Experienced comedians who manage to make a living often tell those who are looking to get started in the business that they need to be prepared to be broke and alone, making people laugh even when they may be miserable. It’s the rare person that earns enough to make a living in the business, let alone millions, like Kevin Hart, who was recently ranked as the highest-earning stand-up comedian, earning $59 million just between June 1, 2018, and June 1, 2019, alone.
Whether you want to break in and become one of the top Christian comedians on a mission to bring the funniest clean comedy or just hope to eke out a living telling dirty jokes, these tips can help you accomplish your goal.
Create a 5-Minute Monologue
One of the hardest things about being a comedian is the ability to write jokes that get genuine laughs. To do that, you need to think about the things in real life that make you laugh and go from there. Start by creating just a 5-minute monologue that hones on those real, everyday experiences that others can relate too in their own lives.
If you’re struggling to come up with enough material, get a notebook and get in the habit of writing down everything that makes you laugh on a daily basis. In addition to paying attention to your own life and others, watch other comedians and comedy shows. Go to open mics to find out what other performers are doing. After the show, write down your thoughts as far as what you think worked and what didn’t.
Practice In Front Of Your Friends
Making your friends laugh at the office or at school isn’t the same as getting up on stage and making a bunch of strangers laugh, but it’s an important step in the right direction. Thinking of something funny to say quickly takes a lot of practice.
Get Up on Stage as Often as Possible
You might be incredibly funny around your friends, but the minute you get up on stage with a microphone and an audience, the nerves kick in, you begin to second-guess yourself, and then all those eyes staring at you start to do the same. That anxiety will never go away, it’s how you deal with it that can make you a great comedian, which again, takes practice, getting up on stage as often as you can whether you’re earning money or not. Learn to embrace that nervous feeling and make it your friend, using it to your advantage.
Take a Class
You can learn everything you need to by getting up on stage as often as possible and figuring it out for yourself, but taking a class can help you progress faster and get valuable feedback on what is or isn’t working.
Know How to Act
Part of being a comedian means knowing how to act. Stiff comedians who rarely move up on stage are usually boring comedians. You’ll need to get your message across by using your body to the fullest, or there’s a good chance you’ll lose your audience. Think of it as kind of a physical sport and as you write your material, consider the physicality of it all. If it requires you to look dumb, you’ll need to look dumb – comedy is almost never cute.
