[nickthemagicman]

I always wondered what stew of genetics and upbringing makes someone extremely funny. Its actually a pretty rare trait for someone to be 'professional quality' funny as evidenced by going to a few open mic nights.

I think a lot of people want to be funny and the hustle is admirable, but I wonder if professional comedy is an inherent talent not something you can just read a book about.

Still you don't know if you don't try.

[kritiko]

I'm married to a working comedian and know many. Everybody sucks when they start, and open mics are kind of built for people, even pros, to bomb at as they develop material.

The people who seem "effortlessly funny" often work the hardest - although often that practice is developed in childhood.

[ethbr0]

+1 I used to go to open mics weekly in undergrad (audience, not performing). And hey, it was BYOB in an un-air conditioned attic, for $5.

It was almost more fascinating watching the same person go up week after week, with slight tweaks to their act.

It convinced me that the "talent" for comedy is probably just "attention to detail."

And that the actions required to be successful in comedy were "practice", "perseverance", and ability to use constructive criticism.

[WalterBright]

I'm not the least bit surprised. I was involved in the dance business long ago, and the top dancers danced in an effortlessly elegant manner. Beginners danced like drunk cows, and there was every level in between.

Some people learned faster than others.

But nobody was born elegant, and dancing smoothly and elegantly required endless hours of practice, and relentless attention to detail. You'll find even ballroom champions still spending hours going over how to take a step forward, again and again.

BTW, it isn't about making it look easy. It is easy when you've practiced it enough.

[nickthemagicman]

> Some people learned faster than others.

exactly.

Same with basketball, music, same with programming.

Some people get it immediately, some people never get it, and infinite shades of in between.

Only a true few truly are stars though.

[brodouevencode]

Exactly this. Bill Burr spent many, many years as an opener for other people way less funny than him. Dave Chappelle was in several bit parts and pilots before Half Baked. Richard Pryor was a writer for several years before even starting stand up. George Carlin in his early career is not the Carlin you may have seen, in the ~mid-70s after about a decade he completely changed his look and act. It may take a long time to hone in on an act that works.

[slg]

Chappelle is an interesting example here. He was doing standup on TV and staring in a Mel Brooks movie before he turned 20. But he also wasn't an overnight success. He supposedly started standup at 14 and spent years honing his craft before most comedians even start their career.

Most comics I have heard talk about it say a person needs to do standup for 5-10 years before even naturally funny people actually become good at it. There is much more to it than just being a funny person.

[nickthemagicman]

Being a funny person is the pre requisite.

[WalterBright]

No wonder nobody laughs at my jokes!

[nickthemagicman]

What percentage of people do you see becoming professionally funny to pay the bills from comedy?

From the open mic's I went to there was a very minscule percentage of them and most had been trying for ages.

Not sure it boils down 'just work hard'.

[jjj123]

I’m reading Tom Sharpling’s memoir right now and he mentions noticing as a teenager that his comedic skillset was better than his peers. One thing that stuck out to me was that he’s able to string one thought to another easier than most.

I found it interesting because I hadn’t thought about comedy being about making connections in a funny way but that’s what a lot of it is, and some people are probably predisposed to make those connections with less effort.

[cortesoft]

I think this can be said about a lot of professional level skills. They are hard, and most people can’t do them.

[spaetzleesser]

From what I have seen is that all the good comedians are very good observers and think a lot about how society works and why things are the way they are. It seems the funniness comes second after that. Bad comedians try to be funny but have no depth in their jokes.

[WalterBright]

Good comedy seems to stem from connecting one topic to another in an unexpected way. It's why puns are funny.

[ericmcer]

Growing up I had a group of 6ish close friends, and the goal was 100% to laugh (it kinda still is). Even when we were 13 we all knew who was funniest and who wasn't. There was no practice or work put into it. Granted standup is a totally different skillset from just riffing with friends, but some of us had the confidence, presence and ability and others were more precocious and less clever.

This new Podcast generation of comics is interesting because some stand-ups can go on a show and just riff really well. Others are not that great once they get outside their comfort areas.