Professionalism

People see the bad behaviour of A-list actors and something in their psyche says, “I want that kind of freedom.” Even A-list actors start losing jobs if they prove too troublesome. As a beginner or even mid-list actor you can’t afford to be anything less than absolutely professional. A single acting position can attract thousands of people with whom you will be competing.

Professionalism begins with contacting the casting director with a polite call or a short correctly spelled email with CV and headshot attached. Make sure the headshot bears some relationship to the show and part for which you are auditioning. I’m directing comedy, I want headshots with people smiling. Actors don’t have to go overboard trying to look funny, I just need to see that I’m working with more than a block of wood. If you send me a letter or email, have someone check them and your CV for spelling and grammar. I don’t require my actors to be highly literate, but I do want to see that they take the audition seriously.

When you are contacted you will need to be prepared to audition on the date and time you are given. It’s all right to ask if another time is available. However, once that is settled, avoid any attempts to change these again. If you subsequently cannot make your time, call and apologise, even if that means you are giving up the role. You need to maintain a good reputation. If you insult or waste the time of the people working on a production, you will automatically reduce your further opportunities in the industry.

Arrive at the audition on time. Come prepared with certain standard information about yourself and following any instructions given by the casting director. Standard information includes your costume sizes, if you have a car, and your availability. Special instructions may include things like come in a red t-shirt, memorise certain lines, be willing to audition at a cafe. Before the audition it is acceptable to ASK if you will be provided with a script. Demanding the entire script is a good way to alienate the people on a production. Original material has to be protected. Such a demand might be met as a favour to an A-list actor, anyone else would require a non-disclosure agreement.

For original comedy you may be asked to do cold readings. I usually start by just chatting with an actor to determine if they are likable (absolutely crucial for effective comedy), show charisma, and are capable of being witty in conversation. A cold reading on top of this will show me if the actor is quick in catching the jokes, capable of improvising, and takes direction well. From long experience no matter how good the actor, if they can’t take direction, they aren’t worth the grief.

Once you have completed the audition, thank the people involved and make sure you have left your contact details. If you haven’t heard from the production in one to two weeks afterward, you can either assume you didn’t get the role or call once to confirm. Understand that so long as you remain polite and civil, your audition may have been successful enough for you to be remembered for future roles, just perhaps not this one. I have called people back on more than one occasion. You can also turn down a role. Do so politely. Anything less will affect your industry reputation.

If your audition was successful, you still aren’t off the hook regarding professionalism. You will need to be easily contacted at all times by phone or email. You will need to respond promptly to all communication. Check your email daily. Confirm the receipt of instructions, rather than relying on the production people to assume. If you have any difficulties, give the production plenty of time and help to work around you. If you can’t make a rehearsal (do this rarely), inform people as soon as possible and NOT the day of. I have allergies to certain colourants and perfumes, so I will inform people and often get asked to come in a day early for a makeup test before filming.

Turn up to ALL rehearsals. Turn up to all rehearsals promptly and stay until the designated completion time. If your lines are not currently being rehearsed, sit quietly. Begin learning your lines immediately, rather than waiting for the director to set deadlines.

Experience

I find all sorts of experience are valid for building fine performance skills, not just big name acting schools. Nevertheless, you still need experience. I have had more than one actor turn up with a nearly empty resume, then ask immediately what sort of money they can expect. If you are a practitioner of any art form, you will have to put in many hours of skill development without pay. This is not about fair or unfair. Most jobs require training without pay, except perhaps the military.

Treat ALL productions equally. Whether you are in an amateur, volunteer, or professional production behave reliably, responsibly, and to the best of your ability. These shows provide you with skill-building, networking, and a reputation (preferably a good one). I have brought on actors through word of mouth by other actors who knew them in an amateur production. I also know of a few actors who started being knocked-back because people they mistreated in their early days were now in positions of power. You are not functioning in a vacuum.

As a director I completely respect amateur experience. It shows you are willing to put in the work and have a genuine passion for acting. Volunteer productions have the added value of professional intent. They may not make money, but they are stretching for excellence. Experience with standup comedy is of great use to me. I have the funny factor for which I’m looking. Comedians will have to prove they can act and, more importantly, that they can work with other people.

Getting Over Yourself

This issue boggles me, but I’ve run up against it so many times, it’s worth noting. Comedy involves many crazy and insane roles. Even the “straight” roles will involve moments when the character will either behave foolishly or be the butt of foolishness. This should be understood.

