Performance Flashcards
Small Group - make leaders laugh and followers will laugh - formal and informal leaders of group - their laughter gives permission to others - small groups are tough on comics - hence the advice - Helitzer
Like ability improves odds of success - Howard
Making yourself interesting improves odds of success- Howard
Amuse the audience, not yourself - my job is to make them laugh
Performer’s job is not about self-amusement - it’s about amusing the audience - there is no surprise element for the performer - performer knows every punchline - it’s purely performance - it’s the price you pay for being funny - the reward of being funny is worth it
Pausing (slow down)
Need to make punchline pauses natural - easy way is to slow down and pause often, sometimes it’s a punchline and other times it’s just a pause - establish slow, purposeful cadence - I have always liked a slow pace - perception of confidence
Ladies laugh more - please them
Science says that men laugh significantly less than women - if you want laughs (yes) - please the ladies
Court Jester
Part of comic’s role is court jester - visualize - role of jester is to speak truth to power without losing your head
Comedy needs role separation - performer and audience - homeless get this confused
Crazy homeless guy is one man band - plays both the performer and audience - I’ve made this mistake - furniture shopping in Seattle - idiocy
Eventually, you gotta a do it - make the sales call, make the speech, get up on the stage and do the monologue - you are never ready - the “doing” part is the saving grace - separates theory from practice - otherwise you are like an ostrich - nothing but theory - all talk no action
Eventually
Stoppers
Say, my mom likes that joke - I threw it in for her - she’s dead too
Look at my watch and just say: til too, til til (funny sounding words)
Slow and Deadpan - can be very funny - hard to do for some people - natural for me…
