Comedy Mechanics Vs Comedy Dynamics

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Comedy Mechanics Vs. Comedy Dynamics

Introduction

Here’s what you need to know right now beyond a shadow of a doubt if you truly want to get the big laughs as a comedian in the shortest time possible:

You were a comedian before you ever made the decision to become a comedian.

Subsequently, you need to use and apply ALL of your already developed, ready to use comedy talent in order to manifest the laughter you want to generate onstage — just like you do when you are offstage.

Otherwise, you will end up trying to “write” comedy material in a way that is designed for a reader (not an audience) using a process that doesn’t engage your total comedy talent at all.

And trust me on this — if you want to get the really big laughs on stage as a comedian, you will need to engage every bit of comedy talent that you have developed.

So let’s talk about the difference between comedy mechanics and comedy dynamics.

Comedy Mechanics

Comedy mechanics are simply the ALL processes that you already use naturally (and largely with little forethought) to generate laughs when communicate verbally with others.

The processes I am referring to are NOT just the words and sentences that you use. It also involves:

  • The way you use and express the words and sentences that you use naturally.
  • Your facial expressions and body language that you use naturally.
  • Your voice tone and inflection you use naturally.

All these aspects comprise the comedy mechanics that you employ to get laughs when you talk to others, whether you are aware of them or not.

Subsequently, these are the EXACT same comedy mechanics you will want to use on the stand-up comedy stage if you want to get the big laughs fast.

In other words, there are no “special” techniques that you need to learn when it comes to comedy mechanics. You have this down already, just not in the format needed for the stand-up comedy stage.

What is truly different as a comedian on stage are the comedy dynamics.

Comedy Dynamics

Comedy dynamics are the conditions that are specific to a stage performance in order to effectively use the comedy mechanics that you have already developed.

Here’s what I mean when I refer to comedy dynamics:

  • In every day conversations, there is no requirement to generate an average of 4-6+ laughs per minute. The laughs just happen when they happen. On the stand-up comedy stage, if you don’t generate an average of 4-6+ laughs per minute, you simply won’t progress very far as a comedian.
  • Every day conversations tend to be primarily a dialog with one or more people providing both set-up information and punchlines during the course of the conversation. A stand-up comedy routine is a monologue where you are providing both the set-up information and the punchlines relative to that information.
  • When you talk to people off stage, you are generally talking to people who already know you to some degree – they already know you, how you communicate and express yourself when you talk. When you stand before an audience as a comedian, most people don’t know anything about you until you start your act.
  • There is a high level of spontaneity when you are engaged in casual conversations. As a comedian, what you have to say has already been predetermined and delivered with the appearance of spontaneity.
  • You don’t use a microphone in everyday conversations. There are more people in a stand-up comedy audience than in casual, offstage conversations with friends, family and co-workers. You use a microphone as a comedian delivering a stand-up comedy routine.

What I have just presented are most of the primary differences between using your comedy talent in everyday life and using your comedy talent on the stand-up comedy stage.

But did you notice this…

There was NO mention of any sort of different comedy mechanics mentioned. Set-up lines are still set-up lines and punchlines are still punchlines REGARDLESS of the comedy dynamic differences.

That is of course unless you make the decision to attempt to:

  • Become some sort of persona or character who you are not
  • Try to work with mere words and sentences alone as the basis of your comedy material
  • Try to incorporate some sort of stand-up comedy “technique” that is not natural to you or in no way reflects your already developed comedy talent.

Unfortunately, this is exactly what most of the so-called comedy experts lead prospective comedians to believe they need to do – much to their detriment.

It basically ends up being an unnecessary “reinvent the wheel” situation leading to flopping on stage instead of succeeding.

Putting It All Together

As I wrap up this special report, here are the most important things that I would like for you to embrace:

You already have all the comedy talent you are ever going to have. The key difference between offstage and onstage use of that comedy talent is that it is simply more condensed and tightly structured onstage.

You should strive to be as aware as possible of all of the comedy mechanics that you use already in order to apply those same comedy mechanics onstage (again, this is covered in Training Module 2 in the Killer Stand-up Online Course).

The Punchline Secrets Course that you have access to provides a great start when it comes to understanding the characteristics and structure of spoken word punchlines.

But that is just one aspect of the comedy mechanics that you use to get laughs when you talk and express yourself.

It is a calculated, step-by-step process to develop, refine and deliver a stand-up comedy act that generates big laughs consistently from audience to audience.

But in order to be effective, that process must incorporate ALL aspects of your comedy talent right from the very beginning. Otherwise, you end up merely guessing at what may or may not be funny.

You are master of stand-up comedy act that you develop and deliver along with the process you use to do it.