I frequently have had actors apply who think comedy sounds like fun, but are terrified of allowing themselves to be funny. This isn’t about having the comic equivalent of two left feet. This is about people who have carefully groomed their persona for one type of leading role and live it everyday. Even dramatic roles require more flexibility, but these actors admire and emulate cultural stereotypes. Letting that persona slip feels like an ego death.

To do comedy you must have a greater self-acceptance and resilience in the face of your own humanity. You must be comfortable with your self as a fallible human being. You must be in touch with the core of who you are then play with being other, rather than always living the mask. You also have to be brave enough to make large gestures, take large risks, and live with the odd large disaster. Comedy is mostly about exaggeration.

Sex

You might think I put this in to get your attention. Hey! And it worked. Comedy revolves around sex, violence, and fallibility. I’m less inclined toward the violent end of things, so I use more farcical sex. Sexuality in drama can be controlled and one note. Sexuality in comedy can be chaotic and anarchic.

In audition and in performance you will have to show me that you can walk the line between respectful and open. You will have to be able to convincingly play the male gender, the female gender, trans-gender, and any and all permutations in-between. Panto thrives on the humour of inverted genders. You will have to be able to passionately embrace all genders. You will then have to be able to switch that passion on and off, depending upon whether you are on stage or not. You will have both the confidence and humility to ask your acting partner regularly, “Is that all right? Are you comfortable with that?” Then you will listen to and respect their response.

Sleeze-bags who think they are funny will be weeded out faster than you can say “uh…” Sexual harrassment laws apply equally to theatre as to any other work place. Everyone’s permission for certain behaviours must be clear. I’ve already had to deal once with some minor dressing room harrassment. Fortunately, it took only a word to the wise to sort out.

Conclusion

The screen and stage industries in Australia are small. Even elsewhere the number of performers far outstrips the number of available roles. This imbalance has upon occasion been abused. Yes, you have to be hyper-polite to make it. Learning equanimity, patience, humility, and forgiveness along with timing, gesture, and motivation will get you a long way. Your reputation is worth absolute gold, jealously guard it. I do not believe the competition means you have to compromise your integrity, because that too will form part of your reputation. It’s mostly a matter of treating everyone you meet with respect.

When you go in to audition, learn how to keep your ego in balance. You need that ego to give you the self-confidence to do a grand and guffaw-worthy performannce. Also understand that yours is not the only sensitive ego, many artists go into creating a collaborative work such as a play or film. Your graciousness and civility will make you a prime candidate for involvement.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

Ajaye speaks largely from his own experience, then presents his interviews with a diverse range of other stand-ups. This gives readers a chance to make their own conclusions, following the advice of those comedians whose style or approach is compatible with their own. Others who have written on comedy have made broad sweeping generalisations without even this much in the way of researched evidence.

In one section of his book Ajaye speaks of performance goals. When you first start out he has found it useful to hold non-laugh related skills development goals. For instance you might have as a goal to make sure you speak in a measured pace, stopping now and then to let the audience laugh, if they are doing so. After the show you can listen to the tape of yourself and judge how well you have achieved that goal and what things you can do next time to improve upon it.

With a short list of specific goals you are more likely to constructively dissect what happened on stage and to build upon your performance. With only a vague notion of what you are doing, you may either not think about what happened and not develop, or tear yourself to shreds. Neither of these are helpful.

Ajaye then suggests creating a broader and more ongoing list of goals. His own list includes: to have a command of the stage and feel comfortable, to add more power to his delivery, and to incorporate more visual and audio variety into his performance. After reading this I took on some of his goals and included a few of my own, for instance: to have fun while on stage and to project that energy to the audience, and to allow myself to be outrageous without fear of uncoolness.

So, your exercise for today, should you decide to accept, is to make a list of at least four personal performance goals.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

* Eat and drink only low GI foods before a show.

The last thing you want is a sugar crash or after meal drowsies part of the way through your performance. So either eat low GI or make sure to take a cookie with you on stage.

* Wear clothes that are comfortable.

This will keep you from unneccessarily expending energy on tugging at waistbands or having your mind drift off onto how your toes are being crushed by your pointy shoes.

* Allow yourself to be seen and heard.

I’ve seen far too many performers wanting you to laugh at their jokes, but hiding themselves by wearing dark clothes, shuffling back and forth, standing far back on the stage, looking away from the audience, etc. You diminish yourself and your performance this way by withholding your visible energy. The same is true of perfomers who mumble or speak in a low voice, they are withholding their auditory energy.

