Ep26 Transcript: 3 Tips to Get Started in Standup Comedy Top Takeaways from Stephanie McHugh

Andrea Vahl: Hey, late starters, it’s your host, Andrea Vahl, and in today’s episode of Top Takeaways, I’m going to dive into three tips to getting started in standup comedy based on episode 25 with Stephanie McHugh.

Intro: Hello Dreamers. Welcome to the Late Starters Club, giving you the inspiration, mindset, and tools you need to start something midlife and beyond. Remember, it’s never too late to follow your dreams.

Andrea Vahl: Okay. Tip number one is to just get started. What are you waiting for? Just try it. It’s okay to try it like Stephanie said. And I would recommend taking a class, and Stephanie mentioned even an online class, if there isn’t one for you locally, that’ll help you craft your jokes, get you familiar with what standup comedy is all about, and make sure that you’re writing a good set to get started.

Just feel free to dip your toe in. It doesn’t hurt. You don’t have to all of a sudden have a goal of getting on a late-night show or something like that, or going to Vegas, but that might be a goal of yours too. So just try it, have a little fun with it, and find some open mics.

Comedy Clip: Let’s bring up contestant number eight. Contestant number eight. Again, a very funny comedian. Please put your hands together for Andrea Vahl. Let’s hear for Andrea Vahl.

Thank you. I live in Superior. It’s better there.

Andrea Vahl: Tip number two is to break it down into baby steps, like Stephanie said, and I like this because it can feel kind of overwhelming and you don’t know where to start. Maybe it’s just going to the open mic or even finding an open mic is your first step.

Maybe finding a friend to go with, for example, seeing what the other comedians are doing, writing down some ideas about what they’ve done that’s worked and not worked for you. And just meeting some of the people. And I think that will help you get your confidence up to do it live.

The advantage of a class is that it kind of then forces you to have a performance, which is really fun.

Comedy Clip: I was called the Greatness, but I let it go to voicemail. Look like a lot of work. I sometimes I see these other people accomplishing so much and I think. Wow. How are they doing such great things when they’re so much dumber than I am?

I don’t know if I have low self-esteem. Or if I really am a stupid, ugly idiot. How do you know?

Andrea Vahl: And then tip number three is just don’t worry what other people think. For sure. Comedy can be really hard. It’s hard when jokes fall flat that you think are really funny. I mean, I’ve had plenty of that. I bombed in Wichita, right? I mean, drunk Wichita did not get my humor. Okay. So that’s going to happen, and like Stephanie said, it is going to hurt sometimes, but if you have a short memory, and just keep going, you’re going to find the laughs.

Also realize that every audience isn’t going to be for you. Sometimes open mics can be hard and so you know, you might find a better audience when you have the right people in front of you. I think just even practicing adding humor into different situations you might be in, like maybe you’re presenting at work or maybe it’s just kind of noticing what your friends are laughing at and writing that down to form it into a joke is a great idea.

And in the Quick Fix Friday episode coming up, I’m going to talk about how to write a joke because you are going to need to write a lot as well. As you all know, I really like books, and one of my recommended books that I would read for this type of thing if you are interested in getting started is Standup is the New Comedy Bible by Judy Carter.

It really outlines a lot of great things about writing jokes, performing, and just getting out there. So take a look at that as a minimum. If you are interested in standup and if you’re thinking about doing it, just do.

Outro: Hope that was helpful, and make sure you grab the free guide Top Tools for Late Starters on the website at latestartersclub.com and let’s turn dreaming into doing.