(Oct 19, 2025)
- we started with talking about the options for making cash by matching up standup and an industry niche -- aka, if you can make a strong connection between yourself/the comedy you do, and an organization or association built around what you do, you can sell live entertainment to them (ie, Tanner can talk to cancer orgs); it’s much easier to get hired and paid in an industry niche than in the general entertainment realm, because there’s less competition, and orgs need entertainment for conventions, etc; you have to write comedy that fits EXACTLY what they want (often means being very clean, non-constroversial), but it’s a good vertical approach for comedians
- this week was again about stories, this time stories with a supernatural theme; we heard stories about someone who works in transporting bodies from crime scenes to the morgue; having a haunted childhood home torn down; someone who feels like they have a demon inside them; a Haitian girlfriend; cursed parents; the black history of Ireland; clowns in a grandmother’s house; a weed robbery; first time ever in a church; and fear of strangers instilled by an over-zealous parent. Everyone went on stage, told their story, and received a hail of feedback, new ideas, jokes, etc
- I talked about how you can develop stories with FETS -- Facts, Emotions, Thoughts, Sensations. () Facts -- tell us all the needed details so that we understand the story, there aren’t confusions as you progress through it; () Emotions -- make us feel, and tell us your feelings, at every point in the story; stories are loaded with vicarious emotional experiences; () Thoughts -- make us think, and tell us your thoughts, teach us things, give us new information in the story; () Sensations -- let us vicariously experience the story, trigger our sensations -- images, sounds, touch, smell, taste. The art of stories is in balancing out enough of these (don’t be generic, be specific), and not overloading us with boring details (too many facts, emotions, etc); Standup stories should be stimulation-dense, every few seconds you should have some form of laughter-inducing/punchlines; the story is important, but the laughs are always the goal
- finally, we talked about how to keep the workshop energized and snappy (just getting to go up once, and then hearing ten other stories, can get old); how it’s important to come in prepped so you can get the most out of your time; and how we’ll also be working in sub-groups so things move faster, everyone can be more active
- next week -- write up a story about a villain you’ve encountered in your life (trust me, there are plenty)