* Allow yourself to be uncool and vulnerable.

You are a comedian. Comedians are all about sending up the cool people of the world. Comedians are all about reminding people of their humanity. If you are afraid of looking like a dork, then you are in the wrong industry. Let your dorkiness hang out. Let people laugh when you make mistakes. Anxiety from misplaced self-consciousness and insecurity will rob you of your stage presence.

You need make no apologies for yourself. And that is cool.

* Be 100% committed to everything you do, even if it fails.

Only one real sin exists in entertainment and that’s being boring. Children and animals tend to upstage the adults because they are so completely intent on what they are doing that they draw everyone’s attention. They are not boring. The energy of a pure line of intention is mesmerising to people. They want to know what you are doing, why you are doing it, and what will become of your efforts. With intention alone you have already built an affective story.

* Get yourself psyched.

This is where you can hop from foot to foot. Just before going on stage jump, dance around, wriggle your body and chant, “It’s gonna be great, it’s gonna be great.” Anything that will start your energetic engine pumping.

* Ground your energy and stay focussed.

With the engine pumping it’s now time to drive the energy forward in a single pure line where it will have the most impact, right toward your audience. Set your feet solidly on the ground shoulder width apart, take a deep breath, smile, then get going.

* Believe your audience is basically friendly.

I know I’m repeating myself with a number of these, but they are important. Have faith in your audience. See them as a bunch of friends and family at Uncle George’s barbeque, people you are so comfortable with that you don’t mind behaving like a bit of a loon. Who ever cared if you farted at one of those events? Imagine yourself in the same situation.

* Have fun with what you are doing.

If you are having a good time, your energy will be bright, infectious, and your audience will love it. Otherwise, what are you doing in comedy?

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

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 in the corner of a pub. Each of these have unique advantages and disadvantages. If you start touring, you may be surprised with any one of these four and need to be prepared.

Proscenium Theatre

This is the most standard theatre type. You have a large frame, much like a picture frame, or “arch” through which the audience observes the action beyond. The frame is the area across which the curtains are drawn. Frequently, you will also have an “apron”, a short area in front of the frame. The stage is usually raised above the height of the first row of seats and may have an orchestra pit between stage and audience. The audience are seated in rows facing the stage.

Even without the traditional architectural arrangements, if a performance space is divided in two with performers on one side of the room and audience in facing rows on the other side, then that is also considered proscenium.

The whole point of proscenium theatres is that they provide the illusion of a fourth wall through which you are secretly observing events in people’s lives. This means they also create a  psychic distance that comedians who are creating a rapport with their audience must surmount. You will see many comedians stand as far forward as possible, often on the apron, while delivering their lines. Others will even jump off the stage and start walking down aisles in order to speak more directly with their fans.

Having nearly fallen into the orchestra pit myself during a performance, I warn comedians to mark a spot on the stage beyond which they will not step. It’s acceptable to put a piece of tape on the floor to remind yourself where the line is.

The advantages of proscenium come to fore when you start having more than one comedian sharing the space. People are very willing to suspend their disbelief with this sort of theatre and allow you to create other worlds no matter how silly or absurd. You can also play around with perceptions of time, distance, emotional weight, etc.

Theatre in the Round (Arena)

Theatre in the round is when the performance is held in the centre of a space with the audience surrounding all sides. I know of a few funky bar venues that use this style of staging, particularly if they’re using a converted dance floor. More frequently your hugely popular comedians have to face this performance arrangement in order to accommodate the size of their audience, and end up at a sports arena or the like.

So, the obvious advantage is the sheer volume of people to whom you can give a clear view of the comedian. The disadvantage is that the comedian will always have their back turned to at least half their audience. Certainly, screens broadcasting a face front view of the comedian at all times helps, but if the comedian doesn’t turn and look directly into each section of the audience, those who did not see the comedian’s eyes will feel they haven’t received their money’s worth.

I would only recommend using this form of theatre if you have dynamic material which lends itself to broad frequent movements. I have seen this done successfully by the likes of Ross Noble and Robin Williams, but they project very high energy personas.

Thrust

Most people are familiar with thrust theatres through the fashion industry. The catwalk can in fact be a form of thrust. You will note that the performance space often begins in a proscenium, then a narrow raised platform continues out into the audience space with people surrounding the performance from three sides.

