Interviews, reviews and all sorts of news about comedy!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Ryan Withers: Good thanks. I mean 4 years. Sorry I’m such an idiot.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Ryan Withers: It’s kinda silly, I like doing big fun theatrical stand-up shows but make them weird. What’s with all the questions, what is this a Comedy Blogedy interview?
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Ryan Withers: Dunston from ‘Dunston Checks In’.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Ryan Withers: Ever since I saw ‘Dunston Checks In’.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Ryan Withers: I watch ‘Dunston Checks In’ and think about what, if anything could have made that film funnier.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Ryan Withers: Surprise Plug! Come see my stupid Edinburgh showe, it’s better than it looks.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Ryan Withers: I like all of it, I’m thrilled to be a part of it. Except there’s not enough 20-year-old dudes talking about pornography.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Ryan Withers: Anyone who would give me even a second of their time. Just so I can waste it and become a cautionary tale for people they know about making mistakes. My dream audience is 150 me’s. I’d still get a mixed response but I know I’d be polite and clap loudly at the end. I have a loud clap that I’m rightly proud of.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Ryan Withers: Someone’s favourite word is heckle.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Ryan Withers: I wouldn’t give advice I don’t really know what I’m talking about. But I hope my winning personality shines through in this interview and it makes people want to see my showe. I doubt it though, I’ve been too much of a smartarse. Thanks to the two people who read this far, I appreciate it.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Si Finnigan: I’ve been doing stand up a little over a year now. My first gig was an Open Mic in Huddersfield, my friend drove me all the way to the venue and I remember being so nervous. I walked to the guy behind the bar and asked when the comedy will start; he told me it wasn’t till the next night. I had to go through the whole thing all over again 24 hours later and proceeded to bomb in front of 4 acts, 2 punters and the bartender I spoke with the night before. It was the 20th April, 2011.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Si Finnigan: I can get pretty hostile, especially towards audiences. It kind of depends what type of mood I’m in going into a gig, or what kind of crowd it turns out I’m playing to, or how well the night is run. I like the idea that sometimes, especially on Open Mic nights, there can be a bit of give and take between the performer and the audience when it comes to who’s responsible for the gig being a success or a nose-dive.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Si Finnigan: Bill Hicks got me into stand up big time but he’s like the gateway drug for comic nerds. I loved watching early Eddie Izzard stand up videos, things like Glorious and Dress to Kill. My ultimate influence is the Big Yin, Billy Connolly. I remember listening to his ‘the crucifixion’ joke when I was really young, like 9 years old. It’s resonated with me ever since.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Si Finnigan: Yeah, but for some reason it never occurred to me that stand up was something you could actually do. I did comedy acting for years before stand up so I was getting laughs reading other peoples lines. I quit acting when I got into university and started doing a screenwriting course; all of a sudden I had actors getting laughs from reading my lines. I started building confidence in my own material and climbed back on stage on my own.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Si Finnigan: If I think of something funny I wouldn’t write it down straight away, I’d just carry on with whatever it was I was doing at the time. If the idea comes back into my head a week later then I start finding out the structure of the joke. It’s like when a guitarist comes up with a riff; if it’s good enough he won’t forget it, he’ll just start writing the song.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Si Finnigan: I work full time, the comedy is part time but it’s definitely not a hobby. Hobbies are generally quite enjoyable. Driving miles out into the middle of god-knows-where to find out you’re going to be slotted in-between the raffle and the magician isn’t the most enjoyable experience in the world. But comedy is the reason why I’m working in a job I hate, so I can keep those experiences coming. I don’t want to work in a paint factory all my life, all I need to do is figure out how to be funny enough not to worry about rent before I go bald.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Si Finnigan: The most frustrating thing about the amateur comedy circuit is seeing the tourists jump onstage whilst wearing their skinny jeans, posturing onstage then start reading Sickipedia-style jokes from a piece of paper. You can tell by their hair that they’re not in it for the right reasons. They don’t tend to stick around though.
The most enjoyable thing is seeing how much raw talent is lying around. I run comedy nights in Leeds with two other comics, it’s amazing to see all these young, talented and seriously funny people slowly work their way up into the clubs. People who are way funnier than me so it’s hard to try and hide the resentment a little but to watch a fellow comic develop his act into a killer set is pretty cool.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Si Finnigan: Comedy club audiences are always fun, it makes you raise your game.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Si Finnigan: The best heckle I got was when my dad came to this gig I was doing on my birthday. Halfway through my set I pointed at him and said to the audience, “this is my Dad”, my dad shouted back “not anymore after watching this shit!” He got the biggest laugh of the night.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Si Finnigan: Whoever your favourite comic is, analyse them! Go through all their material and look at the jokes; what types of jokes do they like to tell, how they structure it, their cadence, rhythm, nuances, style, etc. You’ll figure out what tools you need to build your act, you’ll start developing your own style and will eventually drop your influences.
Also, the best writing is rewriting.
Also, don’t listen to advice from new acts.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Madeleine Culp: I’ve been doing solo stand-up comedy from January this year (2012). Before that I worked in a duo for 3 years. Doing solo stand-up is fun but took sometime to get used to. I’m still working it out. It’s like a roller coaster… one where you have the fear of popping your pants while you are on it… but it rarely happens. Rarely.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Madeleine Culp: I would describe it as surreal. Other people have described it as weird. Or maybe they were talking about me? I can’t tell. After seeing my set once, a comic told me that my style of comedy was ‘brave’. Yes brave – not a genre of comedy that I am aware of but hey, I’m not above taking that as a complement. I love doing physical comedy and will do it at any opportune moment. I also love fart jokes.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Madeleine Culp: I am influenced by good comedy, even if it is a style that I would never do. I adore comedians like Jennifer Saunders, Kristen Schaal, Sarah Silverman, Conan O’Brien, Tig Notaro, Tim & Eric (of Awesome Show, Great Job) Shane Matheson, Ryan Withers and Nick Sun to name but a tiny few!
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Madeleine Culp: It was never my intention but for as long as I can remember I was always goofing off and performing as much as I could. My Smurf parody I used to do at lunchtime in Year 2 killed. No one could mock Poppa Smurf like me!
For most of my teens I tried to be an ‘actor’ and went to a performing arts high school on a scholarship (yep, it was pretty much Fame. So much prancing at lunchtimes). Yet every time I was given a drama script I couldn’t take it seriously, or myself seriously, and I would try to make people laugh instead of illicit tears or deep reflection as was normally the case. I had a teacher tell me that I should do stand-up comedy, but I dismissed it at the time. At university I started to do Theatresports every week, then I wrote a comedy show, then went to comedy festivals and then started to do stand-up. After getting a job as a presenter on radio, doing stand-up and festivals regularly, I was like, ‘Yeh… I want to get into comedy I think.’
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Madeleine Culp: Normally I see, hear or notice something in everyday life. Then I will write down what’s interesting or ridiculous about it and workshop something from there. I say ‘workshop’ which just means me scribbling down points about it and thinking of how I could talk about it. I find my jokes are never really formed until I do them on stage and throw them to the mercy of the crowd.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Madeleine Culp: I most definately need to be working day jobs and gigging at night here in London. At home, in Sydney, I was a host on radio station Triple J which was paid so I could focus on comedy a lot more. Jobs are a wealth of material though I don’t seem to write occupation driven. jokes. I do write about things that I see or happen while at work.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Madeleine Culp: The most enjoyable thing is the freedom to experiment and try things out. It can also be the most frustrating because sometimes the crowds are small, you just can’t tell if your jokes are any good with the two sober crowd members who were coerced into becoming an audience being your only sounding board. Worse still is when the audience is just other comics.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Madeleine Culp: And an audience made of humans preferably the adult kind, happy, intelligent, up for anything and slightly tipsy.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Madeleine Culp: I have been heckled but I don’t seem to get it frequently. I like interacting with the audience – it’s one of the best parts of doing stand-up. One time a man in the crowd, who could have been a little intoxicated, just shouted out ‘turn around’. He didn’t yell it out in response to anything I had been saying. It didn’t seem sleezy or that he wanted me off, I think he just wanted a bit of a show biz spin I guess. Sure, why not?
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
I’ll give them the same advice I got when I asked Arj Barker after I saw one of his shows. Sure he seemed a little distracted by some very interested-in-him ladies, and yes he was making eye contact with them when he said this but still it is something I keep saying to myself time and time again as a motivator (I just say it without the eye contact to ladies but you choose for yourself). Get ready! Get your pens out because you’ll need to write this wisdom down. Here it comes: ‘Just do it’.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Jed Salisbury: I had my first gig on 1st November 2009, I did a one day comedy writing course called the Art of Comedy in the Hull comedy festival, and I then had my first gig that night. But I’d say I’ve been gigging regularly since June 2010.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Jed Salisbury: If someone took the mischievous crudeness of Frank Skinner, cheekiness of Lenny Henry and edginess of Daniel Tosh threw it in a blender and performed some voodoo on it and placed it in a man that slightly resembled Velma from Scooby Doo… then I guess that would be my act.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Jed Salisbury: I wasn’t really into stand-up when I was younger, I was really into sitcoms. I remember my Dad introducing me to The Young Ones at a very early age, I found it hilarious. I still find it hilarious now but back then I didn’t get half the jokes, the same with Bottom. Looking back my Dad let me watch so much stuff I shouldn’t have been watching. I’d say Rik Mayall is a big comedy influence, I’ve seen Drop Dead Fred a gazillion times, I like to think that it has influenced the way I try to be funny on and off stage.
Though Rik Mayall did stand-up I’ve not actually seen much of it since I wasn’t into stand-up in my youth (using the word youth makes me sound old, I’m only 22), so when it comes to stand up I’m influenced by a lot of modern acts all with different styles, acts like Daniel Tosh, Micky Flannigan, Rob Rouse, Dave Gibson, Jonny Addy, Joey Page, Trevor Lock, Russell Brand, Andrew O’Neil, Chris Ramsey, Russell Kane, Lenny Henry, Frank Skinner, Andrew Maxwell…To be fair I could give you a never ending list of Comedians who influence me, it’s not that I try to emulate their style they just motivate me to work hard at what I do so one day I can be as funny as them.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Jed Salisbury: No not at, I wasn’t even really a fan of stand-up comedy growing up. I got into comedy because a friend dared me to and I’m not one to turn down a challenge so I started researching, going to local gigs and writing material. The more comedy I studied the more obsessed with it I became. I used to turn up to gigs and in the breaks and at the end of the night harass the acts for their advice and comedy wisdom. For about eight months I was that “My friends think I should do comedy…” guy you occasionally get at gigs.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Jed Salisbury: I used to wait around for something funny to happen, and then I’d go tell audiences and hope they found it as funny. Then I realised I could just make stuff up and it would just be as funny of not funnier, so I started doing that instead. I used to be fairly lazy with writing when I started out, but now I make sure I take time to write at least four times a week. I’ll be honest though most of my best ideas and jokes usually come to me whilst in the shower.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Ahh it’s just a hobby at the moment. I wish stand-up was my full time job, I had a real job for the whole of 3 weeks and realised that I could happily do stand-up for the rest of my life. Well stand-up or be a camera man at babe station, that’d be cool. I left uni at the beginning of the year (I say “left uni” because it sounds so much nicer then “dropped out”) so I haven’t really managed to find a full time job to influence my material. I’ve had a couple of short term jobs but they haven’t really provided material, as it turns out working in a call centre and working on a flower stall in a crematorium aren’t really the comedy gold mines you’d expect them to be.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Two things that I find most enjoyable that I can think off are … Number 1: the travelling, I actually find travelling to gigs to be the most enjoyable, I don’t drive so I usually car share with the other Hull acts, the car journeys are funnier and more enjoyable then some of gigs we do. Due to these car shares acts like Andy Woolston, Si Gutherless and Rich Austin have become some of my closest friends on and off the circuit.
Number 2: Random acts of kindness from other acts. A couple of times I have found myself on pro-nights with acts I admire simply because another act had recommend me, it’s a nice feeling when someone’s goes out on a limb and vouches for you, though there is added pressure not to be shit.
Most frustrating seeing acts go on stage and die a horrible death, I hate seeing anyone bomb (especially myself!). Unfortunately it’s just one of them things with comedy, sooner or later everyone bombs.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Jed Salisbury: I’m not really fussy about what audience I perform in front of, any audience is a good audience in my eyes. I often find audiences that are a little bit rowdy and take a little work to win over are the best; I seem to find I learn a lot more from those gigs.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Jed Salisbury: I’m fine with hecklers, I’ve just not really had any great heckles, this is quite disappointing. I think when comedians start out they actually worry about been heckled more than they should, it doesn’t happen that often and when it does it is usually someone trying to help.
The weirdest heckle I’ve heard is when Andy Woolston was on stage in Nottingham and mentioned he was from Hull and audience member heckled him by shouting “Hull had very nice public toilets.” which is not only very random but also a lie.
The best heckle base story goes to Leeds based act David McAndrews, I was gigging with him the other week in Leeds and this group of lads kept heckling, it turned out they were the band that were playing later, I’d left but Dave stuck around for the band and when they started playing he stood right in front of the lead singer and started shouting “Wanker!” at him, now that’s how you get revenge on a heckler.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Jed Salisbury: Feel don’t think, use your instincts… Also Carpe diem! Because at the end of the day YOLO! I think we can all agree solid advice there.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Thom Milson: I’ve been going for about 14 months but I tend to tell people 8 because I sucked really bad during my first six months (I mean really bad). I’m better now.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Thom Milson: An outsider looking in? That’s what I feel I am anyway. It’s also the way I think a comedian should be.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Thom Milson: Without a doubt George Carlin, Louis C.K, Kyle Kinane, Todd Barry, Eddie Pepitone, Dana Gould and Patton Oswalt. There’s a whole bunch more though. I’m a big fan of American comedy.
Oh, and I really like a Podcast called Walking the Room, which is hosted by Dave Anthony and Greg Behrendt.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Thom Milson: Most people say yes, I don’t. The truth is I didn’t know I wanted to do it until I saw Carlin’s HBO special Jammin’ in New York and I thought to myself ‘I want to be one of those guys and I wanna hang out with people who do what that guy does’. I then went down to a local open mic and asked for a spot. I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew it felt right. Plus, my life was dreadful and I had nothing to lose.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Thom Milson: I write mainly on stage now. I used to script things, and I see a lot of people doing this at the moment, and it always felt very forced to me. Even if you get it spot on the audience can tell it’s scripted. Now I write the basic form of progression I want something to take, as well as lines that I think are funny and work the rest out on stage. It’s usually not right the first time, but I’ll take the good bits from there and build on it. I like to add something new, no matter how small, whenever I’m on stage.
Also, and I completely stole this idea from Carlin and C.K, I burn all of my material when it feels like I’ve got it there. I mean, I usually do it for a big crowd, or a really nice show, but then it’s gone. Some people think I’m crazy for doing this, but it’s just to stop me being lazy. If I don’t have any material I need to write new stuff, and so far it’s always been better than what I got rid of. It’s definitely made me a better writer.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Thom Milson: At the moment it’s a hobby, and a full-time obsession. That sounds really corny I know, but it’s true. I would love for it to be more than that, and I’m working on it. I’m in this for the long haul now.
As far as my main job influencing my material, I’d say that it doesn’t that much, if at all. Sometimes I would like to talk about what I do, but I might lose my job, so I don’t. Someday I might.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Thom Milson: I could be here forever listing the enjoyable parts but my number one would be the beautiful women. Since starting this I’ve not had time to breath with all the beautiful women wanting to be near me. That’s not true. But women are amazing creatures (way better than men).
If I’m going to be honest the most enjoyable part is getting to hang out with comedians, it really is. It’s strange because you can know comedians you really disagree with, on almost everything, but still love them because you have that bond of being a comedian.
I’d probably say the frustrating part is how difficult it can be to get to know the right people when you start out. There are a lot of people doing this, some are amazing, and some are not, and everyone needs stage time to learn and grow and sometimes it can be difficult to get yourself in particular nights because they’ll be about 50 people fighting for the same 4 spots.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Thom Milson: I like an audience who are quite forgiving and open to anything. Live stand-up is, in my opinion, very different to what’s on TV and I like it when they’re on board with that. I also have a weird thing for performing to crowds that are considered tough.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Thom Milson: I’ve been heckled once, and it was before I even said anything into the microphone, and some guy just yelled ‘DUUUUDDDEEEE!’. The worst part of it was that he was a comedian.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Thom Milson: I don’t want to sound negative, but be prepared for your life to fall apart. It might not, but comedy takes up a big chunk of your life if you take it seriously and this can affect your life. For instance, I found myself spending less and less time with some of my “normal” friends. It’s not cheap either. You will fall in love with it though, and everything about doing comedy is amazing.
Also, don’t try to be someone you really like. Instead, just be yourself.
Oh, and be wary of Gong Shows when you’re really new because they can be disheartening. Learn to be comfortable on stage, telling your material, before you attempt one.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in sketch comedy?
Tom Burgess: A couple of years. I got involved with the Sheffield University Comedy Revue in 2010, then joined the sketch troupe Fuddlepuck in 2011, before it fell apart in 2012 after an unresolvable cupboard-related dispute.
Sam Nicoresti: Not long enough. I only really started when I came to Uni, and even then I holed myself up in radio for two years rather than face an audience. Radio is great, you don’t need to impress a void of silence, you just let it wash over you, like having a bath in some space. That doesn’t happen too much anymore since I started actually facing audiences. They make noises, most of the time it’s laughter or encouragement. It’s down right not on.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Tom Burgess: Irretrievably hilarious.
Sam Nicoresti: £7.50, 3rd – 12th August at 2 0’clock at the Camden Head, Camden, London as part of the Camden Fringe.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Tom Burgess: Tom Baker, Peter Cook, Douglas Adams, Monty Python, Cowards, Mitchell & Webb.
Sam Nicoresti: When I was a child I had some old cassettes of The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. I listened to them every night, still do. Other than that I like to watch Peter Cook for hours on end. It’s very easy because he’s dead. I just set up camp in the cemetery and wait. Sometimes I like to imagine I’m waiting for him to poke his head out like I’m the Bill Oddie of death. That never happens though.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Tom Burgess: Yes, since before birth.
Sam Nicoresti: No. I wanted to be a frog for a while, but I eventually lost interest. Then I wanted to be a writer, that turned out to be just as hard to break into.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Tom Burgess: Squeeze a lemon onto my own hair, write a sketch.
Sam Nicoresti: I go and get in touch with nature. I get naked. I touch trees. I communicate my feelings at gardens. After that the material pretty much just writes itself. I presume that’s what’s happening anyway.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a sketch act full time or is it more of a part-time hobby?
Tom Burgess: Both.
Sam Nicoresti: Never.
Comedy Blogedy: If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Tom Burgess: Never.
Sam Nicoresti: I once had to look at children on a jungle gym and make sure none of them were sad or dead for a job. I’ve never written a sketch about it though. So maybe not.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Tom Burgess: Enjoyable: the process of developing work as a group, and the inevitable distractions resulting from this; performing in front of a receptive audience (biggest satisfaction I’ve ever felt). Frustrating: the others won’t let me bring my collection of cupboards to our meetings.
Sam Nicoresti: Enjoyable: The small venues, the long hours, the late nights. Sounds weird but I do genuinely love the intimacy and sense of camaraderie; but then again I am a masochist, (ladies). Frustrating: Same as the above but when I haven’t had my cereal.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Tom Burgess: One we’re scared of; if they like us then it’s much more satisfying.
Sam Nicoresti: A small one, in an intimate venue. It’s terrifying before you go on, thinking, ‘Oh God, no one will laugh and it’ll be really obvious because they’re all sat too close together’. But when you get out there and it goes well then it’s really quite a special feeling. When you can see the faces of the people you’re performing to, and their face is a wrinkled flannel of joy, then you think, ‘Ah, that’s great. Their face is a wrinkled flannel of joy. This is really quite a special feeling’.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging?
Tom Burgess: Never.
Sam Nicoresti: I’ve not done many stand-up gigs. People tend not to heckle during sketch comedy. But at my first stand-up gig someone heckled me to express their enjoyment. I threatened to kill them. It made sense in the context of what I was saying though and I had a great time. That was a good day.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you enjoy being heckled?
Tom Burgess: Yes.
Sam Nicoresti: It puts the Fear of God in me and then accuses me of having stolen the Fear of God and calls the police. I usually make bail though. That analogy makes no sense. Let’s fight.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Tom Burgess: “Tom, I have to go now, will you be home in time for dinner? It’s roasted squash with pecorino. Father says sorry he couldn’t come, but he hates you.”
Sam Nicoresti: “Hahahahahahaha”. That threw me the first couple of times.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Tom Burgess: Don’t try it, we can’t risk the competition.
Sam Nicoresti: Start by basically ripping off more famous sketches word for word. Crowds appreciate the nostalgia and really feel you bring something new to it. Jokes about major tragedies always go down a storm too, especially if you do them in a mocking tone. If an audience doesn’t like a joke, it’s their fault, and you should shout at them to convey this.
Staple/face are made up of Tom Burgess, Sam Nicoresti, Andy Goddard and Mike Bentley (clockwise from top left)
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Sean Morley: I guess roughly a couple of years? So many people I met early on were counting down the gigs, and I made a point of not doing that. I’d recently quit smoking and needed something else to make me seem nonchalant.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Sean Morley: Difficult and overambitious.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Sean Morley: The terrible ones. The comics that use words like ‘slags’ and ‘gay’ in their punchlines and interact with the audience by intimating sexual advances between everyone sat near a member of the opposite sex. They’re probably the biggest driving force behind my material. The righteous indignation of a liberal 20-something. Go me.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Sean Morley: I’d never really considered it before University. But then I ended up getting really into University Sketch Troupes. I saw Ex-Durham Uni troupe WitTank, Leeds Tealights, Cambridge Footlights and Manchester Revue. Off the back of that I formed the Sheffield University Comedy Revue in 2009, which fortunately is now bigger and better than ever. From there I tried stand-up and from there I was hooked.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Sean Morley: I’ve always wanted to do material that was unique and challenging. So I try to think of ideas that other comedians wouldn’t go near. One of my early bits talked about hypercubes and the first gay kiss in British advertising, and I just had to keep going with it until the last couple of sentences when everything makes sense.
Since then I’ve just been trying to see how far I can push people to accept material which seems tricky until the last moment when it justifies itself. Recently my set has contained a joke with an unwieldy and superfluous amount of Islamic theology and a bit revolving around an excerpt from the diary of Sharon Carr, Britain’s youngest ever female murderer. Tension and release.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Sean Morley: At the moment I’m a part-time stand up and comedy producer, and I do part-time work to support that. I rarely, if ever, talk about my actual life or experiences, so I guess not. This is such a boring answer. Non-sequitur. Snails.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Sean Morley: I think a lack of awareness of promoters. I’m an alternative comic, and I’m not for everyone, but I make my style clear to everyone who books me. It’s not difficult for me to walk into a room of obvious sports fans and I know that I’m probably going to die regardless. This “Funny’s Funny” attitude a lot of promoters take seems quite old fashioned since comedy has diversified so much. Also it makes no sense since the same act can sink or swim in different contexts.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Sean Morley: Students, fellow comics and 20-something arty types. In that order.
Small intimate crowds are the best. I hate standing on the stage, anywhere that lets me walk about.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Sean Morley: I’ve been heckled a reasonable amount. I can handle a heckle, but I’m not a very aggressive comic and it’s not my style to angrily discredit their parentage. It’s a bit of a catch-22, really. You ignore them, it looks like you can’t handle it and you look unskilled, or you incorporate them and they use that as an excuse to become ‘part of the act’.
I have a joke which starts off with “I was in the mosque the other day”, which I always qualified with “I wasn’t really, it’s just the purposes of this joke”, except for one time in Derby when I left it out, thinking that it wasn’t really necessary. Just then, a Muslim guy from the back shouts out “Did you wash your feet?”
Since then I’ve kept it in.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Sean Morley: Try and write the sort of comedy you’d enjoy, not something an imaginary ‘average person’ would enjoy.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Mark Quinn: Well I was performing solo for quite some time, although what I was doing could barely be described as comedy. I would never write any material and go on stage just to see what happened. I enjoyed it but the same couldn’t be said for the audience.
Charlotte Young: I’m an artist ‘by trade’ and do a lot of performance stuff. I was in a rubbish sketch group about 4-5 years ago, which slowly self-combusted. When we were down to two members, we were booked to do a show in Edinburgh. The member that wasn’t me basically was supposed to do the fringe admin. They didn’t. Instead, they vanished and I was forced into a position where I had to do a show on my own. So, I did. And then I carried on.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Charlotte Young: Odd.
Mark Quinn: Confusing.
Charlotte: We do tend to confuse audiences. Our last show was called ‘Richard Dawkins Does Not Exist And We Can Prove It’ and it was about disproving his existence using his own methodologies. It was maths and science focused. Much to our surprise, the Edinburgh run of that show completely sold out. We have been really lucky. Especially since neither of us are mathematicians.
Mark Quinn: We intend for our next show to be focused around hats.
Charlotte Young: I sometimes wear a hat.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Charlotte: My all-time favourite comedians are Peter Cook, Chris Morris, Lenny Bruce and Andy Kaufman. And I grew up watching and adoring Red Dwarf, ‘Ello ‘Ello, The Young Ones, Blackadder et al. I also think Will Andrews, Ben Target, Anna and Katie, and Josie Long are all brilliant. But I think, as a double act ,we are more influenced by comedians – or people generally –that we dislike. And we try as hard as possible not to be like them.
Mark Quinn: I like anyone that uses a flip chart.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Mark Quinn: It’s something I just fell into. I’ve always liked comedy
Charlotte Young: No. I’ve always loved watching it. I did want to be an actor when I was about 13 and I was in community theatre pantos as kid, so I’ve been performing, albeit in small capacities, since I was quite young. But, I don’t really think I am ‘in’ comedy, just hovering irritatingly nearby.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Mark Quinn: We meet at London Victoria train station. I drink beer and Charlotte usually has a coffee followed by an orange juice then we write some comedy. Then I often have another beer.
Charlotte Young: He means Wetherspoons in Victoria Station. Not a bench in front of the departure board. We do have some dignity.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Mark Quinn: Its something we take seriously but I think its really important for us not to go down a commercial route and just perform an act we think people are going to enjoy. Or at least watch without walking out.
Charlotte Young: As a freelancer, I don’t have a main job, and that certainly plays into it. I wouldn’t say it was a hobby, but part of the creative stuff I do. I don’t really separate out my art stuff from the comedy stuff. It’s all the same thing, as far as I’m concerned.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Charlotte Young: I just try to enjoy all gigs equally. I don’t really get frustrated by the circuit as I don’t really feel as though I’m on it. I get more annoyed by hearing performers tell lazy jokes.
