How I get my comedy ideas

Occasionally someone will come up and ask me, "How do you come up with some of your comedy material?"

One of the things I do is keep a journal (on my IPhone).  I do this when I see or hear something weird or bizarre, or something that takes me off guard.  I talk it into my "recorder" program on my phone.

I also use an app called "Dragon Dictation" which actually transcribes  my voice to text (this keeps me from driving and typing--never a good idea).  Having the idea on paper or screen helps me to actually "see" it with my eyes, as opposed to letting it float around in my head, thus taking a chance on forgetting the idea.

Then I break it down into short lines, like the lyrics of a song (those lines are always short).  This helps me tighten it up.  I like to have a comedy bit to NOT be more than 5 or 6 lines.  The first 3 or 4 lines are the "setup," then the remaining line(s) is the punchline (where the laughter comes in).

My goal is to have 4-6 good laughs in every one minute of my routine, so I can't lolly gag around too much.

Here's an example:  (the first 3 lines are the setup)
***
My son (Skyler) at age 10 was curious about religion.
One day he asked "Mom, are we Catholic?"
She goes "No, son, we're not."
He thought and then asked, "well, are we PROSTITUTES?"
I wanted to say, "not far off, son. Not far off."
***

As I said, I listen and watch for situations that surprise, jolt or stop me in my tracks.  I don't try to "make up" comedy (that's very hard work). The funniest stuff is what goes on around me; then all I do is just find a way to shorten it up some, and then express my response or reaction to it.  Incidentally, that's all comedy is anyway.  That's all that Cosby and Foxworthy do.  If I work on material from this angle, I'll probably never run out.

Al
www.alfike.com


PS:  Thanks to Steve Roye of "Killer Standup Comedy" for the lessons and inspiration to write and perform better comedy.