The Comedy Cellar

For you to become the amazing speaker you know you can be, you have to start performing, not presenting. You have to start connecting to the words, stories and topics you are speaking about before your audience will connect to them. This doesn’t mean you have to ride into your presentation on a unicycle juggling bowling balls (although, if you can… why not?). It does mean that you have to change your mindset from presenter to performer.

I often get objections to this theory from people I work with. They contend that standing at the front of a conference room speaking is presenting, while standing on a stage at a comedy club is performing. Reality check time – any time you are standing in front of a group of people speaking on any topic, you are in essence performing. When a group of people are assembled together as spectators to hear someone speak at any type of public event, they form what is known as an audience. And, audiences have been conditioned, consciously and unconsciously, to expect some type of performance.

Of course the expectation of the type of performance varies based on where the audience has assembled and for what purpose. An audience at a country music festival expects to see a country music performance. An audience at a comedy club expects to see a professional stand up comedian who will make them laugh.

An audience at a conference or meeting where you will typically be speaking at expects to see a speaker who informs, engages and on some level, entertains. Presenting without performing – i.e. standing up there reading PowerPoint slides – meets none of these expectations. The great thing for you is that audience expectations at conferences and meetings are generally pretty low. They’re not expecting a song and dance number, or a stand up comedy show. But, they are just hoping that you won’t be boring.

Sound daunting? It’s really not. I have good news and great news for you. The good news is that in your day to day life there are many times when you “perform”. By performing I’m talking about subtle, but significant behaviors – like changing the tone of your voice; using physical gestures; being verbally descriptive, etc. My experience is that people naturally do this when they are speaking about a topic they feel some emotional connection to. However, when people get up in front of an audience, they often suppress this natural performing ability, mainly because of fear.

Now, the great news for you is performing skills, like all skills, can be developed and nurtured through the right type of practice, training and coaching. And, many of these performing skills are abilities that you already possess. Further, in terms of performing, a little bit goes a long way. You will be thrilled how a few little changes make your presentation a lot more fun for you and your audience.

By performing – being funny and engaging – you will consistently exceed your audience’s expectations!

By: Dan Licoppe

About the Author:

Website content

Like much of life, humor is subjective. A man can watch the Three Stooges and laugh till he is doubled over in pain. At the same time, his girlfriend can watch the same episode with him and wonder if he has lost his mine. Despite the fact humor is very subjective, let’s have a go at naming the top unique male comedians.

Now what is unique? In this case, I am talking about someone who has something different to say, a different perspective or who is just plain off their rocker. Also, the perspective of this is taken from the last five years. After all, what is unique and different depends on the who, what and when of the perspective of the viewer.

Our first candidate is, alas, dead – Bill Hicks. Hicks was an old school comedian who worked his way up through the ranks. An avid proponent of drug use for much of his career, he was so ground breaking that you can find much of his act in the acts of other comedians. Dennis Leary seems to have really liked him. The band Tool samples his takes on their albums. He is perhaps best known for his bit on the killing of President Kennedy. You can look it up on YouTube. Hicks passed away when he was 33 from pancreatic cancer.

Steven Wright was born in 1955 and is one of the leading surreal comedians. You probably know him by his deadpan, monotone delivery and his odd commentaries on life and the world around him. He has been on numerous television shows and movies. He dropped out of the limelight for a number of years, but recently has come back strong. He makes commentaries such as the fact he is a peripheral visionary – he can see into the future but only off to the sides. He recently released a new CD – “I Still Have A Pony”, a takeoff of his first album – “I Have A Pony.” His “funny guy” video on YouTube has been viewed over 1.5 million times.

Dave Chappelle is obviously well known, but his brilliance is often taken for granted. Any man that can write a skit where he is a blind black man leading the KKK is standing well above his fellow comedians. His run on Comedy Central was the stuff of legend that simply hasn’t been seen in a long time, perhaps since the great Richard Pryor. The fact he walked away from a multimillion dollar contract just added to his legend.

