[nborwankar]

Did a similar 6 week class in standup many many years ago.

Two major things I learned were

a) you have to get the audience hooked in the first 20-30 secs or it gets much harder. Best example Emo Philips opening with “You know it’s really hard when you have to kill a family member because they are the devil. <Pause for laughter>. Other that it’s been a great day”. Now that’s a hook :-)

b) the concept of “laughs per minute” - ie there is a certain rate at which the laughs become self sustaining. It’s 3-4 laughs per minute. If you can keep that up for 2 mins the audience is in a state of laughter that keeps getting more and more intense. If you do less than 2 laughs a minute the energy drops between each laugh and you have to work really hard to bring it back to level. Key is to maintain a rate that results in a high ambient level of hilarity bordering with at least a couple of people cackling loudly and losing it.

Nevertheless when you do a successful set you feel like Superman when you walk off the stage.

[wantoncl]

Another good example is Louie Anderson's debut on Carson:

https://youtu.be/2bRe1CeGe7g

I remember watching this right after he died, and was blown away by how good he was. Not only does he get laughs right away, they're sustained. I went back and timed it, and his first 2 minutes on stage has 1 minute of audience laughter and applause. He nails all the things you mentioned, and has the whole audience roaring in under 3 minutes.

[jsqu99]

that was fantastic, but i feel it's cheating a bit when you just make fun of yourself for being fat for 3 straight minutes. If you took away the obesity, i wonder if it'd have been as easy for him to get laughs. The same thing happens when people harp on their ethnic quirks constantly in sets. Take that away and what else do you have?

[hackflip]

I've noticed a pattern in comedians who have a funny set but never make it big. They have a shtick that works, lean into it, then end up using it as a crutch.

It doesn't scale to a funny second performance.

[racl101]

Then you get creative like Mark Normand (who looks like a garden variety white guy) but draws a lot from his settings and surroundings.

I don't blame people for using their physical idiosyncrasies or ethnicity to get their foot in the door. But you're right in that it only goes so far and you gotta evolve.

[swivelmaster]

“Broad jump: Killed her.” is one of the most clever succinct jokes I have ever heard. Works even better because it’s the only pun in the sequence!

The first two minutes of the set are incredible.