How to Create Material for Stand-Up
- 1). Keep a notebook with you at all times and write down events, ideas and situations that strike you as funny. Don't be fussy at this stage; it's only a notebook, so write down everything.
- 2). Observe the routines of comedy masters. Online video websites are a goldmine for this activity. Successful comedians such as Richard Pryor, Andy Kaufman, Chris Rock and Jerry Seinfeld make it look easy; this is a sign of their mastery of the trade.
- 3). Educate yourself about the different kinds of comedy; learn to identify them and decide which ones you are best at. Some examples are imitations, audience participation, prop gags, self deprecation, topical humor, absurdism and observational humor.
- 4). Make fun of yourself. Analyze any part of you that you may be able to build a routine on. Exploit your height, weight, ethnicity or manner of speaking. Many successful comedians exploit one or more of their own unusual characteristics.
- 5). Set up a situation and develop it. Try putting two incompatible ideas together and see where it goes. For example, a bookie in a church taking bets or a herd of sheep on a yacht. Absurd juxtapositions create energy that can be exploited for laughs.
- 6). Practice your routine in front of friends who know you well enough to be honest with you. Encourage them to tell you if your material is bad; otherwise you may find out the hard way, in front of a large audience of strangers.
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