Comedy FAQs and answers: how the stand-up biz really works

Title Page......Page 4
Copyright Page......Page 5
Table of Contents......Page 6
THANK YOU......Page 10
PREFACE......Page 12
INTRODUCTION......Page 14
Part One PRE-STAGE......Page 20
FAQ 1 Am I a Comedian?......Page 22
FAQ 2 What Material Should I Use?......Page 25
FAQ 3 Do I Gotta Write What They Wanna Hear?......Page 27
FAQ 4 Would a Comedy Class Help Me Put Together My Act?......Page 29
FAQ 5 What’s the Deal with Open Mikes?......Page 34
FAQ 6 How Do I Get to Perform at Open Mikes?......Page 37
FAQ 7 How Would I Go about Running My Own Open Mike?......Page 40
FAQ 8 Open Mikes: Been There, Done That. What’s the Next Step?......Page 43
FAQ 9 Help! How Do I Overcome Writer’s Block?......Page 46
FAQ 10 How Am I Gonna Memorize All These Lines?......Page 51
FAQ 11 Should I Use a Stage Name?......Page 55
FAQ 12 Does This Joke Make Me Look Too Old?......Page 58
FAQ 13 What Should I Do When I’m Not Feeling Funny?......Page 59
Part Two ON STAGE......Page 66
FAQ 14 Should I Let Other Comics In.uence Me?......Page 68
FAQ 15 How Long Can I Stick to the Same Old Routine?......Page 73
FAQ 16 What’s Expected of a Good MC?......Page 75
FAQ 17 What Do I Do if I Am Just Not Connecting with the Audience?......Page 79
FAQ 18 Should I Be Mr. Clean or The Dirt Devil?......Page 83
FAQ 19 What About . . . Pauses during Your Delivery?......Page 87
FAQ 20 What’s the Deal about Using a Callback?......Page 90
FAQ 21 When Are Too Many Tag Lines Too Many?......Page 92
FAQ 22 Does a Funny Voice Make a Funny Character?......Page 93
FAQ 23 How Much Work Is It to Work the Audience?......Page 95
FAQ 24 What’s the Best Way to Handle Hecklers?......Page 102
FAQ 25 If I Die on Stage, Will I Ever Live Again?......Page 106
Part Three OFF STAGE......Page 110
FAQ 26 Can I Stop People from Stealing My Jokes?......Page 112
FAQ 27 What Am I Gonna Learn by Taping My Set?......Page 114
FAQ 28 Should I Enter Comedy Contests?......Page 117
FAQ 29 Does Anyone Still Believe Comedy’s a Man’s World?......Page 120
FAQ 30 How Do You Get a Manager and an Agent?......Page 121
FAQ 31 When Should I Start Promoting Myself ?......Page 126
FAQ 32 What Goes in a Promo Package?......Page 128
FAQ 33 How Do I Get a Good Promo Tape?......Page 130
FAQ 34 My Performance Wasn’t Perfect—Can I Still Send Out the Tape?......Page 134
FAQ 35 Could You Give Me Some Hints about Being My Own Publicist?......Page 136
FAQ 36 How Far Can I Go to Make It a Show?......Page 139
FAQ 37 How Can I Be Funny, When My Life Ain’t Nothin’ to Laugh About?......Page 146
Part Four BACKSTAGE......Page 152
FAQ 38 Is it Professional to Get So Personal?......Page 154
FAQ 39 Where in Cyberspace Can I Find a Resource for Comedy Clubs?......Page 157
FAQ 40 Is an Audition a Good Place to Try New Material?......Page 159
FAQ 41 Will Making Friends and Networking Really Help Me Book Gigs?......Page 163
FAQ 42 Is Laughter the Best Medicine?......Page 165
FAQ 43 I Know You Can Help Me, but How Much Are You Gonna Pay?......Page 167
FAQ 44 How Far Do I Gotta Travel to Get Booked in My Local Club?......Page 171
FAQ 45 Can I Get My Big Break on Local TV?......Page 175
FAQ 46 What about Putting “Extras” on My Promo Tape?......Page 178
FAQ 47 Am I a Comic, an Actor, or a Comic Actor?......Page 180
FAQ 48 How Do I Get to Letterman or Leno?......Page 183
FAQ 49 Got Any Tips for Breaking into the College Market?......Page 185
FAQ 50 Okay, You Promised Us College Marketing 201. So, What Are NACA and APCA?......Page 187
FAQ 51 What’s the Deal with Corporate Shows?......Page 195
FAQ 52 What’s the Going Rate?......Page 198
FAQ 53 Do You Think I Should Sell Stuff after My Show?......Page 201
FAQ 54 What If I Want to Publish My Comedy Material as a Book?......Page 204
FAQ 55 Any Advice for Someone Who Wants to Just Write for Other Comics?......Page 206
FAQ 56 Got Any Words for a Grand Finale?......Page 211
FAQ 57 Help?......Page 212
CAST OF CHARACTERS......Page 215
INDEX......Page 221