[Linda Perret]

I agree completely with this statement. A contest or festival shouldn’t require you to bring people. They may encourage you to do and there are a number of reasons for doing this but if I would be cautious of any contest that requires you to fill the seats. Just my opinion.

[Linda Perret]

In response to Michael’s comment, if you are in a contest and you want people to come out to the show of course you will need to tell them. What I meant by not broadcasting is that after the fact, you don’t have to list it in your bio or notify bookers that you were in such and such a contest. You can if you want to, but you don’t HAVE to. You can be selective with your credits.

[Linda Perret]

Very well said, Kehau!

[Linda Perret]

I don’t think it was bitchy, but I will express the problems that we have run into when organizing these types of things…people’s definitions are not consistent. Some people will include themselves in categories they don’t belong. They will list themselves as a professional and they aren’t…and just the opposite, as a beginner and they are selling themselves short.
I don’t think it’s a bad idea to stick to competitions close to home, unless the reputation of the contest makes it worth the additional cost of travel. There are some that are definitely worth it.

[Linda Perret]

There is a big difference between having fun with an audience member or members and being downright mean. I feel so much of it has to do with the attitude of the comedian. If the person on stage is having fun and not taking themselves seriously, the audience will usually play along with them.

[Linda Perret]

In my opinion, I think this is very solid advice, Karen. Sometimes walking away from it makes us realize what it is/was that we really loved about comedy and how far we may have strayed from our original intent. Then when we dive back in, and hopefully you do, it is with new focus.

[Linda Perret]

I’m amazed at people who can easily go up to a stranger and start a conversation. I find it difficult. I never seem to know just what to say to get the ball rolling. Someone shared a trick with me and it has worked wonders for me…and that is to start the conversation with a compliment. It puts the other person at ease and opens the door to chit-chat.
Luckily, there usually is something that you can compliment a person on. Recently at a club, I approached a performer after a show and told her that she was on one of my all time favorite shows. It was an obscure talk show that launched her career. She was thrilled I remembered that and we had a long discussion about that show. That then lead into other topics, and we were off.

[Linda Perret]

It’s funny, Tom, but I never thought of YouTube as a tool but you are right. It opens up so many avenues to watch performances of all kinds.

[Linda Perret]

Dean, I couldn’t agree more. I’ve been going to more and more shows and the education is invaluable. And you do get to rub elbows with people in the business you want to be in as well as others who share the same passion.

[Linda Perret]

I haven’t read this book but will get a copy! Thanks, Gordon.

[Linda Perret]

Bob Hope had said that when he started he relied on a “gag rag.” He would use the jokes from those. He said he knew early on that he needed a stash of material and started buying lines as soon as he could afford it. Eventually, he relied mainly on his writers, although he had a great sense for a good joke. Phyllis Diller also relied heavily on writers and employed housewives across the country for her material. There comes a point where the comedian is too busy doing other things to really focus on generating new material themselves and turns that over to writers…thank goodness.

[Linda Perret]

Djohn, stage directions can be tricky. A lot of comedians don’t want to be told how to deliver a line and most likely we shouldn’t be telling them. Any performer who buys material will make that material their own, and should make that material their own. I would recommend keeping stage directions in monologue writing to a minimum. If the direction is needed for the punch of the joke, then you may want to include it but otherwise, let the comedian tell the joke the way he or she envisions it. Scripts and screenplays are a completely different matter, though.

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