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    How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto
    How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto
    How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto
    Ebook167 pages1 hour

    How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto

    By Chris MacLean

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    About this ebook

    Finally! A how-to book on getting into stand-up comedy in Canada, land of some of the funniest people on earth! How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto is the first and only how-to book on stand-up comedy in Canada. This easy workbook gives inside information on writing your first jokes, getting stage time, and getting ahead fast in Canadian comedy. It also gives vital information about the hugely important Toronto comedy scene, where comics from across Canada come for their big break. Recipient of the gold medal for humour, and silver medal best design non-fiction from the 2013 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, and 2014 finalist for the Foreword Reviews Book of the Year Awards. Written by Toronto-based comedian Chris MacLean, who performs stand-up in North America and Britain and has appeared in film, television, and print and is the subject of a documentary.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherChris MacLean
    Release dateMay 10, 2014
    ISBN9781310587009
    How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy: A Guide to Becoming a Comedian in Toronto
    Author

    Chris MacLean

    Comedian and multiple-award winning author Chris MacLean has appeared in film, television, and print media and has performed stand-up throughout the United States, Canada and Britain.

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      Book preview

      How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy - Chris MacLean

      Do You Have a Dream?

      How do people start in stand-up comedy?

      Could I be a comedian?

      Am I funny?

      Could I become famous by being a stand-up comic?

      If you ask yourself questions like these then you have a dream to become a stand-up comedian.

      What is stand-up comedy?

      Definition: stand-up comedy

      Stand-up comedy is when someone performs jokes or stories that are meant to be funny in front of an audience.

      Imagine yourself standing onstage, the lights shining and focusing only on you, a huge audience laughing uproariously under your influence during your television special.

      Feel how exciting it would be to have crowds of people laughing with and feeling good because of you.

      Pretty exciting dream, isn’t it?

      You can achieve this dream.

      You just need to know how to take the first steps without tripping up.

      This book is the tool that will help you take those first steps, even if achieving your dream seems far away.

      Come, oh wise reader, and let me show you how close you may really be to living your funny dream.

      About How to Start in Stand-Up Comedy

      This book will give you the basic information you need to start in stand-up comedy, including:

      1. help for writing your first jokes;

      2. how to get booked on comedy shows;

      3. how to deal with show producers;

      4. understanding of what is involved in being a stand-up comedian;

      5. advice from someone who is successfully established as a comedian;

      6. insight to help you network and create more opportunities for yourself;

      7. perspectives to help build your confidence, both for performing, and becoming part of the comedy community;

      8. explanations of comedy terms;

      9. and some fun stuff to keep things interesting.

      This book can help you start in stand-up comedy anywhere. It will guide you through your first performances and early months of comedy.

      It is meant to be a workbook to write notes and your first few jokes. That is why the cover is a notebook page, and there are joke writing pages at the end.

      This book also gives you unique insight into the Toronto comedy scene, which is different from cities in the United States such as Los Angeles or New York.

      If you live in Toronto, this book will get you started in stand-up comedy in the city you call home.

      If you live in Canada, it will help you begin your comedy career within the Canadian context.

      And if you are one of the many comedians from elsewhere in the world who is interested in coming to Toronto to do stand-up, this book will help you do it.

      Toronto has a huge comedy scene. It could be called English Canada’s Comedy Central. It’s where many of our most famous comedians began their careers.

      You can start in stand-up comedy alongside some of the best comedians of the future.

      You may even end up being one of the best.

      Who Starts in Stand-Up Comedy?

      Who starts in stand-up comedy? It could be you. Stand-up comedy is one of the most accessible ways to break into show business. You don’t have to be pretty, thin, educated, or smart. And if you are fat, not too attractive, have a mental disorder, and didn’t finish high school then even better.

      Stand-up is a way for people who live behind the curtains of society to come centre stage and shine.