Mark Quinn: Taking large props on the tube
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Charlotte Young: We are resident comedians at Test Tube Comedy at The Canal Café and they are a lovely audience.
Mark Quinn: It’s great to perform to any type of crowd, I once performed at the Highlight club Leeds and did a lot of fish based jokes, the audience really didn’t like it but then someone came up after and said that was the best thing they had seen
Charlotte Young: Comedy audiences in the afternoon are the best. Art audiences are generally awful. They don’t laugh, or even heckle. They just say things like ‘That was very interesting…’, then leave.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Mark Quinn: I’ve been heckled a lot. I’ve often deserved it. The heckles were funnier than my act. I think my favourite heckle was ‘You could have at least brought everyone chocolate’ so I did. I sent someone to a supermarket to buy sweets for everybody.
Charlotte Young: I haven’t been heckled by a human in a solo show since 2009. I once did a gig in a squat in Hackney Wick. I was doing a gig involving a PowerPoint presentation and video clips. The mic didn’t work, the sound on the videos didn’t work and a dog was standing two feet away and barked at me for the whole ten minutes.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Mark Quinn: Write some jokes
Charlotte Young: Don’t centre your first one-woman show around your fictional dead twin sister. Barry Davies won’t come. Even if your flyer him. Twice.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Njambi McGrath: I’ve been gigging for 18 months since December 2010.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Njambi McGrath: Edgy, dark, wicked, political satire…ish.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Njambi McGrath: Robin William, Shazia Mirza, Russell Peters.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Njambi McGrath: I never even considered it until my client suggested it. I teach grown ups and I used jokes as a way of making the learning fun.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Njambi McGrath: I did my first gig under pressure having had a conversation with a big promoter who gave me a gig with 2 weeks’ notice and no material. I wrote a 5 min set and performed to 200 shocked faces with occasional gasps which I mistook for enjoyment. The promoter later said to me “move a way from the filth it doesn’t suit you. Write about what you know best” and so I did and have never looked back. I find that I jot ideas down and this will develop over time. I like to play with misconceptions, word play etc.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Njambi McGrath: I only gig as a part-timer as I can’t afford to quit my job. My job is so different from what I do so not really much influence.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Njambi McGrath: Most enjoyable is the camaraderie with other comics but frustration is lack of good quality? audiences and longer sets.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Njambi McGrath: Middle classes really get my sense of humor but anyone who laughs at my jokes.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Njambi McGrath: I haven’t been heckled a lot as most open mics tend to be a bit protective of that sort of thing. I was once heckled by an 85-year-old but his was a compliment which couldn’t wait till the end of the gig.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Njambi McGrath: Just do it! No time like the present and you soon find out if it’s for you.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Eric Hutton: About 6 years but for the first couple I was only doing it every once in a while. I hadn’t even told anyone I knew that I was doing it at that point. I was like a middle aged married man sneaking off intermittently to indulge some socially unacceptable sexual kink. Now I’ve realised that kink is who I really am, left my family to pick up the pieces and started living the life I always should have been
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Eric Hutton: I’m not sure. I don’t think it’s all that offensive when placed in the whole spectrum of stand up, but I’ve been threatened several times after gigs and actually punched on stage once so I guess it’s offensive to some people. I like to think it’s also intelligent but that probably changes minute to minute.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Eric Hutton: Chris Morris, Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Neil Hamburger, Stewart Lee, Doug Stanhope, Louis CK, Nicholas Cage, Charlie Brooker, Frank Zappa, John Kricfalusi, Patrice O’neal, Tim Heideker, Eric Wareheim, Richard Pryor, Scott Stapp, Daniel Kitson, Bill Hicks, Rick Shapiro, Patton Oswalt, Maria Bamford, ODB, Dave Attell, Paul Foot, 2 Live Crew, Nick Sun, Sam Simmons, Greg Fleet, Shaun Micallef, Ween. All the Wayans Brothers.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Eric Hutton: No. My earliest memories are of wanting to be a supernatural assassin who could throw chunks of metal at people and make blood come out of their heads
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Eric Hutton: I do most of the writing on stage and then edit it later. I can’t tell what’s terrible about a bit until I say it out loud, then I go away and cut out the bad parts. If there’s any words left after that, I say it again.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Eric Hutton: I used to make just enough to not get by in Australia but coming to London has meant starting from square 1 in the middle of a giant hecatontagon. It’s not good for the old ego going from headlining and being on radio and whatnot to begging people shamelessly for 5 minutes in front of some vagrants for no money but hey, this is the life we’ve chosen right?
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Eric Hutton: The most enjoyable part is being in it. The most frustrating part is not being able to get out of it as soon as possible.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Eric Hutton: I quite like performing to crowds that shouldn’t normally like what I’m doing. Sometimes when you’ve resigned yourself to doing badly and being hated you can go into this strange kind of fugue state where you aren’t paying attention to the present and it draws people towards you. People are fascinated by someone who doesn’t care about them or is even plain disrespectful to them but it can be a fine line.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Eric Hutton: Oh yeah I’ve been heckled a lot. I often invite it. A guy at a music festival in Australia once yelled out ‘You’re about as funny as ball cancer’ which I took as a back handed compliment because if you were forced to list all the cancers in terms of funniness, ‘balls’ would have to be right up the top. I figure if that guy really hates a comedian he probably goes with brain cancer or the like.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Eric Hutton: Get a real f***ing job and f*** off!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?George Wright: Since November 2011 so 7 months but it’s now picking up a bit. Since leaving uni I’ve started setting up my own nights with my brother recently, called Laughing Coyote, and that’s a lot more work and fun.Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?George Wright: I would describe it as cheeky, scatty and high energy.Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?George Wright: I like lots of comedians. One of my favourite new(er) acts at the moment is Richard Gadd. I think you can watch and learn from all other comedians, whether it’s what to do or what not to do.Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?George Wright: Yes, it has pretty much always been an idea of mine. Saying that though, I think I’ve wanted to do most things I’ve seen in life. Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?George Wright: If something makes me giggle I try and work out why and then translate that into something I could say. Quite a lot of things make me giggle though so there’s a large unused pile.Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?George Wright: I just finished uni a month ago and am now working in a restaurant. My material is more based around me bumbling through life so work hasn’t really come up yet, but I’m sure it will do.Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?George Wright: I enjoy seeing new acts who have original ideas that you couldn’t see anywhere else. Frustrating – rape jokes and lazy “shock” comedy.Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?George Wright: People who get on board with the whimsey of my act from the off.Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?George Wright: Heckles are okay if they are funny and you can play with them. It’s all about having fun. I haven’t really had any vicious heckles.Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?George Wright: Find a friendly open mic night and just have a bit of fun with it. Make sure you’re enjoying it.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Lea Emery: I’ve been gigging for about a year, I think I’m around 30 gigs in.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Lea Emery: It’s self-deprecation the whole way through– essentially a chronicle of embarrassing stories and social anxieties but exaggerated.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Lea Emery: As far as my set I actually get a lot from TV shows like 30 Rock and Miranda, or at least like to think I have a similar style. Comedians that I love at the minute are Louis CK and have been having a second love of George Carlin- which means spending way too much time on Youtube.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Lea Emery: I had grown up doing theatre and improv, then I started doing improv again a couple of years ago. I think standup had been brewing in the back of my mind, but it took me a lot of time (and vodka) to get up the nerve to jump in and try it.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Lea Emery: I don’t usually sit down and write, although I’m starting to do that more. Usually just taking a funny true story or situation and reworking it and trying to get some good moments out of it- trying to make it as ridiculous as possible while still being within the realms of believability. Luckily I make a fool out of myself enough in real life I’m in no danger of running out of material.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Lea Emery: It’s part time, although I’m hoping to start doing more and more of it. I’m actually a law student at the moment and I do a lot of international human rights law, so it doesn’t really influence as much as provides a nice juxtaposition. My first degree was in political rhetoric, which was more connected because I think it helped me have an eye for interesting diction and syntax. But with law I spend a lot time reading about things like genocide or the breakdown of the former Yugoslavia- obvious comedy gold. It does seem to confuse people that just know what I study when they hear that I do stand up- people assume if you study human rights you must spend all of your free time watching Holocaust documentaries or something, but I find that letting off some steam helps.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Lea Emery: You get to meet a lot of great people and a lot of them are really supportive, but not all. I think there’s a lot of hunger in the people on the circuit and that can breed competition and egos, which is the most frustrating part. Luckily, that’s few and far between and balanced out by all of the interesting and hilarious people! With a lot of comedians there’s an immediate understanding I think, it’s like “I’m not great at life, so I do this. You do this, so you’re probably not great at life either- let’s be friends, apologies if I’m a bit grating”.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Lea Emery: I’ve actually found student crowds to be really supportive- not just because I’m also a student but I think they are genuinely excited to be there. It’s something they chose to do rather than just wandering into a pub. Also I find that the more people have paid often the better audience they are- there’s an expectation that the acts are going to be better and they want them to be better because they’ve paid more. But then again sometimes you have a great packed night in the back of a tiny pub no one has ever heard of, so every night is different.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Lea Emery: I haven’t been heckled a lot, but I have been heckled. I enjoy it if it’s something that you can engage with- if it has a topic or point of view, but usually it doesn’t- I got a ‘take your top off, love’ at one of my earliest gigs and was mortified! I think the best heckle was when it came from another comedian who just started well, joining in I supposed. He immediately realised he had just heckled and was a bit surprised at himself and obviously felt terrible- the whole thing was just silly and didn’t take away from my set at all, I think it probably helped because there was a good back and forth!
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Lea Emery: If you’re just starting, don’t make any firm decisions about how you feel about comedy until after you’ve done 15 or 20 gigs. You’re going to have some shit ones in the beginning and they will throw you, but you have to take a step back and try to have a more holistic point of view- there are going to be a lot of shit gigs, but (hopefully!) balanced out by many more great ones.
Comedy Blogedy: When did you start stand-up?
Ed Surname: 15552000 seconds ago. But I’ve been performing in comedy for over a decade. Being experienced in a lot of the factors that go into stand-up, such as showmanship, working an audience and injecting my personality into my presentation has helped.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Ed Surname: The phrase ‘this would only happen to me’, is particularly suited to me, so I tell stories I’ve experienced. I was trying to convince a room of comedians that this was true when a man walked up to me and accused me of killing his brother. I experience madness on a daily basis- seeing three mattresses stuffed into a phone box, or a man standing in the middle of the road eating chips whilst wearing only brogue shoes. I want to share these happenings with the world which I do daily on my blog too. I am a comedian with a twist, as I have a lot of footage of the incidents I talk about.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Ed Surname: My main comedy project is something that has never been done before, so there have been no direct influences! I’ve created a 500 hour home video scrapbook of my life… I proposed to my wife before we met/ became homeless/ slept in a bed shop/ fell off a 30ft bridge/ arranged meetings for 30 years in the future/ was arrested over a pizza/ signed with New York TV on a day when my bank balance was zero/ and was attacked by a Mexican gun maniac in one of my nine near death experiences.
When my videos got media attention I kept the camera rolling on everything- my first TV appearance, first Hollywood payment, first time being recognized, my feelings and family reactions on ALL the ups and downs. I even filmed the local shop assistant’s reaction while I was buying a magazine I was in. They saw me as a kid, now I was on their shelves. I discovered interesting subtexts to the footage; in filming everything, I accidentally created the world’s first case study of one’s journey into showbusiness, exploring the personality behind the performer.
I got a national headline that bagged lucrative gigs- but upset my family. My project demystifies the supposed glamour of showbusiness and asks the questions ‘is following your dreams all it seems?’ and ‘why do people want to perform?’ I’m the first of the generation with technology that could do it. It’s the most frustrating project ever… even the Samaritans slammed the phone down on me (seriously!)
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Ed Surname: I did a ‘show’ to my cuddly toys when I was about 4. I’d like to think my jokes are now slightly less childish, and my audience slightly more receptive, though one out of two isn’t bad.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Ed Surname: I always carry one of my eleven notebooks to write down the mad things that happen to me. Sharing things that I’ve actually experienced weaves my personality into my act and the crowd is more invested. If my whole act was oneliners, they’d learn less about me.
I feel my strength is making my material flow together instead of noticeably changing the subject. I do change the subject, but always try to link it. I’ll fit some oneliners into the narrative of the story without ruining the flow. I also try to think of how to link one gig to another, so I’ll have a full length show which runs together.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
My jobs are a cocktail of comedy related things. I do an FM radio show in Hammersmith called The Standup Sitdown where I conduct sit-down interviews with stand-ups. In my own project I analyse my own personality; the radio show is an extension of that, with me exploring the minds of other comedians. Mp3s are at EdSurname.com. I even started a live comedy club with a twist, interviewing stand-ups after their act.
I license out content non-exclusively to USA TV, and editing takes the rest of my time. I taught myself how to edit and when I was 17, managing to convince a TV producer that I was a pro! These jobs do influence my material because the intention of my gigs are to showcase my life.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Ed Surname: Having a live platform as opposed to before where my main outlet was editing until 5am. The live aspect always brings butterflies, but doesn’t get in the way of performing. Oddly, bigger crowds are less nerve-wracking as they are faceless. One show’s crowd was so small that the entire comedy evening was drowned out by a conversation in the corner of the pub between two elderly gentlemen- who then came over and actually had to ask ‘is this comedy?’
I enjoy refining material, which was initially alien to me because I’m so used to improvising on video (if I filmed something, I would cross that idea off my list whether it worked or not). Plus, ideas that didn’t work in filming can often be a good fit for stand-up, meaning my old ideas get a new lease of life.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Ed Surname: When small audiences aren’t laughing at questionable jokes because they don’t want to be seen as the first to laugh, but then compliment comedians on those jokes when nobody else is around. But I am not an advocate of being shocking for the sake of it. One trick I have is that if I sense the crowd will think a questionable joke is a reflection of my real opinion, then I will tell the joke but be quoting someone else, as if someone told me that joke in an inappropriate setting such as a crowded restaurant or family gathering. Suddenly it becomes acceptable material because I’m just the messenger, and they are also laughing that it was said at an awkward time. It is equally fascinating and annoying to me that this technique seems to work.
Also frustrating is that sometimes, just because something crazy happened to me, it doesn’t necessarily translate to stand-up. For instance, I was once pretending to live in London to secure a showbusiness meeting, but I secretly lived miles away. On the 4 hour coach trip in, we stopped at the town nearest to me and the coach picked up the person I was set to meet, who had done exactly the same thing. We could have just met outside of London and saved lots of time and money. These things are madness, but would surely be met with silence from a crowd expecting a punchline. Sometimes the crowd has thought that I have made one of my real stories up, but the fact it really happened is what’s funny. Trying to reiterate that it did indeed happen is futile while in the act of stand-up itself.
Sometimes I get wrapped up in trying to create something really complex at the expense of it actually being funny. For instance, I started developing a stage show with my real life stalker. It was so hard to get the stalker on board in the right way. I had to call it off, as all the hard work just to get to the point of being on stage wouldn’t really matter to the crowd- they’d just judge if the performance itself was funny or not, and probably not believe the insanity that they were watching a stage show featuring my real stalker.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Matt Nightingale: I’ve been doing stand-up for about 2 and a half years, now, and I’ve written and performed for a local Winnipeg website/late night television show called Week Thus Far for the last year.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Matt Nightingale: I’d describe my approach as observational, perhaps (whatever that means), and my performance as animated. I like to pop my face and use weird voices in my visuals.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Matt Nightingale: Stylistically, Brian Regan has been my biggest influence. As far as content goes, I really admire Louis CK (who doesn’t, really?), David Cross, Eugene Mirman, Hannibal Buress, Matt Braunger, and a comic from Edmonton, Canada named Sean Lecomber.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Matt Nightingale: It was always sort of in the back of my head, but until my mid 20s I focused most of my spare time on political activism. I didn’t start thinking about stand-up seriously until I was about 25, and I didn’t get on stage until I was 28 (though I had already been keeping a notebook for three years). The real catalyst, though, was when I discovered that there is a Christian singer/song-writer who shares my name. From then on I vowed to overtake him as the world’s most famous Matt Nightingale, and stand-up seemed the best way, as becoming a cult leader has sort of gotten a bad rap of late. We’ve met on Twitter, so he’s well aware of me and my intentions. Every now and then I like to send him a tweet to let him know I’m still here, like a leopard in the night stalking back and forth at the village gates. Speaking of which…
Okay, I’m back.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Matt Nightingale: I can’t really just sit and write at a computer. A thought usually just comes to me, and I have to sit and think about it, and try to articulate my thoughts. I try to step back from a situation or a conversation and ask ‘who, what, when, where,’ and most importantly, ‘why’. I like to look at the things in life that strike me as weird, like the way humans act in certain situations, or the institutions that we take for granted, and postulate dubious theories or project quasi-logical conclusions. I kind of think good comedy is bad theory. Or, who knows?
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Matt Nightingale: I’m an aspiring full-time comedian. My job has influenced my material in that I hate it, and that makes me want to write better and better jokes, so that when I grow up I can tell them that I hate them, and become a real-life comedian instead of a poopy-panted warehouse guy. But I don’t really talk about working in a warehouse. Neither has my political interests really found their way into my material, except as an ethical compass.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Matt Nightingale: I love the adventure of it all! You can only be a comedian by DOING it, so every step is an uncertain one, but you’re learning as you go, and battling it out alongside other comics who are going through the same experiences. It’s a beautiful struggle, and I love it. The most frustrating thing is learning that your success is not based solely on your ability to write and perform. There’s a whole networking/schmoozing aspect that you cannot really avoid if you’re wanting to move forward and get gigs. I’ve never really been good at, or comfortable with, that whole side of things. I’m a bit of an introvert. FULL DISCLOSURE: I have definitely watched “how to schmooze” tutorials on YouTube.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Matt Nightingale: I can’t say that I have a preferred demographic. So long as they care, I’m glad to be there. I prefer to have a room full of strangers. They have no qualms letting you know what’s funny and what’s not because they don’t care about your feelings like your friends and family do.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Matt Nightingale: Yup, a few times, and I can’t say that I’ve ever enjoyed it. I once had a guy throw water balloons at me while performing. The weird thing is that he is a friendly acquaintance, and was a member of the group who invited me to perform for their staff party.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Matt Nightingale: 1) As cliche as it sounds, just DO IT! I promise you it will be the best decision you’ve ever made. Every comic has one regret: that they didn’t start earlier. 2) For your first set, own it. Be a comedian. Don’t say, “this is my first time”, or “this might not be funny”. Don’t do inside jokes for your friends, and don’t deflect attention away from you and on to your friends who’ve come to support you. Own it! It’ll be tough, but it’s supposed to be.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Joshua Seigal: For a few months. I have been doing Spoken Word performance for a few years though, on and off.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Joshua Seigal: I am a poet, primarily writing for and working with children. I am performing the only children’s poetry show at the Fringe this year! A subset of my poetic output is aimed at adults, and a further subset of that is what I would like to think of as funny. It is these poems that I perform to adult comedy audiences. I intersperse these poems with some one-liners, and I encourage audience participation.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Joshua Seigal: Tim Key and John Hegley definitely, although I work hard not to simply ape them in my act. I also admire Jimmy Carr.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Joshua Seigal: Not at all! I used to go the Comedy Store all the time and think ‘I could never do anything like that’. But the more I started to gig with poetry, the more I realised that the transition probably wouldn’t be too difficult. I find comedy gigs MUCH tougher though, and a hell of a lot more scary!
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Joshua Seigal: As far as the one-liners go, they usually just come to me in the shower or something. With the poems I think of a topic or notion that I find funny, and try to construct a poem around it. I don’t have any set way of doing this, though, and around 99% of what I come up with doesn’t see the light of day.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Joshua Seigal: Comedy is definitely a part-time thing. I enjoy it, and get a huge buzz when it goes well, but I wouldn’t call it my ‘focus’. As I say, I am primarily a children’s writer/performer. Some of my material is about working with kids. Very occasionally I slip a children’s poem into my set. I think that all the best children’s poetry can be enjoyed by adults too!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Joshua Seigal: It is great meeting new people and watching new acts, and there can be a real sense of camaraderie. However, it can be frustrating playing gigs where all the members of the audience are other acts, as is sometimes the case. It can also seem quite competitive at times, but I try not to let this affect me.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Joshua Seigal: Any audience that is receptive to something a little bit different. I am usually the only poet on a comedy bill, and occasionally the audience simply aren’t up for it. When they are, though, it really is fantastic.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Joshua Seigal: I’ve never been heckled. I’ve had people talking loudly over me, which I’ve confronted and garnered some laughs from. I’ve also had people deliberately say the wrong thing when I’ve asked for audience participation, which I’ve simply let slide. I usually think of something I should have said, but this always happens too late!
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Joshua Seigal: I am more in a position to receive advice than to dole it out!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Aisha Alfa: I have been doing stand up for 2 years–my anniversary was April 24th 2012
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Aisha Alfa: My comedy is energetic, very visual and a bit silly. In the end I hope people describe my comedy as simply…FUNNY!
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Aisha Alfa: I love Gina Yashere, Mitch Hedberg, Mark Forward, Dominique and a local Winnipegger comedian named Matt Nightingale! I’m not sure if there is a particular comedian who influences me, but one thing I’ve learned is that everyone has their own brand of funny and I you try to emulate someone else’s brand it just comes off as awkward and insincere. I’ve realized that the things I find funny, strange or ridiculous are what I need to be talking about on stage otherwise the audience won’t feel what I’m saying.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Aisha Alfa: No. My entire life until I was 30 was spent pursuing sports! I was a gymnast and then a soccer player (sorry…footballer) and that’s what I spend every moment thinking about and working on. When I moved back to Canada when I was 28 I decided to refocus and spend some time in different industries (from wedding planning to finances) and I realized I wanted to explore my creative side more. I got into acting and through that filtered into comedy. When I did my first gig on stage I thought it would be a one off, but when I got off stage I wanted to know how to get right back on again as soon as possible!
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Aisha Alfa: I have a hard time writing actual jokes! haha! I am more of a banter gal so writing a joke that will work with no one else to play off of isn’t second nature to me. When I need to sit down and write I usually get stumped! Most of my jokes are about things that have actually happened to me, or ideas I actually have etc. The good thing is that although I don’t write as much as some other comedians, when I do get a joke it usually resonates very well because of how authentic and natural it is.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Aisha Alfa: I am a part-time comic at the moment and would love for that to increase to more full-time. I am also a Certified Professional Life Coach, I act, am a professional speaker and professional host/MC for live and taped events. The good thing is I get to do the rest of my jobs from a comedic lens most of the time so it’s a lot of fun!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Aisha Alfa: Being an amateur comedian is loads of fun are you kidding me??!! I get paid to go around and make people laugh, I feel like a star when I’m on stage and I get to be goofy as part of my job! It’s amazing! The only frustrating thing is that there are very few female comedians in our local scene compared to the male contingent. It’d be great to see more respected female comedians in the scene.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Aisha Alfa: I love performing to old ladies! They always want to laugh and are a lot dirtier than they let on!
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Aisha Alfa: I rarely get heckled. The only one I can remember was some random guy who was drunk and screamed out “they’re so soft” when I was in Las Vegas telling a joke about how people seem enamoured by black women. It actually made me laugh out loud because it was so random! Then I chucked the rest of my planned set and just finished my time making fun of his comment! It was hilarious and he was a great sport about it–even came and complimented me on my set after I was done!
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Aisha Alfa: DO IT!!! It’s so much fun and even when it’s tough it’s loads of fun! Plus people will think you’re super cool because doing stand up comedy is one of the most gutsy things you can do! It shows that you are fun, confident and a little bit nuts!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Jen Carnovale: I started gigging on my own in February this year, before that I was performing in Australia in a comedy duo called ‘Carnovale & Culp’. We were awarded ‘Best Newcomer’ at The Sydney Comedy Festival in 2010, worked in radio together on ABC’s Triple J and were chosen as ‘One of the Top 10 Next Big Things in Comedy’ by the SMH. So I’m a newbie to solo standup but not performing.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Jen Carnovale: I tell stories in my stand up, usually something that’s happened to me, or something I’ve seen, I’m not a one-liner-lady. I use characters in my set too, I have a really short attention span and assume my audience does as well so I try to mix up the pace and topics and I have a couple of absurd moments just because they make me laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Jen Carnovale: Heaps! I tend to get obsessed with different comics and try to watch, read and hear everything they’ve ever done ever, my influences change all the time. Lately it’s been Hannibal Buress and Mike Birbiglia, I like their timing and how they both hold themselves onstage. Maria Bamford and Tig Notaro are people I always look to, to try and figure out how they got so damn good.
And a lot of my comedian friends from Sydney, hilarious guys like Sam Bowring, Ben Ellwood, Sam Simmons and Eric Hutton- they all have such distinct voices which is so freaking refreshing, and more importantly they are really funny. Youtube them!
