Ok, I had every intention of dropping down to about one post a week, in hopes of not being so… philosophical, but last night was too cool to not blog.
I was hanging out at Westport before the show, listening to some comics talk. Mike Birbiglia, Bob Biggerstaff and John Roy were talking about rooms in New York and LA. At the end of the conversation, I introduced myself to Mike, as was planning on hanging out that week and I didn't want him to think I was stalking him. Mike asked if I was a comic, I said I was, and then he asked how comedy was going for me. I didn't want to give a generic answer like "Good, good" but I also knew he wasn't asking for my life's story, so I said something like "Not bad, you know, ups and downs". I tried to give the overall impression that I was enjoying comedy but I'm not at the level I would like to be at. Now, I was kind of surprised that Mike took the time to ask HOW comedy was going for me, so I was floored when he continued the conversation. I don't remember exactly how it went, but I mentioned how I was having problems finding my voice. Mike then had me tell him one of my premises. I used the dumped via email one, because (I feel) it's quick and easy to understand. Mike had me tell him the joke. He didn't laugh audibly, but he did say it was a funny joke. Then he had me tell the story how I would tell it in normal conversation (as opposed to how I would tell it trying to get laughs). I guess you would say he wanted me to tell it trying to get understanding. I did. Then he said, tell me the joke, word for word, but use the tone and manner from the way you told the story. I did. Like I said, I don't remember what all he said, but he was basically showing me how he delivered jokes on stage. Not like a "hey, and here's a punch line", but a "now I've got you interested (and relating with me, the comic) and here's a twist". He said it was like selling something, using a trick called the Bait and Switch. He's right, a good salesman is the one who can appeal to your humanity, not one who talks fast and overwhelms you with information. In regards to talking too fast, he referenced an interview with Jerry Seinfeld on Laugh.com, I have to check that out.
Mike also tagged my email joke on the spot and gave me some advice on how to roll with a joke and not "stop when you want the audience to laugh" but "stop when the audience is laughing". There's also a timing trick he said to keeping the laughter at a certain level by starting a joke as the laughter is coming back down (not starting when the laughter is done, but when it's about 1/3 of the way down on its decent). Like in Tennis, Mike said, you want to hit the ball, when it's about 2/3's of the way up after a bounce. Keeping the crowd laughing too hard will wear them out, and letting the laughter die will make could lose the audience.