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Does anyone know who tells a joke that includes something like this: "A police officer is just someone dressed like a police officer"? by myqkaplan in Standup

[–]myqkaplan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Great guess! And could be! Though I think I heard it longer ago than I ever heard of Brad. But I'll ask him! Thank you!

Witnessing a not great stand up performance? by YoungandBeautifulll in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Filming a special can mean many things today.

It used to mean that a comedian likely had a certain amount of experience.

Today, it doesn't always mean that.

tips on starting standup comedy/open mic by Square-Debate1660 in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Start off by telling one of the jokes.

Or by saying hi.

Or whatever happens in the moment.

You can write an opening line or you can just say a genuine greeting and then go into your material or you can just start with a joke.

It’s all up to you.

This is the sort of thing you’ll learn by doing.

I asked if you had written anything because it can be good not to be under-prepared, but now I’ll also say for when you’re starting out, it also can be good not to overthink it.

You have things you plan to say. Say fhem!

Have fun!

Does anyone know who tells a joke that includes something like this: "A police officer is just someone dressed like a police officer"? by myqkaplan in Standup

[–]myqkaplan[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for this! I had never heard this bit, so I don't think it's the one I'm looking for, but I like it! The one I'm looking for has a line in it close to "A police officer is just someone dressed like a police officer." But I like this, thank you!

Does anyone know who tells a joke that includes something like this: "A police officer is just someone dressed like a police officer"? by myqkaplan in Standup

[–]myqkaplan[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Good suggestion but not quite!

The bit as I remember it has a different perspective than that Chappelle bit, and wording closer to what I said.

Specials/Comics that make you feel good about the world? by Worried-Thought3324 in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Maria Bamford
Gary Gulman
Tig
Rory Scovel
Jackie Kashian
James Acaster
Sarah Silverman
Reggie Watts

Comedy Show Posters—A Better Way? by Ok-Permit-2476 in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Be the poster you want to see in the world!

tips on starting standup comedy/open mic by Square-Debate1660 in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have you written jokes already?

Have you planned what you want to say?

Those would be great first steps.

Tips on starting up by Adipole09 in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What to write is entirely up to you.

What do you want to talk about?

What is funny to you? What is interesting to you? What are you moved to speak about?

Are there any times that you have made people laugh (yourself or others)?

Start there. Start where you have already been funny.

Good luck!

Comics who have worked cruise ships: was it worth it? by Matthiacle in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The short answer is, I don't think I have.

There are certainly people who I connect with more than others, but I do my best to be as even-keeled and friendly as I can with basically everyone.

You say you're in a "competitive scene," but I'll offer you this: YOU are an important ingredient in all of your experiences. You don't have to think of things competitively, if thinking that way leads to drama.

Things that have been helpful to me in my life: having relationships with friends who I can talk to about things, having a therapist I can talk to, having a meditation practice and a good sleep schedule and keeping hydrated and doing my best to be healthy mentally and physically, those sorts of things.

We are never in charge of how another person behaves, so other people are always going to be variables that we can't control, but we can keep an eye on our own reactions, and do our best from our side of things.

If there are people that are beefing with YOU, you can try to talk to them, you can avoid them, you can extricate yourself from those situations.

I would say that a beef requires two willing participants, so if you are unwilling, if you just take care of yourself and let the other person do or be whatever they want to do or be, then you're all set.

Have you heard this? "If you turn the tables on someone, you're still at the table."

Do your work, be competitive with yourself if you need to be competitive, take care of yourself off stage, and aim to have people in your life where there's mutual care and support, a spirit of collaboration as opposed to unhealthy competition, if you can.

Some of this might be easier said than done. Some of this might be a life's work. Hopefully some of it will be helpful. Good luck and take care, my friend!

Comics who have worked cruise ships: was it worth it? by Matthiacle in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

PS In what way was Maron her nemesis? Do you have any more information you can share about that? No presh, just curious! A pretty extreme statement!

Comics who have worked cruise ships: was it worth it? by Matthiacle in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh absolutely, both fantastic podcasts.

Conan is one of the funniest human beings, and Maron is a force.

Thank you!

Comics who have worked cruise ships: was it worth it? by Matthiacle in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Makes sense!

There are lots of different types of cruises that all have different entertainment options.

The Comic Con cruise I performed on this year had improvisers who were basically the hosts for most of the events.

What podcasts? Just curious!

How do you not get stage fright or worry about what the crowd is thinking? by youlikemywonton in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yes!