Admittedly, there are more brilliant comedians than these, but returning to the brilliant ones is a great way to rebuild your faith in comedy. Bill Hicks may be dead, but he lives on through You Tube if you want to check him out. Do it and you’ll be laughing till you double over.

By: Bruno Baceli

About the Author:

Website content

“Laugh and the world laughs with you,” a small line from a poem by Ella Wheeler which gained significance in the eyes of many comedic performers. Comedy has carried us through many tragic events such as The Depression and war. Even personal difficulties are better adopted with the unique abilities of gifted comedians.

When I was young my father was an avid “back in the day” story teller. I remember well him telling me about silent television. Of course, as a kid I’m thinking how useless TV would be without sound. Then, I was introduced to Benny Hill. Though Benny’s efforts caused controversy among some, his laugher caused tears among millions.

Teamwork was well appreciated with the “grand slam” efforts of Abbott and Costello’s “Who’s on First?” routine. Their major league performance gained them a platform in Baseball’s Hall of Fame. High in recognition in the comedic arena was a man who put reality into play. Jackie Gleason didn’t sugar coat marriage in his show, The Honeymooners. Instead, he opened us to humor at, what might be thought of as, inappropriate times. His approach, however ironic, also complimented our humanity.

Carol Burnette has played many different roles in her career. Oddly enough, her Tarzan yell became infamous. Eunice was likely a side of Carol that allowed her to develop a variety show at a time she was told it was a man’s world. Eunice was unmanageable and stubborn. I’m grateful to have witnessed those qualities and to have been able to share in the laughter of a show that was said to be doomed.

Close to my own funny bone is a heroic comedian who also beat the odds after being told in 1925 by a drama coach that as a performer she had no future, Lucille Ball. Had she listened we’d have been deprived of the tremendous laughter she so graciously offered. It’s reported that “I Love Lucy” dominated weekly ratings calculated in the United States which overwhelmingly proves we all love Lucy.

By: Gabriel J. Adams

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

Stand up comedians are a dime a dozen, but very few actually have the talent and the longevity to entertain audiences for years. Most comedians just end up rehashing old material as they run out of creativity. Only a few of the very best keep coming up with relevant material, while others just fade into obscurity.

These three comedians listed below are truly among comedy royalty:

1. George Carlin
Without doubt, Carlin was among the finest of comedians to perform on stage. Naturally gifted, what’s remarkable about Carlin is his dramatic transformation from a clean cut, straight laced funny man to an iconoclastic rebel whose jokes were aimed primarily at destroying the status quo. While his “Seven Words You Can’t Say on TV” routine is a classic, Carlin stayed relevant even until his death, perfomring in several HBO specials and releasing everything from books to DVDs well into his late years.

2. Jerry Seinfeld
Jerry Seinfeld’s show, “Seinfeld”, was at one point, the no.1 show in the US. Its finale had a whopping 75 million viewers. Even today, reruns of the show enjoy considerable popularity. Seinfeld’s brand of humor, with its dry sarcasm and observations on the banal and trivial details of daily life, is followed now by pretty much every young comedian. If you like your humor intelligent and deeply observational, Seinfeld is the man for you.

3. Dave Chapelle
Dave Chapelle is easily one of the funniest men alive. At one point, the “Dave Chapelle Show” commanded a huge audience and was all set for its 3rd season before Dave opted out due to stress and general creative dissatisfaction with the show’s format (and this AFTER the show had been universally lauded by fans and critics alike for its humor). Chapelle’s brand of humor is highly subversive and he routinely takes on controversial topics while still staying funny.

By: John Newcomb

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content – Members-Only Content for WordPress

To answer this question, one must realize the difference between these two eras depends on several factors: the type of humor, the time period in question, and the medium. Yesterdays comedians were dominated by canned laughter, and starchy hook lines, and dubious timing. Much of today’s comedians tend to be sophomoric and unfunny. The two comedy eras are basically the same, but with different brands of humor. Yesterday’s comedy tended to be drier, more precise, while today’s comedy is more punchy and broad.

