Comedy:
Simple Tips for New Comedians: How to Work the Audience
Comedy is tough. The world of comedy doesn't start and end with the audience laughing. The craft of making people laugh is constantly evolving and should regularly be honed so the comedian will develop a staying power.
Performing on stage is truly tiring and pressuring. Even seasoned comedians sometimes find several types of audiences hard to please. When performing, comedians should always be ready for the possibilities that may arise.
No one can please everyone, comedians know that a joke or antic that has made some people laugh might not even make other people smile. That is a hard reality about comedy. No material is good for all.
There are many forms of entertainment and media platforms that become potent and effective venues for comedy acts. For example, some comedians are effective in acting out their antics through television sitcoms.
There are people who are into mimes, while others act funnily on stage. One form of comedy that is rapidly gaining popularity nowadays is what the entertainment industry calls stand up or open-mike comedy.
The performance and the audience
Stand up or open mike comedy acts are currently the most popular form of comedy acts because it is interactive. The audience feels that every joke or act performed by stand up comedians are always fresh. Indeed, they are true.
The freshness of every open mike act comes with the motivation the comedian readily gets from the audience. Of course, good and receptive audience will always motivate a performer to do better and have more energy.
Fresh ideas will also come out of the comedian's mind during open mike sessions. That is because interaction with the audience almost creates that uncanny energy for the comedian to put up a spontaneous and natural act.
Stand up comedians also invoke laughter by ridiculing or making fun of the audience, a formula which other people find as offensive, but is always almost hilarious.
Feedback from the audience is very important and inspiring. Thus, open-mike comedians are always recharged upon hearing comments from the audience.
Should do and shouldn’t do, a simple checklist
There are practical should-do and should-not-do pointers that would help every comedian, especially the beginners, to overcome any obstacle while performing, and generally pull out a good and outstanding comedy act.
The should do list:
o Prepare and master you material.
o Know the audience, the demographics, the culture, races and religion. Avoid cracking jokes and antics that could seem offensive to some of them.
o Prepare necessary props and costumes. Such items will enhance the presentation and create a good impression that the comedian really took time to prepare for the act.
o Observe proper timing when throwing out punch lines or executing comic acts.
o Develop an effective and striking rapport with the audience. This connection could be the key to opening up the hearts of the audience and setting their moods open to your hilarious antics.
o Never run out of jokes. Do adlibs. Have spare jokes in case some of the items in your material doesn't work, or in case the audience screams for more.
Now, after knowing some of the recommended should-do, take note of the following shouldn't do's:
o Recycle old materials or borrow from peers. Plagiarize or steel materials and ideas of fellow comedians.
o Disregard the demographics and basic personal information about the audience.
o Come as you are. No need for special props and materials. Just rely on the verbal approach.
o Crack jokes out of the moment.
o Perform as if you are doing a monologue or saying out loud memorized material.
o Stick to the tried and tested jokes. Don't attempt to inject in spot of the moment jokes and adlibs because the audience may not appreciate them.
How to handle hecklers
Aside from performing and getting the attention of the audience, the comedian should also develop the skill to handle possible disruptions from hecklers.
Inevitably, there will always be disturbances and unscrupulous people who would test the talents of the comedian or just aim to sabotage the entire performance.
A good comedian should always be prepared for such people and instances. The simplest and most effective measure would be to go on and pay little attention to the disruption.
If the heckler keeps on and grabs the attention of the audience, the comedian could be spontaneous and make a funny conversation that would be seen as a natural flow of funny events.
Otherwise, the security guards would always be on the look out, in case the comedian could not handle the unruly hecklers anymore.
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