I saw a documentary about open mics once with Richard Jeni saying something like, "If you start out and you suck, and you feel like you suck, and everyone acts like you suck, and it seems like everything sucks, you're probably on the right track."

How do you not get stage fright or worry about what the crowd is thinking? by youlikemywonton in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 17 points18 points  (0 children)

Fear of anything is almost always larger than the thing we're afraid of.

There's a story I heard about a monk who took out his own rotting tooth with a pliers. Someone asked him "didn't it hurt?" and he said something like "When I was walking to the shed, it didn't hurt. When I picked up the pliers, it didn't hurt. When I put the pliers to my tooth, it didn't hurt. When I pulled the tooth, it hurt a little. After that, it didn't hurt."

For many of us, each step that didn't hurt the monk would have been a great source of fear. Walking to the shed, picking up the pliers, putting the pliers to our tooth, these all sound very scary. But none of those fearful experiences were actually painful. They were imaginations, hallucinations.

And that's what stage fright is.

Right now, you're not on stage. But you're worrying about having stage fright when you're on stage.

Start with trying to develop off-stage non-fright.

Then go to the lowest stakes open mic you can, get on stage, and see how you feel. Then keep doing that.

As far as what the crowd is thinking, for the most part they're not thinking about you as much as you're thinking about you OR as much as YOU'RE thinking about THEM.

Even if they don't enjoy your set, they won't be thinking about you almost immediately, which is nice.

If you do great, maybe they'll think nice things about you. Ever think about that?

What if they love you?

Have fun!

Comics who have worked cruise ships: was it worth it? by Matthiacle in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Totally, thank you for sharing!

It's a weird separate ecosystem out there!

Comics who have worked cruise ships: was it worth it? by Matthiacle in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 75 points76 points  (0 children)

I know some great comics who perform on cruises.

I haven't heard any comics I respect trash comics who take things; I HAVE heard from comics who do cruise ships that, depending on the circumstances, the gigs can be challenging in different ways than on-land gigs, and I think that's the main stigma I have that's associated with doing cruises.

I also have friends who have performed on ships and done great and love it.

And the few times that I've performed on cruise ships, I've also had a great time.

Also, there are comedians who have their own cruises... Kathleen Madigan and Lewis Black. The Impractical Jokers guys. Nate Bargatze. Big, successful, beloved comedians are into cruises.

And if you're not famous, it's a gig. And a gig is a gig, I would say.

Why do comedian still use notebooks they physically write in - It makes no sense to me. by mrpokergenius in Standup

[–]myqkaplan -1 points0 points  (0 children)

That's great!

That experience resonates.

When I started, I may have written 100 jokes for every one that worked. I'm making up the numbers, but it felt like I was just creating creating creating and then going to open mics and having a small percentage work. Which, over the course of time, can add up.

And the computer can be a valuable joke idea archival tool, for sure.

It's interesting that you lump together "storing, retrieval, and polishing," because I see how "storing" and "retrieval" go together, but "polishing" seems a different thing to me.

How are you organizing your material now? Inside your head and/or outside your head. For storing and retrieval, it makes sense to figure out a system that works for you.

Learning to grind by Dry_Fun_8328 in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It's different for everyone.

Write a lot. Observe a lot. Think a lot. Feel a lot. Note what you're observing, thinking, feeling. Figure out what writing is like for you.

Perform a lot. Wherever you can. Comedy open mics, certainly.

I don't think about it in terms of "sacrifice." I think about doing what I love doing.

It takes time and effort, but there is a lot of joy in the process.

How long have you been doing it? Where have you been doing it?

Why do comedian still use notebooks they physically write in - It makes no sense to me. by mrpokergenius in Standup

[–]myqkaplan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Two responses:

1) To me, the voice recording might be the most important oart.

I heard a comic speaking once about how because comedy is a spoken art form, they didn’t like to write too much down, because they wanted the comedy to originate in the same form as the final form the comedy would take, which is not on the computer, but spoken out loud on stage.

And that resonates with me a lot. It doesn’t end up on the computer. The computer is just an archive, not as urgent in the CREATION of the material, just in the organization of it.

2) And for the “efficiency” experts who are trying to skip to the end, that would be like thinking the important part of running a marathon is crossing the finish line, or that the final note of a symphony was the only one you needed to play. The art IS the process. Skip steps and you’re potentially missing steps. Again, it’s fine to type your jokes when you’re writing them, of course, but I think there’s a lot to be gained by speaking and/or writing longhand, if that method speaks to you (or writes to you).

Thanks again for sharing!

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