Comedy Questions, Answered.
The questions working and new comics ask most — writing a joke, the first open mic, hecklers, getting booked, the money and the road — each answered from the D.O.C. book, Stand-Up Comedy: From Writing to Touring.
Chapter 1 · Starting From Zero
- How Do You Build a Five-Minute Stand-Up Set?Five minutes sounds short until you have to make every second earn its place.
- How Long Is a Comedy Set? Ten, Twenty, Feature and Clean SetsTen minutes is where a comic starts learning whether individual jokes can become an act.
Chapter 2 · Writing Comedy
- How Do You Write a Joke? Premise, Setup, Punchline and the Tools Comics UseA joke can be loose, conversational, strange, story-driven, or theatrical.
Chapter 3 · Building the Act
- How Do Comedians Build an Hour of Material?An hour is not a pile of sixty good minutes.
Chapter 4 · The Stage
- How Do Comedians Handle Hecklers and Tough Rooms?A heckler is an interruption problem before it is a comedy opportunity.
Chapter 5 · Open Mics and Early Career
- Open Mics: How to Find Them, Sign Up and Get It RightAn open mic is a laboratory, gym, classroom, and community entry point.
Chapter 8 · Getting Booked
- How Do Comedians Get Booked at Comedy Clubs?Bookers need enough information to decide whether you fit a specific job without conducting an investigation.
Chapter 10 · The DIY Tour
- Door Deal or Guarantee? How Comedy Show Deals WorkA door deal pays the performer or producer from ticket revenue rather than a fixed guarantee.
Chapter 11 · Money
- How Do Comedians Get Paid After a Show?The joke may take ten years to build; the payment should not take ten months to understand.
- Taxes for Comedians: Income, Expenses and What to Set AsideComedy income can come from multiple payers, states, platforms, and business arrangements.