Thrust can work very well for comic performances. If you’re a bit nervous, you can stand at the beginning of the thrust and do your routine proscenium style. You can also use that thrust to get more dramatic with your stories, or more personal with your audience, by walking up and down the space. I would recommend doing this, since with such an arrangement the audience will expect it. Just remember that the further forward you walk on that stage, the more people will be seeing the back of your head.

The Corner of a Pub

This is the least ideal staging. You will probably have a mic and a basic sound system. You may or may not be on a raised platform of some sort. You will be lucky to get a spotlight.

To work this space you will need to learn a lot about vocal projection and charisma. Anything less and you will get lost in the background once people start talking to one another over a beer. Foot movement should probably be cut out all together. You may have the space to only walk a few steps, and short staccato movements generally weaken a performance by distracting the audience from what you are saying. Hand and facial movement are now crucial, since they will help you to convey meaning over poor acoustics.

Yes, this is the low end of comic performance spaces. However, this is where many people get their start. Places like this for honing your skills are invaluable. Also, if you can get people to laugh in a crowded noisy environment, you can get them to laugh anywhere.

Blocking

Performance spaces are generally divided into a grid of nine sections for blocking, five in the case of a thrust theatre.

At one time stages were set at an angle, since the audience might be seated on a level surface. In this way they could see what was going on at the back of the stage as well as the front. More common these days is raised seating, but even so many stages are still at a slight angle. Therefore, we refer to the portion of the stage furthest from the audience as “upstage” and the portion of the stage closest to the audience as “downstage”. And of course between those sections is “centre stage”. In addition to “up” and “down” you also have “stage right” or “house left” and “stage left” or “house right”. Stage left or right is from the actor’s perspective looking out toward the audience. House left or right is from the audience’s perspective.

Proscenium stage grid.

For theatre in the round you have the same grid, but you will be speaking of the space in terms of north, south, east, west, northwest, northeast, southwest, southeast, and centre.

Theatre in the round (arena) grid.

With thrust you lose four sections of the grid.

Thrust theatre grid.

As a single comedian, you are likely to be using almost exclusively the downstage area and/or centre stage areas. Should you be part of a comedy team involving two or more comic actors, then it’s worth making use of the whole space. When you are crossing the stage be sure to always go toward the middle centre of the stage, pivot toward the next part of the stage you wish to inhabit, then move out. This gives your performance a point of focus for the audience.

You should be aware of some subconsciously understood conventions. Moving from house left (stage right) to house right (stage left) is experienced by the audience as a move from the past into the future. I assume this is from our experience of reading. I’ve asked whether in Asia, where some languages are read right to left, if they have the same convention, and haven’t had an answer from anyone yet. Upstage to downstage is seen as moving from past to present. Moving from house right to house left is generally felt to be a more difficult task by the audience. This would be the direction to go if you mime walking against the wind.

Directly facing the audience is the most powerful postion you can take. The next most powerful is facing directly away from the audience, but should be used sparingly for dramatic effect. Profiles are sometimes made stronger by the performers actually speaking to one another while looking toward the audience in a quarter profile stance. A three-quarters profile looking upstage is your weakest stance.

Some of the big comedians have directors who think about these things for them. You will attract such a director more quickly when you start thinking about yourself within a performance space and how to use it to your best advantage now.

For your Friday exercise find a friend and a square space you can run around in. Have your friend shout out “stage left, up”, “stage right, centre”, “down stage”, etc. You are to run to those parts of the stage via middle centre until you readily understand the directions and get a feel for stage movement.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

Overall it was a great night of fun. I did have one niggle. A number of the comedians were wandering all over the stage higgledy-piggledy, forcing cameras this way and that and making me feel motion sick. I’m currently reading Franklin Ajaye’s Comic Insights, a very fine book. He strongly recommends the use of stage movement. I don’t disagree with him, but I would say that budding comedians should follow a few guidelines in this regard.

Certainly standing motionless like a mortified rabbit in gunsight during rabbit season (duck season) often won’t endear you to an audience. But the problem isn’t the standing still. Elliott Goblet, Australia’s answer to Steven Wright, uses very little physical movement and his performances are well loved. The problem is, how much fear are you communicating?

Swaying from foot to foot, nervously scuttling all over the stage, or standing stock still are all ways that indicate you aren’t comfortable in the limelight. You have cast the audience as a pack of evil minions who are about to eat you alive, and they can read that from your body language. Who likes to be cast as an evil minion? This is why the audience becomes uncomfortable and eventually can turn on a comedian.

I have seen comedians fumble lines, trip over mic cables, and the like and still keep the audience on side. This is because they have engaged with the audience and shown that they believe in the audience’s goodwill. When someone thinks well of you, most people want to live up to that image. The same is true in the comedian/audience relationship.

