. Of course, you shouldn't write material that you think you can't properly execute. Know your audience and know your capabilities. Be humble and honest and accept your limitations as a performer.

Brainstorm. Hold conversations with people. Observe the streets. Eavesdrop. Think of funny experiences. There are many venues and experiences where you could base the material you are writing about.

Avoid offensive jokes. Sexist, racist and anti-religion jokes are taboos when it comes to comedy performances.

Recycle old jokes by modifying them or putting on new twists, characters or venues. That way, though a joke would seem too cliché, the audience won't easily recognize them and would be trapped to laugh at the recycled joke, without their full awareness.

Hiring a Free Lancer

There are times when a comedian seems to have run out of ideas for his own material. That is normal. There also come times when the comedian has to pause and take a rest from writing his own performance material.

That is like a battery recharging, and should ensure the comedian won't run out of fresh ideas.

Collaboration with a good writer would also be an advantage because the comedian is exposed to different forms of concepts and ideas.

It would be healthy because the audience would find variation and diversity in the comedian's general performance.

To hire a free lancer, you should take recommendations from peers. Also make sure the freelance writer is experienced in doing such tasks.

If you are a comedian who is adept in maintaining and boosting his own image and track record, be careful about using untested materials from free lancers.

It goes without saying that whether you write your own material or hire a free-lancer to do so, you should practice your performance before you attempt to perform in front of an audience.

What Comedy style Is Best For You?

How to Decide What Comedy Style is Best for You

With the increasing volume of problems and economic crunches bearing impact on a greater number of people worldwide, it is no wonder why there are more comedians rising up these days than there are dramatic actors and other kinds of entertainers.

People are recognizing the importance of having a good laugh amid the problems that hound them every day. Thus, there are more and more entertainers who aim to get the attention of the entertainment market by becoming comedians.

Getting involved in comedy productions is really a tough task, especially nowadays when the audience is getting sick of the usual antics and slapstick comedy.

It is imperative for a comedian to have the genuine talent of cracking humor and of mastering comic timing in the execution of jokes and other comedy acts to be able to tickle the senses of audience.

When watching comedians at play on stage, in movies or in television, you might have the impression that becoming a comedian is relatively a lucrative form of earning, as it is very easy. Indeed, it is lucrative, but the assertion that it is easy is very much debatable.

Entertainment experts always emphasize that it is much easier to make audiences cry than to make them have a really good laugh. Take note that comedians take more time in preparations compared to singers and dramatic actors.

Beginners

If you are aspiring to take an entertainment career by becoming a comedian, you should know that you have to first set goals and know about the business you are about to penetrate.

There is nothing better than being equipped and knowing the industry know-how before you aim to get into comedy. Remember, there are thousands of comedians who attempt to set careers in different comedy platforms, but only a few really make it big.

It isn't enough that you are confident with the knack and interest in becoming a laugh catalyst. It would certainly help if you decide early what style of comedy you would employ and focus on.

As we discussed in the previous chapter there are six different types of comedy. Now we will address:

How to decide which style is best for you

You should focus on one style of comedy, or integrate two or more, or all, when you prepare your script or antics for a comedy act. To be effective, take note of the demographics and general characteristics of your audience.

Be sure not to be offensive to some audiences. You could do so by avoiding sexist and anti-religion and cultural jokes. Have knowledge about the six comedy styles you could employ.

To use black comedy, you should have the guts to devise jokes involving tragedies and serious situations like war, sickness, plague, murder, suicides and others. There are several people, and some of them may unfortunately be among your audience, who find such antics distasteful and offensive.

Several comedians are making fun of President Bush, Bin Laden and other political figures. If you want to come up with similar antics, then you are getting into another style of comedy known as satire. Usually, satires not just ridicule political figures. They also invoke a political statement, usually disagreement with a political concept.

When the audiences are too technical, like engineers, doctors and scientists, you should pull out jokes that involve jargons and technical terms involved in their professions. This style of comedy is referred to as adage. Because such comedy is not for general consumption, cracking them to a generalized audience would not be wise.

Parody is that popular comedy style when you want to make a spoof of a popular work of another artist. For example, the movie "Scary Movie" is a parody into several other Hollywood movies. This style of comedy is sure to make people laugh, but be sure the audience is familiar with the work you are making a spoof at, or they won't appreciate your jokes.

Irony is one comedy style that needs an intensive script that should be religiously followed. In this style, the audience will laugh at a situation where the comedian plots an activity or end result but ends up having unplanned situations. TV Sitcoms are full of ironies.

If all else fails, your last resort would be alternative comedy. Alternative comedy relies on antics, slapsticks and many other physical and verbal tricks to tickle the audience.

Now that you know the basics, decide. Which style is best for you?