The truth is that many comedians aren’t the hilarious people they portray on stage. True, some comedians are just as funny offstage as they are onstage, but many comedians, myself included, are somewhat reserved or even a little shy when not in front of the microphone.

Another question we comics often get is, “Where do you get your material?” And, “How do you prepare for a big gig?” The answers to these questions probably differ for every comic, and they are hard questions to answer quickly or easily. For those out there who wish to understand a little of what it’s like to be a working comic, I will try to shed some light from my perspective as a comedian in Chicago.

Where do I get my material? Well, not any one place; my material comes from all over. As a comedian you learn to look at everything with the possibility that it could be funny. Of course, we watch the news and read the newspaper to get ideas, but we also see potential jokes things in regular, everyday life situations. Sometimes I think of something funny as I’m reflecting on the day before falling asleep at night. Many of us carry around pens at all times because we never know when the next great joke or routine might jump into our minds or into our daily paths.

We also learn to look at things that aren’t inherently funny and to make them funny. It is a talent many of us naturally have, but we also have to consciously work at it. For instance, one of my recent jokes deals with the very unfunny subject of September 11th. The worst attack in our nation’s history is something that isn’t funny at all; however, as a comedian you learn to generate humor even from tragedy.

Upon recent reflection of this terrible event and by applying a different perspective, I thought of something that struck me as funny. The joke goes something like this, “Everyone wants to blame the terrorists for September 11th, but I say, ‘Thanks a lot Wright brothers.’” The joke, admittedly, is a little edgy, but it offers an example of how comedians are able to look at things differently than most people to find humor where many would see none.

Thankfully, our material is everywhere. You are our material; we are our own material; this absurd world we live in is a bottomless well of material. The well will never run dry as long as people live and breathe the human experience each and every day.

People ask, “How do you prepare for a big gig?” The answer to this question is probably different for every comic. Some of us get nervous, while others seem to be cool as a cucumber. Some of us pace, reciting our sets over and over again, while others casually have a few drinks at the bar. Some comics take their set lists onstage with them, which is a habit they should break themselves of. Does a doctor take a crib sheet into surgery? Either you are a professional or you aren’t. The truth is we prepare the same way you prepare for your job. We work very hard. One difference may be, however, that we love going to work, and we are our happiest while we are at work. Our passion drives us, and we can’t imagine any other job we would want to do every day for the rest of our lives.

Insight into the comedic mind may be hard for many 9-to-5’ers to grasp, but, in many ways, we are just like everyone else. We see things a little differently because we have an appreciation for the ironies and the absurdities in life. We feel the need to share our perspectives with the world because we want everyone to be in on the joke. Our payment is laughter, and, if we’re really lucky, a paycheck.

• "The Struggling Comic" appears exclusively in Lumino Magazine. Dustin White is a comedian/writer/actor living in Chicago. You can reach him through his Web site at www.dustinwhitecomedian.com.

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