Category: Comedy

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Performance Critique: May 12

An open mic

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKvbyJWT9BY

0m23s No need to say the expectations line

0m42s This starts off a little too angry, I need to change the setup

1m55s I need to get the audience on my side for the whole photo bit, make the person showing me photos more annoying

2m41s This is one reason I still go to open mics, better to mess up here than a real show

3m53s Don’t say the word “joke”

4m14s Get rid of the seconds parts and the photo op part

5m05s Don’t say “joke”

7m03s But my hand lower so it doesn’t cover my face

7m29s Someone started with “what’s his name” so I “yes and-ed” it

Overall: The photo joke needs a lot of work at the start of it, and I need to stop saying the word “joke” in my act

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Performance Critique: May 11

MCing my bar show in Queens

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uTBFmfa2RM

0m54s After “I never go anywhere” throw in “I just sit at this bar all day”

2m43s Usually I’d say I’m going too fast, but MCing and being at a bar show, you need to go fast or everyone is guaranteed to zone out

3m53s Don’t go back to the photo joke after a long interruption

5m14s Get more excitable and energetic during “grainy grainy dune dune”

6m23s It was a comic

8m40s This is called powering thru

Part 2

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVK8dPSlIXc

0m56s Don’t say the word “deli” twice in a row

Overall: I was able to stay energetic and more or less positive while being mostly ignored by the bar patrons, so this was a good exercise in powering through.

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My 48 Hour Film Project Movie

Last weekend I participated in the 48 Hour Film Project in NYC. Basically, each team gets 48 hours to write, film, edit and submit a 4 to 7 minute film. You draw a genre and are then given a prop, a line of dialogue and a character name and have to work it all into your movie.

We had:
Genre: “Film De Femme” (strong female character)
Prop: Tennis Ball
Dialogue: “Are you sure?”
Character: Ethan St John, President of ___

I proudly present our movie, “Margot”:
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1G09Enl81ck

Our creative process was:

Friday 10pm – 1am: 8 people shooting around ideas for a film, agreeing on an idea then story arcing it

Saturday 1am – 3am: 5 of us who were going to be writing and acting in it and the director wrote a first draft

Saturday 3am – 5am: 3 of us wrote a second draft while sending everyone else to sleep

Saturday 7am: Start setting up for filming and cast the roles, go through the second draft and make additional changes with the whole team

Saturday 9am: PA’s, PM’s and DP show up

Saturday 11am – 11pm: Film the different scenes

Saturday 11pm – Sunday 10am: Edit the first cut

Sunday 10am to 1pm: Give notes on the first cut and re-edit

Sunday 1pm to 7pm: Fix up the sound, make final touch ups, export and submit the film

I wound up not acting in it, which was okay with me because there was so many other things for me to do. I wound up sleeping 5 hours in two nights.

My favorite part of this is how 5 comedians came together and wrote a dark movie that has very little comedy in it…

Last thought: I highly recommend everyone pick a “48 Hour Challenge” where you have 48 hours to complete a task that would otherwise take a really long time (write a short book, make a music album, paint ten paintings, etc). You’d be surprised at how efficient you can be when you’re on the clock.

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Wayne Manigo’s Tips for New Comics

I’ve been talking a lot with Wayne Manigo lately in preparation for my appearance at DC Digital Week (June 16th, 2010) and somehow tips for new comics came up, and Wayne had some great advice I wanted to pass along:

What are some tips that you would provide to new comics?

wayneTip # 1. There are 4 levels of standup comedy. Open Mic, Emcee, Feature, and Headliner. Each of these take a huge amount time and experience to advance, and the number one mistake made is attempting to advance to the next level too soon. I was unemployed when I started working professionally, so I worked at comedy 24×7 for a year. That allowed me to advance at an accelerated pace. Some comics don’t have that amount of free time to develop themselves and their material, and yet they believe they can still advance based on stage time…not experience.

Tip # 2. Open Mics – You have to put the time in! There is no ifs, and, or buts! I was fortunate enough to start 2 open mics and attend a number of other open mics in the DC area. That is the ‘Instant Learning School’ for comedians. If you bomb and you come back…great! You’re learning how to become a comic. Not every set you perform will be a great one. I’m the emcee at my open mics, so I’m able to try more new material at a faster pace than the average comic. The other *bonus* for open mics is that you’ll never know who’s in the audience. I’ve booked comics for showcases based on what I’ve seen them do at an open mic.

Tip # 3. STOP saying “Give It Up!” For example “Give it up for the DJ, the emcee, yourselves, my mother who came on a moped with an eyepatch”…you get the idea. You only have 5 minutes or less onstage when you start out. That’s the job of the emcee. Use your 5 minutes wisely! You may not get another 5 minutes if you screw them up!

What is the best advice you would give to new comics looking for a break?

You must network at every show! . Arrive at the comedy shows early and leave late. Speak with everyone in the room: bartenders, wait staff, security. Some opportunities do exist if you network properly, others will appear if you create them. Remember: You are not selling! It’s networking…learn the difference.
Once I was asked by a fellow comic who’s been doing it for a number of years how I caught up to his ‘status’ in a year. NETWORKING! When you’re starting out, and you do a set – take some time after the show to meet the audience. This is especially important if you bombed during your performance! It won’t be easy to digest, but if you are willing to accept honest criticism, then you will grow as a comic.

Another thing I would strongly suggest is to find mentors! I’ve opened for a number of headliners, and built honest relationships with them. Ask them “What is the best way to keep in touch?” and commit to it. That has helped me build a school of knowledge that is always available at a low, low cost (because comics are broke!).

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Performance Critique: May 10b

Late night open mic for music, magic and something resembling comedy

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL100jy6ugk

0m59s First minute went as bad as it could go

1m49s I gotta say something while the mic is being adjusted or everyone will stop paying attention

2m10s The first two minutes didn’t have any scripted jokes and the attempted improvisation was off

3m58s The only thing worse than getting yelled at is when the yelling isn’t directed at you

5m32s After addressing the loudness a few times, the only thing I could do was try to power through

Part 2

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=myVGMVrqiM8

0m28s I’m not usually this down and discouraged, I need to learn to power through talking and ignoring without getting too affected by it (or to learn to get the talkative people who don’t want anything to do with comedy to listen to me)

4m24s If that gets a big laugh here, it’s probably a keeper

Overall: I learned that the answer to “how long can Ben talk and power thru a set where barely anyone is listening and most of the people in the venue are ignoring and talking over him” is twenty minutes. I need to get this figure up to forty five minutes.

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