You are probably not an auteur, but that’s OK. Your show will improve.
the sixties really did a number on us. All of a sudden, the musicians and film-makers of the world started telling us the author of the piece was the best person to tell the story. Any singer who sings someone else’s songs was ‘fake’, any filmmaker who wasn’t ‘chasing his vision’ was not a true artist.
Comedy took longer to adapt. all the way up to the early eighties the club comics of the world were telling jokes, but rarely writing jokes. Great performers performed, and great writers wrote.
Alternative comedy changed it all. All of a sudden, the author was as important as the performer, and if they weren't one and the same, well, that’s an inferior piece of work.
Still, to this day, Comedians writing their shows stick to this. This is my story, my tale to tell, and it must be in my voice.
We all dream of being Stewart Lee or George Carlin. grand orators full of important, funny and hard hitting ideas, that the whole world will see, realise us for the genius we are, and elevate us to the high status we deserve. But here’s the rub. You are probably not that.
In my time in comedy, I’ve seen so many acts. Most have one of two skillsets, they are either a great writer or a great performer. Some unfortunate delusional folk have neither, but that is thankfully rare. The great writers are hampered by lack of an engaging performance, and the great performers are hampered by having nothing funny to say. Forever, they roam the mid club level of comedy getting progressively more miserable, unfulfilled and bitter until they eventually announce they are ‘Giving up the dream’ only to reappear on a bill at a lower level in 6 months time.
‘How can this be avoided?’ I hear you ask. With TEAMWORK. Forget being sole author of a work that's substandard, and be part of a network that makes something brilliant. use your comedy friends, Workshop ideas, give the show a broader and more welcoming name and take notes from people who’s opinion you respect. Work with writers you like on each other’s material. Watch the good performers and take what they’re doing in. Realising no one cares about you as a performer yet is the best start. Make something general, engaging and fun, prove you’re worth listening to, and THEN write the masterpiece, if you can.
So many of my comrades in comedy have come back from Edinburgh dejected, with low numbers, even less money, and middling reviews. If you want that show to be better, other writers are the way.
My wife Maria just did her debut at the Fringe. The show was well attended, got great reviews and actually made money because we were focused, we worked as a team, we took the time to hear what other writers had to say and we made sure it was very clear what people were coming to see as a performance. The core writing team of the two of us, with a mission, something to say and relatable material, plus numerous toppers added by comedians we respected, leading to a successful show.
As someone writing comedy as well as holding a full time job, it’s time to accept that without help, guidance and an outside voice, you’re never going to make the grand statement you want to make.
Really ask yourself, if you met a guy in a pub who banged on about himself for an hour, would you care? If you meet a guy who’s fun, engaging and funny, and talks about things you’re interested in, you’re much more likely to stick around, and maybe speak to that guy again. Maybe even pay to see his Soho Theatre show about being autistic and growing up without a father.
Even the big boys use writers. Once they’re on TV, they’ve no time to try out material in clubs, so they hire Adam Bloom to do it.
So, Forget dreams of self determined destiny, and start writing with other people. If you do, you may get a good review in a national paper, and maybe even earn enough money to buy a round of beers. Anything is possible, with Teamwork!