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Jen Carnovale: Yes, for as long as I can remember, but I do have a shocking memory. I’m sure at some stage all I wanted was to tie my shoelaces and be able to use the adult toilet but dreams change.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Jen Carnovale: Notepad and pen, I try to jot down every idea, even if 99% never leave the page. Then I usually juggle the idea round my brain for a while before I try it. I find performing the best way for me to improve or finish a bit, I guess the nerves kick in and my brain works better with some pressure.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Jen Carnovale: I’d love to do comedy full time, I gig as much as I can, I still have a day job and I get a little bit of material from there but it’s definitely not my whole act. How many jokes can you make about how shitty retail is before its kinda sad? I know! 4.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Jen Carnovale: The enjoyable part is that you can try anything and have freedom to mess around with your work with very little consequence, the bad part is if you do really well there is still very little consequence . It feels invisible but you do it because it’s fun.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Jen Carnovale: My favourite type of audience would be the great loud laughing kind.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Jen Carnovale: No, I haven’t been heckled much at all, I don’t know why. I bet after this I become the most heckled comic of the year.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Jen Carnovale: Stop thinking about doing it and just do it.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Julie Kertesz: My first showcase was end of March 2011 and my first gig alone was in November 2011.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Julie Kertesz: Well, after acknowledging my age, I try to destroy the stereotype “old lady” and then tell stories from problems in my life condensed, transformed to make the audience laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Julie Kertesz: Perhaps Adam Bloom.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Julie Kertesz: Go into comedy? What does it mean? I want to learn to make people laugh, when I want, not wonder why they laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Julie Kertesz: I dream them early morning, or sometimes during the day, they are all autobiographical, even if they’re a bit exaggerated; frustrations are a good starting point at making fun of old sorrows later on.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Julie Kertesz: No, it is part time, I am also a Toastmaster Speaker and Coach, and Workshop Creator and Leader. I am also Personal Storyteller (Canal Cafe Theatre mostly with Spark London) All my life experiences, old or new, influence my material.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Julie Kertesz: Most enjoyable are the wonderful responsiveness of Stand Up audiences. Cheers and laughter and so on: they do react! I love audiences in general, but they are really wonderful and I have great reaction from younger ones! Frustrating is sometimes waiting until others go on and on, and sometimes it is heartbreaking to me how they die, other times it is a bit too much for my taste. Mostly, is when I do not understand as they go on too fast. And English is my third language.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Julie Kertesz: Young men and women, mixed audience, audiences near each other in the dark. I have had good experiences only so far, be it from only 3 in the audience or 120 – well of course the laughter and energy is stronger and longer from a bigger audience but I do not mind. It is all experience. I have 23 gigs behind me now, most in London. One in Canterbury as they gave me ten minutes and one in Leicester during Dave’s Comedy Festival, where I was named “The Best Silver Comedy Newcomer” of the year, after two heats.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Julie Kertesz: Well, I am not heckled a lot. I had a “fuck you” that I didn’t register did at my first gig, and the best heckle at the Cavendish Arms was a positive heckle “do it, do it!” when I told them what my daughter told me not to do, but well, she is not here.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Julie Kertesz: Go and learn to speak in public, Toastmasters club was a wonderful beginning for me, learning to look in the eye long enough, to you’re your voice, to move, to have a point and passion mostly in what you say. Love the audience and they love you back. I read books about Comedy and Stand Up and Humour, went to three workshops last year, before really beginning, but then I realized I have made people laugh before in my storytelling without thinking “stand up” or “comedian” about myself. I still go to every gig as an experiment.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Aaron Morris: I’ve been doing stand-up for about a year and a half now, it was a good choice I think, its not a job you need a interview for but you still need to put in a load of hard work, I enjoy that. Yet, the audience are like the interviewers they either hate you or like you, I’ve had good gigs and bad gigs like any comedian but both good and bad gigs just make your act better by helping you improve it.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Aaron Morris: My comedy is based on true experiences I’ve had in life, of course for comedy effect there are added bits but I get it all from the things that happen to me each day… I guess its all about my low self-esteem in a way, how things happen and the reaction they’ve had. I think of how others view me and talk about myself in that way. Feeling sorry for myself in the worst situations, mostly realising I’m an idiot.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Aaron Morris: Ah, there are so many, it’s changed over the years, My granddad was a massive Monty Python fan, so I grew up watching those films and sketches from a very young age. That got me onto great comedians like Tommy Cooper and Norman Wisdom, there are some greats, but when I reached my 20s I noticed I was really into a wide range of comedians, Ricky Gervais is a big influence, just because the way he tells his jokes and the way they are laid out, but then there are comedians like Reginald D Hunter, who just has another great way of putting a joke out there. I’m not great with my flow. So many comedians now and I think every comedian I meet will have an influence, I like a range of comedy, everyone likes a laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Aaron Morris: Not really, it was a push I guess last minute, I studied Drama and was into acting, I did a few plays and short films, nothing great, so performance was something I wanted to do. I was a radio presenter for a while and my shows took the way of being humorous, I didn’t intend it to be that way but people mainly tuned in for the comedy side of it. So I tried stand-up my first try didn’t go down well, so I tried once more and got a great buzz. I wasn’t popular at school so I wasn’t really classed as the funny one, I was quite shy really, so this I guess was the right step at the right time.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Aaron Morris: I’ve heard many ways other comedians do it, the most popular is carrying a notebook and jotting stuff down, that’s what I do, or text my friend Chris random notes just so its stored on my phone and he knows nothing of what it means. I spend a good few hours each day trying to write material, I say trying because some days I write nothing, my mind can wonder off and just not bother which I hate, but I really try to focus on the great points and what makes it funny to me. Everyone has a different sense of humour, my comedy is for those with the same sense of humour as me, so if I find it funny it has a chance.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Aaron Morris: I wish I could do stand-up full time, I’m also a presenter, actor and writer, so I keep busy. I guess those other jobs do give me some influence to my material, but its more about each experience that happens to me. When I’m doing a job I like to concentrate, its more when I’m relaxed I get to open my mind for my writing. I guess all influence is from human interaction in any form for me. I just enjoy writing. Although, I have a podcast on iTunes, I guess that’s part of my presenting side, that brings out a lot of the inner humor on the spot, I enjoy doing that cause it does open some windows in my stand-up.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Aaron Morris: Ah, the most enjoyable is the buzz you get when on stage, I’ve been on many stages countless times but I do get nervous, but once on stage it drops and the adrenaline takes over; I enjoy making people laugh even if its to 3 people or a packed room. The most frustrating is when I have a bad gig, I blame myself for days, but as I say its down to the crowd, I find women are easier to make laugh than men, so I check the audience for luck to make sure there are more women out there, otherwise I feel bad. Everyone laughs at different things, I always say “I’m never doing it again” after a bad gig, a few days later I’m back. I’m like a hissyfitting 8-year-old girl.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Aaron Morris: I guess the mature audience haven’t really grown to me yet, I love students, they are always up for a good time. I could tell jokes to students for hours, if I had that many jokes. Being 21, my sets are young minded, so students think on the same level. I’m known for being a little offensive, I don’t mean it, just people can take offense to anything if you take it out of context. Students are open minded where as mature audiences have fixed minds as they have been on the life boat for quite sometime.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Aaron Morris: I’m not going to lie, I get heckled a lot, I hate hecklers, they think its adding to the show, but it’s making them look a state. I hate it when you build up the premise of a joke, sometimes on-going jokes that fix the whole set together and halfway through you are thrown off. With stand-up it’s all about staying in the act, its hard to do so with a part there that’s not meant to be there. I don’t think I’ve had that many great heckles, most are comments like “Your Mum” and “You’re Shit”, I’ve not yet had any full show stoppers.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Aaron Morris: Try it, a lot of comedians have said in the past, its the hardest job or its horrible. I think its different for everyone, don’t give up on your first try either, keep going at it as it’s the only way to get somewhere. Work at it and maybe you could be the next big thing, who knows? I just enjoy the buzz and making people laugh. It’s an amazing thing, put your mind to it and achieve.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Martha Owen: I did a course at my youth club (Heatham House) about two years ago, but I only really started actually gigging all over the place about a year and a bit ago. I’ve been at Edinburgh twice though with Those Bloody Teenagers (some of my fellow teenage comics).
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Martha Owen: Not really very funny. I’m not clever enough to write proper jokes with punchlines and actual laughs, and I’m too scared if I’m honest to be one of those hilarious raconteurs, so I just muck around with ones that everyone knows like ‘What do you get when you cross a sheep and a kangaroo?’ and then change the punchline so the joke doesn’t work, like ‘A mutant’. That sort of rubbish.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Martha Owen: I’m a big fan of the Invisible Dot crew (Tim Key, Johnny Sweet, John-Luke Roberts…) and I’d love to think that I’m in some way comparable. And I love a lot of old stuff – I’ve been watching Monty Python since I was about 3 (you’d think my parents would have stopped me but they didn’t), the Smell of Reeves and Mortimer and Morecambe and Wise. And my friend Hatty Ashdown is absolutely wonderful, she is charm itself with lots of laughs thrown in, watching her is brilliant.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Martha Owen: As I recall, I wanted to be a spy, and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t still want to.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Martha Owen: I have to fit it around school work (I’m in my first year of sixth form at the moment) which is annoying, but when I do try and have a writing sesh I mainly just sit around until something happens. Because I’m not writing jokes that ‘work’ it’s a lot easier – if the joke I write is bad, that’s perfect. If I feel stuck I generally just watch Mike Flowers’ version of Wonderwall and that gets me back on track.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Martha Owen: I’m at school, although reluctantly. So unfortunately my history essays have to take priority. And yes, they do tend to influence each other – I’ve been known to write jokes in Ancient Greek. Not many people get them though.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Martha Owen: The best bit is definitely the people, without wanting to sound cheesy. Everyone’s lovely. The most frustrating part (for me at least) is not being able to get into certain venues. I am basically a child still, and the worst feeling is to prepare, get all the way to a venue and then not be allowed in.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Martha Owen: Not people my age. Teenagers are really annoying, I hate them. I’m not sure about my favourite though – mainly people who actually came and want to see comedy, rather than unsuspecting foreign tourists from the bar. Mild tipsiness is welcome.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Martha Owen: I’ve never been properly heckled. I suppose that’s because of my age too. My friend did get heckled by a Tory once and there are some things I just never want to have to deal with onstage (e.g. ‘I voted Conservative because I’m cleverer than you’). Still, I think of heckling as some terrifying rite of passage that I’ll have to go through at some point. Until then I’ll blunder on in blissful ignorance.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Martha Owen: I found it was good to create a kind of persona, Will Andrews is a great example – that way you don’t feel so vulnerable onstage and it’s generally funnier. And always write to make yourself laugh, not other people. Unless you’ve got a rubbish sense of humour, in which case don’t do that, do something else. Or don’t be a stand up.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Phillip Wragg: My first gig was in May 2011 at the Comedy Virgins night at the Cavendish Arms in Stockwell. I was pretty nervous but got there to find out that the audience decides the running order and that it’s run as a competition. I really enjoyed it though and managed to come 2nd in the vote off.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Phillip Wragg: Slightly camp, observational humour. I talk about the reality of being a gay man, relationships, sex and more general day to day stuff. I don’t do gags, I prefer each set to have a clear arc – that’s just my writing style, also it’s easier to remember!
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Phillip Wragg: My parents are big comedy fans so I was brought up watching Billy Connolly and Victoria Wood. I tend to prefer female comics like Joan Rivers, Kathy Griffin and Ellen Degeneres but also love Eddie Izzard, Alan Carr, Micky Flanagan, Sarah Millican – too many to mention.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Phillip Wragg: As far back as I can remember I have loved comedy but never dreamed that I would be able to do it, I would usually be the one in my group of friends to make people laugh and they encouraged me to do a stand up comedy course which I loved and then started gigging shortly after.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Phillip Wragg: I always have a notepad with me so just jot down anything and everything and then at the end of each week I go through my notes and see if there is anything that could potentially go into a set, it can be anything from stuff that annoys me through to dating experiences etc.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Phillip Wragg: I work in sexual health but have not referred to it in my sets yet but there is definitely material there! Since starting in May I have done just over 50 gigs and intend to keep that up for 2012. I am taking a comedy revue show to the Edinburgh Fringe with fellow comedian Elena Kombou, the show is called “Would Like To Meet” and will see sets by both of us alongside the best of the London comedy circuit with 3 different guest comedians each night!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Phillip Wragg: I really like how supportive and friendly other comics are and I just love being on stage – it can be scary and nerve wracking but the pay off from a good gig makes it all worthwhile. I guess the only frustrating aspect is sometimes gigs are not promoted as well as they could be and that can lead to a pretty empty room but it’s all good practice.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Phillip Wragg: Am happy performing to anyone really but seeing lots of smiling faces and people that are up for a good night definitely helps.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Phillip Wragg: The heckling has started in the last few weeks, I don’t particularly enjoy it, it can be really distracting and throw you off course, most of the heckles have been from people so drunk, I had no idea what they were saying. At a recent gig there was a guy by the stage who kept repeating a homophobic word under his breath, I think I dealt with that pretty well, he stormed out!
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Phillip Wragg: Just do it! start writing every day, get a good 5 minutes together, check websites like stand up london, get emailing promoters, be prepared to work hard and have fun.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
The Custard Chucker: I’ve been playing Musical Comedy Songs around the country for the past twelve years but only started writing ‘Jokes’ and incorporating Stand Up comedy in my act for the last two years. (That answer makes me sound like one of two things… A veteran in comedy or an Old Age Pensioner lol)
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
The Custard Chucker: I would say Edgy/Smutty Musical Stand Up Comedy but there is a lot more to it then that. To give you more of an idea, I’ll say that if Kevin ‘Bloody’ Wilson, Tim Minchin, Frankie Boyle, Jimmy Carr, Tenacious D, Derek and Clive and Roy ‘Chubby’ Brown met up secretly in a hotel room, had a orgy of hot steamy passionate sex and one of them had a baby mixed with all of their comedy DNA…. Then that would be me.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
The Custard Chucker: I am influenced by any comedian who are not afraid to use material that makes an audience think – not necessarily to shock an audience but to use shocking material in a clever and unique way. Comedians like Frankie Boyle and Jimmy Carr, who are both amazing gag writers and can structure a joke cleverly, to the point, with the perfect punch line. Then there’s comics like Louis CK and Chris Rock who tell stories that take you on a journey of some sort of depravity with jokes from beginning to end until the main punch line hits you like a hammer to the face.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
The Custard Chucker: I always knew I wanted to entertain people from an early age from about five or six years old. My parents would leave me with my Nan and I’d be upstairs in her room going through her wardrobe. I’d come down the stairs wearing a skirt, a blouse, tights, high heels and a feather bower, my genitals would be tucked in-between my legs and I’d do Lily Savage impressions to make my Nan laugh. I now know that there was no need to tuck anything anywhere. Then when I was a little older around ten or eleven years of age, I would go through all my Dad’s old Records and tapes of old school comedians like Derek and Clive, Judge Dread and Jimmy Jones to learn their entire act. I remember learning the whole of the Jimmy Jones ‘Would I Lie To You’ tape word for word and performing it as an act of love to a girl I liked at school… She never spoke to me again.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
The Custard Chucker: My songs are about Taboo situation’s in everyday life, whether it be Sex, Drugs, Adultery, Death, Disability, Pornography, Love, Hate and even Religion. I just use Topics that people are afraid to talk about or don’t want to talk about, take those situations and push them to the max.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
The Custard Chucker: I work full time but in all honesty, I hate my ‘Proper Job’ and consider the stage as my second home. In a profession, some people don’t want to talk about or even take their work home with them as it is sometimes stressful. The same rule applies with my material, the last thing I want to talk about on stage is my work day. As for my stand u
p being a hobby, I would consider it as more of a way of life for me, it’s what I’ve always wanted to do and give it 100% on stage whether I’m performing to one person or two hundred people…
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
The Custard Chucker: The most enjoyable thing about the amateur comedy circuit is meeting and sharing the stage with extremely talented people, most of my friends are all comedians now days. You also get to have a great comics around you where you can discuss material, give advice and talk about what works and what doesn’t work. I also love the feeling when you turn up to an Open Mic show where no one knows who you are, do your show, storm it and other comedians talk to you about how good your material was or a particular joke. I know that may sound self-absorbed BUT what I say is, if you can make a good comedian laugh then you know you’re going in the right direction because they know what you have to go through to get that laugh. As for the frustrating sides to the amateur comedy circuit there are to many to mention but I will say is it is frustrating when you see brilliant comics on the circuit that have been on it for eight or nine years but haven’t been snapped up. You really do have to be at the right gig at the right time or get down on your knees and take one for the team. Oh… not to mention that traveling to shows is bloody expensive! That’s annoying.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
The Custard Chucker: An audience that are willing to listen and an audience who get that what I am either talking or singing about… are only jokes. I hate an ignorant audience, if you don’t like what you hear, then why on earth would you go to a comedy show? Comedy is about freedom of speech! I also love a bit of a rowdy audience. I performed at Donington/Download Festival Comedy Tent in 2010 and 2011 and it was just full of a thousand drunk rowdy metal heads, the banter was brilliant because my act fitted the mood of the festival. Oh and where there is alcohol, there is always a good show.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
The Custard Chucker: I really don’t mind hecklers, if it’s a good heckle I will deal with it cleverly but if it’s a rubbish heckle I will go straight for the jugular! I did a show once where I played a song called ‘Blue Bus Ride.’ The song was actually about two disabled people who go out on an outing, spend the whole day together and fall in love. A drunk lady stood up after the song and shouted “Oi! I can’t believe you sang about that! My son’s disabled! You don’t deserve that applause! You ignorant! W***ker!” I then said calmly, “Well I have two things to say to you lady.. ONE… Disabled people CAN fall in love you know and TWO… If your son is disabled, then you should be at home looking after him rather than spending his disability benefits on your alcohol problem! You’re the ignorant one, now get bent!” She left swiftly after that.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
The Custard Chucker: Take that chance and do it. The feeling you get when that first laugh comes I just can’t describe. Stand Up Comedy is like a drug once you do one gig, you want more. It’s not easy but if you get past that first step, then you’ll be OK. Get some material together, keep true to yourself and don’t change your material for anybody.
The Custard Chucker is a Stand Up Comedian and comedic song writer from South London. He has been a comedic songwriter for the past twelve years but has been performing stand up since early 2010. With his dark, blue and mostly filthy cut throat style, The Custard Chucker has been wowing the comedy circuit and is now ready to take on anyone in his path.
With six appearances on London’s Absolute Radio 105.8 ‘Tim Shaw’s Absolution’ and two very successful appearances at ‘Download Festival Comedy Tent’ (2010/2011)
He is also the voice on the phone skits on ‘Tim Shaw’s LOL Show’ on Rock FM Manchester every Sunday Evening from 10pm till 2am.
The Custard Chucker’s debut solo album ‘Toilet Humour’ is out in June 2012.
SUPPORTING CREDITS
PHIL NICHOL- (Solo and Corky and the juice pigs)- Download Festival
ARTHUR SMITH-(QI, Have I got News For You, Grumpy Old Men)
COLE PARKER (Show Me The Funny)
ROB ROUSE-(The Friday night Project- Series1)
JASON ROUSE-(HBO Special)
ERIC LAMBAERT- (TV Comedian and Actor)
IMRAN YUSEF (Michael McIntyre’s Comedy Roadshow)
He is Also a ‘Golden Jester’ Competition Quarter Finalist for 2012.
The Custard Chucker will not leave you disappointed and his plans are to make the ‘Dark, Edgy smutty Blue’ Genre of comedy excepted with his own kind of ‘Shock Comedy’
His debut album ‘Toilet Humour’ is out and will also be available For Download on iTunes in 2012.
QUOTES
“The Custard Chucker is a Dark, Edgy Comedian, Lovably Horrible….Ace!” – Eric Lambaert
“If Oscar Wild Wrote Disgustingly Brilliant Comedy Songs in his life time…he would of changed his name to The Custard Chucker” – Radio’s Shock Jock and Balls Of Steel’s (Mr Inappropriate)- Tim Shaw.
“F***ing Mental… I laughed so much I shat out my insides!” -Neg Dupree (Ball’s of Steel, Channel 4)
“Watching a Custard Chucker performance is like a crank personified… You’re worried that your doing it and that others might catch you doing it… But it feel’s so God-Dam good!”-TNT’s Comedy
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
President Obonjo: Since 2010
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
President Obonjo: My set combines story lines with humour drawing on my African and British influences and the impact they have had on my life; I also talk about the stereotypes of being a Nigerian and the impact of Social media on my life. Also included in my acts are political, topical and observational comedy .
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
President Obonjo: Richard Pryor, Chris Rock and Eddy Murphy
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
President Obonjo: I never thought about wanting to go into comedy it just happened naturally, it was a journey I began right from when I was born, I can’t believe I said that. Every day is comedy for me so why not share my experiences on stage?
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
President Obonjo: I tend to write things down as they occur either on a note pad or a piece of paper and patiently wait to develop what I have written further, most times ideas just flow… I might be thinking about a particular subject or narrating an experience over an issue that becomes very funny and I write it down.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
President Obonjo: Full time but previously my main job never influenced my material but over the last few months, I do recall certain situations that are now influencing my material. I call them de ja vu situations that end up being funny to me.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
President Obonjo: I think what I have found most useful is the opportunity to share knowledge and experience with other comics and there is a positive vibe to encourage comics to succeed. There is so much competition out there, I prefer healthy competition, one that encourages others to step up their game. I think one should be selective about the gigs you do, my motto is not how many gigs you have done but how many have been good quality gigs.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
President Obonjo: I don’t have any favourite audiences – a good comedian should be able to play to any audience without any preferences.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
President Obonjo: Just once, over a joke I made about a particular tribe in Nigeria. It has not happened that often but when it does I find it liberating and challenging that I have gotten under a comedy lover’s skin. I find heckling another opportunity to create comedy gold opportunities.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
President Obonjo: Just do it and listen to every good rather than bad advice you can get along the way. Don’t let anyone tell you not to do it, have self-belief and confidence and good luck.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Chris Gau: I’ve been gigging since April 2011.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Chris Gau: Slapdash with a soupcon of amateur hour.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Chris Gau: I love Louis CK. Americans have got the craft down. But I love English comedians like Paul Foot & Tim Key. We English have got the silly down.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Chris Gau: People used to laugh at me at school if that’s what you mean. THAT IS WHAT YOU MEAN ISN’T?!!
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Chris Gau: With great reluctance. I write little things in my phone and once every solar eclipse I collate them and see if there’s anything funny in there.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Chris Gau: I’m a professional arse-model. So no.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Chris Gau: It’s hard playing to no one or the same faces week in week out. That said it’s generally very supportive at this level.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Chris Gau: Comedy savvy young people, who’ve come for a good night out. A small few audiences sometimes look at us acts and say with damning eyes “make us laugh then” – they’re the hardest.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Chris Gau: So far so good.
What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Chris Gau: Go for it! What’s the worse that could happen? Oh. Apart from that. Yes. And that.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Joe Charman: Well unintentionally I’ve taken to ‘edgier’ material, although I don’t like to categorize …I don’t force my comedy on people, I have a cheeky approach to darker subjects I guess .
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Joe Charman: I’ve found that since becoming an open mic comic Its fellow comics that influence me more, Open Mic is very different to the ‘mainstream’ but I’m a huge fan of Jimmy Carr and Sean Lock.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Joe Charman: Well… Making people laugh has always been a large part of who I am… weather it be stupid pranks, Hurting myself in stunts for the amusement of others or just generally having a good banter as long as I’m making people laugh I’m happy, Stand up comedy though… That’s something I didn’t think I could do, It took me a long time to get the courage to get on stage and perform something I had written.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Joe Charman: I wish I had a strategic way of writing, some people can go to a library or coffee shop sit down with a pad and just write, I find my jokes hit me randomly or I get an idea then try to riff it in conversation with mates… if it gets even a slight laugh i’ll work on it, It also helps that my brother is a comedian we bounce ideas off each other and get honest feedback.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Joe Charman: I would love stand up comedy to be a full time thing! That’s the dream! But alas I do have a day job… I’m a HD vision technician… *cough* window cleaner… As yet I haven’t worked any of my funny experiences at work into my stand up, but its something I would like to do.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Joe Charman: I love the fact that I have met a whole new network of people I now call friends, I really do enjoy the social side of being an open mic comic… Obviously you come across people that rub you the wrong way, but that runs true anywhere else. I try to avoid frustration… It’s comedy after all
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Joe Charman: I wouldn’t say its a case of being favorite’s… but I have found my stuff works well amongst students, I’ve had a few gigs with a load of drama students in the audience and they have gone really well!
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Joe Charman: Ah the heckle… Well I did get heckled once, I was not having a great gig then from somewhere in the room a girl said “Tell us a joke then” all the fellow comics in the room followed that with an “OOOO” I pointed out who I thought it was and rather weakly said “You get up here and tell a fucking joke then”…. I’d pointed out the wrong girl… it then transpired that what I had heard was not a heckle merely a miss heard question asked by someone else, I felt like a complete spanner… I hung up the microphone and left the stage, I have since written some lines to deal with heckles but as yet haven’t had the chance to use them.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Joe Charman: If its something you have an interest in then get involved… I’m so glad I took that plunge, I think the best thing to do is find a local pub or club that does open mic comedy and go and watch a few shows, get a feel for what others are doing… Comedy is so big at the moment you’ll find tons of help, comedy course’s and friendly open mic nights that will accommodate first timers and make it very enjoyable.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Tony Cowards: Off and on since 2004. I started out helping out at a great comedy club in North London called “The Comedians’ Graveyard”, which was a fantastic club but is now sadly deceased. Originally I was just a behind-the-scenes helper but eventually I ended up on stage and never looked back.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Tony Cowards: Silly one-liners and puns, lots of puns. I don’t really swear and there’s very little in my comedy that would upset anyone, although after an horrific gig in a Casino recently I did get called an “offensive comedian” because they said I’d mentioned “Afghanistan” (I hadn’t) and “Self-harming” (I had). Whilst I might like to think this now makes me “cool” and “edgy”, Frankie Boyle I ain’t.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Tony Cowards: Currently Tim Vine for his silliness, Milton Jones for his superb wordplay and Gary Delaney for his work ethic and ability to craft a killer joke. Growing up Tommy Cooper could make me laugh without saying a word.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Tony Cowards: I didn’t start until I was well into my 30s, so no. I guess I always loved comedy though and always enjoyed making people laugh, but as a kid I wanted to be a pilot, unfortunately being as blind as a bat (who, ironically, are brilliant flyers) put paid to that ambition.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Tony Cowards: As a one-liner comic you become a language magpie, so if I hear or read a phrase that I think could work as a punchline I’ll write it down and then try to reverse engineer a set up which could lead up to that phrase or wording. If I’m really struggling to write, I’ll open a random page on Wikipedia, read a few sentences and then see if I can make a joke out of something.
