Stand-Up Comedy for Beginners: A Free Course From First Joke to First Open Mic

A topic is a subject. A premise is your take on it. “Shopping” is a topic; “Self-checkout makes me feel like an unpaid employee” is a premise. Your angle gives the audience something to follow.

List the things you notice, misunderstand, love, resent or do badly. Start small and concrete: a family habit, a confusing sign, an awkward purchase. Give the audience what they need to know, not your whole life story.

Two ways to fill the page

• Freewriting. Set a timer for ten minutes and write about one subject without stopping: your commute, your family's group chat, your first job. Fix nothing. Then underline the lines with some heat in them.
• List-making. Put a subject at the top of the page and list twenty things about it in five minutes. The surprising ones tend to turn up after the obvious ones are used up, so keep going past ten.

Your attitude is the engine

A premise gets funnier when it says how you feel: confused, annoyed, scared, delighted. Your point of view is what makes the joke yours instead of anyone's.

Curious what kind of funny you like? Find Your Comedy Lane takes twelve rounds to tell you, and a comic you love can point you toward a voice of your own.

Watch for this Everyday and family observational clips: pick one and write the comic's premise in a sentence, the topic and their take on it.

• Go deeperThe idea mine, in The Writers’ Room
• In the bookChapter 2, Writing Comedy
• PracticeYour joke notebook

The setup gives the audience the information and the expectation. The punchline changes the expectation. A tag adds another laugh without building the setup again. Six tools help you shape a joke, and the examples below are D.O.C. practice examples, written for this course.

Try different endings. Cut what the audience doesn't need. Say it out loud: a line that reads well on paper can sound stiff on stage. A structure helps you work on a joke; the room tells you when it's finished. There's more in How to Write a Joke and How to Tighten a Joke.

Watch for this Concept and wordplay clips: find one punchline, then count the tags that follow it.

• Go deeperTwenty joke shapes, in The Writers’ Room
• In the bookChapter 2, Writing Comedy
• PracticeYour joke notebook

Five minutes is a classic first goal, but build for the slot the mic gives you, even if it's shorter. Ask the host, then open with a bit you know cold and end on a closer you chose on purpose.

Keep a simple running order: opener, bit, bit, closer. Plan how you move from one subject to the next. Rehearse at speaking volume and leave room for laughs: a set with breathing room plays better than one rushed to fit more in.

A set list is a memory aid. Where notes are allowed, a few cue words are plenty. The set builder in the practice room adds up the times you measure out loud, and How Long Is a Comedy Set? covers the slots you'll meet later.

Watch for this Deadpan storytelling clips: write one clip's running order, the opener, the bits and the closer.

• Go deeperHow to Build a Five-Minute Set
• In the bookChapter 3, Building the Act
• PracticeThe set builder

An open mic is a place to try material. Rooms run their nights in their own ways, so a few questions before you go make the night easy:

• Confirm the day, the room and the sign-up time with the host or the venue.
• Ask about the time limit, age rules, language guidelines, any fee or purchase, and whether newcomers can sign up.
• Find out whether names are drawn, booked ahead or taken in order of arrival.
• Ask about recording, access needs and any gear you need.
• Going once just to watch is a great way to learn a room.

Stage Time lists tonight's open mics near you that comedy clubs publish, and Houston, Dallas–Fort Worth and Austin room by room. The questions to ask, ready to copy, are on Your first set, and Open Mic Etiquette covers the night itself.

Watch for this Classic self-deprecation clips: time how long the comic takes to get to the first laugh.

• Go deeperOpen mics tonight, on Stage Time
• In the bookChapter 5, Open Mics and Early Career
• PracticeThe mic log

Check where the host wants you to wait and how acts are brought up. When you're called, get to the mic, make sure the room can hear you, and begin. Lift the mic out of the stand, then set the stand behind you or to one side, out of your way.

Hold the mic steadily near your mouth and keep your voice clear. Pause after the punchline and let the laugh land. Look up and out when you can. Ask the host what the light means and where to look for it. There's more in Stage Presence and Comedic Timing.

Lost your place? Breathe and go to a bit you know. When your time is up, finish your line and hand the room back to the host.

Watch for this Deadpan surreal clips: watch where the comic pauses and lets the laugh land.

