Hey guys i am a recent Graduate and have a great love for Theatre and Stand up Comedy, and wondered if there are any Actor/Comedians out there and if so... do you guys have any advice about any good comedy clubs to try out?
I happen to think everyone should try out stand-up comedy. It gives you a massive thrill and you find out so much about yourself from the material you come up with and the persona you choose to take on.
I would advise buying Time Out and going through the listings to see who is doing open mic nights, give them a call and get amongst it. In terms of the quality of the actual clubs I wouldn't worry too much about that. Once you have got used to this medium of performance then you can start knocking on the doors of the "better" comedy clubs. Focus on your own development first. (Having said that make sure your first gig isn't the gong show at The Comedy Store. The audience there have a very different mentality to other open mic nights. It's a brilliant night out but don't go rushing into this one too soon!)
The question is - how confident are you? Do you know you are funny? One way of getting started is simply by booking gigs then writing material under pressure - a great way of getting the ball rolling. Or of course once you have written a tight seven minutes you can try and get into open mic nights.
Live on the edge; take the first option! And good luck mate!
Thanx David and yea i defo agree that performers should at least give it a go once.
I am quite confident with the 7 minutes i have at the mo as i have tried them out at a couple of different comedy clubs and i won the audience over, but i just feel like i should have more material before i go out and try other venues and plus if some audiences don't warm to some of my material then i sort of feel trapped, cause i cant adapt quickly.
Plus there is the FEAR OF HECKLERS :S
and i was thinking of trying out the GONG show at the Comedy store lolol thanx for the warning.
Also tyr the comedy store they do a dong night which is open Mic and I think its a great place to start. The only scary thing is that the audience dong you off if your rubbish but its all fun. Plus its essential to watch as many stand up comics (live is better but if your poor like me then youtube) to see how they deal with hecklers and how to deal with the audience if your jokes arent going down well-every audience is different and once you work out where the line is with them it will go well. I did a gig of two nights once-first night the audience loved it the second night I had to work my tits off to make them laugh but once I got them comfortable it went well.Good luck on your scary challenge mate!!
Thank you Guys, im loving all the advice, i've uploaded a gig i had at THE KINGS HEAD on my profile, if you have some free time then please check it out and let me know what you think.
And if you have some on your profile please let me know so i can have a look.
And Gavin lol i agree about the Youtube lol. I was at the 2008 Edinburgh Fringe and saw a LOAD of comedians and even got to meet and have a drink with Omid Djalili, Stephen K Amos, Lucy Porter, Ian Stone, Mark Watson & Tim Vine.
I WAS IN BLODY HEAVEN!!!!
If you guys havn't been to the Fringe then its defo the place to be at the NEXT festival for Comedy.
A great clip on your showreel.
I wish the mike picked up more of your gags than the audience reaction, though.
But you have a great style and would go down well in many places!
Good luck with your comedy career!
Alan
I've seen this which looks really good from kings head in the north to south of the river. Really liked your stand up! I did the kings head when I was at Middlesex a few have gone on to better things, Alan Carr was in the year above me. Sorry for the name dropping. Keep at it! Lowri
Every other Friday starting October 10 from 8 pm.
We're getting together a group of writers, actors and comics to come together to work on and develop material for performance before and during the Festival.
This is not a writer's workshop.
The idea is to come with material you can try out in front of a constructive audience of other writers and actors/comics.
We want to focus on material for stand-up, comedy sketches and sitcoms, improv, revue, and light/short comedy plays.
As the group develops, we will be opening the sessions to the public.
upstairs at
The Old King's Head
King's Head Yard
Borough High Street
London SE1 1NA
Ahh that sounds fantastic, thanx guys, defo will take on some of the advice and looking forward to writing more material. And lowri i wont be able to attend until the start of Nov as i've got rehearsals, but sounds exciting and will check it out when i am free.
Some friends of mine organise a comedy evening once every two months at the Salisbury pub in North London. It's a great venue with a small friendly crowd, ideal for trying out new material. You can contact them through Facebook. Search for 'Cheap Laughs at the Salisbury' and you'll find the group.
The next night is November. Hope to see you there!
Susannah.
Mini, You are awesome at what you do and a lovely guy. You just need to find the confidence to get out there and perform, as much as you can and wherever you can. And don't forget to invite us or I will kick your funny bunny butt!
Hey Mini, I've just seen your stand-up clip...great work, I don't think you've got anything to worry about.
Your post about stand up comedy has answered so many questions for me too, well done and good luck!
Steve
15 years ago
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