So the trick to stage movement is that it must always be purposeful. If you move from left to right of the stage, then you must have a reason for that movement. If you wave your arm up and down, you must have a reason for that. If you scrunch your face up in a moue, that too requires a reason. These are the sorts of reasons you must have:

• You are imitating the movements of some person during an event (eg a paramedic running to a victim who has fallen because they were stepped on by Godzilla).
• You are generally illustrating movement through time or space (eg you have a joke about rockets being shot from the Earth to the Moon).
• You are building tension as you gradually lead up to a punchline (eg you enumerate the things that are going wrong for the father of the bride at a weddding, ending with the bride running away with the best man).
• You are punctuating important points in your story (eg you emphasise with body and voice the word “luck”, so when your next line is supposed to end with a rhyme but is completed with the word “fudge”, everyone knows what you mean and laughs).

I find it absolutely invaluable to plant my feet shoulder width apart, take a deep breath, smile, and look into the audience’s eyes before I begin a performance, and often again after I complete a performance. Planting my feet and breathing grounds all that nervous energy, so I can direct it into a confident performance. Any time I don’t know what to do with myself, being self-assured enough to plant my feet again until it becomes clear where and when the next movement is needed will continue to keep my performance strong. Extraneous movement is just going to heighten nervous energy and wastefully send it in all directions. Energy must flow in a single cycle of power. You must clearly and directly send energy to your audience and graciously receive it back from them, using their energy to help you propel more their direction.

You must be one hundred percent committed to what you are saying, to the world you are creating with your stories and persona, and to the movements you make. Take a tip from actors who ask, “What is my motivation here?” Why am I making this movement here and now? Would some other movement or no movement be better? Be aware of where you are coming from: what are the thoughts, experiences, and feelings that are propelling you. Be also aware of where you are going to: what change is this movement creating within yourself and within the story.

Your Friday exercise is to take a short routine and 1) perform it a few times while keeping your feet planted on a single spot, see if you can get yourself comfortable with the power of that sort of stability, then 2) purposefully choreograph all the movements you feel will add to your words and keep yourself to those movements without a single added gesture.

Movement can certainly add dynamism to a performance, but so can a simple powerful presence.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

The four points you need to remember concerning healthy and effective use of your voice are:

1. Good posture
2. Proper breathing
3. Projection
4. Enunciation

Gentle warm-ups are a way to prepare your body to get the most benefit and least damage out of these points. Running is a good aerobic activity, but if you start running without warming up, you may damage your muscles and negate any benefits from the exercise. The same is true for your voice.

Posture warm-ups

Good posture, particularly good neck and shoulder posture, ensure that you are not forcing your voice. Air has a good clear passage in and out of your body and the muscles around your vocal cords will be less strained. The most popular piece of advice to assist with good posture is to imagine a string at the top of your head pulling you up. This helps to a degree, but without good body awareness, some misalignments may continue to be over-looked.

Stand with your back against the wall. Feel the places where your body connects to the wall.

Pull your shoulders back, so you can feel the entirety of your shoulder blades against the wall. Breathe in and slowly lift your shoulders toward your ears such that you can feel your shoulder blades sliding up. Breathe out and lightly drop your shoulders. Do this three times. Feel your shoulders relax into this position.

People who work at a computer are particularly prone to holding their heads forward and pushing their chins out in order to see the screen. While standing against the wall pull your chin in forming a turkey neck or double chins. The back of your neck will lengthen and move closer to the wall (not touching). Let this position go and sense where the most comfortable posture for your neck is now. Does your neck seem to be rising straight up from your spine? Do the turkey neck three times.

Place a hand between the small of your back and the wall. Sense how large the open space is there. Remove your hand. Now flex your hips forward so that the small of your back is flat against the wall. Release the flex. You should still have a space between the small of your back and the wall, but it may be a smaller space. Do three hip flexes.

Once you have adjusted your posture with these exercises take a step away from the wall holding your posture. Take three deep breaths and the observe what this posture feels like. I find if I have begun to slouch, all I need do is take a deep breath and allow my expanding chest to move my head and shoulders to the correct places.

Breath and projection warm-ups

Key to both proper breathing and strong projection is the diaphragm. Your diaphragm is a system of muscles just below the rib cage and above the abdominal cavity. A good way to find these muscles and to strengthen them is to place your hand just beneath your ribs and say “HUH-HUH-HUH-HUH…”. Feel the muscles bouncing up and down. Try deepening the tone of your voice, so you can really feel the trampoline effect forcing small breaths out of your body.

