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BACK ISSUES INTERVIEWS Stand-Up Comedians Jim Norton Robert Kelly Donnell Rawlings Brad Stine Tammy Pescatelli Leighann Lord George Sarris Nick DiPaolo Russ Meneve Shang and more By Tasha A. Harris, NYC Comedy Journalist STAGE TIME The Magazine That Stands Up For Comedy |
That’s what I call a lead. That means in six months, you call up a booker, who you didn’t
know six months ago and say, “You saw me at this show and you said I could send you
a tape or try to get an audition.” To me as a comic, strategically, that’s valuable.
That’s a lead; that’s a tiny foot in the door that wasn’t there before. A lot of comics
have gotten through [that way], somewhere around 40 percent.
What’s your advice for comics who want to avoid being “seen” too soon at an industry show?
At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, a lot of comics are not ready and sign up anyway.
I don’t discourage them and I don’t encourage them. Let’s figure 10 percent are ready,
40 percent might be ready in six months and 50 percent aren’t ready at all.
You have to do your best six minutes – absolutely nothing new. An audition is never a time
to attempt anything new. No crowd work. The language thing - you have to play it by ear.
If you’re doing it for a road booker, then obviously it’s not going to be a big issue. I’d had
one [show] with a couple of guys, one guy booked something from Vegas and one guy
booked something in Atlantic City; they’re not going to be crazy about the language.
I tell my students a good way to gauge if you’re ready to be seen or not is “how is your set
doing?” If you perform two or three times a week and at the end of the month, and let’s say
you performed 12 times. In those 12 times, did you do well 8 or 9 of out 12 times or did you
do a good six out of 12 times? If you did six out of 12 times, you’re probably not ready to
audition for anybody. If you’ve done consistently well, then you’re ready to be seen.
know six months ago and say, “You saw me at this show and you said I could send you
a tape or try to get an audition.” To me as a comic, strategically, that’s valuable.
That’s a lead; that’s a tiny foot in the door that wasn’t there before. A lot of comics
have gotten through [that way], somewhere around 40 percent.
What’s your advice for comics who want to avoid being “seen” too soon at an industry show?
At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, a lot of comics are not ready and sign up anyway.
I don’t discourage them and I don’t encourage them. Let’s figure 10 percent are ready,
40 percent might be ready in six months and 50 percent aren’t ready at all.
You have to do your best six minutes – absolutely nothing new. An audition is never a time
to attempt anything new. No crowd work. The language thing - you have to play it by ear.
If you’re doing it for a road booker, then obviously it’s not going to be a big issue. I’d had
one [show] with a couple of guys, one guy booked something from Vegas and one guy
booked something in Atlantic City; they’re not going to be crazy about the language.
I tell my students a good way to gauge if you’re ready to be seen or not is “how is your set
doing?” If you perform two or three times a week and at the end of the month, and let’s say
you performed 12 times. In those 12 times, did you do well 8 or 9 of out 12 times or did you
do a good six out of 12 times? If you did six out of 12 times, you’re probably not ready to
audition for anybody. If you’ve done consistently well, then you’re ready to be seen.
| COMIC REVELATION "I’ve auditioned at Dangerfield’s three times in 11 years. I’ve never officially passed but I have done guest spots..." - Buddy Flip |
When did you start teaching comedy and how
did you get started?
…Since May of 2004 at The Improv. I always had
a habit if someone asked me question, giving
them a really long answer. I know this sounds
dopey, but I remember my wife would see the
emcee or somebody doing it six months would
be sitting there and ask me questions and I’d
tell them whatever I could. And she’d say, you
ever think about teaching?
did you get started?
…Since May of 2004 at The Improv. I always had
a habit if someone asked me question, giving
them a really long answer. I know this sounds
dopey, but I remember my wife would see the
emcee or somebody doing it six months would
be sitting there and ask me questions and I’d
tell them whatever I could. And she’d say, you
ever think about teaching?
What goes into preparing the course?
I have a curriculum...My class is split where there’s five classes and two separate perform-
ances at the club that Al was gracious to let me do. The last year, I’ve been doing an
advanced stand-up class. I kind of banned beginners because they were kind of hard to find
and some of them were really in the wrong place…I’ve had students come in and would be
rambling non sequiturs, and I would have beginners who would write something that week –
in the class to go onstage and do...I’ve had students who wouldn’t come to do the final show
because they realized they didn’t want to embarrass themselves.
There are plenty of comedy classes in the City. Why should comics choose your class?
Because it’s the "Best Stand Up Workshop Ever." I guess the first thing is that I manage
and you’re going to get real stage time. I think every other class ends with a bringer show.
The first few times I tried it, I failed miserably because I had a small class. I felt guilty.
They paid money to be in the course and now I’m going to make you bring your friends
after you paid money to take the course. That was the other great thing about the
advanced course: no bringer show at the end.
The bringer show you’re going to at Caroline’s - you’re going to have a lot people there and
it’s going be a lot of fun, but the one you’re going to do at my club with 17 people in the
audience – they’re a real audience. You’ll get an honest answer from them. I think that’s
valuable to spots. There’s no guarantee, but I have given spots to former students over the
years.
I think the other thing is - me that makes the difference. I’m good at listening. I’m not
afraid to say things that people might not want to hear, but I’m very good at saying it nicely.
I have a curriculum...My class is split where there’s five classes and two separate perform-
ances at the club that Al was gracious to let me do. The last year, I’ve been doing an
advanced stand-up class. I kind of banned beginners because they were kind of hard to find
and some of them were really in the wrong place…I’ve had students come in and would be
rambling non sequiturs, and I would have beginners who would write something that week –
in the class to go onstage and do...I’ve had students who wouldn’t come to do the final show
because they realized they didn’t want to embarrass themselves.
There are plenty of comedy classes in the City. Why should comics choose your class?
Because it’s the "Best Stand Up Workshop Ever." I guess the first thing is that I manage
and you’re going to get real stage time. I think every other class ends with a bringer show.
The first few times I tried it, I failed miserably because I had a small class. I felt guilty.
They paid money to be in the course and now I’m going to make you bring your friends
after you paid money to take the course. That was the other great thing about the
advanced course: no bringer show at the end.
The bringer show you’re going to at Caroline’s - you’re going to have a lot people there and
it’s going be a lot of fun, but the one you’re going to do at my club with 17 people in the
audience – they’re a real audience. You’ll get an honest answer from them. I think that’s
valuable to spots. There’s no guarantee, but I have given spots to former students over the
years.
I think the other thing is - me that makes the difference. I’m good at listening. I’m not
afraid to say things that people might not want to hear, but I’m very good at saying it nicely.
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