The hardest thing about writing is getting started, so often it’s better to writing anything, a blog, a diary entry, a story, a letter or even a shopping list, something to get you thinking and into the action of writing and then keep writing, eventually you’ll start producing something and the ideas will flow. The worst thing to do is to sit there looking at a blank page or screen and pressurising yourself to write jokes or funny material immediately.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Tony Cowards: I’m now a full time stand-up, although I supplement my income from that with writing and running comedy workshops for the elderly and vulnerable. I may’ve made that sound more sinister than it should! My previous job was in an office hiring out stage lighting and sound equipment, I can’t say that’s particularly influenced my material but it does mean that I’m a good comic to have around if your PA equipment is playing up!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Tony Cowards: Lack of audiences is generally the major one. When I lived in London and was doing the open mic circuit there were hundreds of comedy nights but only a few of them could guarantee a decent sized audience, often you were playing to other comics and a few of their mates or maybe a few of the bars drunken characters who’d wandered in to have a drink or ten and shout incomprehensibly at the acts.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Tony Cowards: Any audience that is prepared to have fun and let themselves get lost in the experience of having a laugh. Stand up comedy is a two-way thing, not only does the comic have to be funny but the audience have to be prepared to give positive feedback, it’s a live experience, the audience have to be participants in the event not just passive observers, if they find something funny they have to laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Tony Cowards: I don’t tend to get heckled too much as I’m fairly quickfire so there’s not too many points where a heckler can interrupt. I don’t mind a good heckle though and I love doing military gigs because they tend to be quite interactive and it gives me an opportunity to let loose with some harsh putdowns. Not sure what the best heckle I’ve had is, although occasionally they do make me laugh and the best thing to do is acknowledge it and move on, some comics get locked into a battle of egos because they think that they have to be the funniest person in the room, personally my job is to make people laugh and if a heckler makes the audience laugh whilst I’m on stage that’s still MY laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Tony Cowards: Watch as much comedy as you can, both live and on DVDs, read comedy books, immerse yourself in comedy and try to learn from all of it. Doing research and watching the mistakes of others can give you a 50-100 gig advantage over someone who hasn’t. Also, try not to say “no” to anything, open yourself up to new experiences and gig wherever you can, try not to get stuck in the open mic circuit and don’t become a big fish in a small pond, look at the top names in the business and emulate them, aim to be as funny as they are, never settle for second best, keep aiming to be the funniest comic on the bill. Lastly, persevere, remember a professional is generally an amateur who didn’t give up.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Dean Sekhon: I’ve been doing it quite infrequently since November last year, so not very long, about 4 months, but I’ve made it on to comedyblogedy.com already so I must be doing something right.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Dean Sekhon: It’s more or less just some silly, self deprecating, one liners strung together with very tenuous links. It also involves never remembering any of my jokes when I’m on stage, but that’s not an affectation, I’m just an idiot.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Dean Sekhon: I don’t really know about who influenced my comedy, I haven’t examined it very closely, I don’t want there to be the pretence that there is anything worth examining. However I did grow up very much liking the comedians Mitch Hedberg, Woody Allen, Demetri Martin and Chris Morris. There are loads more but those were just the first that came to mind, so bad luck other highly successful and admired comedians, you don’t get a name check from Dean Sekhon today.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Dean Sekhon: No, I always had an interest in it and loved it but never thought it was something I could do, I kind of still don’t to be honest. We’ll see I guess. I decided I would at least try and then spent about a year being afraid to, then I met this girl who I wanted to impress so I told her I was going to try and be a comedian, and then I had to.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Dean Sekhon: I’m not very good at writing anything just after I have decided I am going to write something, material usually comes from random funny thoughts I have that I think could make a joke, then I will work to get that joke good and tight and worded as well as possible. This is a bit inconsistent though…so I think I’m going to have to develop a better method at some point, thank you for asking me that question and making me realise this.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Dean Sekhon: Well I’m a student so I suppose it is part time, the two don’t really mix though. Well sometimes I will think of something funny while bored at university.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Dean Sekhon: It’s only ever frustrating when the night is poorly run and neither the audience nor the acts enjoy any of it. That’s only happened to me once though. Everything else is pretty nice I think. Meeting people, getting to go on stage and make people laugh…it’s just nice to get out of the house really.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Dean Sekhon: One made up of nice, non scary people.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Dean Sekhon: No I’ve not ever been heckled. That’s either because I’ve not been doing this for long enough for it to have occurred yet, or I’m just so physically intimidating.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Dean Sekhon: Take some time to write some jokes you’re happy with and then just go and try it. Also visit some open mics as an audience member first to see what it’s like and to find one that you feel would be most appropriate for your style, but don’t be too picky. Don’t take advice from someone who has only been doing it for 4 months.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Damon Blake: I started in 2007 and was able to get to the semi-finals of So You Think You’re Funny after a couple of gigs, but my head wasn’t properly in performing so I soon quit stand-up having won nothing, my only trophy being my regret. I’ve started to do it again a liiiiiitle bit more recently to promote a webseries I made with some friends called Student Teacher.)
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Damon Blake: It’s sarcastic one-liners delivered in a narrative in an attempt to hide any sort of personality. Some people use stand-up as catharsis, I prefer to curl up into a ball of sadness every night, like some sort of glum grub.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Damon Blake: I like Dave Attell’s economy of words into getting to his punchlines and Norm MacDonald’s confidence in his material. I’m a huge comedy nerd though so this list could go on like the crawl at the beginning of Star Wars.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Damon Blake: Yesss, although I never knew how to get into it, I only ended up gigging because one drunken night at a bar I told a stranger I wanted to do it and he organised a gig for me. Luckily for any other ambition I might have I no longer drink.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Damon Blake: Twitter is useful (@Damon_Blake) and talking to myself in the shower, writing punchlines on the steamed glass like a warning from a dead loved one.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Damon Blake: I approach doing a gig the same way others do their taxes, something necessary to keep on functioning but to be put off for as long as possible. I keep busy with different things (writing for Humourisms.com, admin work, filming) but the inspirational cross-overs are sadly infrequent.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Damon Blake: The best: becoming friends with comedians.
The worst: see above.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Damon Blake: An even male/female ratio aged 18-34 with disposable income.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Damon Blake: I’m not opinionated enough for people to confront me, nor empathic enough for them to converse for me, so it’s been rare. I’ve made people cry and all that lad stuff we’re supposed to do but only to stop a gig being derailed by clueless drunk solicitors.
I’d prefer people not to heckle me, only because I take it personally and will have to hunt them and their family down in a complicated game of cat-and-mouse.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Damon Blake: Find peers that are on your wavelength and if they don’t want to be friends there are other hobbies that are less self-destructive.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Steve Rimmer: Just a little over a year, I did my first gig January 2011.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Steve Rimmer: True tales from my own life with a few silly jokes thrown in to keep people interested.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Steve Rimmer: If Peter Kay and Lee Mack ran into each other at high speed that would make my ideal comic. I also love Mickey Flannigan, that is actually a very tricky question, I think I’ll leave it there.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Steve Rimmer: Absolutely, but I never believed that I would. To be honest I only booked my first gig because I was chatting to an ex-girlfriend and she said that “I thought you would be a “Stand Up Comedian” by now” I took this as an opportunity to try and get back in to her pants and told her I told her I was thinking of booking on to the open mic scene. This was just the push I needed, to be honest I think it was one of the best decisions I have ever made. My first gig (plug alert) was at Rudy’s Revenge, High Holborn, London I was made to feel really welcome by the Organisers and Audience, the moment I took the mic I knew this would become a massive part of my life, I gigged there several times and it was a very proud moment when they invited me back to HEADLINE to celebrate my first year in comedy.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Steve Rimmer: I can honestly say that I have never sat and written material, I draw from my own real life experiences (with a cheeky twist added), this is hard to believe if you have seen me perform but seriously this is my life!! I hear people talk of writers block but for me that would just be struggling to remember something that happened.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Steve Rimmer: Its a part-time hobby ….. Believe it or not, I am actually a Bomb Disposal Engineer and to be fair you need to have a scene of humour to be in this line of work. I got in to this job by been in the Army and that influences a lot of my material, I really have had some of the best times of my life in the worst places on this planet. I mean if you can still sit around and tell jokes when your mates foot has just “fallen off” and you manage to make him laugh then you have to be involved in the comedy world.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Steve Rimmer: Its the best feeling when one random member of the audience approaches you after the gig and says you were the best act of the night and they always seem to ask if I really am a Bomb Disposal Engineer (why doesn’t anyone ever believe me, just because I’ve dropped the mic a few times). Its very frustrating when you travel for two hours to get to a gig only to find the venue haven’t promoted the night and you end up performing to six other acts and two member of audience
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Steve Rimmer: If I can, I like to arrive at a gig early as its good to see how the audience is filling the room because if it fills from the front I know that this audience really want to be in a comedy club and haven’t just had a flyer shoved in their hand. Its really quite simple, if they want to laugh and you make them laugh, everyone leaves happy.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Steve Rimmer: My material doesn’t really lend itself to heckling, I’ve been on the circuit for a just over a year and I don’t recall ever been heckled, maybe I have found the secret formula! Although at the end of one gig a very drunk guy said, “you weren’t necessarily the funniest but you very, very interesting, you don’t really dig bombs up, do you???…”
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Steve Rimmer: Don’t take it too seriously just have fun, give it at least three months and if you don’t enjoy it, take some time out and reproach it with fresh eyes. Gig as much as you possibly can there are loads of good open mic venues around that are looking for fresh talent for instance (plug alert) TNT Comedy in London’s Kentish Town of which I am a regular MC. If someone ever made it big I would love to say that I introduced them on their first ever Open Mic night.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Elf Lyons: My first gig was on October 16th at the Kings Head in Crouch End. It was 2008 and I was 17 years old. Since then I’ve been gigging on and off, balancing between my studies and various deadlines.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Elf Lyons: Ramshackle is probably the best word, alongside enthusiastic. I’m very energetic on stage and my routines and stories dodge and dive between each other in a very improvised and scatty order.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Elf Lyons: SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM! I was brought up on French & Saunders, Victoria Wood and the Carry On films when I was little. I would probably say that team of people were massive role models and influences to me when it came to my comedy writing and my stage persona.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Elf Lyons: I’m not sure. I used to tell people I wanted to be a stand-up when I was little because it always received such a bizzarre and diverse range of reactions from everyone I told it to and I enjoyed their reactions when I said I wanted to be a comedian. I think because it got such an interesting reaction from everyone that the mystery drew me towards actually taking on the career.
Elf Lyons: For me to actually sit down and write stuff it normally takes about 3 bottles of Rioja and Eminem’s LOSE YOURSELF on repeat. However, I’m lucky that pretty much ALL of my material is from my own experiences and for that reason I can get away with just remembering the event and then casually talking about it to an audience, rather than having to heavily script and time everything I say, imagining up scenarios and characters to talk about.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Elf Lyons: At the moment I’m in my final year at Bristol University, so my main priority is graduating with a good degree in July and trying to achieve as many things as possible in the run up to then. I balance my stand-up commitments with my degree pretty well I think. I run my own student comedy night in Bristol called THE SECRET COMEDIANS which has had an amazing run and an incredible line up of performers. Once I graduate I hope to move The Secret Comedians to a London base and continue gigging full time up there.
Elf Lyons: Most Enjoyable: The most enjoyable part of the circuit is how you never know how any gig is going to turn out – it is a complete whirlwind of the wild and the weird. Also, having a friendly post-gig drink with the other acts at the end of the night is pretty brilliant. I do love the stand-up community. Frustrating Part: Rape jokes.
Comedy Blogedy:What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Elf Lyons: O.A.Ps.
Comedy Blogedy:Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Elf Lyons: I haven’t actually! I’m a bit disappointed! I will assume it’s because I’m a 6ft Irish woman and most people are wise enough to know not to take me on.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Elf Lyons: Give it a go. Don’t worry. Take risks. Keep to your time limit.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Phil Boothman: Just over three years, I started back in August 2008 at a variety night at The Oakford Social Club in Reading, where I used to live. Because there weren’t too many places to gig around Reading I was the only comedian on the bill, so the audience didn’t really know what to make of me. I got nervous, hit myself in the face with the mic as I got it out of the stand and stumbled drunkenly through a 10-minute set, but it never put me off!
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Phil Boothman: Mostly I tell self-deprecating anecdotes, long stories which usually tend to be about times that I’ve made a dick of myself. But I try to pack in as many jokes and imaginative descriptions to the stories as I possibly can, to try and get a decent volume of laughs to my set. That should explain the rambling answers to all of these questions, I guess!
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Phil Boothman: It often comes as a surprise to people who find out I’m a comedian without having seen my act that I’m not really influenced by Bill Hicks – I respect him as a comic and a legend, but his work has never really influenced anything I’ve done as a comic. Really, the most influential show I’ve ever seen is Greg Davies’ ‘Firing Cheeseballs at a Dog’ – it was an amazingly crafted show that simultaneously represented everything I’ve ever wanted to do as a comic and made me ashamed of everything I’d done up until that point. But it really gave me the ambition to try harder and do the best I can onstage from then on.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Phil Boothman: I always enjoyed making people laugh, but it wasn’t really until I was about 15 that I got the motivation to do anything proactive. Even then, it was still around three years until I really got the courage up to just get up onstage and give it a go. I was quite a lazy teenager, but since then I’ve made an effort to keep up with stand-up, if only because I enjoy it so much!
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Phil Boothman: I don’t tend to actually write a lot of stuff down, it usually consists of a single idea which I like to work through onstage or in my head until it becomes a full routine. It probably won’t come as a surprise that I also talk to myself a lot, which is where a lot of my material comes from.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Phil Boothman: I’m definitely a part-timer, but with the ambition and hopefully the talent to take it full time. I’m a full time student, so my evenings are usually free to gig, and I try to get onstage three times a week if I can. The thing I’m not so good at is self-promotion, which could potentially be a bit of a barrier to moving into full time, but I’m sure I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Phil Boothman: The most enjoyable part is when a gig goes well, whether it’s due to a particular audience or a particularly good performance on my part, but the feeling of making a whole room laugh is really something. The community is also really great, and you meet a lot of people you wouldn’t meet in any other situation. I guess the most frustrating part is not being able to get gigs, or when you travel or prepare a lot for a gig that you get a lukewarm audience reaction at, then have to travel all the way home under a bit of a cloud. But that’s a small price to pay in the end!
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Phil Boothman: I don’t really like judging an audience before I get to a gig, but generally an audience that’s up for a laugh is the ideal audience. I’ve had people sit right at the front of gigs and refuse to laugh through any act, those ones aren’t ideal. But there’s almost always a few people in any audience who like me, so most audiences are fine with me!
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Phil Boothman: I’ve not been heckled too much, my set is a little on the breathless side so there’s rarely a time for people to interrupt with any kind of clarity. I don’t tend to be too confrontational either, so when I do get heckled they’re usually pretty friendly as well. I once commented on someone’s unusual laugh after a joke, to which I thought they said “Because I’m drunk”. So I went in and tried to have some fun with the drunk lady, and it turned out she actually said “Because it was funny”. So that pretty much took the wind from under my sails.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Phil Boothman: I don’t really feel entitled to give new acts advice as I still am one, but really if you haven’t started at all, just go for it and get some stage time. If you’ve already started but you’re still fairly new, just gig as much as possible and spend as much of the rest of your time as possible writing and working out new routines.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Philip Simon: I did an 8 week course with The Comedy School in Camden in February/March 2011, which culminated in a showcase at the end of March. My first gig was at the start of April 2011. Since then I have done about 70 gigs/competitions/gong shows in London, Oxford and New York.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Philip Simon: Bloody hilarious! Oh, I see, sorry. Well, every joke I tell comes from personal experience, either something that has happened to me, or something that was said during banter with friends and family and got a laugh. I don’t write ‘gags’ as such, but twist real situations to give them a funnier edge if they need one, which means that my stand up is narrative rather than a series of one-liners. I would say I was self-deprecating observational comic.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Philip Simon: I’m quite old school so the comedians I used to love watching included Tommy Cooper, Dave Allen, Morecambe & Wise and Tony Hancock. Also, though I was really surprised to discover how prolific his stand up was since my generation really only knew him as a smarmy game-show host, I think Bob Monkhouse was one of the most innovative and entertaining stand up comedians ever. I’m also a big Carry On fan (watch people immediately lose interest in this interview now I’ve said that) and really enjoyed the work of such comedy actors as Sid James, Bernard Bresslaw, Hattie Jacques and, of course, my favourite of all, Kenneth Williams. Modern comics would include more mainstream comics like Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Michael McIntyre, Miranda Hart and Nina Conti – who I would marry if only Natalie Portman would agree to leave my fantasy world first!
But then these are just comedians I like. If we’re talking about influences then there are some I have met on the circuit who have supported and encouraged my writing and performing far more than anyone listed above has. In fact, none of those people mentioned before even know I exist. Not even Michael McIntyre, and he went to my school! That’s something I really enjoy about the open-mic circuit in London though, is how supportive everyone is…more about that later!
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Philip Simon: Comedy acting, yes, stand-up comedy, no. I trained at the Guildford School of Acting as an actor, and whilst everything I did tended to have a comedic stance, I resisted every suggestion made by friends and family that I should do stand up comedy. I knew I was the funny one in the group and that I could make people laugh (though because I’m a repressed North London Jew it took me ages to actually admit that), but the thought of writing material that I would then present to a paying audience for their approval wasn’t something that really interested me at all. That said, I did write material and stored it in a safe place on my computer, but not knowing how to go about structuring a joke, it was really just a series of thoughts. Then at the start of 2011 I was reading Peter Kay’s autobiography (Saturday Night Peter) and after chapter 1 I put the book down and booked myself on the Stand Up Comedy Course at The Comedy School.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Philip Simon: When I did the course I was quite religious about writing out a monologue of the jokes I wanted to perform and then learning them. I think that’s the actor in me. I know it’s an accepted practice, but I don’t like it when comics read from notes on stage, or write reminders on their hands. Now I am constantly thinking about jokes and scribbling notes when I think of something, but I’m finding myself far lazier when it comes to writing new sets. I tend to write new jokes and try to slot them into my already tried and tested material, either adding to it or taking something out to make way for it. I find that works for me as then the momentum of already successful jokes can help the newbie take flight. That said, most of my separate jokes link together quite nicely, so when I insert something new I do have to think how that affects the jokes either side of it. It’s hard on the tight 5-minute open-mic circuit to play around too much as you want to know some of what you’re performing will work, so I’m reluctant to try and whole brand new set in one go.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Philip Simon: As an actor I don’t do anything full time! My main goal is the acting work, so I am constantly auditioning and sometimes working in that field or doing commercials, voiceovers, etc. When I’m not acting I usually work in temp office jobs, which has been great for influencing material, but mainly because it’s always been office based I’ve had the luxury of being at a computer where I can write/research all day and the company thinks I’m working tirelessly for them…between checking Facebook, that is! Now I work in two more full time roles, one for a charity and one for a website that I am a more significant part of, I do find that I have less time for writing at work. On the whole though, because my material comes from my life, there isn’t any part of my day that isn’t up for grabs. I’m a single, Jewish guy from North London – you’d know that about it if you saw my set…or if you met me!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Philip Simon: The best part as I mentioned before is how supportive the circuit is. As an actor I see a lot of back-stabbing, and selfish behaviour in relation to finding work, but from the moment I started doing stand up comedy I was seeing the same faces at gigs, and since my first have only done a handful where I didn’t know anyone else. There is a far greater sense of collaboration, most notably on social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, and the freedom to share and comment on material is fantastic. I do find it frustrating how often we perform to other comics because promoters aren’t doing enough to publicise their nights, and how sometimes we jump through hoops to satisfy the criteria to do a gig (bringing a friend, buying drinks, staying all night, etc.) and don’t receive any appreciation from the promoters. That said, having just been gigging out in New York, there are definite benefits to being a comedian over here. One main one being that the norm over there is that comics pay to play and rarely get an audience. Here there is less of that, which certainly gave the impression that there is more purpose to what we do over here.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Philip Simon: Civilians! I don’t mind performing to other comics for the reasons I said above about how supportive people are, but for me I like a real audience who aren’t analysing the structure of my joke, but are just enjoying it (or not) for what it is. Because I do observational humour, it helps to have people who can relate to everyday situations. I do a lot of jokes about being Jewish and single, and thought I would die when I did a gig to a room full of Somalian Muslims. As it was, the jokes went down very well because even though they weren’t Jewish, the audience could relate to the pressures of dating in a small, insular community.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Philip Simon: At the Comedy School, my graduating showcase, billed as ‘the friendliest gig you’ll ever do’ was attended by friends of one comic who were drunk before they arrived and determined to ruin the night for everyone. I was at my most nervous and as the compere was gearing up to introduce me a fight broke out, bottles were thrown and people evicted… ‘Please welcome Philip Simon!’ Things settled as I took to the stage, with a quip about not minding though that guy was my manager, which went down well, but during my set they kicked off again. This is when the acting training kicked in and I just carried on, checking for flying bottles as I went, ad-libbing when appropriate, and got to the end when I left the stage more nervous than before I went on.
Other than that I’ve not been heckled and to be honest I’ve not seen much heckling on the open-mic circuit. If the promoter/compere is good enough then they can quash it before it even starts. What I have seen and experienced rather than heckling is a lot of commentating. This is sometimes worse than heckling as instead of just shouting out something offensive like ‘get off, you’re shit!’, they take what you’ve said and agree/disagree with their friends as if they’re watching TV and can’t be heard by anyone else. Then it’s less about putting them down and more about making sure you come back to them as quickly as possible so you don’t look thrown. Quite often the problem with trying a put down is that they might be funnier than you, and then you’ve lost the audience. My favourite was at a gig in Islington when there were some girls in the front who were talking throughout. They weren’t heckling so much as commentating, and it was more off-putting than it was funny. I was on about 5th and they made a few comments that I let go until the following exchange took place:
Me: I don’t have children of my own…
Girl: I wonder why!
Me: Condoms! Anyway, as I was saying, I don’t have children of my own…
Not the funniest retort in the world, but it was immediate and for that reason more than anything else the audience loved it. It stopped the girls from carrying on and they actually left after my set.
Quite often a ‘commentator’ is just trying to enjoy themselves and they don’t realise they’re being disruptive. When they do they either stop or carry on. Sometimes they annoy the waiting comedians to the point that everyone has worked out a put down for when they’re on, which is fair enough, but I have seen examples when the ‘commentator’ has calmed down by the time the comics come on, but they still feel the need to use their cleverly prepared line, which only serves to wake the beast and start the cycle again. Ad libs, even prepared ones, should be in the moment, and not hung on to regardless of the situation. I have done this myself, and it doesn’t go well.
Lots of comics prepare responses for when they get heckled, but you can’t possibly be in control of what someone else is going to say. I think it’s best to just have a little something up your sleeve, but to not worry about it too much until it happens. Then trust your instincts, remember you’re probably funnier than they are, and just have fun.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Philip Simon: Sodd off! There’s too many of us here already! Take up knitting! Seriously though, if you want to do it then just do it. It took me ten years between first being encouraged and actually doing it. I was writing in that time and that material’s not going to waste now, but I could have been that much further along than I am by starting now. So, if you’re really interested in getting started, go to open mic gigs to watch and see how they work, get writing and get gigging. Do a course if you feel that would help you, but they’re not essential. Mine was great for giving the kick up the arse I needed to write and perform, but on the whole the material was there and I was just being lazy/complacent/lazy again!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Elizabeth Hotson: Just over a year – my first gig was the end of November 2010.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Elizabeth Hotson: I started out doing straight stand-up but now I mostly do character comedy as ‘Julie Jones’. Because my set runs varies from three to thirty minutes it incorporates quite a few different elements. These include a burlesque routine, badly choreographed ventriloquism and poetry.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Elizabeth Hotson: Julia Davis, Victoria Wood, Julie Walters, Les Dawson, Kenny Everett.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Elizabeth Hotson: Yes, since I first saw Victoria Wood doing ‘An Audience With’. The ballad of Barry and Freda is what really did it for me.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Elizabeth Hotson: I started by writing five minutes, which still forms the basis of my set. I then gradually incorporated lines, which I’d ad-libbed on stage. The only thing I consciously work on is coming up with 2-3 minute set pieces such as burlesque, songs etc.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Elizabeth Hotson: I’m part time. My current job – business/economics journalism doesn’t influence my comedy at all but past jobs have. Specifically working on the Trisha Goddard Show…
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Elizabeth Hotson: The most enjoyable things are coming up with ideas that you really like and them working well on stage. Making people laugh and sharing my sense of humour are the reasons I wanted to get into comedy so it’s lovely to get a good audience reaction. The most frustrating part is when an audience gives a lukewarm response to a set, which normally goes down well. It’s just one of those things though – they may not like character comedy/ want to see a one-liner / don’t like your tights. So I don’t let it bother me.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Elizabeth Hotson: People who seem to really tune into my sense of humour and laugh a lot.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Elizabeth Hotson: I don’t tend to get heckled much but if it does happen I don’t mind. I’ll either have a chat with the heckler or just make a one line response – depends on the situation. I always try not to be confrontational but having said that I’ve never been faced with nasty heckles….
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Elizabeth Hotson: Try and come up with something really original. There are so many people trying to get into comedy it’s really difficult to stand out. Also, be patient. For every comedian talent-spotted on their 3rd gig and propelled into superstardom, there are 100s who will go for years on the circuit without getting a big break. Oh and booze isn’t always your friend. Some comics can do a blinding set when they’re barely able to stand, but most can’t. It can give you a bit of confidence but it can also really mess up your timing.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Paul Dance: I started gigging in September 2010 when I did stand up as myself but started doing my character, Henry von Stifle, in about April last year.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Paul Dance: I always find it hard to describe my comedy because I’m not very bright but I would like to think that it’s quite surreal and silly although I try to play it as straight as possible. In my view, the thing with playing a character on stage is that no matter how stupid you sound, you have to believe that what you’re saying is normal.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Paul Dance: Way too many to really put down on here – I like the same as many a comedian does, Bill Hicks, Billy Connolly, Stewart Lee, Daniel Kitson to name a few. But I’m also strongly influenced by stuff like Monty Python, Morecambe and Wise, Laurel and Hardy and Peter Cook – I would say that I’m more influenced by those than I am by the modern stand up comedians.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Paul Dance: A little part of me always wanted to do comedy but it took me an awfully long time to get motivated enough to do it – like many comedians I’m lazy and easily distracted.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Paul Dance: I think of what is correct or makes sense and do the complete opposite. My character is a historian so I’ll firstly pick a random topic, one that no respected historian would ever cover (‘The History of the Penguin’ ‘Wall’, ‘Coat Pocket’ ‘Sneeze’). After I’ve picked a topic I’ll make notes of the kind of stuff I want to cover before starting the actual writing. I then start to flesh out the material writing way too much stuff, a lot of which won’t be funny. Then I’ll edit what I have until I’m left with what seems about 30 seconds of material before starting the process again.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Paul Dance: I wouldn’t call it a hobby as such but I do have another job so I guess I’d be classed as a part-timer, although it feels like I have two full-time jobs sometimes. My work is so dull that it has no influence on my material.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Paul Dance: The most enjoyable part of comedy is of course the sound of people laughing at something you’ve written. I also find the writing process extremely enjoyable, as I can basically sit in a room and write stuff that makes me laugh. Also, I’ve met some really nice people doing it who would remain my friends if I gave up doing comedy tomorrow. As for the stuff that I find most frustrating, I think it’s when an audience look at you with blank faces making you feel like you’re talking in an alien language. Also, I think a very small minority of people look down on character comedy as a sort of easy option. Maybe it is to some people but it doesn’t feel easy when writing it, dying on stage or getting changed in toilets that lack of a certain level of cleanliness.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Paul Dance: My favourite type of audience is one that is up for a laugh, plain and simple. Of course, it always helps if the room is packed!
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Paul Dance: I’ve yet to be heckled but I was on stage once when an argument between two couples sitting near the back erupted. It was so obvious and distracting to everyone that I had to stop what I was doing. Luckily I managed to get a laugh with something I said after one of the couples had stormed out. Sometimes things happening like that can lead you into finding new material.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Paul Dance: Don’t let a bad response put you off. Keep going and try to believe in yourself because some nights it will feel like no-one else does. Also, write your own stuff!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Rosie Martin: Coming up on 2 years.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Rosie Martin: Jewish, self-deprecating, filthy, dry and…..Jewish!
