Your last presentation would have been a raging success. The introduction was confident, your structure clear, and your conclusion evoked a hearty applause. “Are there any questions?” you asked, as you beamed confidence…
Raw Comedy 2019 Advice
Are you thinking of entering Raw Comedy in 2020? Check out this more recent article here. Got no idea what I’m talking about? Well, what you should know is thaw Raw Comedy is Australia’s largest amateur comedy competition for, well, raw comedians. And by ‘raw’ the competition’s organisers mean you’ve not earned more than $500 total from comedy – ever. …
The Raw Story with Ben Horowitz
Comedian Ben Horowitz knows Raw Comedy well – he entered three times. His first brush with the amateur competition was in 2002, and although he did pick up two footy club gigs immediately after, he got no further. “The gig was huge,” says Ben reminiscing of his first brush with fame. “There were over 500 people in the audience, and …
How do I become a stand-up comedian?
Have you asked yourself, “How do I become a stand-up comedian in Australia?” There’s no one pathway to learn stand-up comedy. Dave Hughes took over four years on the open mic scene, whereas, some, like Chris Franklin and Matt Okine rose to fame quickly. But what is absolutely universal is that there is no substitute for practice. The more often …
In Your Career, You Need To Take Funny Seriously
Guest post by Marty Wilson When you’re presenting to a group, do their eyes sparkle or gently glaze over? If you’re giving a speech, are they nodding in agreement, or just nodding off? At the end of your new business pitch do people write you a cheque, or check their pulse? Stand Up, Stand Out In the age of the …
How to deal with a heckler
Parking inspectors and comedians have one thing in common – abuse from the general public. No matter how good your jokes, no matter how many friends you have in the audience, one day you will have to deal with a heckler. Hecklers fall into two categories – they criticise your joke, or they get personal, and criticise you. But be …
How do you write a joke?
There’s many ways to write a joke. At the Hard Knock Knocks stand-up comedy school, we teach three. Our favourite joke structure is the Normal-Normal-Twist. The Normal-Normal-Twist takes the audience on a familiar journey and then suddenly zigs sideways, with a surprise. And no, we didn’t invent this. It’s been used by comedy greats for aeons, even Jerry Seinfeld. Seinfeld demonstrates …
Could You be the Next Nelson Twins?
THE SHORT ANSWER IS ‘NO’ – unless you have a twin and your dad’s name surname is Nelson. But we weren’t talking literally, were we? We were talking metaphorically – could you be the next hot stand-up comedy act out of Australia? Well, Yes. Possibly. So what do you need to make it big? Well, firstly you don’t need to be …
Why would you become a stand-up comedian?
BUNGEE JUMPING, PARACHUTING and stand-up comedy. These are possibly the three most legally terrifyingly activities that one can do today, and yet, with the Melbourne International Comedy Festival in full swing, the city is crawling with hundreds of comic masochists. So what makes them do it? What makes someone leave a perfectly safe seat, climb onto a stage, grab a microphone …