In stand-up comedy the phrase “working clean” means you can do a set without cursing or being overly dirty. When a comedian works dirty, that is known as “working blue” in the business. Admittedly, most of us enjoy watching a dirty comedian sometimes; however, it is a bad mistake for young comedians to model themselves after comedians who are primarily dirty and then not be able to do a clean set.
It is OK to have a dirty set to use at specific shows where audiences want and even expect dirtier jokes, but, at the same time, there are events for which you will be hired where you are expected to work clean.
One perfect example includes most TV spots. You don’t see comedians dropping “F” bombs on The Tonight Show or The Late Show. If you can’t do at least five clean minutes, you’ve already ensured that you will never be booked on Leno or Letterman, and you also might have a hard time getting on Comedy Central. Even though Comedy Central bleeps out profanity for comedians, it is tricky and can interrupt the flow and timing of the jokes, so it is preferable that a comedian work under the parameters of cable television.
Many newcomers to the business look up to comedians like Richard Prior, Murphy, or George Carlin and think they can do sets like that right out of the gate. It is important to remember that those comedians had established enough credibility as artists that they were allowed to set their own rules.
Another reason young comedians want to work blue is because they want to shock people, but it is safe to say that little or nothing shocks people anymore. What is probably more shocking to audiences is when a comedian can be funny and clever without saying the “F” word 100 times during a set.
I have to admit that working dirty can be fun and is the only way to score with some audiences, but a comedian had better know his audience. I have some dirty jokes I call on when I know I am in front of audiences who accept or even demand edgier material. When I first started in this business, many of my jokes were dirty and included profanity. I knew I had made a mistake when I was hired for a benefit where I was required to work clean and had to try like hell just to get give minutes of acceptable material.
After that, I sat down and looked at my set and realized I needed to make some changes. A surprising number of jokes that are dirty can be cleaned up and remain funny to an audience if you are adept at changing a few words in just the right places. My advice is for comedians is to record yourself and count the number of cuss words you say in your set. You might be surprised. Many people curse by habit and comedians using profanity in their sets could just be a case of their talking naturally. It is important to be natural on stage and to be true to yourself, but if you cuss a lot, you may need to make a conscious effort to cut back on the swearing by substituting words. If the profanity is dominating your set, or even worse, if you are depending on profanity to get laughs, you may lose credibility with your audience.
If you want to make money in this business, you have to learn to work clean. Whether you are hired for TV, corporate shows, or high school assemblies, there are dozens of paying gigs that require a comedian to work clean. It is important to have the power to be clean when you need to be and to work blue when the situation or the audience calls for it. You should be able to do a smart, funny, clean set when required, and you should be able to cut loose and to push the boundaries when working a late-night club or college crowd.
The sign of a true comedian is a comic who doesn’t just have one set that is either clean or dirty. A good comedian can build his set around the audience for whom he is performing and has something that can appeal to anyone from a drunken, horny college student to a grandmother who attends church on Sundays. Like any business, comedy is all about supply and demand. Know your customer.
• "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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Always wondered
Written by Guest on 2007-04-03 13:31:17
I always wondered about this topic. I think the more cussing a comedian spits, the less creative he is. |