Adjust your body to the correct posture, slightly bend your knees, and hold your arms loose so they are hanging at the side of your body a little way from it. Close your eyes and slowly breathe in through your nose to a count of five while expanding your stomach. Feel the air lifting the lower part of your rib cage and then the upper part. Make sure your shoulders remain relaxed and do not move up and down.  As you breathe out through your mouth, do so slowly and lightly while still holding the muscles of your diaphragm gently taut and only fully releasing them at the end of a breath. Do this at least three times before going on stage in order to ground yourself. It’s also worthwhile taking up breath meditation or singing lessons to really learn how to control your breathing.

You will not be using your diaphragm to force breath and sound, but rather support strong projection. Another exercise to help with breath and voice is to just yawn loudly several times. Make sure to open your mouth and jaw wide and go “Aaahh!” Notice how little breath is required to make a big sound?

Enunciation and vocal cord warmups

For your jokes to be understood you will need to use good enunciation. I’m not talking about speaking like some toffy-nosed Henry Higgins, just speaking clearly. Part of that will be about warming up the muscles in your face and vocal cords so that they respond quickly and accurately each time you wish to form a word. A good start is to just open and close your mouth while massaging the muscles in your cheeks.

Quietly begin humming, take a breath, and continue to hum for two more breaths. Turn the hum into the sound of “mum-mum-mum-mum…” Go back to humming and hum like a siren: starting low and quiet, getting higher and louder, then lower and quieter again.

You should be familiar with the musical scale sung as “do-re-mi-fa-so-la-ti-do”. Instead of singing the scale, speak “do-re-me, etc” with the same tone as the note, then go up and down the scale.

Finally and most fun, go through a number of tongue twisters to get your mouth and tongue in good working order. Here are a few samples.

• Red leather yellow leather.
• Eleven benevolent elephants.
• Peggy Babcock.
• While one slick seal slid up the slide, the other slick seal slid down.
• While one purple porpose popped up the pole, the other purple porpoise popped down.
• A critical cricket critic.

Tips

Before going on stage you will need your vocal cords to be moist and supple. Do not drink anything with caffeine in it nor alcohol, both of these will dehydrate you and the vocal folds. Lots of water before and during will be the biggest help. After a session warm water or a spoon full of honey will soothe the throat.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

Persona

We all have a multitude of facets to our personalities and can be five different people depending upon the day of the month or hour of the day. However, as a comedian you need to find a signature way to present yourself, so that people recognise you and your style of comedy straight away. This has everything to do with marketing and selling yourself to the audience.

One comedian in Adelaide likes taking on a sort of 1960s Rat Pack persona. So, he either wears a suit and tie or a polo shirt and slacks. Either way you can easily see him taking a relaxed pose, sipping a martini, and tossing out smooth
lines to the ladies. I know a couple of women who like the Gothic Lolita look: a bit girly and a bit edgy at the same time.

If you find this too limiting, you can always go the Sir Barry Humphries route and instead of cultivating a persona, create several memorable characters with individual looks. Remember that Humphries has created a theme of Australian types to coherently weave his characters together. You too will want to find something that connects your characters for marketing purposes.

Visibility

A lot of guys want to look dark, mysterious, and dangerous, therefore they tend toward black shirt, black pants, black shoes, black socks, and black lace underwear. DON’T DO IT (except perhaps the lace underwear). You are not a ninja, you do not wish to hide in the background. You are a comedian. Comedians need to be seen in order to be heard. You can get away with the black pants, but you must wear a light or bright shirt to catch your audience’s attention and direct their eyes to your face.

If you are a large person and are using darks to hide your shape, DON’T. A part of comedy is about accepting your humanity and embracing your physicality. In that way you give yourself more comic material and you help others to become more accepting of people like yourself through laughter. However, if you need to take babysteps toward finding that sort of self esteem, take a few tips from how the larger opera singers dress.

Wear that light shirt or blouse, but go ahead and wear an unbuttoned dark jacket. If you were to wear a uniformly dark outfit, you would simply create a large dark outline. The jacket will cause people’s eyes to be drawn to the light
shirt which now has a very slim line leading up to your face where all the action is.

