Becoming a Stand-Up Comedian: Approaching the Comedy Business

I once came across a posting on an Internet message board from a young comedian new to the business. "Will this pay off?" he wondered. This is a common and valid question among new comedians, who naturally are concerned that their time, effort, and money spent on standup will be all for naught.

It is understandable - even commendable - that people new to the comedy business are seeking the road to success, making plans, and dreaming of stardom. That said, stand-up comedy, like much of show business, can be difficult, frustrating, and uncertain. While it is important to set goals, work hard, and aim for success, it is also important to enjoy the business for what it is, and enjoy your part in it, whatever it may be. Always remember - don't take comedy so seriously.

Getting Your Shot

After my first set in front of the owner of my home club, way back in my MC days, the owner came up to me. "You've got all the tools," he said. "If you decide to apply yourself, you've got a chance to make it. You still probably won't, but at least you got a shot."

That's all you can ask for in this business - a "shot". While it's certainly more fair than music or acting, there are still a myriad of factors beyond your control that can affect your comedy career. Want your own sitcom? You'll need dozens of people to make it work. Want to headline? You'll need talent, finances, even luck. Will your wife wait the ten years it make take for you to be a closer? Will your health handle the greasy fast-food and the sleeping in your car? In this business, you can work hard, pay your dues, and write original, new, funny material. But remember that there's a lot you can't control - and enjoy the process and the business for what it is.

There is a reason why comics like Jerry Seinfeld, Kevin Pollak, Jay Leno, Dave Chappelle, and many others continue to do standup despite the complete lack of any financial incentive (relatively speaking) to do it. It is a wonderful, exciting, even addictive thing to be on stage and make a roomful of strangers laugh. And while you may not sell out a theater, or have an HBO special, or even headline a single show, enjoy the fact now that a dozen people come up to you after a show, and say, "You were very funny." Enjoy getting asked for an autograph, or being recognized at the grocery store. Don't define success or failure by the level you reach, or the money you make.

Worst-Case Scenario

Before my first standup show I hadn't been on stage since the third grade, fifteen years earlier. When I first decided to try standup, I was nervous for weeks, and my attempt to calm myself centered around the worst-case scenario. What could go wrong? I could bomb. What then? Well, my parents would still love me. My friends would make fun of me mercilessly for a decade or two. After a week spent sobbing in the fetal position I could probably join in the laughter myself. And I could try again, or quit, and twenty years later, watch a comedian on TV and, bald and chubby, turn to my wife and say, "You know, I tried that once. It's hard."

I'm not trying to suggest that you let go of your dreams; rather, embrace them. They motivate and inspire you to become a better comedian. And, let's face it: they're fun. It's fun to know that it's possible that one day you or I (or both) might perform on The Tonight Show.

But the key word is "possible". It's not definite, probable, or even likely. Don't concentrate on that; don't set that as your barometer of success. Instead, concentrate on yourself, on your act, and on your material. I speak from experience because, at first, I took the business way too seriously. Every show was a final exam - how did the crowd respond? Why did I do that joke instead of the other one? Why didn't the new material work? It took me some time - two years, honestly - before I simply let go and started to actually have fun on stage.

And the moment I let loose, and enjoyed myself, my act went to another level. The audience can react to very subtle cues, and the fact that I was enjoying myself was a signal to them that they should be having fun as well. You put so much effort into gaining that little bit of time on stage - have fun with it. Remember that when you are on stage, it's your stage. Everyone in the audience wishes they were you. Doing comedy is an opportunity that not everyone has, and the fact that you - no one else, but you alone - got yourself on that stage is a tremendous accomplishment.

Chasing the Dream

I'm not trying to paint a dreary picture of the comedy business as a world of broken hearts and failed attempts, or asking you to forfeit your dreams. Quite the opposite, actually. I enjoy performing, talking about, writing about, and daydreaming about comedy because I love it, and because I'm at peace with it. I still dream about being on TV, or having magazine profiles done on me, and all the rest. But, in the meantime, I enjoy where I am. I try to enjoy every laugh, every applause break, even every hotel room.

You can't plan in the business - there are too many factors over which you have little control. Understand the business, be honest, work hard, and do the best that you can. Just remember to stop every once in a while and listen to the laughter.

This article was originally published on Suite101.com. Subsequent changes have been made.