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Rosie Martin: Lenny Bruce and Joan Rivers. The comics on the U.K. circuit that I really admire are: Josh Howie, Jen Brister, Luke Toulson, and Diane Morgan.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Rosie Martin: Yes.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Rosie Martin: Ideas come to me at the most inopportune times i.e. at 4am, on the train……so I always try to have a pen and paper handy; even in the bathroom.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Rosie Martin: It is part-time at the moment. My main job it too tedious to influence anything!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Rosie Martin: Most enjoyable: You can go out and gig 7 nights a week if you wish. Frustrating: The bitchiness and the various cliques (for godssake, grow up!).
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Rosie Martin: Pissed, and up for it! Although an educated, middle-class crowd is nice from time to time.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Rosie Martin: I have been heckled a few times but not often due to my onstage persona. I don’t mind it unless someone is so pissed they think they’re adding to the show in some way. The best heckle? “Marry me!”. I didn’t of course. The worst heckle was was ‘you Jews are cheap!’ and it came out of the mouth of a Scotsman.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Rosie Martin: Don’t do it! The circuit is too crowded and we don’t need more competition.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Dave Green: I’ve been doing stand-up since April 2011.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Dave Green: I tell surreal stories in a slow deadpan. I put a strong emphasis on joke writing. Having faith in the material allows me to really play with the timing and phrasing of each joke. I enjoy taking the audience on a journey, using simple ideas and pushing them into absurdity. I also leave big gaps so they know when to laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Dave Green: I’m influenced by comedians who take pleasure in the language. People like Emo Philips, Steven Wright and Simon Munnery. I’m a sucker for a well-crafted joke. I’m also big into Louis CK. Its very different from what I do but I find the way he bares his soul onstage extremely powerful. I would like to introduce some more autobiographical elements into my act.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Dave Green: Until very recently if you asked me what I did I would have told you I was an artist. Then there would have been a stilted conversation involving words like multi-disciplinary and ‘relational aesthetics’ followed by an awkward moment where it became clear neither of us knew what I was talking about. These days I work with exactly the same ideas I used in my art practice, I just say them instead of making them. It takes less time and I can reach more people. Comedy is very black and white. It’s either funny or its not. My ego is too fragile for the vagaries of the art world. If someone isn’t validating my ideas immediately with a laugh how do I know if they like it? I came to the realization that I was too self-absorbed to be an artist so there was only one place to come…stand-up.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Dave Green: I carry around a notebook and jot down anything that fires my imagination. These can be turns of phrases or things that I have witnessed. Even the most bizarre flights of fancy start with a simple observation. I take these rough ideas and sit down in front of the computer and try to approach them from as many different angles as possible. The ratio of material that ends up being used from these writing sessions can be quite small. Sometimes I can write for 2 or 3 days and have nothing to show for it, then on the 4th day write something that kills. People often talk about gigging as a kind of endurance exercise. I think it’s important to approach writing in the same way.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Dave Green: I’m working in a café at the moment and I do freelance camerawork/video editing. My comedy is slightly removed from reality so the day job doesn’t influence me too much. That being said there are some obvious parallels between video editing and joke writing.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Dave Green: I really enjoy the community of new comedians on the amateur circuit. I think more than any other discipline comedy attracts people from a huge variety of different backgrounds. You meet so many different types of people and they are all linked by this strange personality defect that makes them want to stand in a darkened room being laughed at by strangers. I don’t think I’ve been doing it long enough to find anything frustrating…there’s still time.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Dave Green: I don’t really have a favourite type of audience. It’s very easy to pre-judge a crowd. I’ve looked at an audience before and thought there’s no way they’re going to enjoy my humour then it’s gone down really well. Then of course there’s been occasions where the opposite has been true. So I try and keep an open mind and deliver as best as I possibly can.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Dave Green: I’ve received a few heckles, nothing really hostile. I definitely don’t enjoy being heckled but it is a reality so you’ve got to deal with it. I try to look at it as an opportunity rather than a threat.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Dave Green: Gig as much as possible and don’t neglect the writing.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Paul Cook: I started on 25th July 2011 so about 5 months. At Scruffys, Newton Street Birmingham.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Paul Cook: Observational, I’m lucky enough to come from the Forest of Dean, which has a lot heritage and myths which helps. And I talk with a funny accent so that helps.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Paul Cook: I admire anyone who can stand on stage and entertain people. So, I don’t think there’s anyone single comedian that influences me, but saying that I like Billy Connelly, Robin Williams and Rich Hall to name a few.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Paul Cook: It’s something I’ve always had ambitions to do. Being rural I’m not the quickest mover so it’s taken me ‘til I’m nearly 40 to get things going. Hopefully life experience will help.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Paul Cook: To be honest I don’t have a set way of doing things. I always carry a pocket book round with me, but anything can trigger the grey cells. Be it, hearing something at work, walking down the street or just having a quiet few moments thinking about my childhood and the characters I’ve met along the way.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Paul Cook: At the minute it’s very much part time and a labour of love. I work for an engineering firm so you can imagine some of the things I hear and see.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Paul Cook: The most enjoyable is just getting on stage at different venues and giving it a go – with hopefully a few giggles and a bit banter thrown in. I haven’t really got that frustrated, small audiences would be the worst thing at the moment though if I had to name one thing.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Paul Cook: I’ve only done 7 gigs, however the 2 that I most enjoyed were at the Hollybush in Cradley Heath, very wacky and friendly mix of people and to students at the Secret Comedians Committee, Richmond Pub, Bristol. They were all lovely.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Paul Cook: I got heckled quite badly at a gig in Brum. The majority of the crowd were fantastic. However one lad took it upon itself to c-bomb me. I carried on and ended up getting hugs from all his mates as I left the stage. Very bizaare. I enjoy it as long it doesn’t get to agressive, I’m there to have fun I’d hope the audience is too. As for a best heckle, the jury’s still out on that one.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Paul Cook: I’m really new myself so would feel a bit wrong offering anyone advice. All I can say is give it a go, don’t die wondering.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
James Rankin: I started gigging around 14 months ago. I had the thought of gigging a lot earlier but never thought I’d muster the nerve to get up. So I just started writing and writing and told myself if I got a solid 5 minutes I’d do it.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
James Rankin: I think it’s dry. Observational, very sarcastic with a twist off frustrated ranting.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
James Rankin: It was probably watching Emo Philips and also Rowan Atkinson’s one man sketches that made me really want to get into comedy, really want to be funny. Once I was doing comedy I guess the likes of Ricky Gervais for the witty and a huge influence from Bill Hicks. A man who spoke the truth and was a real rant comic.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
James Rankin: I’ve always been a dreamer and I always wanted to get into something creative. Through the years being funny just seemed like the thing I couldn’t get away from. Once I knew I may be able to do it as a profession, that’s all I wanted to do.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
James Rankin: My material is seen in the every day life. My mind seems to think with a lot of “what if” situations, “what if something ridiculous happened like this”? Usually while I’m bored doing the mundane at work, weird thoughts will come to me. I jot them down straight away and then keep hashing them over in my head.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
James Rankin: After doing a couple of shows I realized I wanted to take this very serious. It was never going to be a hobby. It’s addictive and can be bitter sweet. I gig as much as I possibly can. Work? Well, the hours of work can sometimes make it hard to get to gigs etc. I know I should watch more performers. I guess the other influence work has is that it can limit how much energy I have left for writing or stretching my imagination.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
James Rankin: I find the most frustrating part is the sheer amount of comedians out there vying for the limelight. Being on the same bill as 20 other performers makes it hard to get noticed. Also the over amount of comedy nights where there just isn’t the audience to fill it. The positives are the opportunities to get yourself on stage as much as possible if you put yourself out there. Also because all amateur comics are pretty much struggling with the same things as you are, there is a good sense of community.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
James Rankin: A large one! Usually a room James Rankin: I’m terrified of brings the best out of me. Playing to an audience of other comedians and their friends just doesn’t cut it and is a real downside. As far as a demographic goes, I haven’t really one. I guess I still fire loosely in all directions
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
James Rankin: I haven’t been heckled that much. Most audience members are quite respectful. I think at the top end, paying quite a door fee to get in, then you’ll get your hecklers. Hecklers can really take away from your rhythm so that’s annoying. However if you shoot one down right, the crowd will love you.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
James Rankin: If you have the balls to get up then do it. It takes a lot to go from making your mates laugh because they get you, to trying to convince a whole room of strangers that your point of view is quite funny. Believe in yourself.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging as a stand-up?
Tez Ilyas: I started stand-up in June 2010, so just over 18 months.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Tez Ilyas: Totes funny! I take things that I am passionate about, be it religion, race or trivial things and try and subvert them, I deliver things in a very dead-pan way, as I like to keep the audience guessing as to whether I actually mean what I say.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Tez Ilyas: Lots, from Richard Pryor and Bill Hicks to Jimmy Carr and Peter Kay. Also love people like Chris Morris (Brass Eye, Four Lions) and Trey Parker & Matt Stone (South Park). There are lots of stand-ups on the circuit that are not in the public eye who are brilliant like Terry Alderton and Nick Helm, the whole thing is totally intimidating!
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Tez Ilyas: Not at all. I’ve always loved stand-up but never thought it would be something I could do, I come from a very insular community in Blackburn and the world of comedy or showbiz in general is a million miles away.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Tez Ilyas: I’ll often have an idea and jot it down on the Notes app in my phone, then when I get a chance (often on public transport), I’ll flesh it out and then try it at the earliest opportunity. I rarely just sit and write material, as it feels forced for me and I don’t like to work in that way.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Tez Ilyas: At the moment I have a full-time job, but I do have ambitions to do comedy full-time, but I think I’m still quite a way from it. You don’t realise when you start out how long it actually takes to ‘make it’, whatever that means! I don’t mention my day job at all in my comedy and keep the two things very separate.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Tez Ilyas: I have found no bigger buzz in life than performing to an audience who love what you are doing, it’s like riding a wave and you don’t want to leave the stage. I’ve also met some great people on the circuit and a host of ‘interesting’ characters! It’s frustrating when you are trying something on stage and people don’t really understand what you are trying to say or do, but it could just be a one-off or it may mean slightly re-working your material. There’s also SO many very good acts out there which is frustrating but also inspiring and motivational!
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Tez Ilyas: I don’t think I really have a preferred demographic. I like it when the room is set-up well, a slightly raised stage, the audience an arms reach from the stage and they’re packed in tightly. A real pet peeve of mine is when the audience is spread thin around the room and the MC doesn’t try and get them all closer to the stage.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Tez Ilyas: No comedian that I have met enjoys being heckled. It’s a massive pain in ones ass! Pro comics like Jimmy Carr are brilliant at comebacks to heckles and incorporate it into their act, unfortunately that level of competence comes through years of experience which we obviously don’t have. Having said that even on the amateur circuit I have heard some great comebacks. Personally I’ve been heckled a handful of times, nothing too nasty and I think I’ve dealt with it okay. Although in hindsight you think of some amazing things to say, but the moment has usually passed.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Tez Ilyas: Don’t rip off established acts (I mean persona and material), work hard and don’t be a bell-end!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Chris Marco K: About a year, off and on… Very off and on at the moment.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Chris Marco K: I was once told “a young Chris” (me).
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Chris Marco K: Everyone from good to bad. I’ve learned a lot from everyone
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Chris Marco K: Everyone had been going on at me to do it, and once I though, “Why not give it a go?” and I shocked everyone on my first time so I went from there.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Chris Marco K: Everyday life, its all about me, what I have seen…
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Chris Marco K: It’s a part time hobby, which is a very cool hobby, yeah being a student, and young that’s my material. I would like to think my material is for all ages. Watch me and tell me what you think = D
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Chris Marco K: The enjoyable part is performing with an audience and not your comedy friends lol, and to be myself on stage. It’s frustrating when you make an effort to write your stuff and think of things, and there is no one there to watch your set and admire your work.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Chris Marco K: A BIG one! The more people the better. I don’t like performing to 5 people. It’s not like I can’t crack a small room of people, but I enjoy big laughter.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Chris Marco K: YES I have! Not a lot, it’s part of the job – it’s like being a chef, sometimes you’ve got to clean up, you don’t mind doing it because it’s just part of the job but it takes up some of your time. The best heckle I’ve had was at The Comedy Store Gong Show and some women shouted out loud “Your flies are undone!” The first time in my life -I was like lightning! You should watch the clip, you will enjoy it.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Chris Marco K: Write a 5 min set, or 3 mins, think about how you are going to say it and in which order, then say it to your friends. Family will say it’s good even though it might be shit and you die on stage; so get a set, say it if you get some laughs, work on it, go on stage and take it from there. If nobody laughs at your set, work on it. And if it’s not for you, it’s not for you. But the best point I can give to someone is listen to the audience! If they don’t laugh at any of your set, don’t take it to heart, it just might not be for you, just work harder. I’m no one to give advice; I’ve worked hard to get to where I am now…. Nowhere, but who knows what will happen. Watch a lot of comedy. Timing is very important and take your time observe.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Andy Onions: Since April 28th 2011, the day before the royal wedding. I made many rookie mistakes, confusing crude half-arsed digs at the Royals with cutting edge satire. If that video was to find the light of day then I can kiss goodbye to my knighthood. And my comedy career.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Andy Onions: High-energy tales and japes of my life, some true, some embellished, smattered with some thinly disguised puns and poorly written jokes. Occasionally funny.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Andy Onions: Eddie Izzard, Ricky Gervais, Boris Johnson.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Andy Onions: I kind of fell into it recently as my mates thought I was funny. I did my first gig and stormed it. The next gig I brought 40 people along and died on my arse. I just feel that telling jokes night after night for little reward other than some brief validation from people I don’t know is how I wish to spend my time on this earth. That and the groupies. I once had a girl smile at me after a gig. That kept me going for a week.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Andy Onions: I think of an idea that may be funny. I write it down. I remember it. I do this joke at a gig and take the best bits to hone it and repeat the process. I find there is no substitute for continually reviewing my material to improve it.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Andy Onions: It’s a hobby. Most of my influences come from outside of work. Despite working in the fashion industry, there’s not a lot of material to be found. It’s all been made into pretty dresses.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Andy Onions: It is great meeting new, like-minded people and sharing some genuinely funny moments on and off stage, going to new places. When a gig goes well, there’s nothing like it in the world. Best. Feeling. Ever.
Of course, for every tale of smashing it in front of a large paying crowd who’s up for it, there’s many more gigs where the promoter hasn’t been able to get any audience in, so your jokes don’t really get a fair run out. Comics, lovely though they are, make the worst audience members as they are either prepping for their sets, have just done their set or have seen your stuff many times before. Also, comics are generally aware of the mechanisms involved in comedy, hence a lot of comics (myself very much included) like Stuart Lee as he does a lot of comedy about comedy.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Andy Onions: A tightly packed in audience who are there to watch comedy rather than perform or support their comic mate. A good audience should fill the room, however big it may be, with no outside noise, bar or disruptions when people are on stage.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Andy Onions: Heckling is relatively rare on the open mic circuit, but I welcome it. I’m actually pretty good at heckle responses for a newbie, I think it’s because ‘el diablo’ takes over and I become more natural and either play with the audience if the heckle is good natured or destroy them if they are being a dick. My favourite heckler was a drunk guy who formed 50% of the audience who heckled the compere and the first 2 acts. I was on 3rd. Someone needed to sort him out so I spend my entire set laying into him and making him look like a fool. He shut up after that. My favourite line from that was when a fellow comic shouted “Shut up Bill” (as Bill was the heckler’s name) and Bill’s said “Who is that, your minder” and I said, “No, my Minder is Arther Daley”. Even Bill Laughed. If you are under 25 you won’t understand this at all.
Of course, there’s always the flipside. A drunk girl ran in to the room from the upstairs bar to use the toilet, part way through a quite cerebral piece I was doing. She then proceeded to talk to another act quite loudly. I asked what she was doing and she said “I’m just having a chat ‘ere coz you’re not funny”, she then ran out the venue cackling. 1-0 her. Fuck it, 5-0 her.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Andy Onions: – Never give up; Video (or at least record the audio) every gig. Analyse it; Get HONEST feedback from friends and colleagues alike. See criticism and failure as an opportunity to improve; Enjoy the journey.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Carmen Ali: I have been gigging for 6 months and I love it!
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Carmen Ali: My comedy is personal and observational, designed to catch you off-guard and think about things in a different way.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Carmen Ali: Bill Hicks, Sarah Millican, Jason Rouse, Judy Tenuta (it could happen!), Louis CK and Tim Minchin. I’m also inspired by people who started on the open mic circuit 1-2 years ago such as: Kate Lucas – her song ‘How Could You, You Bastard’ is brilliant; Michael Kossew – I love how dark his comedy is; and Hannah Deasy – I saw her at The Cavendish Arms a while ago when I was doing burlesque and she definitely made me want to do stand-up instead.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Carmen Ali: I remember when I was 7 years old telling my mum that I wanted to be a comedian but then never doing anything about it as I didn’t think I was funny enough. Then in the last few years when I was performing burlesque and I kept seeing comedians at variety nights, I remember thinking that comedy looked like fun and then finally my friend pushed me into doing my first gig and I enjoyed it so much that I carried on!
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Carmen Ali: I write a lot on the bus and on the tube, but whenever something funny happens, or I think of something funny, I try and write it down, then maybe at home I will think about it more, go over it in my head and try to develop it.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Carmen Ali: I gig part-time, but would love to do stand-up full time eventually. My main job is admin in Welfare-to-Work (helping unemployed people to get a job) and I would like to do some material about this, but I often think that it’s only funny to people who work in that industry. Perhaps I will try some of it out in the new year.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Carmen Ali: Most enjoyable – meeting new people and being able to gig regularly, as there are a lot of open mic nights. This can also be the most frustrating thing – as there are so many nights, you often find yourself at a gig where there are not many ‘real’ audience members. Also frustrating are gigs that are poorly organised as this can affect the feel of the night.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Carmen Ali: A relaxed, friendly audience who have come to enjoy a comedy night and who aren’t afraid to laugh no matter what the subject of the material.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Carmen Ali: A fair few times. Occasionally it can be funny or it can add to your set, particularly if your comeback is good, but it can be quite annoying, especially if it messes up your joke. Best heckle I ever had was when a guy said ‘I’m your father’ as a replacement for my actual punchline, which is ‘your tampon string is hanging out’. I realize this probably doesn’t make sense unless you hear the full joke, but he got a massive laugh for it and I kind of had to admit it was funny, though irritating.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Carmen Ali: Just go out there and do it, if you don’t, you’ll never know. The worst that could happen is that no one will laugh, but when they do, it’s the best feeling in the world.
Upcoming gigs:
5th Jan: Electric Mouse Comedy at The Regent, Angel
11th Jan: Max Turner Prize Competition Heat at The Cavendish Arms
12th Jan: Freedom of the Fringe at Torrianos Bar, Kentish Town
19th Jan: Monkey Business, The Oxford, Kentish Town
23rd Jan: Electric Mouse Comedy at Red Lion Pub, Westminster
26th Jan: Parachute Productions at Raduno, Farringdon
27th Jan: Happy Hooker Club at Gypsy Hill Tavern, Croydon
13th Feb: Jester Jesters, The Plum Tree, Farringdon (Carmen will be hosting this)
23rd Feb: Downstairs at The Kings Head, Crouch End
8th March: Monkey Business at The Oxford, Kentish Town
10th March: Pole Wars Competition, Isis, Nottingham (Carmen will be hosting this)
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Sahar Mirhadi: I having been gigging solidly since May with an average 3-4 gigs a week and getting myself out there!
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Sahar Mirhadi: It has lots of energy and I attempt to de-mystify things with the bluntness of a hippo in a pink tutu. I look and discuss issues surrounding my life and body, random observations and dispelling myths about my Iranian heritage. I keep it a little crude with references to breasts, hair and orgasms! That way you can cater to all tastes!
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Sahar Mirhadi: I would mix it is a mix of old and new. Predominantly I have taken a lot of influence from ethnic comics such as Omid Djalili, Russell Peters and Stephen K Amos. However, I broaden my horizons to take in my love of Billy Connolly, Bill Hicks, Dylan Moran and Eddie Izzard for their energy and delivery. I also have a soft spot and admiration for Richard Pryor and old Eddie Murphy material for their crudeness!
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Sahar Mirhadi: I always made people laugh growing up with my energy and making a fool of myself. At university, a friend of mine who is now stage manager at one of the big London comedy clubs suggested I should try it out, so I began writing and did it.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Sahar Mirhadi: Writing is an organic process for me. I pick up on something I would say to a friend or an experience I have been through and try to see what the funny side is. I also will write an odd observation I see while I am out and about and then come back to it when I am developing a new set – it may be a new 1 liner or start of a story. Finally I do lots about families and home life and try to look for the absurdities that we all take for granted and turning it on it’s head.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Sahar Mirhadi: It is a full on hobby at present but it is addictive so I have been known to gig full time (Mon-Thurs for 4 weeks solidly at 1 point) and get up for work the next day. Where I get my energy from, surprises even me!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Sahar Mirhadi: The most enjoyable part of the amateur circuit is when you perform to a full room and the reaction is electric. It puts a massive smile on my face. I also enjoy the sense of community amongst comics on the amateur circuit. We all try to help each other out. We are all on the same boat at the end of the day.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Sahar Mirhadi: Every audience has their good and bad points. I have enjoyed it when they are up for a laugh and go with the moment. I like to diverge and interact so if they are up for it, that makes me happy and I give that little bit extra.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Sahar Mirhadi: I have been heckled a couple of times and frankly I do not mind it if its not malicious. I remember one gig I did and someone walked on stage and the front row started heckling. I just waited and kept my composure. The MC came on stage and asked for me to keep going and the crowd went along with me! After the guy came back, I brought him close and did one of my jokes and told him where to go to which the crowd went up in an uproar! That highlighted to me that even if your punchline fails, if a crowd is on your side when you are heckled, it can turn to be a positive.The best heckle I have had was a dare from a comic who shouted “Go back to China”!
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Sahar Mirhadi: Enjoy it. Be consistent in gigging and writing. Keep networking and talk to people!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Elena Kombou: I started stand up at the end of October 2010, so about one year and two months. It’s something I wanted to do for ages and I started writing material when I was in my teens but was too nervous and too worried that I wouldn’t get any laughs and then that would ruin comedy for me forever so I kept putting it off. It was going to the Edinburgh Festival last year that gave me the kick I needed to do it. I enjoyed the festival but wanted to be more than just a member of audience and promised myself that the next year I’d be there as a performer.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Elena Kombou: I would describe my comedy as mostly observational but also about things that annoy me, the situations I get myself into as a result of my social awkwardness and how my anxiousness, neuroses and tendency to over think things impacts on most things I do. When I started I wanted my comedy to be more like big rants about things but whenever I got on stage I was never in a bad enough mood and when I’m put in front of a microphone it’s more natural for me to project a nervous and anxious person and it seems to work okay for me so that’s what I’ve stuck with.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Elena Kombou: When I started getting into comedy, I was a massive fan of Russell Howard, Michael McIntyre, Jon Richardson and Lee Evans. I would say right now, my biggest influences are Job Richardson and Lee Evans. Watching Job Richardson is like watching a male version of me a lot of the time so I can relate to a lot of his material and Lee Evans has so much energy and he can take ordinary objects and everyday tasks and make a joke out of it in a way that always makes me think, ‘why didn’t I think of that?’
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Elena Kombou: I’ve wanted to do a lot of things growing up. If I’m honest, I thought it was just a phase and in a few months I’d get over it and move onto something else. However, once I started it, I realized that it’s something I’d love to do as a career, whether it’s performing or writing.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Elena Kombou: I just write things down as they come to me, whether it’s through a conversation I’m having with someone, something I’ve just seen/heard or just something that has annoyed me or frustrated me. I write material down in note form then build around that. Sometimes it helps me to talk to myself and through that conversation I can link ideas together and develop a set.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Elena Kombou: This is a part time hobby at the moment but with a view to doing it full time….eventually. I have found that the main job I do has influenced me a little but because of the nature of the place in which I work there’s not that much comedy there to be honest. There’s a little but not as much as I’d like.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Elena Kombou: The thing I find most enjoyable is being able to meet so many different people that you wouldn’t otherwise have the opportunity to meet. The thing about it that frustrates me is that there’s isn’t much opportunity to progress and move forward. It’s a good circuit to do new material on and try things out but it’s not really going to get you very far until the right people see your set and invite you to do their gigs and then hopefully they will pay you eventually but it’s getting noticed first. There are some nights out there that can help you to move up but there are a lot that don’t and it’s just finding the right ones to do.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Elena Kombou: I like a mixture of old and young really, male and female. Some people get my humour, others don’t. I guess an audience that don’t take themselves too seriously because what I talk about is far from serious.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Elena Kombou: I’ve never been heckled but I’ve have someone give me some input before. I made a comment about something and one guy in the audience at the front made a comment about something he’d seen that day. It was the first time I’d had that and I didn’t really expect it but I think I handled it well. I engaged in a little conversation with him then moved on. I will get heckled at some point and I’m not massively looking forward to it but you have to get it and you learn from it. It helps you try to be funny on the spot and in the moment.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Elena Kombou: Go for it, if you don’t try then you’ll never know either how good you could be, how much you could enjoy it or who you could meet. I’ve made some good friends through comedy and had I not started I wouldn’t have met them. Also, don’t be disheartened if you don’t get many laughs when you start out. It happens to us all and you do learn from it. Someone once told me it takes about a year to find your voice and what kind of comedy works for you so it’s just trial and error. Keep at it and it’ll pay off.