Earlier comedians came on the heels of war and strife, and the ability to make people laugh was a far simpler task. It helped people to be able to handle grievous memories filled with horror and much sorrow. It allowed people to feel good again. People who had experienced harsh times made some of the best comedians.

Then traditional comedians changed; there was the lack of taste, decency and moral standards. These attributes were replaced by the vulgar, the foul mouth, and a multitude of curse words. Governments are attacked, people, no matter who you are, are ridiculed, morals, religions, standards, race, cultures, I could go on, are made fun of in the name of comedy. No one and nothing is safe from today’s comedian.

A lot of people prefer today’s comedian because he/she says things that people are thinking, but are afraid to say themselves. Today’s comedian tells the truth, no matter how brutally honest it is. Most of today’s comedians do not observe any sanctity. If it exists, it is a target of ridicule. Some people find this funny.

Today’s comedians rely on swearing like a drunken sailor as way of getting laughs, and the majority of their routines are crammed with vulgar, course words, as if dirty words are the routine. A lot of today’s comedians are too crude, too base and much too reliant on toilet humor, and after awhile, it becomes tedious. It is like they know nothing funny to say, so they fill the void with vulgarity.

Today’s comedians should take lessons from yesterday’s comedians. Yesterday’s comedians employed slapstick, shock, funny anecdotes, goofiness to create laughter, whereas today’s comedians employ vulgarity. Not only should the comedians take lessons from yesterday’s comedians, but the people who think today’s comedians are funny should step back and take a serious look at themselves.

I love to laugh, and good clean humor, to me, is funnier than listening to a comedian you cannot understand because he/she is constantly being bleeped. I do not believe in censorship, I do believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe in decency.

By: Elise St John

About the Author:

Create a video blog

In November of 2001, I found myself standing in front of at least fifty Alfred State College students who were attending my comedy show. After the President of the college, Bill Rezak, decided not to participate in the imaginary goat auction, I had to fill time before the band was ready to perform. I started on this riff about college life at Alfred. Which, to be honest, is like making fun of someone with irritable bowl syndrome if you like to make fart jokes.

During this impromptu stand-up routine, I was thinking that college comedians must have it made. I’ve promoted a lot of events at college campuses and other entertainment venues, and comedians, especially at college campuses, always draw a solid crowd. I think it is because we as students need the relief after all the bullshit we have to put up with. And since the entertainment industry doesn’t seem to get why we’re tuning the traditional media out, our entertainment options are usually limited to the bar, the local movie theater, and comedians.

So here we have comedians with a built in audience and plenty of college related material to work with. What could go wrong? Apparently everything. Since everything is way too broad a subject to take on, I have three theories about why most of the comedians on the college circuit blow.

1) The students who book comedians consistently flunk personality tests. Maybe campuses get bad comedians because selfish people do their booking. Some organizations that use your campus activity money often have no oversight and book what they want, not what you want.

This theory gets some momentum when you consider some of these dopey bastards usually spend your campus activity money on an annual visit to NACA (the National Association Of College Activities.) NACA, as a grizzled veteran of student booking once told me, used to be a place where “evil promoters” offered students cocaine in hotel rooms in exchange for booking the act they represented.

I can’t tell you if that was true or not, but I know conventions where you have to go and put something together are often cluster fucks that end in poor results. Most of the students I’ve met who attend these conventions skim through the acts and just pick what they wanted to see, not what the students wanted to see.

While I think a lot of student activity planners are incompetent and often require a baby sitter, this theory really doesn’t explain why the comedians themselves suck, just why you see them at your college and not on Comedy Central, where bad comedians go to die.

2) A college official tells the comedian they can’t say certain jokes because it might offend the audience. I’ve seen this happen twice with Tiny Glover at two different colleges. The first time I saw him at Alfred State College in 2003, the adviser of the Alfred Planning Board told him that he couldn’t make any comments that might be offensive to gay students. Then during his act, as he started to make the joke about getting into bed with his male roommate, he stopped and said something to the effect that he couldn’t go on because he was told not to. The same thing happened with him at SUNY Potsdam.

