The most difficult thing for someone to do is to get on that stage for the first time. While your material will stand on it’s own eventually, it can be hard to know how to arrange it and make it most effective. Below is an outline of how I would suggest you build your first five-minute set to get the most out of your time.
0-5 Seconds: Get the stage in order. Put down your water, adjust the mic or put the stand behind you. Just make sure you are ready to go. Don’t start talking and then try to do those things, you need eye contact with the crowd, not the mic wire.
5-30 Seconds: Get to a joke. Get there quick. The audience is judging you immediately, and you only have a few seconds to put build trust and assure them that you are funny. You should have a great one-liner to open with. If you have an obvious look, address it. Just be sure to keep it short, the longer the wait for them to laugh, the less successful the rest of your set will be.
- Alternative: As you begin to improve your comedic ability, it is also a good idea to replace the first 30 seconds with an observational joke about the venue (don’t insult them), the area, or a friendly comment on another comic on the show. A lot of pros do this because it does two things: Demonstrates your ability to be funny on your toes, and brings the audience into the moment. They won’t see it as something scripted and will connect better with you.
30-60 Seconds: By now you should have 3 or 4 jokes in. Your jokes should be short to start off with. You want to get as many laughs per minute as possible. Most comics tend to talk about physical appearances or where they are from to start out with. Here is where you establish the tone of the rest of your set. Are you self-deprecating? Are you sarcastic? Are you energetic? Let them know you as a person within the first minute, they have to connect with you or it will be an uphill battle.
1 min-4 min: I won’t tell you exactly what to put here because this is your brand of humor and there is no cookie cutter method to building great material, but I will give you some advice on what structure should be in the middle of your set.
- First, continue to keep the jokes short. No single joke should be over 30-45 seconds. And if you have a 45 second joke, it should have several punch lines built in as you build up to the final big punch line. The audience is forgiving on short jokes that don’t work, but when you invest their time in a story that doesn’t pay off they will turn on you.
- Second, your set should flow. Try to have transitions and have one joke lead into the next. It makes your set more memorable to an audience when they can follow along, you stand less risk of losing their attention, and you can begin to build your stage persona by keeping a theme.
- Third, do not get rattled by jokes that don’t work. if a joke bombs, shake it off and move on. You have to keep the pace and rhythm, and letting a failed joke eat at you will ruin the good jokes.
4 min-5 min: Your last minute should be your best minute. You started this set with your 2nd strongest joke, end with your strongest. Hit them with a few small punch lines and then hit them with the big one right at the end. This is the joke they will remember you for and it can make or break your set, even if the rest of your set was crap. I have seen comics eat it for 4 minutes and close on a hard hitting joke and have audience members praising them on the way out. Now, if the joke doesn’t work it is important that you still end your set. Some comics keep trying to sell a joke or go into another joke and go over time. Don’t be that comic. Also, after your last joke, say your name again. “I’m …. Thank you!” The audience won’t remember your name until they like you, so tell them your name before you leave.
Extra tips:
- Keep the material personal, but relatable if you can. Jokes that are centered around true events are not only great for connecting with the crowd, they are also easy to remember since they actually happened. Jokes that you are invested in also come off as genuine and usually get a better response.
- No music cues. These are difficult to time, and you only have 5 minutes. Stay away from them for your first few sets.
- Steer clear of crowd work. It’s not as easy as you think. It is a craft that is learned over the years, and truthfully most of it is not really in the moment, but more of a controlled joke with audience participation.
- If you time your set and it is 5 minutes exactly, trim it. If you get laughs, you won’t want to walk over them by beginning a new joke right away, so anticipate a laughter/applause break. If you don’t get any, which is expected on your first try, then you will come up a tad short. But short is always, always, always better than going long. Do NOT go over the light. Ever. Even if you have to drop a joke, get off stage when instructed.
- Keep it to just material. No merch pitches, no “salute the troops”, no toasts, no self-promotion, just the jokes.
- If this is a showcase, unless you are the last comic avoid telling the audience to applaud for the host or other comics when you take the stage. The audience gets tired of clapping over and over as every comic that gets on stage bids for cheap applause at the onset. Just go into your material.
Good luck and enjoy building your set. Remember, keep doing your jokes to make them better. You should not be doing a new five minutes each time on stage. Practice, build and refine and you will have a solid five for a tape or audition in no time. Got something to add? Do it in the comments below, and feel free to share!
Great advice!
This was not funny
Because you are not.
I know right? I was expecting to be entertained; not told that I had to go on a stage, be funny, AND – on top of all of that – resist the urge to sponsor an amazing new website I found called gofccyourself.com.
This is an actual website, if you have not watched John Oliver. Juuust to clear up some possible offenses there 🙂
Great advice don’t know if your name is Devin but mines is.
Really good advice and to the point. Thank you!
I love this advice – now, whether or not I follow it…. we shall see
Great advice thank you but you ran the light.
Hello My name is Marva Clark.this will be my 1st time performing as comedy. Is 45min good timing for the crowd or I need to perform a little more than 45 minutes?
Start smaller. Most mics won’t let you get time over 3-5 min when starting out. The goal is to have 45 minutes or more after a few years of working on your material.
Awesome tips… and for free! Thanks Devin
Great advice
yeet
I just did my first set using your advice and I had as much fun as the audience did. Thank you!
This is an outstanding guide. Thank you for being so specific in your estimates about how long things should run. Lots of great advice here.
If you want to start out with some material to perform. I can start you out with the basis for your routine. http://www.fiverr.com/s2/e874fc3af7?utm_source=CopyLink_Mobile
good advice for any public speaking engagement!
I think there is one all important tip that,was overlooked. The circle back. All great comedy employs the circle back at the end to a set up earlier on. That is the hook to close the performance.
I never knew it was called a circle back, but it has always been my favorite storytelling device, comedic or not. The Seinfeld show was a shining example.
I used this guide one year ago today when I finally got the guts to do my first open mic. It’s a great guide, and helped me feel prepared and confident. Thanks! A year later, I’m still doing standup, still learning, still loving it.
Good advice
Thank you for spending your time on us noobs
Cheers micky
Thank you for explaining that by 30 seconds into standup, you should have a couple of jokes in. My sister is thinking about being a stand-up comedian, but she wants to find more places to get inspiration for that. I will be sure to forward this to her as well as maybe help her look around for places that write funny things for her.