I’ve interviewed hundreds of creatives, including comedians. After a while you start to notice patterns.
I realised; stand up’s go through all the same things that all other creatives do…
But it’s way more intense.
Let’s look at seven traits and skills we can steal from the clowns.
1. Be Brave
If you do comedy, you are brave.
What’s more terrifying than stepping into the spotlight? There’s nowhere to hide.
Other creatives, for the most part, can hone their skills when no one is watching.
If you screw up a painting or write a crappy article, no one is going to boo you off stage.
Every comedian (and creative) you admire has been able to show up and say ‘this is who I am.’
All creative work is an extension of its creator. Having the courage to put your ideas into the world is vulnerable and scary.
Only the brave will carry on long enough to see results.
2. Be Resilient
It takes bravery to stand up, it takes resilience to be brave again and again.
Especially when you suck.
The universal truth is everyone bombs. Sure, earlier in a comedy career it’ll happen more often but it never goes away.
Failing is part of the very fabric of stand-up and good comics must fail repeatedly. They’ll take a concept that doesn’t land and iterate on it over and over again until it does.
When I mess up a painting, it knocks my confidence. I’ve had weeks off to recover from mistakes.
It’s something I’ve decided to work on this year.
Good stand-ups will bomb, then go back out the same night and try their set again.
There will be setbacks. Keep creating.
3. Be Relentless
Early in his career Chris Rock would perform three times a night, every day of the week. I got goosebumps when I first heard that. Isn’t that… I don’t know, brave? Exciting? Inspiring? It fires me up.
It’s so black and white, if you want to get good, you must get up, leave your house and go on stage, as uncomfortable as that feels.
You must decide to take action and do the work when you don’t want to.
I doubt I would have become a well-known street artist if I wasn’t ‘prolific’.
Blank walls are my ‘stage’ and I try to find as many as I can, across the whole of London.
I do this to get better at what I do. I do this to spread my art and to reach new people.
The best have a tireless work ethic. Make, make and keep making.
4. Innovate
In modern comedy, there is a pressure to always be writing and performing new jokes. It’s hard work, but it’s what makes the best comedians so sharp.
It’s easier for most creatives to stick to winning formulas but that can create dangerous comfort zones.
The best comedy comes from the very edge of a comfort zone and maybe we should take more swings, like they’re forced to do.
Comedians are the best at taking a seed of an idea, that might be nothing, but exploring it to find out.
Whenever I have a spark of an idea, I write it down. I’ve realised that I must stop everything I’m doing and write it down immediately. I will not remember, no matter how much I say that I will.
Creativity breeds creativity. Those ideas transform into new ones. I’m always looking for a new angle or path to explore with my painting.
It might not work. It might also change your life.
5. Be Patient
The competition for any creative pursuit is crazy, comedy is especially fierce.
The first special on Netflix was in 2013 (Aziz Ansari, if you’re interested). According to Netflix, since then, “over 200 comedians have appeared in more than 350 specials”.
200 in a decade? That’s not a lot.
YES, I know, Netflix isn’t the only metric for success, but still, there are very few comedians who have ‘made it’.
You’re competing for attention (eyeballs on your work)
Just little old you, vs billion-dollar corporations, sports teams, social media and every other creative in your genre.
I’ve heard so many comics talk about 10, 15 or 20 year journeys to the top, not quitting when everyone else does.
Your journey will likely be long. That means that you’ll need to stay driven, focused and unwaveringly patient.
6. Question Everything
Many of the world’s most popular podcasts are hosted by comedians.
Why do we listen to hundreds of hours of their opinions and pay money to watch them stand on a stage and tell us what they think?
Because the best comedians are able to look at human behaviour and pinpoint the things we do that don’t make sense. They question the status quo and observe the odd things we take for granted.
We could all learn something from zooming out, questioning the things we believe, questioning what everyone believes and trying the opposite.
I truly believed no one would be interested in my neon pink art. Because… it’s neon pink. Bored, in the middle of a pandemic, I finally questioned myself.
I decided not to decide for everyone else. I decided to ask ‘yeah, but what if…?’
It was the best question of my life.
7. Find your audience
I don’t think Dave Chapell is funny. Or Kevin Hart.
I have never once laughed at Monty Python.
Sacrilege, I know.
There are few genres more devise than comedy and it’s usually LOVE or HATE with no middle ground.
Comedians are very good at letting you know who they write for. A strong comedian gives zero shits about winning over non-fans.
Do you make pottery for everyone or do you make quirky ceramics that tell stories of motherhood? Be specific.
It’s counter-intuitive but when I decided to start focusing on creating for the people who already follow me, instead of trying to capture new eyeballs, everything changed.
Thread your story and values into everything you make, it will send a beacon of light into the sky and your people will start to find you.
Awww shucks! Flattery will get you nowhere.
That being said, I'll add some more:
1. We are modest. Some would say the most modest.
2. The best looking and good at everything. Seriously. We choose not to play professional sports so that it isn't a 32 team tie for first every year. You're welcome.
3. Did I say we are modest?
4. We never repeat things.
I'm going to assume this article also applies to writing comedy. In that case, checkout my Substack thaliascomedy.com!
Excellent exploration here David. I recall an interview with Steve Martin just as his comedy career was taking off. The interviewer asked him how it felt to be an overnight success. Keep in mind, this guy was like Taylor Swift level popular for the time.
Martin shot her one of those ‘if looks could kill’ kinds of stares and, with an angry tone, answered, “I’ve been putting arrows on my head for ten years, and NOW I’m $%&*ing funny.”