Now, two things are possible. First, that these two colleges’ officials were members of the PC Nazi Brigade, and they wanted to censor everything before students were exposed to it. (And yes, in both Alfred and Potsdam’s case, they are card carrying members of the brigade.)

Or it could be that this part of Tiny’s act is part of his routine to win favor with the audience. What supports this theory is that colleges today are run by conservatives and liberals who want to serve as the parents to students in the real parent’s absence, so when they are involved with student booking they are too involved and control everything, including the content you’re exposed to.

This theory is slightly better than the first one, as we’re getting closer to why the college comedian’s material might be ruined because of the college’s influence. But there are many colleges out there that let comedians say what they want, in which case…

3) There are no excuses: most college comedians suck. We’ve all seen a bad comedian before, but sometimes college students are exposed to people who should quit and become professional perverts. At least this way when they molest their audience there is some kind of penalty for it.

I’m honestly sick of hearing about how long it took to get to my school, why the school’s weather sucks, and worst of all, the bullshit public service announcements every comedian makes about how awesome life is and how you shouldn’t wrap kittens in dynamite.

I have yet to encounter a comedian that has made a comment relative to my school that would be funny during their routine. Usually we just get the standard, “Hyuck, hyuck, man, that school food sucks, what do they serve in your dining hall… crap?” This line is often followed by the comedian leaving college material behind and moving on to their boring life. Did I miss memo that said everyone had to be like Jerry Seinfeld? You’re a loser… and?

I realize a lot of the comedians are starting out on the college circuit or they are just doing the gig to collect a paycheck in between “projects”, but we need a damn good laugh these days, and some of the garbage we’re getting makes me want play with GI Joe toys and give them mental disorders that make it impossible for them to interact with each other.

It could be that all or none of these theories are correct, or the answer is somewhere in between, but when you have so much material to work with for every college campus out there (Potsdam has mutant farm animals roaming around in a cage on Route 11 for example) there is no reason to use the same tired routine and go through the motions to “entertain” us. Unless some of these comedians simply suck, in which case they shouldn’t quit their day job.

By: Brandon Mendelson

About the Author:

Caffeinated Content

Males are not the only ones who have the talent to make people laugh. There are a lot of females who also have a knack for comedy. Here is a list of some of the famous female comedians:

WHOOPI GOLDBERG
Whoopi Golderg was born on November 13, 1955 and is not only a comedian but is a versatile female celebrity. Whoopi Goldberg is also known as an author, a game show host, a television personality, a radio host, and an American actress. Among the awards that this female comedian has received are a Daytime Emmy Award, a Tony Award, an Oscar Award, a Grammy Award, and an Emmy Award. Whoopi Goldberg also received an Academy Award and is considered as the second female African-American to have received such an award.

ROSEANNE BARR
Roseanne Barr is also considered as one of the best female comedians. Born on November 3, 1952 and just like Whoopi Goldberg, Roseanne Barr is also known not only as a female comedian but also as a talk show host, write, and American actress. Through her career in the entertainment industry, Roseanne Barr became known to have used different names. During her first years in the industry, she was known as Roseanne Thomas and also as Roseanne Arnold. There was even a time when she used the name Roseanne Barr Pentland Arnold Thomas. There was also a time when she simply used “Roseanne” until she decided to use Roseanne Barr, which is her original name.

KATHY GRIFFIN
Kathy Griffin is another female comedian also born in November. Aside from being a female comedian, she is also a popularly known producer and good actress. Kathy Griffin has been in the entertainment industry for a long time now that she even experienced being a voice actress and even a commentator of the red carpet. Kathy Griffin, born on November 4, 1960, will always be known by many for her role on the television program Suddenly Susan, aired on NBC. Kathy Griffin also co-hosts the television program The View and has a reality television program called Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List.

SARAH KATE SILVERMAN
Sarah Kate Silverman was born on December 1, 1970 and is also considered as one of the best female comedians. Just like the other female comedians, Sarah Kate Silverman is also a well-known writer, and actress. Sarah Kate Silverman has been using her name Sarah Silverman in the entertainment industry. However, she is also known as Big S. Sarah Kate Silverman is a female comedian with a style of her own. She tackles controversial topics when she performs such as religion, sexism, and racism.

