15 smart standup comedy thoughts

On drunks, Carlin, writing, an Ali Wong joke I think about constantly, the death of big closers, and more.

I’ve been thinking…

• One thing standup comedy teaches you is how terrible drunk people are at whispering.

• The way so many comedians consistently namecheck Carlin while completely ignoring the messages he tried to deliver is baffling.

• One frustrating thing about standup is no one else understands our version of “working.” Writing, walking around, talking to yourself, podcasting, posting clips, etc. Everyone else just thinks we’re having fun. “Must be nice just sitting in a coffeeshop all day.” No, it’s PAINFUL. (OK, it’s also kinda pleasant/wouldn’t trade it for anything/but still…)

• How to do standup comedy: Stop not doing standup comedy. Keep going up. Write bad jokes and tell them onstage. Notice the occasional moments when people laugh. Cut out all the parts when people don't laugh (or that don't lead to a laugh). Then keep doing that for a couple of decades.

• Hey man…

  

• Then: We roast the ones we love.
  Now: We roast open mic’ers we’ve never met or whichever famous person will get us the most Likes.

  Up ahead: the Ali Wong joke I think about constantly, how to publish successfully, is there an age that’s too late to start doing standup, TV credits, the death of big closers, and more.