Comfort and Flexibility

It’s hard enough standing in front of an audience not knowing whether or not they will like your humour. You do not need to make yourself even more uncomfortable by giving yourself uncomfortable clothes. Make sure that whatever
you’re wearing will not constrict your body anywhere or cause you pain (eg high heels). If you like your comedy to get a bit physical, then also make sure your clothes are flexible enough to handle it. You don’t want to go ripping clothes on stage and then having to pay for their repair or replacement.  I own some dance clothes specifically
for physical comedy.

Do NOT rely on t-shirts and jeans even though they make you feel emotionally comfortable. The vast majority of young comedians are doing that and you will disappear amongst the crowd. If you must go that direction, then at least make sure you have a collection of unique t-shirts that match your persona.

Upstaging Yourself

Here I’m pushing you to be a bit more outrageous and flamboyant. However, you must always be more outrageous than your clothes. If you have extremely loud clothes, but your humour is subtle, you may find your outfit is wearing you and it steals the show. Some of the artistry of comedy is found in striking the correct balance in presenting yourself. Dame Edna gets away with sparkly clothes and big eyeglasses because she’s larger than life. I will suggest that if you do find a vibrant wardrobe you like to wear and it’s overtaking the show, turn yourself up rather than the clothing down.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

Rule Number One

The first rule of microphone technique is to take your time. Take your time setting up the microphone to exactly the correct height and location. Take your time ensuring the cable is placed correctly and out of tripping range. Take your time letting your technicians ensure they have the sound levels correct. When you are obviously focused and puposeful in making sure an audience will have the best chance of enjoying your show, they respect that and are willing to give you the space to prepare.

Microphones and Stands

Comedy venues are not the only place you may be doing your comedy routines. You could be performing at a musical venue or for a corporate event. Each venue will have their own unique sound system and their own unique microphones. The main consideration is to get that microphone as close to your mouth as possible. This drives me nuts because I feel that part of my performance is being obscured because part of my face is being obscured. It also feels intrusive having a microphone that near. This is something we all have to get over.

You may have seen comedians on TV holding their microphones close to their chest, but it’s an illusion that microphone is picking up their voices very well. Even a few inches away from your face and the drop off in sound reception is  immense. These guys are getting by because of a) canny sound technicians with whom they have previously rehearsed and b) boom mics that are out of shot.

Comedy venues are likely to have plain vertical microphone stands with a tough Shure microphone on a cable. You can either adjust the stand, so that the ball end of the microphone comes right under your lip—just remember that you will not be able to move around much, or take the microphone off the stand and place the stand somewhere near the back or side of the stage. Stage etiquette requires that you return the mic and the stand to where you found them when you finish your performance.

If you are holding the microphone, make sure the ball end is almost touching the middle of your chin. It is worth practicing walking around and holding it on your chin to get used to this placement.

At a musical venue, the microphone will probably be on a levered stand with the mic being held horizontal to the ground. If you wish to use the stand in this case, then place the microphone so that it is right in front of  your mouth and stand close enough to eat the thing.

Radio Microphones

Personally, I love a radio mic with a headset and a sound unit that clips to your waistband. They are just a bit tricky.

With a headset you need to adjust them to your head so they don’t fall off. This could mean that after awhile they dig into your scalp uncomfortably. Again, the microphone end ot the headset must be against your cheek and practically entering your mouth.  With a lapel mic…well, make sure you have a lapel and make sure it is clipped snugly to your clothes.

Your sound person will need to ensure that the batteries are always fresh in the radio unit. Even so you may get drop out. Be aware of whether your unit is on or off. Technically, you should always leave the radio unit on and your sound person will simply switch to your microphone at the right moment. However, more than one person has wandered into the bathroom only to have unfortunate sounds broadcast to the audience. Remember to turn the unit back on after you have relieved yourself of pre-show jitters.

It also pays to check whether nearby venues may be using radio mics as well. If perhaps they accidentally use the same radio frequency you are, your audience may be treated to someone else’s performance as well as your own, as the frequencies interfere with one another.

The Cable

For cable mics shake out the cable so that it has a straight line to wherever it is going. Feel free to shake it out on occasion, if you walk around quite a bit during your performance. You might be able to incorporate a trip into your comedy, but not if you break the cable and no one can hear you. Do NOT wrap the cable around your hand, arm, or the microphone. That’s another way to break the cable.

Extras

Microphones are notorious for not picking up “s” or “p” correctly. Instead you get a hiss or a pop. Some microphones may have a “pop filter” of some sort. These filters could be built into one of those cool deco looking microphones, or
be something like a fluffy sock placed over the mic, or any number of other arrangements. This may mean you will not be able to remove the microphone from the stand, but you will get great sound.