18th January – ROFL & LOL Comedy Club, Manor House
23rd January – The Hope & Anchor, Angel
31st January – Party Piece, King’s Cross
6th February – Wisecrack, King’s Cross
16th February Camden Head, Angel
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Raoul Malhotra: My first gig was at school when I was 16 (now I’m 20), but I do stand up quite infrequently so it wouldn’t really be fair to say I’ve done it for four years. I’ve done gigs ranging from crowd sizes of 10 to 200, and have had a great time performing
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Raoul Malhotra: You wouldn’t like it if you’re easily offended. My favourite topics tend to be doing racial stuff, and doing impressions of accents, but at the same time I like to broaden my material so there will be some current affairs related political banter too. I’m always a bit paranoid of being a one-trick pony, so I try to find a good balance between intelligent, thought provoking punchlines, and jokes about sex and shit.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Raoul Malhotra: Like a standard Asian I kind of have to say Russell Peters, but I’m also a big fan of Stewart Lee. I find he’s very underrated, and I like the way you can’t really predict what he’s going to say. I recently came across Aziz Ansari, and I really liked his ‘Raaaaaaaandy’ experiment; performing in a character is something I kind of do anyway, but I don’t really label it.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Raoul Malhotra: I first came about it when I wanted to enter a school talent show, and realised I ostensibly had no talent. I was always a bit of a class clown and I get very insecure when I’m not the centre of attention so it had its appeals. Luckily my first gig was a huge success (I have had a few unsuccessful since!), and was enough to appease my chronic megalomania.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Raoul Malhotra: A lot of it comes from jokes and banter I’ve had with friends, which is then reworked into a stand up comedy context. I personally find racialism and cultural differences very funny, so any material based on that kind of writes itself. When it comes to current affairs, obviously reading the news helps. I like looking at things from every possible angle to find a punchline people wouldn’t expect.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Raoul Malhotra: It’s a hobby. I’m a student at LSE, which is probably the most international university in the world. I don’t have a lot of material about being a student, but I do spend time talking about going to the London School of Ethnic Minorities, and generally being casually racist.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Raoul Malhotra: People who do amateur comedy tend to be really weird (in a good way) so its always fun getting to know the other comedians performing alongside you, what their styles etc. are like. They also take bigger risks and experiment more than mainstream guys, so you can get to see some unique ideas at play. The most frustrating is sometimes it can be hard to get gigs if you’re not putting a lot of effort into chasing them. Getting paid would be a nice plus. Also, comedy groupies are nowhere near as hot as the rap music ones.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Raoul Malhotra: One that finds all my jokes really funny and thinks I’m very charming and charismatic, and has Shakira and Beyonce in the front row.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Raoul Malhotra: Ummm not really to be honest. I once made the following joke:
“I’m really upset England lost the bid to host the World Cup. We lost to Qatar and Russia. Qatar, a small country with a lot of Muslims and Russia, a cold barren wasteland. What have they got that we haven’t got?”
To which a Russian girl in the crowd politely asked me to “fuck off”. It was the first time I had been heckled, so I just said “No, you fuck off. I have a microphone.” All her friends then told her to shut up.
I do like a bit of audience banter as long as the crowd is up for it, but as much I love taking the piss out of people, I hate making them sad.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Raoul Malhotra: Just do it, it’s a lot of fun. Even when there are awkward silences (see video). Test out your material on different groups of people, not just your friends who have the same sense of humour as you.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Mikey Bharj: I’ve been actively gigging for 6 months now, but to be honest I started the stand up comedy game when I was 11. So I spent my teen years performing the occasional comedy gig in proper adult comedy clubs. It was a great experience for me, because I got to meet my favorite comedians and ask them all the advice I wanted.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Mikey Bharj: As a kid I grew up watching a lot of television and films. So over the years I have acquired a variety of popular references and voices I like to bring on stage. So you could say, I make satirical observations about the world. Also oddly enough, I’m half Indian and half Jamaican. So depending on the occasion I will joke about that.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Mikey Bharj: I think there is something to learn and admire from all comedians. At the end of the day all comedians are walking the same path, but just wearing different shoes. Comedians such as George Carlin, Bill Hicks and Paul Mooney influence me to keep true. Comedians like Mitch Hedburg, Russell Peters inspire me to be myself even if I’m slightly unconventional. Comedians like Pablo Francisco, Godfrey and Aries Spears influence me to use the art of vocal mimicry and popular references. Lastly comedians such as Lee Evans and Billy Connelly inspire me to be more physical and to dramatize my comedy.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Mikey Bharj: When I was eleven I started taking part in adult comedy courses. And in high school I got voted “Funniest boy”. So it all just seemed to fit into place around me. Stand up comedy was just one of the things I was good at. So I made the most of it when somebody gave me the chance to perform.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Mikey Bharj: Some of it begins with a joke or conversation with a friend, and I’ll stop to write it down. Then I’ll take it home and think about it. A great comedian, (Ball’s of Steel’s, Toju), told me that all joke concepts need a FFS (foundation for funny) before you can start building material.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Mikey Bharj: More than full-time! I’m gigging as a standup comedian for life-time! I’ve started this incredible journey and I love it, so I’m more than willing to see it through to the end.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Mikey Bharj: When I was practicing amateur comedy it was frustrating finding the right comedic voice. Also there are a lot of dead end shows. Then later down the road I realized it’s all about paying your dues, mastering your craft and understanding the business of comedy.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favorite type of audience to perform to?
Mikey Bharj: I like performing to people who have never seen me before or don’t know what to expect. For me right now, it’s all about converting new audiences. Lively Urban crowds are fun, because they are used to rapid fire comedy. After a few shows performing in that environment, they will make you a stronger and faster thinking comedian. Alternative mainstream crowds are cool as well, because they will allow you set up your jokes and go off on strange tangents.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Mikey Bharj: I don’t really tend to get heckled these days. Probably because I don’t leave too many opportunities for it to happen. Although I have experienced it from some drunken oaf once (just search Mikey Bharj vs heckler). I like to give them three chances. Each of those chances, I’ll deflect what they said and spin it into something without attacking them. Then I’ll hear the audience trying to Shhhh the heckler. So then I know I have the license to rip and I will usually turn the crowd against the heckler (proper horror-show).
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Mikey Bharj: Being a comedian is a lifestyle. It’s a way of the thinking and viewing the world. So here are my commandments to help you.
Mikey Bharj’s: Ten stand-up comedy commandments.
1. Be thy Self.
2. Thou shall write thy own jokes.
3. Know thy audience.
4. Thou shall not fight thy audience.
5. Experiment.
6. Timing is……everything.
7. Master the silence.
8. Start strong, end strong.
9. It’s a personality game.
10. Quit whilst you’re ahead.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Patrick Magee: Since 2005. My friend Dan was running a room as part of the Sydney Comedy Festival and he asked me if I wanted to have a go. I’d come straight from doing a play and so I was caked in clown make-up and completely unrecognisable. Which was good, because my jokes were absolutely terrible; if memory serves, I had a long routine about a sentient cummerbund that married a tie. I’ve been doing it on and off since then, but I really want to concentrate on it now I’ve moved to London.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Patrick Magee: It’s mainly about things that annoy me. For a long time I wanted to write really killer one-liners and knockout gags, but they always seem to get more of a groan than a laugh. Now I concentrate on taking down those sections of society that really deserve it, like high-spirited children and Noel Faulkner.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Patrick Magee: I don’t know if there are that many that influence my comedy, to be honest. There are comedians I really enjoy, like Sean Lock and Stewart Lee, but I’m very conscious of trying to do my own thing. Probably the biggest influence on my comedy has been my mortal enemy Michael Hing, a man whose pants I once pulled off over his head.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Patrick Magee: Not at all! I wanted to be a serious, proper actor, because I knew that was how you got on to Doctor Who. At university, I auditioned for every single show, and at my university there was an annual Comedy Revue that I directed. Through that I met my incredibly successful and hardworking friend Dan Ilic, and it all led on from there.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Patrick Magee: Usually I wait until about twenty minutes before I have to go on stage, and then suddenly a bunch of great cock jokes will come flooding into my head. You have to be careful though, because an audience can get overwhelmed by cock jokes if there are too many. I like to sprinkle them sparingly throughout a set, the rest of which is made up of awkward silences and the sound of my crying.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Patrick Magee: I’d love to do it full time! Are there any positions going? My main job at the moment is being unemployed, which consists of me sitting around feeling an unearned sense of entitlement. That influences my material more than I’d like it to.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Patrick Magee: So far I’ve only done a few gigs here in London, so my experiences are very limited. What I really like about the amateur circuit is the amazing variety of acts, and the occasional nuggets of purest comedy gold that you’ll find in a rough set. It can be really exciting in a way that established comedians can’t. My major problem with the London amateur comedy circuit is that every single night I’ve been a part of has gone on for way too long – I’m all for egalitarianism, but twelve acts (most of which tend to overrun) is going a little far. I think a better model would be four “sign-up at the door” acts followed by five or six pre-booked, more established comedians. That way everyone can get home before midnight. Oh, and MCs here need to cut down on their interstitial material! There’s just too much unnecessary banter! This makes me sound really negative, but in my defence I am really negative.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Patrick Magee: University crowd. Without a doubt. The slightly more educated, left-leaning crowd with an appetite for weirder stuff. My first solo show was all about Aesop’s Fables, and my audience were predominantly university students; no one else would have got it, and it’s thanks to them that it was the success it was.
Patrick Magee: I’m not sure I’ve ever been heckled. I don’t think I’d enjoy it very much at all! Does silence count as a heckle?
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Patrick Magee: Work on your material so that it’s you telling the jokes. Don’t get up there and spout a bunch of gags that anyone could have written, you want people to remember you and your style of comedy. Be passionate about it. Keep going to open mic nights, even if you’re not performing. And for the love of God, if you’ve only got a five minute spot, DON’T GO FOR LONGER THAN FIVE MINUTES.
Patrick Magee will be gigging this Wednesday 21st December at The Alchmeist, Comedy Binwww.doublethreatmagee.wordpress.com
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Joz Norris: My first gig was about three years ago at the Queen Charlotte pub in Norwich, for Laugh Out Loud, the student comedy club at UEA. Over the next two years, I worked closely with LOL and ended up co-running it myself for a year or so. It was all very amateur, and we only gigged once a month to an audience of predominantly our friends and fellow students, although I did occasionally branch out into other comedy nights in Norwich. I always loved doing it though, so I eventually made the decision to move to London and try to start working on the London circuit, which is altogether a more serious and full-on thing in comparison. I’ve been gigging in London and trying to make a career of it for about eight months now.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Joz Norris: At the moment it’s going through a lot of changes – for a long time I was splitting my time between two projects, one of which was my standup writing, which sort of existed in a bubble of its own. The style of it was essentially vaguely naive and cynical ponderings or rantings about what confused me about the world, but in the rest of my time I was working on an online webseries I was writing and producing involving a character called Matt Fisher and his opinions on life after graduating – it was essentially a more unrestrained and un-self-aware version of myself, and provided me with opportunities to practise writing comedy in a more conversational, natural style. I think for a long time I was too scared to try out that sort of material onstage and stuck to more rigid routines in my standup, but more recently I’ve been bringing the Matt Fisher stuff to my standup sets and am really enjoying the responses I get to it – audiences seem to quite like disarmed by having somebody wander onstage and just chat to them and reveal awful things about himself rather than telling structured jokes. Certainly, I seem to feel more comfortable doing it than doing some of my other older jokes, so I think that’s the way it’s going now – I’m doing a one-man show as Matt Fisher in December, so trialling the material live is a good way to prepare for that.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Joz Norris: Growing up, I was a huge fan of Eddie Izzard and Billy Connolly – again, I think I really admire the naturalness and the conversational style they had, the fact that you didn’t need to make any effort to “get” the things they were saying, you just had to sit back and engage with them and their stories would come to life in front of you. I love Lee Evans as well, his material’s so brilliantly simple, but the incredible level of effort he puts into his performance makes it truly stellar. I’m also strongly influenced by a lot of TV comedy, as I try to balance my standup with other comedy writing/acting work – I love Peep Show, and I think that Michael Winterbottom’s “The Trip” starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon last year was one of the most brilliant pieces of comedy I’d ever seen – it takes really brilliant writing and performing to create something so utterly sad and honest that’s still side-splittingly hilarious.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Joz Norris: Not always – I always wanted to go into writing and acting, but I went through a rather weird phase in my teens where I think I took myself far too seriously and tried to write plays and novels that I hoped would win enormous critical acclaim! I wrote a trilogy of plays about my own subconscious eating its godson, which should serve as a general indicator of the sort of thing I was trying to do. A very good friend of mine eventually sat me down and explained to me (very nicely) that my efforts at being taken seriously didn’t quite succeed on the terms they wanted to succeed on, but that on the occasions I tried to be funny, it made people laugh. This took off further at uni, where a comedian who ran the comedy club read some sitcom scripts I wrote for the student radio station, and enjoyed them so much he suggested I should try stand-up. I never tried to be taken seriously again, and I’ve been working solidly on trying to work out what’s funny about myself ever since.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Joz Norris: I’m pretty un-methodical about it, to be honest. I’ve never sat down and tried self-consciously to write material, it’s always something that happens quite naturally, almost by accident, rather than something I try to force or drag out of myself, but that’s probably to do with the kind of comedy I prefer. Sometimes it will be a conversation with someone that unlocks something in my brain that spirals into a rant or a funny imagined scenario or fantasy or so on. When I’m writing my character stuff for the webseries, I tend to just think of all the things I think to myself but then stop myself from saying because of that voice we all have that says “Don’t say that, you’ll look an idiot.” Effectively, I just remove that voice and write it all down. I seem to do 99% of my “writing” while walking along at night – not sure what it is about that kind of environment that fires my imagination so much, but it’s always when my brain does most of its funny work.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Joz Norris: It’s not full-time, but comedy is certainly something I want to pursue as a career, and I’ve been working very hard to try and make progress in the field, which is now gradually beginning to take off. I’ve done a number of varied temp jobs to support myself in the meantime, but none of them have ever found their way into my routines, although I’ve had the odd job which easily could be turned into a funny anecdote – in May, I had to dress up as a banana and wander around Islington giving out free apples to promote a health club. I think I find it hard to think of very much genuinely funny stuff I could say about the workplace, so I tend to look elsewhere for comedy ideas – what I really need is a funny boss to throw me brilliant anecdotes!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Joz Norris: I think the answer to both is the people – nothing helps to nurture comedy better than the encouragement and support of other people, whether that comes in the form of constructive criticism, or just a fun conversation that sets your mind working on a new idea. Meeting other comics who are fun, supportive, and passionate about what they do, and who really enjoy working together with you to push comedy ideas in new directions, and to help encourage you to be as good as you can be, is enormously fulfilling. On the other hand, regrettably, there are a fair few comedians on the circuit (and I of course won’t mention any names – they’re in the minority, but they are out there) who think they are somehow above talking to or listening to other comedians. Even in the case of comedians who are further up the comedy ladder than you, that’s unforgivable. I think even stars at the top of their game always need to learn from, and listen to others to learn how they can be the best they can. I’m always keen to hear people’s suggestions on what I can do to be better, so when you meet a comedian who seems to think that they’re objectively better than you, and that there’s nothing they can possibly learn from the comics around them, and that the whole night is somehow beneath them, it can really sour a night. The worst thing to have as a comedian is a bad attitude. You have to be open and friendly and willing to learn in order to get anywhere at all.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Joz Norris: For me, the most important thing is that they want to be there. There are a few free comedy nights in pubs across London where you end up performing to a group of people who just came in for a drink and have ended up being subjected to a comedy night they weren’t expecting, and that’s always rather difficult. When people have deliberately gone out for a night of comedy, and possibly paid for it, then you get a room of people who want to laugh, and will naturally be more receptive. I also like audiences who are willing to do a little work themselves to get the humour, who don’t just want very simple jokes, but who are willing to take the ride into more unconventional material and reap the rewards of it.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Joz Norris: It’s not happened very much, to be honest. I think it’s not very common at the mostly amateur level I’m gigging at at the moment – I think it’s more associated with the more corporate, jobbing type of comedy night such as Jongleurs or similar. I’ve never really had a heckle that I really struggled with, or that really impressed me, but the best heckler I’ve ever seen was some really drunk old Irish rocker who looked half-starved and wandered into a comedy night halfway through the headliner’s set, loudly proclaiming “Don’t mind me, I work at the barber’s down the road.” The headliner made a few jokes about his absurdly confident entry, then moved onto other material, at which point the guy got up and wandered off, loudly shouting “I’ve got to go and feed my f***ing cat.” That guy had a hell of a lot of confidence, or just zero shame.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Joz Norris: I think it helped me a LOT to spend as long as I did gigging to audiences of friendly students that often had a lot of my friends in them – the trouble with the London circuit is that there are so many nights that, if you just launch yourself right into it, then a lot of your first gigs might be to quite difficult, unfriendly or small audiences. I know it’s sometimes misleading to gig to audiences of friends, as you get an exaggerated response, but it helped me to have a year or so of working out exactly how and why I was funny, without ever having to put up with a really horrible audience. I’d say, try to find the friendliest gigs possible or, if you have a friend who runs a gig, go there first. Do your best to have your first few gigs full of friendly faces, because doing your first gig to a room full of judgemental strangers could put you off for life. You have to know you really want to do it, because it is hard and it can be occasionally dispiriting. But you need to know in your heart of hearts that that surge of joy and adrenaline you get when you have a room full of people laughing at what you have to say is more than worth the hard work it takes!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Samantha Hannah: 6 months
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Samantha Hannah: Cheery and upbeat with dark twisted expected undertones. Close to the edge without over stepping the mark. Tongue in cheek. Daft and silly yet smart and knowing.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Samantha Hannah: Most of my influence comes from sketch performers – Skinny Bitch Jesus Meeting (Two women double act from New York), Adam Riches, Delete the Banjax. Then I am also heavily influenced by TV sketch shows like Big Train, Monty Python, Chewing the Fat. I think the reason I like sketch so much as you can take something that is really quite big bright and bold and then add in darker elements. You can often be much more heightened than in straight stand up. This is something I try and incorporate as much as possible – without turning it into a character act.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Samantha Hannah: I always want to be an actress. From about 3. Although it was always comedy roles I gravitated towards. I usually ended up getting cast in the comedic roles too. I didn’t really know that it was a career choice growing up – but I always had a massive interest in it. When I was 11 and just started high school I started writing episodes of sitcoms and staging them on in front of the rest of my year at school. This could have gone horribly wrong but I started to realise early on that if you made something funny – people would accept it a lot easier. Then when I went to youth theatre I would often write and perform in my own sketches and again it was all comedy.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Samantha Hannah: I have two ways of doing it and it depends if I am writing a ‘routine’ or if I am writing a ‘gag’. For routines – I write down ideas as I go along – either on my phone or in one of my many notebooks. Then I sit down and start writing out the idea roughly line by line to turn it into dialogue. I try and make every second line a punchline or joke as much as possible but I try not to over think it. Then I leave it for a while. I try and come back to it after I have forgotten what I have written and I read over it to see which bits make me laugh or surprise me. Then I edit it down. After that I just keep re-writing and scaling it down until I have it so I’m not wasting any words. When I am happy with it I will learn it and try it on stage. After that I will usually rewrite it based on how it goes. Its an ongoing process and everything constantly shifts and evolves. With gags I am much more formulaic – I go through the dictionary and try and find a sentence for each word. Then I put that sentence through a formula. I work out a list of assumptions that could be made based on the sentence and then work out what the opposite would be… I then pick one to use as my punch line and tidy the joke around that. The gags rarely see the light of day – I may put them in my set in between or to introduce a routine – but mainly it’s an exercise to get my brain thinking logically yet illogically. I have so many rubbish ‘joke jokes’ stacking up. I’d love to sell them to a Christmas cracker company or something. ‘
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Samantha Hannah: I’ve just moved back to Scotland and I am currently spending my time between here and London where I gig as much as possible. Its not a hobby as such as I am trying to make this my career so I see it more as an apprenticeship which I am putting myself through. I do have a job – I work in promo – but its just weekends. My new job hasn’t crept into my material yet but I used to work in Hamleys – the huge toyshop on Regent Street. I worked in toys for years and I was massively influenced by my experiences there. So much so I have written a whole sitcom around it. It’s sitting at the BBC writers room at the moment. Not sure if it will get anywhere with them but I am planning to send it to independent productions companies too if it doesn’t get anywhere there.
Comedy Blogedy: Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Samantha Hannah: Best part is the people. I have met so many amazing, like-minded people. They are so supportive and I feel lucky to have made so many dear friends since starting. I also love the fact you can be creative and you have complete control over how you want your act to be. The most frustrating part (now I’m in Scotland especially) is getting to and from gigs. They can finish late and you often get back home in the early hours of the morning. When you couple that with work it can be exhausting. Also not having much audience can be disheartening too.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Samantha Hannah: I like a young comedy literate crowd… but anyone who is up for a good night of comedy really. I like to be surprised. Sometimes you second guess the audience and think they won’t like you and they totally prove you wrong. It reminds you that you should never ever secondguess an audience. That said I’m not too keen on performing in front of the easily offended. I don’t want to offend anyone with my stand up – I want people to have a good time and enjoy it – even if some of it has a slight wicked streak.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Samantha Hannah: I experienced one of the weirdest gigs ever when not only was I heckled – every other act on the bill was too. It ended up in a big physical fight against the heckler and another audience member. Then they were chucked out. They were so drunk they couldn’t be silenced by anyone – no matter how good the comedian’s put downs were. In hindsight I think he should have been thrown out much sooner on as it really disrupted the show. The heckle I got was ‘I can’t understand her! Where’s she from’, which was irritating as I talk about where I am from in my set. He heckled right over my last punchline too – so nobody heard my finish. My time was up by then anyway and I didn’t know what he had said until I watched a video back so I didn’t respond in the best way. I just kind of said ‘Well that would have been funnier if you could have heard it!’ and then I slinked off the stage. It was my 4th gig I think so I was very unequipped to deal with it. I hope I would be better with heckling now.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Samantha Hannah: Read a few books on the subject, go to a few open mic nights to see what you are to expect when you first start out but also make sure you go and see some pros at work so you can see what you should be aiming for. Also join the comedy collective on Facebook – it’s a group I set up with my friend Chris to share info on the open mic scene. Its getting bigger all the time and it is a great place to ask any comedy questions you may have.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Nelson de Gouveia: I believe about 3 years now, just as the recession hit. Bad timing to quit my previous job and follow my dreams when everyone else was losing theirs (both job and dreams, I don’t discriminate in my explanation)
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Nelson de Gouveia: Cheeky but naughty storytelling about myself. I’m a mutlinational foreigner with no real connection to the three countries I’m associated with, and I explain it to the audience, the same way I’d try to describe it to a young lady at a bar…with LOTS of practice
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Nelson de Gouveia: The comedians that influence me are ones that aren’t comedians…everyday people, awesome folk I have conversations with. Watching top comedians works too, I would not have learnt many tricks of the trade to handle comedy as a profession, but my comedy relies on a chance encounter with a cashier at Costcutter or a newly-made friend, fresh from the oven, at a house-party.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Nelson de Gouveia: No way, I was too scared to perform in front of people, but I had a life-changing experience that unlocked my need to be creative, and a good friend happened to be running a comedy night which I then collected my balls to ask for a spot, died horribly, but there you go.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Nelson de Gouveia: I write a line of the idea on a notepad, then leave and return to it later. Eventually I’ll come back to it and it expands with clever lines and anecdotes I’ve thought of and add to it. Then the story is shaped into something acceptable I can say (it’s important not only to say it, but to have faith in it too). And it only ends when I’ve tried it onstage, whereupon I’d leave it as is or return to edit it further. <insert witty line to impress readers here>
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Nelson de Gouveia: Currently I’m a full-time, unpaid, jobbing comedian but always looking for work in the videogames industry that I’ve been in since the early 2000s, but the work normally doesn’t influence my comedy…I see it as work and downtime, while comedy is both a separate profession and a passion.
Comedy Blogedy:What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Nelson de Gouveia I fear I’d sound egotistical if I said I loved all of it, but I appreciate both the good and the bad. You learn to roll with the punches of mixing with people you wouldn’t necessarily get along with, promoters that exploit you, strong jokes that fall flat in front of frustrated audiences, etcetera.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Nelson de Gouveia: Any and all audiences, even the ones that scare me. I want to learn about the bad ones as well as the good, but doesn’t mean I’m going in with blinkers expecting to like them.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Nelson de Gouveia: Yes, been heckled many times and it comes with the territory. It’s again a two-way street…I can enjoy heckling when I can put them down and make it part of my act, but won’t if I fail, so I only invite heckling I never initiate, puts me on the spot to learn how to open up.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Nelson de Gouveia: I dunno, I’m searching for my own answers as the only competition I have in this business is myself and how far I want to go, so can’t really give sound advice. If anyone does want to start doing stand-up comedy though, stop reading this and go do it. Go on now, stop reading, really, you won’t make progress reading pretty words on a monitor or smartphone, will ya? What, you still read up to here, are you crazy? Please, don’t let me spoil all the rejection and disappointment you can encounter by performing comedy, as those are the tests to prove to yourself that this is something you can or want to do. Wow, amazing, I’ve kept your attention for this long. Ok, there was a young man from Ealing, who had a rather peculiar feeling, sat on a stick, the knob was too thick and the result I won’t be revealing. See? I just wrote that, just for you, for being the brave soul to stick it out with me in this lengthy paragraph, and you were rewarded, yay. I hope you appreciate it, because if you continue reading this, it’s only YOUR time you’re wasting, not mine. I mean, I’m at home, my friend’s playing LA Noire on my Xbox, I’ve got time to spare to continue writing this. Oh, still there?Cool…la-dee-da-dee-da-dee-da, the sheep jump over the fence, dum-de-dum-dum. Ok, I’ll stop.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Liam Newman: Fourteen gigs. The first was in November in 2010 but then I decided to concentrate on University in hope of getting a first class degree. On results day it became clear that I needn’t have bothered. I restarted in June and managed to last the full five minutes at The Comedy Store’s King Gong that month at my first attempt. That has been my highlight to date although I’ve just recently made it through to the ¼ final stage of Leicester Square’s New Act competition too.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Liam Newman: Five out of ten. I’m definitely a believer of the saying ‘write what you know about’, which unfortunately in my case results in 5 minutes of self deprecation and embarrassment. Quite often the feedline is a lack of luck with the ladies. The main reason for doing stand up was that a mate once told me “you can laugh a woman into bed”. On reflection that little philosophy seems to be somewhat inaccurate. Or perhaps I just need to up my game.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Liam Newman: On the open-mic scene there will always be more experienced comics eager and willing to offer their advice whether it be a gag or a tip on delivery, so it is actually their input that has more of an influence than any high profiled acts. Having said that, Ricky Gervais was the reason I got into comedy. At 12 years old I fell in love with The Office and not long after his ‘Animals’ DVD was being watched at least twice a week. I’ve since become mildly addicted to Stewart Lee and Russell Brand, although my act is nothing like either of theirs. Seemingly shy, self deprecating comics like Mark Watson and Jon Richardson are definitely acts I look to for inspiration whilst the achievements of both Jack Whitehall and Daniel Sloss at such a young age make them a pair that anybody in my position should study religiously.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Liam Newman: Ever since the first time I watched The Office I wanted to be involved with comedy but always thought it would be as a writer rather than a performer. I studied TV Production at University but from that first gig onwards all of that has taken a back seat despite my best efforts during the final term. The transformation in my ambitions during such a short space of time is simply mind blowing. I’ve gone from wanting to be the that guy locked in a room tapping away (at a keyboard, and nothing else) to craving the spotlight and dreaming of fame and an 8/10 girlfriend.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Liam Newman: To start with I had 22 years (shocking I know) of experience to call upon so selecting five minutes was a relatively easy task. Now, when it comes to new material I quite regularly try to shoehorn a new ‘story’ into conversation. My friends have recently cottoned on to this and will advise me never to tell it on stage, regardless of it’s comedic merits. One thing to gain from performing is that it opens your eyes. I now look at the world differently and am constantly on the search for material whether it be through first hand experience or from people watching/stalking. It also means that moments that previously would’ve been considered low points are now a cause for celebration. Twice now, dates have gone extremely bad and my only thought has been “that’s a piece of material sorted”.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Liam Newman: At this stage it is definitely a hobby, but one which I am extremely passionate about. As the editor of a new Mens Lifestyle magazine, the last couple of months have actually been very enjoyable and I’ve been fortunate enough to meet a number of famous faces from the comedy circuit so if nothing else I am starting to understand the industry a lot better and learning a few rules along the way, the first two of which are to not talk about it. Bugger.