• Go deeperMicrophone Technique
• In the bookChapter 4, The Stage
• PracticeThe rehearsal timer

Ask permission before you record. Soon after the set, note what you said, where the audience reacted and where you sped up. Watch the recording later with one question in mind.

Look at the joke, the delivery and the room one at a time. Was the setup clear? Could people hear the ending? Did you leave space for the laugh? One audience is useful information, and the next room adds more.

Change one thing at a time, so you can see what made the difference, and keep your earlier versions. The laugh counter in the practice room gives a bit its laughs per minute, so you can compare one version with the next, and the mic buddy card on Your first set gives a friend four questions to answer.

Watch for this Full specials: watch the first five minutes of one and mark where the laughs come.

• Go deeperComic Critique, for the transcript of your tape
• In the bookChapter 17, Recording and Specials
• PracticeThe laugh counter

Nerves come with caring about the set, even when you're prepared. Settle what you can: know the route, arrive before sign-up, rehearse your first line and keep the set inside its time. A great first goal is “deliver the set and learn”.

If a joke meets silence, carry on with your next line, and the audience comes with you. An interruption isn't always a heckle: it may be staff, noise or someone who misheard. If someone does talk over you, a calm, friendly line and straight back to your set usually does it, and the host looks after the rest of the room.

For an early set, your prepared material is home base. Crowd work is a separate skill you can build later, and Performing for a Small Crowd covers the quieter nights.

Watch for this Absurdist one-liner clips: notice the rhythm, one line, a beat, then the next line.

• Go deeperNerves & Hecklers, with a breathing timer
• In the bookChapters 4 and 20, The Stage and When Things Go Wrong
• PracticeThe rehearsal timer

Watch a set once for fun and again for technique. Notice how the comic gives information, changes direction, uses silence and closes a bit. Compare performers with different styles and different audiences.

Keep notes like “short setup, long pause, then a tag”. Take the technique, and build the words, the characters and the premises from your own life. If an idea of yours sounds like something you've heard, rewrite it toward your own experience or pick another one.

Books and podcasts show you ways to work, and scripted shows give you something to talk about. Your own material grows fastest in front of people. How to Get Better at Stand-Up has more.

Watch for this Character, voice and persona clips: note three techniques the comic uses, and none of the words.

• Go deeperStyles of Stand-Up Comedy
• In the bookChapter 1, Starting From Zero
• PracticeYour study notes

Paid spots come in different shapes. A host introduces the acts and runs the room. A feature fills a longer middle slot. A headliner carries the main set. A corporate or private event often comes with clear content guidelines. Titles and slot lengths vary from booker to booker.

Before you ask, have ready a short bio, a clear recent clip, your town, your availability and the amount of material you can deliver reliably. Describe your content accurately and your credits as they are. How to Write a Comedian Bio helps with the first.

Ask for the date, the place, the slot length, the fee, when you're paid, the recording terms, travel and cancellation in writing. Offer a clean set once you have one ready. A social clip helps people find you; a booker also wants to see you hold the slot they're filling. Calls for comics turn up on Comedy Jobs & Gigs, and once you're booked, the Promo Studio makes the poster.

Watch for this Short clips: watch one as a booker would. Does the first minute show you who this comic is?

• Go deeperHow Comedians Get Booked at Comedy Clubs
• In the bookChapter 8, Getting Booked
• PracticeThe booking message

Track what each outing costs and what it teaches you. A hobby and a business are different plans, and both are good ones. Add up travel, parking, fees and purchases with your own figures, and you can see exactly what your stage time costs you.

The comics who get asked back arrive on time, are kind to the staff, finish inside their time and give the next act a good room.

When you look at a class or a showcase, the good ones tell you up front:

• who teaches it, and their own stage experience;
• how much stage time in front of a real audience is included;
• how much one-to-one feedback on your own material you'll get;
• the full price, what it covers, and whether ticket sales are part of it;
• what happens if you can't make a date.

Choose the next step that fits your skill, your budget and what you want from comedy. After Open Mics covers showcases, bringers and contests.

Watch for this Personal and confessional clips: notice how a comic turns their own life into a set.

• Go deeperYour next ninety days, on Road Maps
• In the bookChapter 11, Money
• PracticeThe mic log, with each night's cost