There is actually a long list of female comedians but these four form part of the best female comedians in the entire entertainment industry.

By: Kenny Leones

About the Author:

Kansieo.com

“Education is worth a whole lot. Just think – with enough education and brains the average man would make a good lawyer – and so would the average lawyer.” — Grace Allen (Gracie) “It’s foolish to bet on a horse without talking to him first. I know it seems silly to ask a horse who’s going to win a race – but it’s no sillier than asking anyone else.” — Grace Allen (Gracie) “Build a better mousetrap than your neighbour and Kraft Cheese will beat a path to your door.” — Grace Allen (Gracie) “First you forget names, then you forget faces. Next you forget to pull your zipper up and finally, you forget to pull it down.” — George Burns “Actually, it only takes one drink to get me loaded. Trouble is, I can’t remember if it’s the thirteenth or fourteenth.” — George Burns “For forty years my act consisted of one joke. And then she died.” — George Burns “Happiness is having a large, loving, caring close-knit family in another city.” — George Burns “Nice to be here? At my age it’s nice to be anywhere.” — George Burns “Anytime four New Yorkers get into a cab together without arguing, a bank robbery has just taken place.” — Johnny Carson “Democracy means that anyone can grow up to be president, and anyone who doesn’t grow up can be vice president.” — Johnny Carson “Happiness is your dentist telling you it won’t hurt and then having him catch his hand in the drill.” — Johnny Carson “I know a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex, and rich food.” — Johnny Carson “The only thing money gives you is the freedom of not worrying about money.” — Johnny Carson “Always end the name of your child with a vowel, so that when you yell the name will carry.” Bill Cosby “”Don’t worry about senility,” my grandfather used to say. “When it hits you, you won’t know it.”" Bill Cosby “Fatherhood is telling your daughter that Michael Jackson loves all his fans, but has special feelings for the ones who eat broccoli.” Bill Cosby “Having a child is surely the most beautifully irrational act that two people in love can commit.” Bill Cosby “I wasn’t always black… There was this freckle, and it got bigger and bigger.” Bill Cosby “Immortality is a long shot, I admit. But somebody has to be first.” Bill Cosby “I love being married. It’s so great to find that one special person you want to annoy for the rest of your life.” — Rita Rudner “I love to shop after a bad relationship. I don’t know. I buy a new outfit and it makes me feel better. It just does. Sometimes I see a really great outfit, I’ll break up with someone on purpose.” — Rita Rudner “I think men who have a pierced ear are better prepared for marriage. They’ve experienced pain and bought jewelry.” — Rita Rudner “I want to have children while my parents are still young enough to take care of them.” — Rita Rudner “I wonder if other dogs think poodles are members of a weird religious cult.” — Rita Rudner “Men hate to lose. I once beat my husband at tennis. I asked him, “Are we going to have sex again?” He said, “Yes, but not with each other.”" — Rita Rudner “I always did well on the essay questions. Just put everything you know on there, maybe you’ll hit it.” — Jerry Seinfeld “No face, mouth open … that is how the drug companies see the public.” — Jerry Seinfeld “On the side of box of my superman costume it actually said – ‘Do not attempt to fly!’” — Jerry Seinfeld “People who read the tabloids deserve to be lied to.” — Jerry Seinfeld “The Four Levels of Comedy: Make your friends laugh, Make strangers laugh, Get paid to make strangers laugh, and Make people talk like you because it’s so much fun.” — Jerry Seinfeld “Everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time.” — Steven Wright “I bought some batteries, but they weren’t included. So I had to buy them again.” — Steven Wright “I stayed up all night playing poker with tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.” — Steven Wright “If a word in the dictionary were misspelled, how would we know?” — Steven Wright “Someone sent me a postcard picture of the earth. On the back it said, “Wish you were here.”" — Steven Wright

By: Danielle Hollister

About the Author:

Tags: Bill Cosby, Funny Quotations, President Johnny
Posted in Top Comedians | No Comments »