Comic Insights by Franklyn Ajaye

• A distinctive point of view is what each of the comedians in this book possess in abundance, and it’s what is missing from many of today’s young comedians, causing them to blend into the comedy woodwork.
• The first and most important step for anybody who wants to be a good stand-up comedian is to make that you watch the good ones and study them intently so that you can get a feel for why they’re funny.
• You have to be able to coolly appraise a comedian’s techniques, strengths, and weaknesses to notice what works and doesn’t work so that you can dispel any sense of awe and become more objective. Only then can you understand how they generate laughter, and thus apply their expertise to help you develop.
• So what should you study as a comedian? You must study their deliveries, their use of their bodies, their timing, and their use of audio and vocal effects.
• After you’ve started looking at comedians more analytical ye, the next step is to zero in on the comedian or comedians whose sense of humor and style of comedy reminds you of the sense of humor you naturally display around your friends and associates when you are relaxed.
• When you find a comedian who reminds you of what you do naturally, that particular comedian can serve as a guide or influence.
• If you’ve never told a joke or been funny around your friends, but you still want to become a stand-up comedian, you can find your own sense of humor by studying the comedian who consistently makes you laugh the most--that particular comedian is tapping into your comedic sensibility and helping you identify where your own sense of humor lies.
• There’s a bug difference between imitating a comedian and being strongly influenced by one. As long as you have the concept of self-expression at the forefront of your mind, you will never be a carbon copy of your comedic influences.
• Analytically study the best stand-up comedian through the use of videotapes, books, CDs, and cassettes.
• Zero in on the comedian whose sense of humor or style is reminiscent of the style of humor you display around your friends.
• If you’ve never been funny, zero in one the comedian whose humor you enjoy the most for insight into your own sense of humor.
• Isolate the comedic elements of your favorite comedian or comedians, then synthesize and incorporate these elements into your own presentation.
• Keep self-expression as your goal and as a protection against imitating your influences.
• All art is related, so you can use artists other than comedians to inspire your approach to your comedy.
• To be a professional comedian you have to be funny on demand, regardless of your emotional state. Raw innate ability is not enough to guarantee success on a regular basis. You can’t just be “naturally funny” every night. Consequently, you have to develop techniques to compensate for those times when your talent or creative spark isn't there.
• An individual point of view is by far the most important element for memorable stand-up comedy. It’s what makes any artist of merit truly stand out.
• Your point of view is the voice you hear when you talk to yourself. As a stand-up, tapping into how you really feel or think about this madness we call life is the key to tapping into your true sense of humor.
• An aspiring comedian must be determined to get to his or her true feelings on a subject and convey that to the audience.
• Good stand-up comedy is drawing people into your head.
• Don’t try to give a funny opinion; give your opinion in a way that will be funny. Plant your feet, focus on the odd details of a situation that has caught your attention, and describe what you honestly see or feel. Is it exasperation, amusement, anger, disgust, anxiety, amazement? Try to tune into and identify your honest feelings--and express them.
• A good delivery is one that allows the audience to follow your train of thought. It is the bridge to the window of your thinking.
• A monologue is a one-way conversation that gives the illusion of being a dialogue. So you should focus on talking to the audience, not at the audience.
• Good timing is an integral part of an effective delivery and relates in particular to two areas of a comedian’s act: the delivery of the punchline and licking the right moment to start the next joke after the audience has laughed.
• You must not be afraid of small bits of silence. To use it well is the height of confidence and skill for a comedian.
• Let the laughter run its natural course. Then, before it drops into total silence, start the next routine. This way you build an almost musical rhythm that has its own natural ebbs and flows.
• Audio effects are tremendous enhancements to a stand-up comedian’s performance and come in two forms: sound effects and vocal characterizations. The use of good sound effects in a stand-up’s presentation adds tremendously, but it requires a special talent.
• Concentration or focus is what is needed to tie your performance all together. You can’t just wing it; you have to have some type of plan for the show. You have to focus on the task at hand--which is to make the audience laugh at your humorous observations.
• Psychologically, you must be prepared to stand your ground in the midst of the silence detonating all around you. This can only come from you truly understanding your point of view and being committed to putting it out there for the audience to consider.
• A technique that I developed quite naturally to help me make smooth transitions was to use a word or phrase from the next routine in the preceding one.
• Effective stand-up comedy technique consists of the following essential elements:
• Point of View
• Your individual point of view is the most important element in your comedy arsenal.
• Tap into your true thoughts or feelings on a subject and convey them to the audience.
• Unscrupulous comedians can steal your jokes, but they can’t steal your point of view--which is what generates your material.
• You must be resolute with your point of view if it isn’t initially accepted.
• Honesty
• Don’t try to give a funny opinion, give your opinion in a funny way.
• Focus on the details that you notice and tell the truth about what you see or feel.
• Delivery
• A good delivery allows the audience to follow your train of thought.
• Your delivery can be fast or slow, but it must contribute to the audience’s understanding of where you land--the punchline.
• Clarity and economy of words is paramount.
• Talk to the audience, not at them.
• Timing
• “Light the fuse” to your joke by taking a pause before you deliver the punchline.
