COMEDY 101 NOTES

WEEK 1

3 general levels of comedian:

• hobbyist - has a great job just does stand up for fun

• pro hobbyist - more than just a hobby, occasionally gets paid

• pro - comedy is the only means of income

Define Stand-Up Comedy: Stand-up comedy is a monologue, or a grouping of humorous jokes, stories, etc. performed alone (or with a partner) on a mic in front of an audience.

What is a JOKE?

Very basic - a set-up and a punchline.

Dan’s 3-step joke writing process:

• Premise - create a believable premise; relatable

• Puzzle - or the set-up, something audiences think they can solve

• Punchline - an unexpected twist.

First Person - always tell your jokes in the FIRST PERSON. More relatable.

WEEK 2

The Three C’s:

• CONFIDENCE: know your material

• CONTROL: own the stage, don’t leave room for hecklers

• CONNECTION: (I called this “clarity” but basically the same thing.) I order to connect with the audience we need to be CLEAR with our words.

The LAUGH test for jokes and sets:

L = Lazy. Are we taking time to craft our best joke?

A = Accessible (relatable). Can the audience relate to our premise/joke?

U = Understandable. Do we use common words and phrases?

G = Gas. Does our joke have enough “gas” to get to the punchline?

H = Hungry. Do we leave the audience “hungry” for more of us?