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How to Get Started in Stand up Comedy  
HOW TO 

Tags: Comedy, Stand-up, Performing, Performance

Have people ever told you you're funny? Maybe you should consider becoming a stand up comedian. Here is how you can get started in stand up.

1.	Keep a notebook with you at all times. Take notes as funny thoughts come to you or write down strange occurences that strike your funny bone.
2.	Buy some sort of book to learn how to write a joke, or you'll sound like a normal unfunny person.
3.	Try your hand at writing some jokes. Most good jokes come from the intersection of two formerly unrelated ideas, or from a formerly unexplored observation about something most people overlook on a daily basis.
4.	Write a small routine and perform your "set" in front of a mirror. Note the things about the delivery of your jokes that you like, and also the things you don't. You can also try video-taping yourself. Note verbal ticks like "Um," and "Uh..."
5.	Work on your confidence and try your best to make your memorized material seem spontaneous. If you use a different voice when you're reciting memorized speech, such as when you read aloud, try to transform it into something fairly conversational.
6.	Write some more jokes. The more you write, the easier they come. Some days you'll have five or six jokes to record, and some days you'll have none. You should, however, be starting to create quite a backlog of material.
7.	Find an "Open Mic" venue near you and sign up. If you can call ahead of time and secure yourself a spot, you will be unable to back out. Bite the bullet, ride the train.
8.	Finalize your new set. Run through it a few times; it should be anywhere from five to ten minutes long. For your first time, don't worry so much about time. Five minutes is plenty, and when the microphone is in your hand, time slips away faster than normal.
9.	Organize a "social safety net." Call friends you know will be supportive, and have them come to watch. This way, even if you bomb, you'll have people there to laugh at your jokes.
10.	Stand up. Leave the microphone in the stand if you'd like, or take it out. I'd reccommend taking it out if it's your first time; the feeling of a microphone in your hand and the freedom to move around while you speak puts you in quite a bit of control. Take your time, make sure not to mumble or speed through your delivery. Enunciate. Speak loudly enough so that even those in the back can hear. Maintain eye contact with the crowd. Smile, but don't laugh at your own jokes. Be prepared for shout-outs and heckles.
11.	Know when you're done. Either you've reached the end of your set or you've just gotten a large applause for a joke you know you can't top - now's the time to thank the audience for their attention and for the time they've taken to get to know your comedic stylings. A simple "You guys have been great, thank you," should be more than sufficient.
12.	Stay for the other acts. You've done your thing, and now it's only polite to watch some of the other regulars. More importantly, there's a chance another stand up comic will...well, stand up. You'll either know you were better than him (or her), or you'll be able to learn something from him (or her).
13.	Repeat steps 1-12 (excepting step 2) ad infinitum if you feel being a stand up comic is for you. Good luck!

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Comments: Ugh, Do not do number 8. There is nothing worse than first timers who pack the place with friends. It's obnoxious and you will not be able to tell how you really did because your friends will always laugh at you. Comment by: marie