All comics get the comment, “I just don’t know how you can do that.” Well, what seems scary to most people isn’t as scary to comedians who are generally the type of people who like the spotlight and don’t want to share it. As a comedian, I can think of many things that would scare me more.
It is always funny to me when people say they can’t understand how a comedian can get “up there” in front of the microphone. I could say the same thing about many other professions. How can a pitcher pitch a perfect game under pressure and in front of thousands of screaming fans? How can a teacher get up and try to teach kids who would rather be doing anything else but sitting in school? How can a soldier carry a gun into battle? How can that guy washing the windows on the 42nd floor do it? These are all things that really seem scary when compared to getting on stage and telling some jokes.
Performing stand-up comedy or speaking publicly seems scary to people who don’t possess the passion to perform, and, truthfully, it is kind of scary. When you take that stage, there is an expectation hanging in the air that you will be funny. If you tell a joke that isn’t funny in any other situation, it’s embarrassing, sometimes in an endearing way, but nobody gets angry at you. Comedy is a profession, and if you aren’t funny, the audience will actually get angry. This is fair enough because you have made a commitment to your audience by calling yourself a comedian, and when you take that microphone you need to keep your promise. When you don’t deliver, people feel they’ve been cheated and their time is being wasted.
Some audiences are tougher than others, for sure, and a comic never knows what he’s walking into. A comic has to win his audience over every time he steps on stage, and that can make you sweat. Comedy is a profession many people would love to try because many people think they are funny. No offense, but most people aren’t as funny as they think they are; however, if you want to take a risk just for the fun of it, there are some ways to overcome the fright of being on stage alone.
One way many comics feel more comfortable on stage is creating a stage persona that separates them from their normal self. When I go on stage as Dustin White, I am actually a comedic version of myself, a character I have spent years developing. This isn’t to say my material isn’t real or relative to my life, but I consider myself a different person on stage than I do when I walk off. By taking this approach, the comic is protecting his real world self while offering up his alter ego for criticism. If I do a bad set, I can walk off thinking, “Ok they didn’t like Dustin White the comedian tonight, but it’s nothing against Dustin White the person.”
Sure, I still get upset when I do a bad set the same way as a pitcher who throws a bad game or a teacher who can’t get through to a student. But, because I’ve made a separation between my public and private personas, I am not going to personalize the audience reaction I get on stage, good or bad.
Another way to battle stage fright is to break things down into the simplest terms. What is the worst that can happen? The worst thing that can happen is that nobody will laugh. It will be embarrassing for a little while, but chances are you won’t see any of these people again. Remember, most people have respect for anyone who is willing to get up there and give it a shot. If you do have a bad set being able to recognize it and make fun of yourself is one way to get the audience to be on your side. They will relate to you even if you aren’t making them fall out of their seats laughing. Bombing on stage is part of paying your dues as a comic, and it makes you come back with your best game the next time. In that sense, you can turn fear of failure into a positive by recognizing that it is an inevitable steppingstone to success.
The final thing you can do if you really want to try stand-up but are too afraid to be on stage alone is to get completely wasted. I can’t sing but have been the rave at many a karaoke bar. Sure people will most likely be laughing at you and not with you, but you won’t care and you will be able to tell yourself and everyone that you did try stand-up comedy. I wouldn’t recommend this technique to serious comics who need to be mentally sharp to handle their material and their audience.
While doing stand-up can be scary, the truth is that comedians love the attention enough to take the risk. Fear is relative. Many of us chose this profession because we loved the idea of telling jokes for a living and the serious 9 to 5 jobs are what scare the crap out of us. We don’t know how YOU do what you do. We get to stand in the spotlight on stage and tell jokes for a paycheck. There isn’t much that is scary about that.
• "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.
