Have you ever been to a comedy show and though "I'd like to try that." Well, why don't you? Tampa has plenty of stages and mics and opportunities to share your funny thoughts with the world (or at least with a half-empty bar on open mic night). It might be the most fun you'll ever have.
But if you're going to do it, do it right. Don't be a half-assed, lazy performer who spends more time doodling in a notebook and whining about how nobody understands you than actually trying to get better. It's not going to be easy, but if you work at it and avoid common mistakes, you can swing the odds in your favor.
Here are six tips on how to get started:
WRITE. No matter what you do on stage, make sure it's 100 percent your own material. Don't copy your favorite comedian, and don't change their bit around and try to use it yourself. If you do that, you'll get caught and you might as well quit right then and there. Write about your own experiences. Write about what's funny to you.
Before you ever get on stage, write and keep writing. Then write some more. Most of it won't be funny. Maybe none of it will be funny at first. But you have to get into the habit of writing. Do it every day.
Watch late-night shows and study the monologue. They make jokes about topical, timely events every night. Try to do that on your own. Open up a newspaper or visit a news site and try to write about each article you see. Can you come up with something funny? Can you tie it to your personal life? No matter what, keep writing. Don't edit yourself. A blank page is your enemy. Fill it.
NETWORK. Facebook has plenty of local groups dedicated to comedy. Find them and join them. Get to know the people (they're the ones you'll see at open mics). Learn where the good spots are. Strike up online friendships that you can strengthen in person.
Unlike a blank page, your fellow comedians are not your enemies. They're not your competition. They're your co-workers, and some might turn out to be good friends. If you're new — and you don't come off like a pompous ass — most will be happy to help you.
GO TO OPEN MICS. That doesn't mean "go to an open mic once, then go again in a few weeks." If you're doing comedy, do it. If you hear about a mic within driving distance, hit it. Don't worry about how well you do, don't worry about how many people are listening and don't worry about always using new material. Get comfortable being on stage. Hit two open mics in one night if they're available. Go to as many as you can, as often as you can. Hone the same jokes over and over until they're as tight and as strong as possible.
You'll get comfortable with your material at open mics, and you'll meet a lot of people. That will help with writing (Tip #1) and networking (Tip #2). Become a regular face at an open mic and you'll be amazed how quickly you become part of the scene.
Eventually you'll have friends who are getting emcee or feature work. At that point you'll have one of two choices: You can resent them and pout that you aren't getting work, and think you deserve it more than they do. Or you can support them and ask them for advice.
You should know that a lot of people choose the former. Ignore them. They're not going anywhere in comedy, and they're probably miserable people to be around.
You should definitely choose the latter. Ask your friends what they're doing to get work. How did they get a particular spot? What open mics are they hitting that you're not? What's their writing process? Find successful people in comedy (more successful than you, at least) and find out what they do to be successful. Pick up their good habits and ditch your own bad habits, and you'll be further along than some people who have been at it for years.
ATTEND COMEDY SHOWS. If you don't like watching comedy, you'll have a tougher time performing it. Support your local club, attend their shows, go to their open mics. You'll see other locals there, too. And if a club knows your face, it's easier to get a guest spot down the road.
But more than that, you'll get to watch performers who are where you want to be someday. Watch how they perform. Study how they write. See how quickly they get to a punch line? Notice how they act in front of the crowd? How do they respond when a joke doesn't go well? How do they transition to a new topic?
Attending a live show gives you a chance to see how it's done right. Comedy specials on television or Netflix are great, but they're also edited and shaped to only show the very best of a comedian's set. You'll learn more by watching it in person, and learning how a full set goes without commercial breaks or the benefit of a production crew.
And while you're there, study the feature act and emcee. Those are the roles you'll get before you even think about headlining. The emcee position is deceptively hard. The feature act is also a challenge. Nobody is there to see either of them, but they have a job to do. Watch how they handle it, and you'll see what you should (and maybe should not) do when your time comes.
In any case, clubs will notice if you're there frequently.
GRIND. This is the hard part. The part nobody wants to do. It's the part people try to skip, and the part that makes those same people quit comedy. It's the grind.
The grind is just repeating steps 1-4, over and over again. How long? Hard to say. But if you're impatient or your ego is too big, it's too long for you. But if you're patient and work hard, it's just long enough to prepare you for real success.
Write, network, go to open mics and attend comedy shows.
Lather, rinse and repeat.
You might feel like quitting. Keep grinding. You might feel like you're the only one in your group not getting work. Keep grinding. You might feel like you'll never be the next Kevin Hart. And you're right. You won't. But keep grinding.
The grind will make you better, and you won't even realize it. Your writing will automatically get sharper, you'll be more comfortable on stage, you'll know the "right" people, and comedy clubs will recognize your face. And while all that happens, keep grinding.
SAY YES TO EVERYTHING. Someone wants you to host an open mic night for no pay? You say yes, thank you. You're offered a five-minute guest spot an hour away, also for no pay? You say you'll definitely be there, and you appreciate the opportunity.
Every gig you accept — no matter how menial you think it is — is time someone else would be happy to have. It's also an audition of sorts. Guest sets lead to paid work. Saying yes puts you in front of audiences, comedians and bookers. Saying no leaves you exactly where you were before the offer, and gives someone else a chance at future work. The more often you say yes, the more opportunities you'll have to say it again in the future.
CL contributor Michael Murillo is a veteran of the local and regional stand-up scenes who's been working stages, booking shows and hosting open mics around the area and beyond for more than half a decade.
This article appears in Oct 29 – Nov 4, 2015.