Katherine | September 22, 2009
I’m still making my way through Comic Insights: The Art of Stand-up Comedy by Franklyn Ajaye. It’s one of the most intelligent books I have read on the subject for a very long time.
Ajaye speaks largely from his own experience, then presents his interviews with a diverse range of other stand-ups. This gives readers a [...]
Katherine | September 11, 2009
I recently found this comment in a movie review “A surfeit of the kind of crude, sexually graphic jokes that work in darkly lit stand up comedy stores…drag(s) the film down.”
I have been concerned for some time that many of the comedy venues rely heavily on dark humour. Worse the audiences come specifically looking for [...]
Katherine | September 7, 2009
One of the most crucial aspects of performance is keeping your energy up. I’m not saying that you have to have an upbeat hyper persona, just a powerful presence that galvanises people’s attention. I have seen perfectly good jokes fall flat because the performer’s energy went flat. Here’s a list of things you can do [...]
Katherine | August 29, 2009
Since I discussed stage movement last Friday, I thought this Friday I might lay down some technical details about stages and stage blocking for the beginners.
As a comedian you are going to be potentially facing four types of performance spaces: proscenium theatre, theatre in the round (arena), thrust (platform or open stage), and a space [...]
Katherine | August 22, 2009
I recently had a chance to catch up with some of my TV watching. Top on my list was the 2009 Raw Comedy Finals on the ABC. This is the national competition that uncovers some of Australia’s finest comedy talent. It was an interesting mix of comedians. We had men, women, duos, musical acts, doing [...]
Katherine | August 10, 2009
Hello Funsters and Seekers of LOLitanium,
I have done my best to keep up with the blog and pack at the same time. However, this is the last week before M-Day and I’m doing my best to neither explode and leave a greasy brown mess on the boxes, nor implode and disappear into an alternative universe.
I [...]
Katherine | July 31, 2009
When I first started studying literature I noticed my compatriots tended to either be high-minded: reading and writing only high literary or avant garde works, or genre focused: reading and writing only within a single field such as speculative fiction, mystery, horror, or romance.
The problem with an English degree is that you go into the [...]
Katherine | July 24, 2009
For standup comedians your most valuable asset is your voice. As such you will need to take good care of it. The last thing you want is for your voice to become hoarse or raspy during a performance, or worse still, lose it all together. Ongoing abuse of your voice can result in vocal cord [...]
Katherine | July 20, 2009
Back in my article about Comedy Dance Steps I spoke of the three-step. That particular comedy formula goes: introduction, validation, violation. For instance—”You must make sure you get plenty of the three major food groups
every day: fruit, vegetables, and chocolate cake.” The third item may not be impossible, but it will always be unlikely. The [...]
Katherine | July 10, 2009
A saving line is a joke told to rescue a situation where a standup may have forgotten the next bit, messed up a punchline, or a joke has fallen flat with a particular audience (what works one night with one audience, may not
another night with a different audience, and vice versa).
A comedian can either have [...]