My aim is to do Edinburgh next summer and hopefully turn into a full time thing thereafter.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Liam Newman: The only frustrating part of the amateur comedy circuit is that sometimes, especially when you are one of the final acts, you will be left performing to a room comprised exclusively by other acts. This makes it difficult to gauge a real reception of your material, however it is an essential part of the learning curve. Living outside of London means the late finishes can be a pain too.
As for the enjoyment factor, it is huge. It must be, or performers like myself simply wouldn’t do it. Comedy becomes an addiction and the longer you go without it, the more you think about your next hit.
Apart from the five minutes of fame, I love being able to open a conversation with “I’m a comedian” as it instantly makes you more exciting. As an opening gambit it does usually summon the predictable “tell us a joke” which can either go one way or the other, but nonetheless it’s a great thing to tell people and if they ask to see a video then suddenly all eyes are on you. It’s effing awesome.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Liam Newman: A male dominated audience tend to take better to my material than a female one. My act is clearly born from a male perspective and whilst the (choosing my words carefully) slightly older women seem to warm to me I often find that my material does not suit the younger female audience. I think that comes mainly from my lack of confidence and familiarity of being the focal figure of unified female attention. The only thing more intimidating than speaking to a group of young girls, particularly if they are attractive, is doing it on a one to one basis. However, with the young men I think there is more to relate to and they can either remember a time when something similar has happened to them; or thank their lucky stars that it hasn’t.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Liam Newman: I think when your act revolves around making fun of yourself it becomes difficult for any potential hecklers. If they make a joke or crude remark about you it doesn’t matter, the audience were already laughing (hopefully) at your expense. The only time there has been mass opportunity to heckle me was during my first ten minute set last month. I was ill prepared and nervous about performing in my home town of Southend for the first time. I died a worse death than Jesus, in the sense that mine actually happened. Fortunately the crowd were very lenient and just left me to it. As for my more comfortable five minute set, the first audible heckle I received (I’m almost certain there have been the odd slurred mumblings of a drunkard) was at the King Gong event and to be fair it did knock me back. Luckily I was able to recover and that same gig provided my favourite moment so far: at the thought of me in my boxers a woman physically gagged, that made my week!
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
To borrow a couple of well known slogans – “Just do it”, What’s the worst that can happen?”. That feeling during, and for about a day following, a good gig cannot be matched anywhere and even when you have an off night at least you get to watch a group of other talented guys and girls perform for free and many of them will probably become friends (on Facebook if nothing else). It’s got to beat staying in and watching repeats of Peak Practice.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
George Cassavetti: I’ve being gigging for 6 months now and have clocked up around 40 gigs (mostly in London). This has meant gigging around twice a week which although sounds a lot is probably not enough.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
George Cassavetti: My comedy has changed quite a lot over the 6 month period. My current 5 minute set is a mixture of the surreal with a slight socio-political element to it. It’s basically about the people that live in my belly button and how it is them that are the cause of the large amount of belly button fluff that I seem to produce. This is a change from the one-liners I started out doing, but I do still love to try and weave in a pun or two if I can.
George Cassavetti: It has been a dream of mine ever since I was little (I’m 29 now) but I never thought that it would be something I would do. I didn’t know how anyone would go about becoming a comedian and lacked the confidence to do it myself. But being 29 and in a pretty mundane job I decided I might as well take the plunge and the rest is history (although a relatively short one)
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
George Cassavetti: When I write puns, I go about thinking of what word or phrase I want to try and play on and go from there. I wrote a joke based on the phrase ‘fishing for compliments’ just because I liked the challenge. In the end I wrote:
‘I went to the river and all I caught was an ugly, a fat and a stupid; which wasn’t great, I was fishing for compliments’
With my more recent material it has more been about taking a concept and trying to think of a different way of looking at it i.e why do we get belly button fluff?
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
George Cassaetti: You meet a lot of very friendly, like minded people on the amateur comedy circuit which is great but the most enjoyable part is just performing. It really does become a bit of an addiction and if a gig goes well, you just want to get back on stage and do it again straight away. In terms of what frustrates me, there isn’t a lot. Having a full time job and not finding enough time to write and perform can be frustrating but that is my own personal gripe at myself.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
George Cassavetti: Anyone who is willing to listen and laugh really. I don’t have a preference when it comes to audience but it is nice to have a full audience of punters rather than comics. There are times on the open mic circuit where you will just be performing to a room full of the other comics who are on the bill which doesn’t always mean you are going to get a ‘real’ reaction to your material but it’s still fun to perform.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
George Cassavetti: I’ve had a couple of heckles. The worst was probably when I did a gig in Norwich to a pub of locals who weren’t there for the comedy, the comedy was more forced upon them. I had a guy pretty much say that my material made him want to kill himself because it was so bad. I reacted by just stopping my set half way through and telling some jokes. That turned the audience around and was a good learning experience. The only other heckler I’ve had was a very friendly but drunk guy who just wanted to be part of it. I made him part of it by taking the piss out of him in a friendly way and he enjoyed it and so did the audience.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Spencer Owen: I did my first gig in 2009 but following that I didn’t do as many as I probably should have. I think I only did 10 gigs in my first year. Then in early 2010 I stepped it up a little bit and had some decent results in competitions but followed this with a stand up sabbatical as I was finishing university and then got momentarily side-tracked by the world of work. However I soon realised that world wasn’t for me and since I left my job I’ve been gigging as much as possible.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Spencer Owen: I’d say I’m a sort of story-teller/theory-sharing kind of chap. I think my stuff is quite upbeat, on occasions it’s been labelled as surreal. I try to talk about things that I like talking about and I think that when I do, the audience can see that and enjoy it all the more. I like sharing my slightly abnormal approach to life.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Spencer Owen: It’s hard to say who has influenced me because I think everything influences you; from your favourite comics to your family and friends. Some of my favourite comics are Steve Coogan, Adam Sandler and Eddie Izzard.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Spencer Owen: I’ve never really known what I’ve wanted to do. I’ve always been a bit of an attention seeker, and trying to make people laugh is probably my favourite thing to do, so it made sense to try putting them together. In terms of jobs, I’ve tried finding out what I don’t want to do and then slowly ticking things off the list. Comedy is one of the few things left now so I hope it works!
Comedy Blogedy:How do you go about writing your material?
Spencer Owen: I find a lot of things come to me in weird places so I make sure I’ve always got ways of writing stuff down so I don’t forget. I use whiteboards, notepads, my phone, anything that I can to make sure I don’t forget things that at the time I think could be comedy gold but often end up being comedy copper at best. Before I did my first gig I had a Word document that was something like 30,000 words long and then I slowly purged that for material. I’d say a good 27,000 words of it was absolute nonsense and this opinion was unfortunately shared by my dissertation tutor who failed to see the funny side.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Spencer Owen: Right now as I’ve recently left the world of full-time employment, I’m gigging as much as possible and doing obb-jobs to keep the wolves from the door. I’m still living at home with my parents which certainly helps take a bit of the pressure off and I’ve been lucky enough to do a bit of compering work for Cadbury this summer at festivals up and down the country which has helped support me going all over the place for gigs.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Spencer Owen: I love how many other acts you can meet over such a small period of time on the circuit. It’s great watching other people do their stuff and then seeing them perform on different occasions and seeing what sort of reactions they get.
I used to get really annoyed at poor turn-outs for open mic gigs, especially when I was a student and spending the little money I had on train tickets to London, only to get to a gig and be performing to acts only. But I’ve since wised up a bit and realised it’s all about practice and earning the right to do the better gigs. Once you’ve got a few more bigger gigs under your belt, you see the worth in the smaller ones for trying stuff out and experimenting so right now I’m enjoying performing on all scales.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Spencer Owen: I think my stuff goes down especially well with younger audiences such as students. I had a great gig at Sheffield University earlier this month and I’d love to do more student gigs in the future.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Spencer Owen: To be honest I’ve been quite lucky on the heckling front. The only one I can remember was at my first ever gig. It was above a strip club in Newbury and this old drunk woman shouted, “You remind me of my son”, which I wasn’t sure whether to take as a compliment or not. Although judging by the state of her, he wasn’t going places any time soon.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Spencer Owen: I’d say it’s really important to be comfortable on stage and be yourself. Don’t try and do what you THINK people will find funny, do what YOU find funny. When I first started I found myself writing a lot of one-liners as they seemed to come to me easier than other stuff, but I soon found that I wasn’t enjoying performing them very much (even when they went down really well) as it wasn’t me. I was painting a picture of someone that was completely alien to my own personality and whilst that may work for some people, it left me feeling a little underwhelmed. However, since I’ve been doing stuff that I really believe in and relate to, I enjoy it a million times more.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Luke Regan: I’ve been “on the circuit” since June last year when I did a short course in stand-up. I gave it a real good go for a few months and gigged when I could, but came close to giving up and didn’t gig for 5 months whilst I was finishing my apprenticeship; I did however continue to help run a gig and stayed in contact with the folks I’d met on the scene. I got back into the comedy seriously in April and havn’t looked back since.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Luke Regan: I’ve always been naturally cheeky, and I’m a very tongue in cheek, Jack-the-Lad sort of comedian. I’m more of a story teller than pure one liners, with the content being about the things I’ve come across growing up. I tend to talk a lot about growing up, trying to understand women, lads holidays and what my family think of me, doing this I’m trying to get across to the audience to know who I am, which I suppose is my theme.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Luke Regan: I’ve been told that I’m personally a real life version of Smithy from Gavin & Stacey, so I’ve tried to keep lots of myself and bits of that character in the material and the way I act on stage. I’ve always loved comedy since an early age when a very dodgily named Brad Smitt, came into my primary school, since then I’ve always loved to watch and listen to Comedy. Growing up as a Black Country boy, I loved to listen to Lenny Henry and Frank Skinner, while my biggest influence in my teens was Jasper Carrott, who has been clogging up my iPod and getting me funny looks on public transport for years. In more recent times, I’ve been heavily influenced by Jason Manford, Reginald D Hunter and John Bishop, who was the inspiration for me to start stand-up, after he ripped me to shreads on the front row of one of his gigs. My two favourite “under the radar comedians” at the moment are Tom Stade and Imran Yusuf.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Luke Regan: To be honest, in terms of stand up, no. I always loved playing the comedic parts in school musicals and I did that pretty well, and that was my aspiration until I was 18 when the opportunities evaporated and I decided not to apply for drama school as it was about the comedy for me, not the serious acting. However, when I was 16, I started writing material but it never went anywhere. I decided to give Comedy a go after seeing John Bishop perform a couple of years ago, and when I heard about Rhod Gilbert getting into comedy after doing a comedy course, my heart was set on it.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Luke Regan: I tend to send myself a lot of texts with ideas that come to me. I get a lot of my idea’s for stuff that would be funny from Facebook status’ and “likes” which I tend to find relevant, to stuff that’s happened to me, which then influences my stories which are pretty much always based on real experiences I’ve had.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Luke Regan: I’d love too, and as soon as it becomes viable I will, however there’s so many great acts out there its all about waiting for the right opportunities and experiences to come along, its definitley in the plans for the future though. So yeah, its a hobby at the minute, in the same way as someone plays Sunday League in the hope of playing in the premier league, I’m putting down the work for what will hopefully be a career in the long run.
I don’t really find that my main job influences me too much, as work isn’t really what my set is about, however as I do different gigs and do longer shows, its certainly something I have material lined up for, its all about making it work with your act.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Luke Regan: There’s no feeling like making a room full of people laugh with something that you’ve come up with, it’s amazing and has the ability to make yourself feel pretty special. The fact that you are making someone smile is one of the most rewarding things that you can get from all those car journeys and hours spent worrying about your material. The most frustrating part of has to be when you think you’ve written an absolutely pearl of a joke for it not to get the reaction you want, thankfully this has only happened once, but that was enough for me.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Luke Regan: I just love an audience, there all there to be won over and I just want to make people laugh, I’m not overly bothered who. I did however go through a phase where I had a lot of tongue in cheek jokes about girls and I was thus very nervous about performing to crowds where there was lost of women. However if you pushed me for an answer, id say you cant beat a pub crowd, who just wanna be made to laugh, not heckle everyone.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Luke Regan: I’ve only been heckled once and I actually enjoyed it, in parts of my act I actively seek audience participation. It was along the lines of “yeah but Lenny Henry’s funny” to which I replied and ” he gets paid a hell of lot more than me too” or something along those lines, he laughed and we got on with it, everything in comedy is a chance for another laugh and you’ve got to take the chance to get them, its also not going to do you any favours with the crowd if you let one of their own mug you off.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Luke Regan: Give it a go, you’ll regret not if you want to and don’t. Try and find a course, see if its for you, you’ll find out if you like performing and you’ll learn a few things that will help you along, you don’t want to find out 2 minutes into your first gig that its not for you.
Upcoming Gigs
8th October Mad Cow Comedy
9th October Hit the Spot at the Bristol Pear, Birmingham
13th October Hillarious @ the Lamp Tavern, Dudley
8th December – New Act Showcase, Hillarious Comedy, Kenilworth Rugby Club
Luke Regan Comedy on Facebook
Twitter: @ReganComedy
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
David Hannant: 18 months
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
David Hannant: Political, satirical, observational and mostly unpaid.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
David Hannant: Andy Zaltzman, Alun Cochrane, Stewart Lee. I try to ignore their output so I don’t end up doing bad impersonations of them.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
David Hannant: I hadn’t seriously considered it until my late twenties. In my mind being a comedian was like being a professional cricketer or a judge at a cheese-making competition – an undoubtedly attractive but wholly unachievable career choice.
Along with a fear of technology and a passionate belief in ‘flat-earth’ theory, my rural upbringing and small town mentality meant I never considered that it was even an option to be a comedian. I may yet be proved right.
I’d always relished public speaking and took massive satisfaction from making people laugh. Eventually, I started going out of my way to try to get laughs during public speaking – be it wedding speeches, work events or providing evidence in court.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
David Hannant: My commute to work involved spending 90 minutes per day on a quiet train. I take a laptop and try to write a few hundred funny words every day. Publishing these words in blog form adds some healthy pressure to make it entertaining and regular.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
David Hannant: I gig as often as possible, usually 3/4 times a week. I’m part time as I have a day job. My main job has no influence on my material and I’m happy with that.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
David Hannant: Most enjoyable part is doing nice gigs with good friends.
Most frustrating part is doing bad gigs with good friends.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
David Hannant: Late middle-aged people and young couples with iPhones.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
David Hannant: My first heckle didn’t come until about 70-80 gigs in. I was talking about North Korea and a very drunk man started shouting that I didn’t understand the situation and that Kim Jong-il is misunderstood. Fortunately, I’d read and written a lot about North Korea around that time, so I was in a good position to rebut his claims with some examples of just how cheeky a monkey Mr Jong-il is.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
David Hannant: 1. Be humble. 2. If you’ve a free evening then you should be doing a gig. 3. Write. Write a lot. Write every day.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?How would you describe your comedy?
Matthew Giffen: I’ve been properly gigging for a little over a year now. I’d say that my style is fast and frivolous. I talk about what it’s like being a Colombian Irish man who grew up in Windsor and all things that come with that rare blend.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Matthew Giffen: Ooh there’s so many!! Richard Pryor, Eddie Murphy, Frankie Boyle, Eddie Izzard, Rich Hall. I like telling stories and I think these comedians helped me realise that it doesn’t matter where you’re from you can draw on your own experiences and find the comedy in it. I really like silly physical comedy as well, stuff that makes you feel like you’ve just seen a performance. People like Steve Martin and Lee Evans crack me up. I just saw Milton Jones in Edinburgh who was a master of ridiculous one liners.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Matthew Giffen: Not really. My girlfriend bought me a stand up comedy course for my birthday a couple of years ago and it took a while for me to pluck up the courage to go and do it. I’ve always loved entertaining people in the pub, on stage and in courtrooms so a lot of friends encouraged me to do it and I haven’t really looked back. I really appreciate the comedians that have a bit of a life story behind them, a whole other past that they can reveal real insight into. It’s nice to hear funny things about worlds you would never have had any dealings with otherwise.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Matthew Giffen: I carry a notebook with me all the time and am constantly writing things in it. There’s no real set formula, it’s whatever works for you. When I get a spare moment I write up these notes and nuggets of ideas into more thought out jokes. If I’ve got a topic I want to talk about I usually find if I just sit down and start writing something usually comes out!! To be honest the time that I come up with jokes is usually when I’m just about to go to sleep and something pops into your head. It’s a bugger as that will mean that I’ll be up for the rest of the night writing stuff.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Matthew Giffen: Definitely not ready to quit the day job just yet, if you’re going into comedy for the money forget it. You’ll be more out of pocket than ever, paying for travel etc. It’s definitely more of a pastime at the moment with a view to taking it global! In my real job I’m a senior creative for a TV agency in Soho so there’s definitely lots of crossover in terms of writing and thinking up ideas quickly. I haven’t actually used my work as material yet but now you mention it I think you may be on to something, wanky TV people = comedy gold.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Matthew Giffen: The most enjoyable is when you’ve got the audience hanging on your every word and you feel like you’ve got complete control of the room. There is no feeling in the world better than making a room full of people you’ve never met laugh. The most frustrating parts are sometimes performing to no audience and the only other people in front of you are other comedians who have heard your set a million times. It’s good practice but you don’t really learn anything from those nights.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Matthew Giffen: One that laughs. Any age, size, colour or creed I couldn’t care less as long as I can get them laughing.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Matthew Giffen: I don’t really allow any room for heckles and so haven’t had to deal with that. Actually the only heckle I’ve had was from my dad when I was telling a story about him being anally fingered by airport security. He didn’t want me to stop he was just correcting the order in which things happened.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Matthew Giffen: Don’t, there’s too much competition. I’d say that you can’t rush it. Put in loads of hours, gig like it was going out fashion and don’t worry if you fuck up, we all do. Just get back out there and do it again and again and again until you’re amazing. Oh but if all your close friends tell you you’re rubbish you should probably give up.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
David Jesudason: Coming up to two years.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
David Jesudason: With difficulty. I do a lot of stuff about growing up in a mainly white area – the British Asian experience of a small town that sort of thing. But when I compere I do a lot of topical gags which has recently expanded into a PowerPoint presentation of headlines, funny stories etc – which sounds dull but it’s quite a quick-fire format. I’ve compered every week for nearly 18 months so I also do a lot of interaction. It always surprises me when comics say they’re scared of going “off script”. It is a live show after all and people want something different to watching a stand-up on TV.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
David Jesudason: Loads! And ones with differing styles and intentions. I loved Bill Hicks and I love Lee Evans. Now if some act could merge the two styles together… Joking aside it’s really important to be influenced by things outside of stand-up. I’m not really that interested when other acts talk about other acts. I’d rather they talked about music or films!
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
David Jesudason: No, I’ve got a writing background and have been a journalist through my 20s. Got profoundly frustrated by the lack of creativity and opportunities to write about subjects that mattered to me. I feel that you get total freedom with stand-up to discuss the things you care about – as long as you can supply a laugh along the way. In fact the more I care about something, the more the material becomes heartfelt and the more likely it is to interest the audience. There’s no way I’d ever turn my back on comedy now. I wish I knew this 10-15 years ago!
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
David Jesudason: I write notes on my iPhone when ideas come into my head. I also have a feeling about when a joke can become a routine. I then switch off Twitter, Facebook etc. and start writing. This is just the beginning though – Paul Abbott (Shameless creator) said writing is rewriting and he’s right. You might nail it the first time but often you have to go back over it over and over again. You can always make material funnier by rewriting it, particularly the set-ups.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
David Jesudason: It’s a hobby for most let’s be honest. I’ll love it to be able to pay but there’s a lot of hard work ahead to get to that point. I suppose I get a few gags from my job but I imagine I’d get a few jokes being a full-time comic sitting around watching Jeremy Kyle in the day. I’m luckier than most though as I have a flexible job, an understanding girlfriend and the ability to function on a small amount of sleep so I can do quite a few gigs in a week as well as working. It’s all about sacrifices isn’t it? zzzzzzzzz Sorry I dropped off there. And it appears I’ve just been sacked.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
David Jesudason: There’s so much to enjoy. At a lot of nights, I know most of the acts so there’s a good deal of camaraderie. There’s the performance itself, which gives you so much confidence to use in other parts of your life. Before I did stand-up I hated discussing my ethnicity with strangers (shopkeepers are always curious) and now I don’t mind it at all. A woman in a hospital recently asked me how I describe my ethnicity. I replied: “Often, mainly on stage and in painstaking detail.” Still waiting for that heart operation. The worst aspect is when an audience switch off and aren’t really listening. I used to take this to heart too much but often you have no control over such things.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
David Jesudason: It sounds like promotion by my night in London Bridge (Hungry Miller’s Laughbag: laughbag.net) is my yardstick of a great audience. It’s a Monday so they’ve really made an effort to come out and want to be entertained. Give me a Monday night gig every day of the week.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
David Jesudason: It’s a bit of a misconception that you get heckled a lot. People think this will happen when you start out but you’re performing mainly at “new act” gigs. Most of these type of nights have a very supportive atmosphere. There’s two types of heckling. Incredibly drunk people who shout random nonsense out and people who are (attempting) to help things along. The former should be thrown out of pubs, placed on a comedy club ASBO and shamed on national TV. The latter can turn your set into something memorable. Mark Steel said something along the lines of “the thing people remember from a comedy night isn’t the best jokes but the time someone shouted out something funny and the stand-up reacted to it”. As an act you also have far more time than you think to react to a heckle. You can repeat what the heckler said using it as a set-up or I once saw Trevor Lock get applause by just simply saying “Ladies and Gentleman we have a heckler”. He then followed it up with 10 minutes of the best comedy I’ve ever seen, riffing on whatever the guy said next. Trevor is superhuman though. A simply amazing act. He’s also one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. I guess the other kind of heckling you get is when it’s encouraged in say a gong show. I beat the gong in the Comedy Store, Manchester – but afterwards I played back the tape and realised most of what they were saying was racist abuse. That’s not heckling. That’s something you should get arrested for. Imagine if I rocked up at work and my boss called me a “Paki”?
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
David Jesudason: Enjoy yourself, don’t take it too seriously and be nice to the other acts (even though you secretly hate them!). Nothing replaces stagetime. Also nothing replaces writing time.
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Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Al Cowie: Two and a half years. (400+ gigs)
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Al Cowie: My compering is friendly, my sets are gag heavy with some storytelling, I am trying to be more storytelling and ridiculous.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Al Cowie: Those that I admire for their work ethic – the harder you work at this game, the better you get, and I am firmly of the belief that this skill has a 10-year apprenticeship. The only shortcut is to put more hours effort into your comedy each day and less hours everything else. There are several incredibly hard working comics, obviously Jimmy Carr, but also Imran Yusuf, Andi Osho and many others.
I’m less influenced by individual comics, but I see things that other comics do that makes me think about how I can look at subjects myself, for instance I saw Carey Marx doing an incredible piece with logic that was purely beautiful, and Joel Dommett turns ordinary stories into great, laugh out loud comedy sets. I would love to be able to tell a story as well as Billy Connelly for instance.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Al Cowie: Yes, but until I did a comedy course (Logan Murray’s) I had absolutely no idea how one went about doing so.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Al Cowie: Necessity is the mother of invention. Either I have to write something new for a particular type of gig, or I write a speech for Toastmasters (a club I go to that focuses on developing supreme public speaking skills) and then go through it trying to add funny comments and changing the content round. I also try a number of other tricks, such as those described in Sally Holloway’s book “The serious Guide to Joke Writing” to recording myself compering, and mining my ad libs for the material I come up with on the hoof.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Al Cowie: Full time. I have a great deal of weird and wonderful life experiences that I draw on, from breaking my neck to naked wrestling with a Para. I have not tended to write about the jobs I have done, but I am sure that I will one day.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Al Cowie: It is very social, you get to see your friends fairly regularly and people are generally supportive and nice. As with anything, there are dicks, but compared to any other walk of life, I have found generally there are fewer of those. That is not to say that comedians are normal, I think most comedians I know are some of the oddest people on the planet, it’s just that I like them!
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Al Cowie: One that has paid, is lubricated but not drunk, that expects to have a good time and wants to be involved in the good time, that has been warmed up well by the compere and are acting like a unit and so all have the same energy level, that feels comfortable (so is not too hot or cold, are facing the right direction, doesn’t have light shining on them), that is relatively intelligent and knowledgeable, and that are not eating.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Al Cowie: Not massively and not much. The best heckle I have had is now in my set (this is not encouragement to your readers to heckle, most hecklers are dicks who don’t realise how they are robbing the rest of the audience of prepared material that almost always is better than whatever they say, but by them having made their comment at the wrong time, maybe 5 minutes of material is no longer able to be used).
Hecklers seem to fall into a few broad ranges.
The “helpful” heckler – thinks that they are adding to the night. The rest of the audience think they are an idiot, and they often step on a great punchline. They are also sometimes quite tricky to deal with as you can’t be too harsh on them or the audience may turn on you for attacking the “harmless” git.
The aggressive heckler – trying to have higher status than the person on the stage. They must be stamped on hard and if necessary removed. They tend to think it is all about them.
The drunken heckler – often unintelligible, talks over material, makes life difficult. Get them ejected.
The low level chit chat heckler – annoys the rest of the audience, can be really tricky to deal with as they are often not actively heckling, but they are still spoiling the experience for the audience. Silence is often quite a good weapon in the arsenal against them.