      Here’s a list of just some of the characters I have met doing stand-up:

      1. people who think they were ugly ducklings who lacked friends in school;

      2. those with a dark past;

      3. people who are considered odd;

      4. folks with attention deficit disorder or mental health issues;

      5. individuals with a variety of physical conditions or who would generally not be considered supermodel perfect;

      6. socially awkward and desperately shy people.

      Stand-up is a way for people who think they go unnoticed to become acknowledged.

      Performing jokes on stage is a way to prove yourself. It shows you can be clever. You can be likeable. You can take control of an entire room by making people laugh. You are worth looking at, watching and listening to.

      Done superbly, stand-up comedy can make you rich and famous.

      At a minimum, it tends to impress other people just because you tried it.

      Stand-up comedy is also fun, exciting and challenging. Some people even find it addictive.

      But comedy isn’t the easiest career. You might want to think about what is involved before getting started.

      What to Consider Before Starting

      How bad do you want it?

      Stand-up comedy is like a rollercoaster: fun, exciting, scary, and it can take a long time to make it to the top. But there are lots of rewards if you are willing to invest time in this art that may never pay you back in cash.

      Do you love to write?

      Stand-up comedians are writers first and performers second. You need to write material before you perform it. That means spending a lot of time home alone writing when you could be out playing with your friends. What’s that? You don’t have any friends and spend most of your time alone anyway? Then you might be perfectly suited to being a comedian.

      Does the thought of performing inspire you?

      It’s okay to be scared early on at the thought of telling jokes, but you will need to get past that nervousness in order to perform. Doing stand-up comedy means getting on a stage, by yourself, and performing your own jokes in front of a live audience of people who are not just your friends and family.

      Do you have the time?

      You may just want to try doing stand-up once for fun and to see how it goes. That is a great way to start. Then you can consider how much time you want to spend working on it. One of the great things about stand-up is that you decide how many hours you put into your success. But to be successful will take time. Amateur-level comedians who are serious about comedy may spend 20 hours or more a week writing, performing, watching, networking, booking, promoting and producing shows - without pay.

      Do you have income from other sources?

      Few comedians make their money exclusively from stand-up comedy. Comics often act in film, television, or write for others. One of the great things about stand-up comedy is that it often attracts other opportunities in the entertainment industry to you. On the downside, unless you are both hilarious and driven, you will likely need those other opportunities to stay afloat financially, especially at the beginning.

      The best way to start in stand-up comedy is to not have any expectations. Go ahead and roll those funny dice! What’s the worst that can happen? Even if you bomb on stage you probably will not actually explode into little bits...probably.

      What is a Stand-Up Comedian?

      Imagine a comedian. Chances are that person:

      1. enjoys glory on stage; maybe afterwards too!

      2. gets everyone’s attention;

      3. makes lots of money;

      4. has an audience that thinks the comedian is hilarious;

      5. is being funny by telling jokes, stories, or through goofy facial expressions;

      6. performs standing up;

      7. is on a stage;

      8. has a microphone;

      9. gets to perform on television;

      10. tours regularly performing at comedy clubs;

      11. may be famous;

      12. has a really cool job.

      That all just sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Who wouldn’t love to be paid purely because of their greatness and charm? Who wouldn’t want to live seemingly free as a soaring bird merely for sharing his or her hilarious personality with less funny beings for a few minutes now and then?

      First, let’s look at the basic definitions for comic, comedian, and stand-up comic:

      Definition: comic

      Someone or something that is funny.

      Definition: comedian

      An entertainer who tries to make others laugh.

      Definition: stand-up comedian or stand-up comic

      Someone who tries to make others laugh by performing alone and telling jokes or stories and who may sometimes use props.

      Notice the more specific definition for stand-up comedian versus comedian? The term comedian can include a performer other than a joke teller.

      Note: for this book, I have used comedian and comic pretty much interchangeably, but unless otherwise stated, I am always referring to a stand-up comic or comedian.

      Is your image of a comedian true?

      Often comedians present an image that they live a carefree, fantasy life. They frequently get on stage and talk about how lazy they are, how they don’t have to work a real job, how their job only takes a few minutes, etc. There is an underlying joke

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