Stand Up Comedy Clinic #1

      Stand up comedy is an art form where a comedian gets onstage and tells jokes to make an audience laugh. It's a very difficult and demanding art form that can be very controversial. This is because in comedy no topic is off limits. This is because comedy makes light of a dark subject. Today I'll talk to you about how jokes can affect personal relationships as they can often be a gold mine for jokes.

     I performed a routine a while ago and I told this joke "My girlfriend is a major sci-fi buff, I mean she loves that stuff. What do you call those people-oh yea Christians!" my girlfriend was in the audience. She spoke to me afterwards and said she didn't like the joke because it made fun of her religion.

    So you have to wonder where the line is to not tell jokes that involve personal relationships.What I did to fix the joke was I replaced girlfriend with friend to make it less obvious. This was not a satisfying solution because the joke lost momentum and it still made fun of a sensitive topic.  One of the problems with comedy is every joke you tell will step on peoples toes so you need to understand not everyone will be pleased with your content. If you are in a similar situation I recommend not taking your girlfriend to see your performance. 

      Something I've done is make jokes that involve personal relationships and make yourself the but of the joke. For example "My girlfriend and I walked over to an ice cream stand and the guy behind the stand asked would you like a soft serve, and she pointed to me and said 'No thanks I brought my own.' This is a good joke because it makes you the but of the joke and she looks like the comedian so it leaves your relationship intact.

    Another issue that comedians run into is where they limit their jokes because they know family and friends are in the audience. I know I've changed my set because my girlfriend was in the audience. If anything my girl looks like the comedy she came to a comedy performance so what do you expect. That's the trick you're at a comedians performance the comedians whole job is to make people laugh not to be politically correct and a nice little person. Nobody wants to see a comedian get onstage and talk about how he bought a button up shirt at sears today.

C.A.