• When you get a good laugh from the audience, let it subside naturally before you start the next joke.
• Give the audience a few seconds to get a cerebral joke.
• Don’t be afraid of silent moments.
• Visuals
• Always think about adding a visual element to your performance if possible.
• Walk back and forth across the stage to make the audience follow you with their eyes.
• Act out the parts of the different people you talk about in your comedy.
• Audio Effects and Vocal Characterizations
• Audio sound effects require a special talent but are great help to paint a vivid picture.
• Vocal characterizations need not be full impressions, just distinct enough to suggest the presence of other people in your routines.
• Concentration
• Concentration helps with your mental visualization and frees your imagination.
• When your concentration suffers, your show suffers.
• Stage Presence
• It’s not necessary to have rapid speech and an aggressive attitude to have a strong stage presence.
• Tattoo the words “commitment and conviction” in your brain for a string stage presence.
• You must truly understand your point of view to have a strong stage presence.
• Smooth Transitions
• Look for one-word connections or phrases that can help you get from one routine to another without it seeming disjointed (usually in your afterthought or tagline).
• To be able to write funny material for yourself, it’s essential that you understand your own particular and natural "comedic essence”. You want to write humor that captures the freshness of the humor that you do with friends when you’re feeling relaxed and comfortable--it’s at those moments when you are displaying your "pure funny”.
• Outlining a subject that you’re interested in is a great way to deal with those routines that you want to consciously create, as opposed to those that spring forth spontaneously when with friends. It’s essential for the aspiring comedian because it organizes your thoughts and gives them a spine to hang your humorous observations and embellishments on.
• When you outline and start to think about what you want to discuss, your subconscious will amaze you with all the things that it will reveal that you weren’t aware that you’d noticed.
• The best weapon against creative block is to be tuned in to your point of view. Writing material is a journey not a destination.
• Always carry a micro-cassette recorder to record any thoughts and impressions that may occur to you. Don’t try to keep the ideas in your head. Without fail, you’ll forget them later.
• Use the “third eye” technique of observing yourself to tap into your “pure funny”.
• Structure your funny by outlining the subjects you want to discuss.
• Choose topics that reflect your true interests and concerns.
• Deal with creative block by (1) understanding your point of view, (2) using the third eye, (3) relaxing and letting your subconscious mind work, or (4) accepting and grappling with “drudgery days".
• Carry a micro-cassette recorder or notebook with you at all times to record your ideas.
• An important note when putting together your first set: Always put what you consider to be your strongest material last. A strong ending can save a weak beginning, but not vice versa. It’s a law of performing--the audience remembers how you end, not how you begin.
• Nervousness only signifies that adrenaline is being pumped through your system, and adrenaline (as we all know) is what heightens our sense and speeds up our response in times of danger. And it does the same thing when you’re on stage.
• For a comedian, bombing at one time or another is an inevitable reality.
• Preparation for your first time on stage should be thorough and well planned.
• Start to write material at least two to three months before you go on stage. This material should be routines that you’ve developed using the third-eye method. Don’t go on stage for the first time thinking you’ll just ad-lib your way through. The pressure is too great for a novice.
• Memorize your routines until you know them backwards and forwards.
• Talk your routine into a tape recorder to get an idea of how long it runs.
• Put your best routine at the end so that you can finish strong. A good finish can make up for a bad beginning, but not vice versa.
• Obviously, the most difficult thing about doing a spot on television versus the normal nightclub set is the fact that you have a very short time to score. Five minutes to be exact on The Tonight Show.
• One of the most important things to keep in mind when you’re doing televisions is that you can’t run over. These shows are very tightly structured, particularly with respect to commercial breaks.
• Treat the studio audience like a nightclub audience. Relate to them exclusively.
• Be prepared to lose tag or afterthought lines from your routine for television, because television studio audience applaud clever lines and cut into your time.
• Get to the studio early so that you can familiarize yourself with its environment and get the feel of the room.
• Look through your routines and think of questions that can be asked to get you into them for your panel segment. Make these routines as conversational as possible.
• You have to start with where your true attitudes and beliefs start.
• The thing that most comedians need to remember when they go on stage is that they’re really the boss.
• I have always written down everything that I ever thought of--that I thought was worth remembering.
• The mind is a problem-solving, goal-seeking mechanism. I’ve found that most of the creative work I’ve done on a subconscious level.
• Writing is nothing but the organization of your ideas. You have to find the patterns of your thinking.
• I got a good piece of advice when I was working in radio, which was to act like you were talking to one person at a time.
• The one thing I learned very quickly was that your material will ascend or descend to the level of the room that you are playing.
• No matter how popular you are, promotes are not going to rehire you if you miss gigs.
• The thing about comedy is that you don’t wield any power with comedy, you just reinforce what people already believe. You can’t change anybody’s mind.
• If you try to change their mind, you’re no longer a comedian, then you’re a humorist, then you’re a satirist, then you’re out of show business.
• The good comedians always put the jokes above anything else. To me, the ideal joke is when you’ve got your stupid redneck over here and your college professor over here, and they both laugh at the same joke for different reasons.
• That’s a big thing in comedy. If people can get a quick sense of who you are, they relax.