The funny heckler – most hecklers believe they are this, but they are not, this bird is so rare that it only comes out when there is a blue moon. The worst thing about this heckler is that once they have said one funny thing they feel encouraged to try again. However, as with films, sequels are always worse than the originals. They forget that the evening for the rest of the punters is about watching the person on stage, not some arrogant self important dick who hasn’t the balls to go on stage themself but still wishes to inflict their voice on the rest of the audience.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Al Cowie: Write more, remove the waffle. Make the joke as short as possible. If you are telling a story, try to write several jokes for each line and keep the best. Remember, for every 100 jokes you come up with, maybe only 10 will be good and only one will be great, so write hundreds of jokes and don’t worry that most will need chucking. And gig as much as you can, there is no substitution for stagetime.
Al has opened, compered and headlined at gigs across the country from Plymouth to Edinburgh, via Newcastle, Belfast and many other places. Having shared a bill with acts from Mitch Benn, Robin Ince, Trevor Lock, Andi Osho, Terry Alderton and Felix Dexter, and with appearances on both TV and radio, he is a rising comedic star and a quality compere. At the Edinburgh Festival 2010 Al hosted a 44 run show with the cream of the Fringe (see www.LLAUGH.com/edfringe.html for full line-ups) and in 2011 performed in 100 shows over 20 days. Al is resident compere at several London comedy clubs and was recently the warm up act for Adam Bloom.
“A natural compere with funny bones and a great charm on stage” – Patrick Monahan
“Al was just too popular!” – Marcel Lucont
Al Cowie “is one of the best comperes I have ever worked with” – Normal Lovett
Interview by Sara Shulman
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Scott Porter: Not long at all really! I actually started this year; I had my very first gig on my 19th birthday so needless to say I got very drunk before and after it.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Scott Porter: More sort of comedy for people that have no soul or moral compass. I have an extremely dark sense of humour and I’m not really offended by anything really. The perfect sentence to describe my stand up is probably something like – the jokes you say with your friends but wouldn’t dare say to others.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Scott Porter: Ohhh tough question. There are so many… Probably Frankie Boyle, Jimmy Carr and Stephen K. Amos are my biggest inspirations. Having also met them makes it a little better.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Scott Porter: Well I have always been ‘the funny one’ in the group and I had a little thought about it. One night, I just decided ‘hey I might as well give it a shot?!’
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Scott Porter: I’m not really sure… Sometimes I can sit there and TONS comes to mind, other times I have to sit and think through different areas and try and make them as funny/sick as possible.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Scott Porter: At the moment it is only part time. I am still working on becoming full time. No rush though! I’ve got plenty of time to do it, and who knows, I may become famous.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Scott Porter: I love the travelling! Meeting people getting to make them laugh, enjoying some good banter. The worst part? I suffer from terrible writers block! And also if people are a little too tipsy.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Scott Porter: I prefer the younger audience and one that is just generally up for a good night. Had a few crowds with some idiots in that love to think they are big alpha men. Mostly they are obese middle aged guys.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Scott Porter: Playful heckling is fun. It makes it so it’s like when I’m with mates, bit of banter. The best heckle? Hmmmmm…..probably was in Newcastle gigging and some guy shouted ‘I love the boots!’ but in a really weird voice. Not really a good heckle seeing as no one was wearing boots. But very funny nonetheless.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Scott Porter: Well I would suggest you go to comedy events! Start somewhere big, like a huge venue, then go down to the small venues and open mic nights. Never be nervous to go up there and say your own stuff! Someone is bound to find you funny!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Andrew West: Only 6 months or so – I’ve done around 30 gigs, so I’m still very new. Before I dared venture onto stage for my very first gig in March 2011, I did the Amused Moose Stand-up Course which lasted about 3 months.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Andrew West: Self-deprecating & honest. I tend to start by writing about myself, but (hopefully) not in an “it’s all about me” way – I tend to use my multitude of personal failings as a starting point and hope people will see a little bit of themselves in me. I’m quite wordy and people often tell me that my comedy is “clever” but I can’t decide whether that’s a good thing or not! Part of me recoils in horror when people describe me as clever and it feels terribly wrong to describe myself that way. I’m still learning and finding my voice, to be honest, so maybe the best description of my comedy would be “developing”…
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Andrew West: When I first got interested in comedy in my teens, it was from watching shows like Blackadder and listening to comedians like Eddie Izzard and Alan Davies. Chris Addison and Mark Watson definitely have a big influence on the way I try to write now. I like Chris Addison’s easy, natural, conversational style and I’ve always admired the relative simplicity of Mark Watson’s material – it’s well crafted, expertly paced and easy to relate to. Now that I know firsthand how hard it is to write comedy, I really admire people who make it look so easy.
Comedy Blogedy:Did you always want to go into comedy?
Andrew West: I’d been interested in comedy for years, but it took a long time for me to realise that it might be an option for me to actually do it. A lot of people had encouraged me to give it a go, but until I started the course I never really thought it was something I might actually do. Part of me still can’t quite believe I’m doing it – it’s totally out of character, really. I’m not a natural performer and I hate the sound of my own voice. Whenever people ask me why I started doing stand-up, I find myself struggling to come up with a satisfactory answer. I do love it though.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Andrew West: I tend to start with an idea for something that I want to write a set about – then I list everything I can think of associated with it in as much detail as I can, usually in a “mind map” format. The devil’s in the detail & jokes tend to come easier when you’re as specific as you can be about a subject. Once I’ve got what I think are the funniest lines, I try and link it all together into a cohesive set. I find it helps me memorise material if my set has a beginning, middle & end – some kind of flow to it.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Andrew West: I do have a day job, but I couldn’t honestly describe stand-up as a hobby. You have to work very hard at comedy so it’s pretty much all-consuming. I’m lucky that my boss is very supportive and my fiancée is very patient. I don’t tend to use my job as material. It’s a bit niche and writing about your work requires a lot of set-up unless you do a job that people know a lot about. It’s better, I think, to write about universal experiences & topics that the audience can identify with – that way a lot of the set-up is done for you. For me, if you have to spend a big chunk of your set explaining stuff to the audience just so you can make a joke about it, then it’s not the right stuff to be writing about.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Andrew West: For me the most enjoyable part is just being out on the circuit and meeting other comedians. Comedians seem to be generally lovely, friendly, supportive people and there’s not so much of a sense of competition as I was expecting. It’s wonderful to see brilliant comedians developing. On the flipside, it’s frustrating to see acts who turn up over & over again doing sets full of badly written rape/paedophile/bestiality jokes thinking they’re edgy. Once you’ve seen them a few times it can be tough going.
It can be frustrating to pitch up at an open mic night that’s hardly been marketed and therefore has almost no “proper” audience. Just performing your set to the other comedians on the bill can sometimes be useful, but you learn a lot more from playing to an actual audience – that’s why we do what we do, of course – to make audiences laugh.
Some nights are really well run and promoted and they get crowds in, so the audience is clearly out there. Those frustrations led me to start a comedy night with some friends – “Why the Long Face?” at the Horse bar in Lambeth. We work hard to promote the night and to give our acts a good crowd to play to.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Andrew West: I always think I play better to a crowd near my own age or a little older, probably because I’m an old soul. One of the big challenges for me as I learn is to become more adept at tailoring my set to the room. Thankfully I haven’t had many bad experiences onstage, but my least successful gigs have tended to be with crowds of students or people in their early 20s. It’s up to me to get better so I can play to any kind of room, of course.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Andrew West: I’ve never been heckled, thankfully – but it’s only a matter of time. At open mic nights, MCs are usually very good at making sure the audience know that heckling is a Bad Thing and that if people want to shout out etc. they should do it to the MC, not the acts. I’ve played the odd gig with rowdy audiences, but I’ve never felt there was any malice in it.
At about my 10th gig, one of the acts had about 12 work colleagues with him, who were on a night out and they were pretty noisy. They didn’t really heckle anyone, but they did want to join in and banter with the acts. I noticed that acts who tried to ignore them or shut them up struggled and those that went with it and got the crowd involved went down much better. Luckily I was on in the 2nd half, so I had time to watch how the other acts handled it and work out how I could get them involved early on without knocking myself off my stride. I’m not naturally confident about riffing off an audience, so it was pretty scary. In the end, it was one of my most enjoyable and memorable gigs. I learned that, despite all my fears, I could handle a rowdy crowd OK without freezing up and panicking too badly. The act they came along with gave them quite a hard time afterwards for being disruptive and they were mortified to think they’d been a bad audience. They just wanted to play.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Andrew West: I don’t feel particularly qualified to pass on advice, being so new myself. If anyone is thinking about doing standup, get down to some open mic nights and watch other new acts so you get a much better sense of what to expect. It might inspire you or scare you off, but it’s invaluable to go in with your eyes open. It’s not necessary to do a course, but I found it helped me with writing techniques and with practicing a bit of stagecraft in a safe environment before I hit a proper stage for the first time. I don’t think I’d ever have had the nerve to get onstage without the course – but plenty of people do it.
For people who are starting out and doing their first gigs, the biggest lesson for me has been to take successes and failures with an equal pinch of salt – not to get too elated when gigs go well or deflated when they go badly. You can do the same material in 2 different rooms and get 2 totally different reactions, so don’t jettison jokes too early before you’ve given them a fair chance. That said there’s no sense in ploughing on with material that consistently fails to raise a laugh – I’m amazed by the number of acts I see die onstage over and over again but don’t seem to learn from the experience. I just see them again the next week with the same set dying all over again.
Upcoming Gigs:
20 September – East Meets Jest
Belushi’s, Covent Garden, WC2B 5HZ
22 September – Why the Long Face?
The Horse, Lambeth North, SE1 7XG
23 September – Laughing Horse
The Goat Tavern, Piccadilly/Green Park, W1S 4RP
02 October – Leicester Square New Comedian of the Year (Heats)
Leicester Square Theatre, WC2H 7BX
11 October – Laughing Horse New Act of the Year (Heats)
The Goat Tavern, Piccadilly/Green Park, W1S 4RP
15 October – Worthing Comedy Festival
Details tbc
19 October – Comedy Slappers
Cavendish Arms, Stockwell, SW8 2HJ
24 October – Comedy Bin
The Bowery, Tottenham Court Road, WC1A 1EP
10 November – Up the Creek
302 Creek Road, Greenwich, SE10 9SW
15 November – The Painted Grin
Benny’s Bar, Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Stiv Bagnall: I did my first gig in September 1995, at Caister-On-Sea Haven Holiday Park. I won the junior talent competition. I went back for the park finals and thought I’d better write a new set for it, I died and I mean died! I started gigging again in March this year; it took 16 years to get the courage to try again.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Stiv Bagnall: My comedy is a mix of one liners and stories, all of which are close to the knuckle.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Stiv Bagnall: There’s loads to be honest, growing up it was Jack Dee and Eddie Izzard. Nowadays it’s probably Frank Skinner.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Stiv Bagnall: 100% yes. It’s been my dream as long as I can remember.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Stiv Bagnall: Whilst I am at work my mind tends to wonder, its OK – I work in a shop, I don’t drive a bus or anything, but when it happens I think of things that I find funny and write them down. I then leave them for a minimum of a week and go back, if I still find them funny I try them out. I also have some true stories or things I’ve heard that I adapt to suit.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Stiv Bagnall: I’d love to gig full time, but at the moment that’s not really viable. There are loads of comics out there, which makes getting gigs difficult. It’s definitely not a hobby though. I’ve wanted to do this all my life, its much, much more than a hobby. I’ve written parts about my job, but mainly I use my time at work to run through my set and add parts. As I’ve already said, I’ve come up with most of my set whilst stacking shelves!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Stiv Bagnall: The best part is performing. I’ve always loved making people laugh, it’s like a drug. I also like meeting new comics and trying new venues. The most frustrating part is actually getting gigs. Comedy is a weird thing because the only way to test your material and improve is to perform it.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Stiv Bagnall: I’ve never been heckled. I don’t know why, I’ve gigged at venues where other comics have been, but for some reason they’ve always been lovely to me.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Stiv Bagnall: I’ve found most audiences are there to laugh, you just need to give them the tools to do so. I have found that my stuff tends to work better with a younger audience. I do an observational bit about kinky sex and older audiences don’t tend to get it…
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Stiv Bagnall: Don’t be afraid. You’ve got to be brave to do this. I’m nervous before every gig, but I fake confidence. I always feel that an audience gets nervous for you if you show the nerves and therefore are less likely to relax and enjoy your set. This isn’t proven or anything, its just the way I do it!
For videos, upcoming gigs & more info visit Stiv’s Website
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Madge Hooks: My first ever gig was in March 2010 – and I have been gigging regularly ever since!
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Madge Hooks: I would describe my comedy as mixture of surreal, sophisticated and silly.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Madge Hooks: Growing up, I was a massive Victoria Wood fan and learn most of her songs and Kimberley routines off by heart, so that must have had some impact. However, I don’t think I’m anything like her. I’d like to think I’m more like a female Eddie Izzard. Or Johnny Vegas if I’m drunk.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Madge Hooks: Not really. My first passion was languages and I always thought I’d be a translator/interpreter or international business-type person – that’s what I did as a degree. However, I’ve always been drawn to making ridiculous comments about things and can recall far too many meetings at work where I’ve been particularly hilarious and disruptive.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Madge Hooks: A year before I started doing stand-up, I went on a sketch-writing course because I wanted to channel my funny, but I wanted to write for other people to perform. When I finally decided to stop hiding and put myself up there, I looked up the same course organiser, Chris Head. Chris runs fantastic stand up comedy writing classes and it really gave me the start I needed. At first, I was tightly scripted and wrote everything down and churned it out word perfect. There is nothing wrong with that and, to be honest, my set was much tighter back then. Now I don’t write anymore, but keep comic ideas in my head and see how they pan out naturally on stage. I register where the laughs were for next time. It’s now more of an organic process.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Madge Hooks: I would love to do stand-up full time! I had a taste of it for five months after I was made redundant from my day job in December 2010. I gigged and couch-surfed around the UK and found that I travel very well and enjoy discovering new places and people. Unfortunately, because I have to pay my rent, I’m a wage slave once again and it’s gone back to being a hobby. Boo. I’ve never used my main job as material, much to my colleagues’ disappointment. I tend to pick whimsical subjects that have some comedy potential.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Madge Hooks: The most enjoyable part is seeing some rather amazing acts develop to produce comedy that would otherwise have to be cleaned up/tweaked/changed entirely to make it onto television. The most frustrating part is the lack of audience.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Madge Hooks: University students. They seem to like me and my humour. It’s probably because I don’t remind them of their dad.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Madge Hooks: I haven’t really. In the back of my head, I’ve always feared the ‘get off stage yer big, fat lezzer’ or something like that, but it’s never happened. I do have quite a conversational style that invites people to respond in certain places and maybe this eliminates the desire to heckle. I quite like a lively, responsive audience.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Madge Hooks: Be yourself.
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up? How would you describe your comedy?
Stephen Coda: I started doing stand-up in 2002, so that’s nine years but it’s not been solid gigging, I’ve had a few breaks. But whenever I’ve stopped I always feel like I really need to get back on the circuit or I’ll go crazy. Because stand-up is both a symptom of and a therapy for insanity (or having a job). My comedy is slightly surreal; I frequently take everyday even trivial things and interpret them in a way peculiar to me. Essentially the comedy comes from making myself look well… odd.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Stephen Coda: I seem to like American comics most, because the good ones have an openness I try to have in my own act. They come from a very honest place, they’re not pretending to be confident or trying to be clever (though they frequently are those things) but they’re very funny. Having said that my own style isn’t that dissimilar to Steven Wright (The American one, not the British one), who does very introverted surrealist sketches.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Stephen Coda: Yes, even before I understood there was such a thing. I used to listen to Steven Wright as a kid and though it was amazing. The first time I really understood what I wanted to do I was eighteen and listening to Bill Hicks. I was just the right age for an icon like Bill to have a strong influence over. I wanted to do what he was doing so badly, but I never thought I’d have the stones or the material. He did what could broadly be called satire, and it was so funny. But I’m more about smaller and more personal things. Obviously I can’t be Bill Hicks, but I do try to observe the same integrity in my sets that he had in his.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Stephen Coda: Prayer. It’s really hard, I’ve not found a really effective way of generating material. Every good joke I have weeps at a cemetery full of awful gags I had to hit with a shovel and hastily bury before anyone else hears them. This is why I’m listening to Lewis Black at the moment, he’s a prodigious comic and I don’t know how he does it. He maintains a quality of material so high that I’ve had to suppress urges to laugh so strong I thought I might have a stroke at the office, or that my eyes pop out of my head and hit a co-worker.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Stephen Coda: I’ll gig whenever I can find the audience. It’s a very, very serious hobby. If I ever get to the point I can quit working in an office and do it for a living I will do so in a heartbeat. Not that I don’t like my job, it’s just I’ve been sitting down for eighteen years now, and it’d be nice to stretch my legs. My job doesn’t influence my material as far as I’m aware, with the exception of the interview process I went through to get it. Everyone has had interviews for jobs that went badly. Sometimes it doesn’t matter what side of the interview you’re on, you come out feeling like you’ve been violated on some deep level. There are actually serious books about jobs interview that propose interviewers ask inane questions like, “Where do you see yourself in five years?” The only people who really know where they’re going to be in five years time, are in prison.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Stephen Coda: A lady kissed me after my first ever gig, that was the most enjoyable part. The frustrations are many. But to my mind most of them are logistical. And I have to sit on bar stools to support other comics, if you go to a venue and gig for ten minutes but have to listen to a lot of other acts that you seen a hundred times already, that can get old. They’re lovely people, but sometime you find yourself thinking stuff like “If I hear that joke about the onions in your fridge that I liked so much the first time I heard it, one more time I’m going to take that microphone and jam it where…” Well you get the picture. I also hate going to venues where the proprietors don’t respect their customers. If you gig in one too many pubs where the toilet facilities aren’t fit for barnyard animals, you snap. It’s the worst kind of contempt; “I’ll take your money and sell you a recreationally poison and you can use this bucket for the results. Don’t forget to wash your hands.” One place I used to go to the drier was broken so they had a towel that was never washed or changed, it turned green over the period of a year. By the same token, when you get a nice well-kept pub with good facilities and nice beer, it’s a real treat and I really respect the people who keep it that way. I drink too much beer.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Stephen Coda: When the audience look like convicts from a salt mine in Siberia, or look like they’re really obsessed with football, or just look like they hate and eat comedians dinner, when they actually turn out to be friendly and attentive, actually great, audiences that laugh at my jokes. Those are my favourite gigs. I’ve been to gigs where I think, “This is it, my last ever gig, where I will die.” and I’ve somehow stormed. Those times, you come out feeling like you can bend steel bars using the force.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Stephen Coda: Yeah. Hecklers aren’t actually all that bad, some times they can even work in your favour if you say the right thing. The worst thing you can do is panic, but that’s because that’s the worst thing about a heckle. It can throw you off, or ruin your joke, or make you forget your entire set. Experience makes you realise that hecklers aren’t the worst things in the world. One time I had two scary guys in the front row and they sat stony faced through the first half of my set, I was frightened of them, but asked a rhetorical question of the audience “Does anyone here have a job?” and one of the scary guys said, “I have a paper round.” To which I replied, “I’m surprised your boyfriend lets you out of the kitchen.” it was more Frankie Boyle than me, but it got those two on side and I no longer feared bumping into them outside. If you have a determined destructive heckler it can be bad, but fortunately those are rare and you could just make knife-throwing part of your act.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Stephen Coda: Don’t do it, I don’t need more competition. Young hopeful energetic comics with lot of new ideas, getting noticed, having other talents like smiling and telling jokes. It’s depressing. Oh alright then. Material. It is the source of your power. Some comics, notably Dara O’Briain can riff of the audience and be amazing. But they are rare, and bad audience participation acts should be ranked as crimes against humanity by the International Court of Justice in The Hague. And honesty, do material you really know something about, because honesty is hilarious. Oh, and be funny.
Upcoming gigs
7 Oct at the T-Bird Bar in Finsbury
18 Oct at the Old School Yard at London Bridge
20 Oct at the Gatehouse Art Gallery in Harlow.
23 Oct at the Libertine, Borough
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up How would you describe your comedy?
Jojo Georgiou: I started gigging about 20 years ago, I did it for 7 years in Texas and than I got a radio talk show which I did for a few years. Then I moved to the UK in ’98 and took 10 years off from gigging. I started gigging again 3 years ago.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Jojo Georgiou: Bill Hicks, John Belushi, Sam Kinison, Lenny Bruce, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Billy Connolly, Jo Brand.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Jojo Georgiou: I guess it’s kind of my calling… I was always the class clown and the family clown. I used humour as my weapon and my defence. We just fit.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Jojo Georgiou: Writing is hard. It’s hard get started but once you get started you are always writing. I write everyday. 99% of it I can’t use but it keep the juices flowing. Most of my material comes from life… things that happen to me, past and present. Nothing is off limits.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Jojo Georgiou: I work part time in IT. I work hard at gigging. I’ve done over 570 gigs in the last 3 years. I am always looking and booking gigs. I would love to make a living from gigging and I have started getting paid gigs here and there. It is my goal to make it onto the pro level and make a living off of gigging. Work plays a very small part of my comedy.
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Jojo Georgiou: The most enjoyable part is meeting like minded people – working hard for the same goal. The hard part is not getting respect for the hard work and effort we put into each gig.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Jojo Georgiou: That’s a hard one. I’ve done gigs where I thought it wouldn’t work – the audience was too posh or old… but they turned out to get it. There have been other audiences where everything should have worked but I just didn’t click with the audience. The best gigs are the ones where the audience is out for a good time. They want to have fun and are in a good mood. When you do a gig and the audience is tired and more than a little drunk, they had a bad day at work, it makes for a very hard gig. They are daring you to make them laugh.
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckled you’ve had?
Jojo Georgiou: Not so much. Most gigs the MC makes sure to let the audience know that it’s not cool to heckle, but it does happen and it’s good training. When it happens you have to think fast and snap back a comment. But you have to be careful. You can’t be mean to the heckler, even if they are being very rude and mean to you. There is a fine line that you cannot cross!! You have to keep it light-hearted and good natured or the audience will turn on you. Although I did do a gig once (the Nightmare gig) where I was the only woman on the bill and the audience was extremely drunk. Within 2 minutes of my set I had 4 guys scream for me to show my tits… Then a guy jumped on stage and started humping my leg on stage and I was hitting him in the head with the mic. (A very bad gig)
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Jojo Georgiou: Get on stage… Gig Gig Gig Gig Gig!!! That’s the best advise I could give anyone. And to remember that even if you have a bad set that everytime you get on stage it’s learning your craft!!
Comedy Blogedy: How long have you been gigging in stand-up?
Dave Heron: To date, I’ve done 11 recent gigs. I used to do stand-up events at university but that was nearly ten years ago and was very experimental.
Comedy Blogedy: How would you describe your comedy?
Dave Heron: Anything that I’ve thought of that makes me laugh I incorporate into the set. It can be a mixture of just a funny one-line joke or a situation that’s happened to me.
Comedy Blogedy: Which comedians influence your comedy?
Dave Heron: I try not to be influenced by other comedians as there’s always the fear you may end up sounding like them. That said, in my teens I was strongly influecned by Steve Coogan/Alan Partridge, but there’s some very funny people around at the moment, particularly on the amateur circuit.
Comedy Blogedy: Did you always want to go into comedy?
Dave Heron: Not originally. I always wanted to move into film. Since I didn’t go to drama school I needed some other route in. Doing stand-up gives you excellent exposure. Instead of just talking about it, you can get out and show people you’re funny and hopefully meeting other like-minded people in the business.
Comedy Blogedy: How do you go about writing your material?
Dave Heron: It can come from a range of things, every day life, or word play. If I’m writing for a comedy show (like radio for example), I’ll tend to try and think of something that hasn’t been parodied before and build on that.
Comedy Blogedy: Part fo your material discusses Facebook and you’re also on Twitter @dave_heron. Do you find that soical nerowrking is an important part of establishing yourself as a comedian?
Dave Heron: Absolutely. It’s the new “word-of-mouth”. I rely on it to promote myself by advertising gig dates. I also tend to put videos of gigs online and advertise that link on Facebook. In addition to FB, I add one or two comedy lines to my twitter account each day just to keep my mind fresh.
Comedy Blogedy: Do you gig as a stand-up full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
Dave Heron: At the moment, it’s just a hobby but I’d love it to be my main job! My ‘real’ job takes up most of my waking day so I try and incorporate bits of it into the act when I can. It’s tought though, because if the job’s not going well or you have a naff day, you have to make sure you don’t end up just having a rant about your work colleagues onstage!
Comedy Blogedy: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the amateur comedy circuit?
Dave Heron: The most enjoyable thing is being able to book gigs quite regularly and easily. Almost everyone is extremely encouraging and supportive. The comedybin.org is one type of site that helps up and coming comedians get gigs, it’s very good. There are other gigs though where I’ve had to wait 3 hours to get on. That’s definitely not enjoyable and, although the principal of getting everyone who wants to perform a few minutes is fantastic, it can be very tiring for acts and audience members on a work night.
Comedy Blogedy: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Dave Heron: Sounds obvious, but an audience who are there to laugh at comedy!
Comedy Blogedy: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
Dave Heron: I’ve not really been heckled. The great thing about the amateur circuit is that audiences tend to let the acts just do their sets. I’ve been heckled a few times but it’s fine, most hecklers just want to hear a good come-back and then they keep quiet! The best heckle I had was “get off!” – I was standing on someone’s toe.
Comedy Blogedy: What advice would you give to new acts thinking about starting out in comedy?
Dave Heron: Just go for it. It’s so easy to et a gig now. All you need to do is search online for open mic nights. I’d suggest going along as an audience member to one of the open mic nights to get a feel of what they’re like first. You can find them in Timeout and they’re free entry most of the time. The other thing I’d say, once you’ve started, is to be a critic of you work. If you try a joke two or three times and it doesn’t work, it either means you’re not phrasing it right or it’s just not funny. Either way, drop it. That said, it’s a great discipline, aids confidence (try doing a big meeting at work the day after a great gig!), keeps your mind sharp, and you get to meet other funny people too!
Dave Heron’s upcoming gigs:
Thursday 15th September: 8pm, The Retro Pub, Bosworth Road, W10 5EG
Monday 19th September: 7:30pm, The Bowery, New Oxford Street, WC1A 1EP
Watch videos of Dave’s stand-up:
Monkey Business Comedy Club, Kentish Town, London 21/07/2011
Dr. Ink’s bar, Southwark, London.
Watch Dave’s sketch work:
The Mountebanks (Dave Heron & Harry Gooch) Main Stage Show 15/05/2008 – Waiter
The Mountebanks (Dave Heron & Harry Gooch) Main Stage Show 15/05/2008 – Move Me
(For more videos, type ‘Dave Heron’ on Youtube)
Follow Dave Heron on Twitter:@dave_heron
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