Tag: advice

How to Book Your Own Stand Up Comedy Tour

Are you a regularly booked comedian? Have you worked at well-known clubs? Then you’re just a little effort away from a do-it-yourself national tour.

I found this piece a year or so ago when it was exclusively up on Ron Babcock’s personal site. Now it’s featured on Laughspin, a swell comedy news source. Basically it’s a really long piece detailing how to schedule your own tour. Who is Ron Babcock? Well, he’s just some other comic. Or at least he was when he was writing this piece. Which is the main appeal…he tells you how to get booked across the country based only on the credits you have in your hometown. And a lot of other info and tips.

Some people love the idea of touring. Babcock barely broke even on the trip, but says it was worth the experience and meeting people. I’m looking forward to touring one day, so I’ll definitely come back to this piece when it comes time.

Everything You Need To Know About Being A Young Comic

This is one of my most favorite resources on comedy out there. And it’s just a Youtube video with no picture, only audio.

It’s a sit down conversation with Ari Shaffir, a headlining comic who has hosted his own Comedy Central show, This Is Not Happening. All he does is spew advice. For four hours. Yeah, four hours.

If you’re into doing stand up this will be the most fascinating thing ever. If you’re not it will probably be the most boring thing ever.

Learn more about Ari Shaffir on his site.

Doug Stanhope on Giving Advice

Doug Stanhope is a comic whose style I don’t particularly like, but one who I really respect. Someone on reddit posted this great quote of his about why comics shouldn’t give advice to other less experienced comics. The redditor who posted it said they found it on his blog.

“I was once in my early years of comedy and semi-popular in the ranks of the open mics in Phoenix when a comic higher-up in the ranks – Joey Scazzola – caught me giving advice to a new guy.

He said ‘Never give anyone advice because you’re only telling them how to be more like you.’ Every time I’ve erred and given someone advice, I remembered that.

If you want advice, you most likely just want someone to reassure you of what you already know. If they tell you otherwise, you’ll either discount it or you’ll take their advice and no longer be following the instincts that got you in this to begin with. So either way, you didn’t need the advice.”