Practise

The main things are you need to get used to the microphone, get comfortable with the microphone, and learn how to keep it an even distance (close) from your mouth.

So, unsurprisingly, today’s exercise is to spend at least thirty minutes practising with a microphone. Perform some of your own stuff, or read a chapter from Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Maybe find a way to incorporate
the microphone consciously into your act.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

Before you get started one element of stock-taking needs to be made. Have you created:

1. A normal character living in a comic world.
2. A comic character living in a normal world.
3. A comic character living in a comic world.

Please note, a normal character in a normal world is going to have a hard time being very funny over a period of time.

With all this in mind I want you to go through your closets and raid every op-shop and second-hand store within miles of your home. See what items you can find that just glow with the personality of your character. You may find a complete ensemble developing or a single hat may be sufficient to bring the spirit of your character to fore.

In the next step you will need to set aside some time to have a little chat with your character. Make sure you have a mirror nearby to do this. Put on your character’s clothes. Walk around the room as your character. See if the persona starts exhibiting any expressive quirks. Now go up to the mirror and introduce yourself as the character. Make small talk with your character. Ask the character about the weather. Don’t worry if any of this is going to form a routine straight away, but it will start giving you ideas.

When I began working with my soft toy Mbulu I had to develop not only his character, but my own in response. So, I played dolls in front of the mirror with him for several hours and discovered he was an arrogant soft toy tiki who imagined himself a volcano god. He also had the hots for my pink woolly jumper who he met when they were both being washed. For myself I started exaggerating some of my own qualities such as being a bit earnest and sentimental. This makes me seem humorously psychotic when I then start waving Mbulu around making pompous spicy comments.

Playing “yourself” is probably one of the most difficult characters you can do. Because we are all so many people rolled up into one. It’s a matter of settling on those characteristics that you can most comfortably get the laughs, because you’re going to have to live with the repercussions.  People will form an opinion of you based on you as your character. Does this mean you shouldn’t do it? Not at all, but it will take some bravery and emotional stability. You know who you are. No matter how truthful you are on stage, no one in the audience will ever truly know who you are, they will just think they do. This is the blessing and the curse with which we all live once we are in the public eye.  Make sure you have friends and family who do know who you are.

Kantankerous Kate and Courageous Christian

Peace and kindness,

Katherine

The fact that a character chooses to send pink carnations instead of roses on a first date, says something about who they are.  The fact that they send flowers at all, says something. The fact that they have a perfectly repaired and cleaned 1983 Ford family car continues to reflect something about their inner life. All these choices create a vivid picture of a whole person so much better than simply saying, “He was poor but conscientious.”

For your comedy character it would be good to start a character bible. You will need a ring binder and a hole punch for putting printed pages into it. This bible will contain your character’s bio and the events in your character’s life. Every time you think of a detail about your character or something happens to your character, put it into the bible. That way you will be able to keep your character consistent in your performances, but also have a place from which to draw new material.

I once had an interview with Jim Henson Associates for a position in their online and computer game division. I was so close to that dream job, I could smell the blue fur. At the time they showed me the character bibles they had for each Muppet character. They were quite chunky!

For today’s exercise I suggest writing three biographical details about your character. However, don’t stop there. The moment you have any time, take a stab at all the details below.

Starting a Character Bio

• What is your character’s name?

• What is your character’s birth date?

• Where did your character grow up?

• What is your character’s ethnic background?

• What was their mother like? What was her occupation?

• What was their father like? What was his occupation?

• Do they have any siblings? What are they like?

• Any other significant family relations?

• Think of at least one defining moment in their childhood.

• What is your character’s education level? What did they specialise in?

• What is your character’s occupation? Do they like it?

• What is their job history?

• What is their income level?

• What is their current living arrangements? Small house, big apartment, living with someone…

• Who are your character’s friends and what are they like?

• What have their intimate relations been like and are they currently in a relationship?

• What sort of lifestyle does your character choose?

• What sort of clothes do they wear?

• What’s their mode of transport?

• What sorts of hobbies or sports do they participate in?

• Do they have any pets?

This is truly just a beginning, but hopefully a strong enough one to get you going. Remember to get inside your character and their emotional world while writing out each detail. You may have a character who tells you she owns a villa in France, but you know she doesn’t have the means, so she obviously has a flat with posters of Paris pinned to the wall and pink frilly curtains on all the windows.

Peace and kindness,

Katherine