Post by funnybones on Jan 31, 2014 16:12:47 GMT
I still think this book is a good starting place for new comics to develop their personal topics. Here are the things that stick out to me as being useful to me:
page 97: "The ruminating exercise" I do this naturally sometimes when i'm working on new stuff. I always "write" by talking out loud to myself. but I don't naturally take it past the point of comfort. I'm going to try to push myself past the easy stuff and see what comes out.
Page 118: Workshop #28 "Visualizing your bits" Judy doesn't really get into detail about this as a rehearsal technique, but Greg Dean covers it well in his Step by Step to Stand up Comedy book. That the way I remember my jokes and bits is because they are like little movies that I watch in my head while I am telling my jokes. I would often do this naturally, but occasionally, I would blank out and feel like I was forgetting my jokes and then try to remember the words and that would lead to major fails. After I read about the visual memory and I was aware of what I was doing, I do it now on purpose and it has helped with getting a more relaxed performance and I never forget what I want to talk about. It also lets me play with variations in emotions and using fresh language during performances.
Page 129: This piece of advice was kind of a great new idea for me. Judy basically says. GO onstage with a sense of urgency that you want to communicate your ideas, not that you want to make people laugh (you do, but focus on the desire to communicate ideas first and let the jokes do the heavy lifting).
Page 138: Workshop #30 Going onstage with the intent to bomb! I have not tried this yet, because I bomb all the time without trying to, but when I get a little better, I"m going to try it. it sounds like fun. It reminds me of somthing Patton Oswalt said in the Comedians of Comedy: (paraphrasing from memory) I;m so bored with doing my sets that sometimes I start out by digging a hole just to challenge myself to find a way out of it...
Anyway that is my initial contribution to this discussion. It seems a little awkward to talk about this book in this format, but I think if we get some difference of opinions and personalities we can get a lively (like in slow motion) conversations out of this.
and Hey, Thanks to Conrad Bromberek for making this thing happen. I think it will start to grow....
page 97: "The ruminating exercise" I do this naturally sometimes when i'm working on new stuff. I always "write" by talking out loud to myself. but I don't naturally take it past the point of comfort. I'm going to try to push myself past the easy stuff and see what comes out.
Page 118: Workshop #28 "Visualizing your bits" Judy doesn't really get into detail about this as a rehearsal technique, but Greg Dean covers it well in his Step by Step to Stand up Comedy book. That the way I remember my jokes and bits is because they are like little movies that I watch in my head while I am telling my jokes. I would often do this naturally, but occasionally, I would blank out and feel like I was forgetting my jokes and then try to remember the words and that would lead to major fails. After I read about the visual memory and I was aware of what I was doing, I do it now on purpose and it has helped with getting a more relaxed performance and I never forget what I want to talk about. It also lets me play with variations in emotions and using fresh language during performances.
Page 129: This piece of advice was kind of a great new idea for me. Judy basically says. GO onstage with a sense of urgency that you want to communicate your ideas, not that you want to make people laugh (you do, but focus on the desire to communicate ideas first and let the jokes do the heavy lifting).
Page 138: Workshop #30 Going onstage with the intent to bomb! I have not tried this yet, because I bomb all the time without trying to, but when I get a little better, I"m going to try it. it sounds like fun. It reminds me of somthing Patton Oswalt said in the Comedians of Comedy: (paraphrasing from memory) I;m so bored with doing my sets that sometimes I start out by digging a hole just to challenge myself to find a way out of it...
Anyway that is my initial contribution to this discussion. It seems a little awkward to talk about this book in this format, but I think if we get some difference of opinions and personalities we can get a lively (like in slow motion) conversations out of this.
and Hey, Thanks to Conrad Bromberek for making this thing happen. I think it will start to grow....
