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.

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.