Laughing At Your Own Jokes

This is just going to be a quick rant. There is a stigma to laughing at your own jokes. Many people will discourage you from doing it. But don't listen to them. Your jokes need to be funny to you before it can be funny to other people. It's okay to laugh at your own...

My Roasting Strategy

When at a roast, most comedians will insult the roastee. They will take whatever general information they have on the roastee and twist it to make fun of that person. This is usually the right way to go about a roast and the right type of content to use, but sometimes one of the comedians...

Reading from a Script: A Word of Discouragement

There are some benefits from having your jokes scripted. If you are anything like me, you have a lot of trouble memorizing your jokes. For me, this mainly stems from me writing my jokes pretty much right up until I'm on stage. In doing that, I don't have time to practice. In relation to that,...

The Lineup

First of all, it goes without saying that not every comedian get the same amount of laughs. In one show there can be a great difference in audience reaction between comedians. Because of this, every show will have its peaks and valleys. One of the keys of a stand-up show is for the organizer to...

Keeping Them Warm: Things To Do When You’re the MC

I hate being the MC of a stand-up show. I've done it three times now and I consider those to be my absolute three worst performances. Being an MC requires certain skills (skills that I don't have). It's a talent all unto itself.  A comedian can't go about their normal set when hosting because it...

Handling the Fallout: 3 Ways to Recover from a Bombing Joke

Not getting the audience to laugh at a joke is something that's hard to deal with. It doesn't just ruin the joke that failed, but it also drains the energy out of the room. It makes the audience less receptive of the next joke. With that being said there are certain things to say or...

Shifting Focus

Hello all. For the coming weeks I will no longer be posting anything on Wednesday. I will only be posting every Saturday at 8 p.m. though. I need some more time to produce video content for both my show, Segments, and for my portfolio for my job search. Thank you to everyone who has read...

A Couple Notes on the Importance of Audience Participation in Improv

Audience participation is vital in improv. Whether its giving suggestions for scenes, getting involved in certain games, or just reacting to the jokes, they play a huge role in any improv show. “I love getting inspiration from the audience," says Tag Improv Communication Chair Mandi Matteucci. "I think it give us energy to hear them...

The Order of a Story

If I am ever struggling to write a story, someone will tell me one of two things. They could tell me to just start from the beginning and keep writing. Go wherever the story takes me. They could also tell me to know the ending of the story first so I know where the story...

The Funniest Person in the Room: A Look into Improv Auditions

"We look for team players." says Tag Improv Communication Chair Mandi Matteucci. "We always say to our auditionees, 'We want you to make your scene partner look better than you do, it’s not about being selfish and going for the joke or the punchline. It’s about working with your partner and building a scene that...