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Awkward Silence #019: Building a Career as a Stand Up Comedian

Show - Awkward Silence [v] 11 Comments

If you (or somebody you know) is even remotely interested in what it’s like to be a working stand-up comedian, this episode of Awkward Silence is for you. In it, we really get into the up and downs of what it takes to build a sustainable career in comedy. Show notes:

  • Special co-host Matt Markman
  • Show prep
  • Brandt update (who joins us in the live chat)
  • Fit of FAT (+2lbs)
  • Biggest gigs
  • Puking before a show
  • Jumping from part time to full time comedy
  • Family support
  • Why working only in Vegas is hard
  • How to leverage a big gig
  • Being a comedian — a secret from your full-time job?
  • Writing new material
  • Hell Gig

“. . .why, do you have a gig?”

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Topics: Comedy, Interview

Comments

  1. Dan T. says

    March 11, 2011 at 4:02 pm

    Another good show guys. I know you’ve discussed it before, but comics looking to earn any kind of money on the road, especially featuring, or just looking to do it consistently to improve, are usually far better off in someplace like Indy, Minneapolis, or Chicago. Those cities have clubs of course, but they are also within a day’s drive of dozens of others and hundreds of one-nighters. There are comics in L.A. who don’t even know what featuring is. “You mean you drive around for shows and get paid? How does that work?”

    Another thing you may not have talked about. Every comic and comedy fan in the Midwest has seen guys come out from NY or LA — usually feature acts — and just eat their own dicks for 30 minutes. Happens all the time. Why? Because they’ve spent all their time developing an act tailored for whatever scene they’re in, and they haven’t learned how to tweak their acts for different crowds, or just slow down their pace, or make eye contact. Peoria, IL for example, has a comedy club, but it does not have a sizable population of 20-something hipsters who dig Stephen Hawking jokes aimed at the back of the room.

    Reply
    • Scott W. says

      March 11, 2011 at 4:18 pm

      Great insight, Dan. Thanks for watching and keep the comments coming!

      Reply
    • brian says

      March 11, 2011 at 4:54 pm

      Great comment Dan. I know exactly what you mean about comics who tailor their acts to a “big city” crowd. Definitely a topic for an upcoming show.

      Reply
    • Scott W. says

      March 11, 2011 at 9:59 pm

      Hey Dan, just spent some time reading your blog. Very funny stuff. Let me know if you ever get to Vegas.

      Reply
      • Dan T. says

        March 14, 2011 at 1:33 pm

        Thanks, Scott. Will do.

        Reply
  2. brian says

    March 11, 2011 at 8:34 pm

    Congrats to Awkward Silence guest Louis Katz on your first Comedy Central Presents special. Check it out this weekend!

    Reply
    • Scott W. says

      March 11, 2011 at 9:11 pm

      Wow. Great news. Here’s Louis’ episode on AS.

      Reply
  3. Anthony Moran says

    March 12, 2011 at 5:09 am

    Hey guys love the show and love facial hair (Brian you are a disgrace). I love the chat room but for me the way it is integrated in to the show at the moment can kill the flow of conversion. Is there another way to insert the questions without cutting to a control room? My last thought is this and this is a very personal annoyance with the show, Scott are you a producer or a show host on AS? Because you need to make a choice as the constant interruptions are almost forcing me to switch of the show.

    Reply
    • Scott W. says

      March 12, 2011 at 9:53 am

      Thanks for the feedback. As they say in politics, for every negative bit of feedback (calls, emails, letters), there is likely many more who feel the same way.

      I’ll certainly take your comments into consideration. This last episode did have more of my presence that I would normally have, primarily because the subject matter was similar to the show that had just Brian and myself — getting to the real crux of being a stand-up comedian. However, this isn’t my show so I should be cautious about injecting myself into the mix.

      There are a couple things in play here that we have to consider. First, we’ve received a great deal of positive feedback regarding the behind the scene vibe of “cutting to the control room”. It’s not something you get to see on broadcast TV, which is why many people find it very interesting. Regarding getting chat questions to the host, we’ve considered placing a laptop next to the host so they could grab the chat questions themselves but, as you know, a great deal of the content in the chat is back-and-forth comments between chat participants. Finding a usable question can be tough, especially if you’re trying to carry on a meaningful conversation with a guest who, more times than not, might feel a bit slighted if during his response to a host’s question, the host starts looking for a question from the chat.

      That said, we’ll look at other ways of getting questions into the host without it “killing the flow”. Thanks again for the feedback.

      Reply
  4. brian says

    March 14, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    Well, we were pushing very hard to get the one and only Doug Stanhope for the show on Thursday, but unfortunately, with only a total of 12 hours on the ground in vegas this weekend (knowing Doug, mostly drunken hours), he couldn’t fit us into his schedule this trip. Luckily Scott stepped up and booked the very funny Dave Russo Dan Nainan to take his place. See you all there!

    Reply
    • Scott W. says

      March 14, 2011 at 6:11 pm

      I spoke with Dave Russo today (great guy) and he’s booked for May 12th.

      Reply

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