DELRAY BEACH – Stand-up comedians, especially those launching their careers, rarely limit their employment focus to the stage.
Most have a primary job, which can range from restaurant work to being a corporate executive to politics. Some are fortunate enough to develop foothold in an industry that directly benefits their comedy.
Today’s Stand-Up Spotlight offers two stories discussing stand-up comedian side hustles. The first preaches the importance of good writing. The best stand-up comedians are excellent writes, and they can often turn that talent into a writing gig for television shows, books and online skits.
The second story extols the virtues of being a background actor in television shows and movies. Several South Florida comedians are already dipping their toes in that pond.
The Spotlight also features stories about how a couple of Jordanians are using comedy to help their countrymen deal with that county’s dire straits. And there’s a quick recap of former Florida’s Funniest Comedian-winner Preacher Lawson’s appearance on “The Tonight Show.”
It’s the last week of March. Let’s make it a funny one.
STAND-UP SPOTLIGHT – Match 27, 2023
Attention stand-ups: what transferable skills are you learning?
Spring is here: leaves are budding, flowers blooming and a thousand comedians are fretting about what to do in August.
Is stand-up enough? Could you build a literary career? The answer is yes, but you’re going to need to be one of those comics already up the TV ladder to attract any interest.
What you can do, and what I encourage every stand-up to do, is learn the skills to become a writer for radio and TV.
A comedian explains why life as a lowly background actor is still worth the struggle
Next time you sit down to gaze into any screen big or small for your entertainment, take a few moments to view it from a different, less glamorous lens. Naturally an audience’s main focus is always going to gravitate toward the stars of the show or film they paid to see, whether that hero is playing out an intense scene at a restaurant, walking down a busy street, or perhaps just meandering on a crowded bus or airplane. Now, just divert your eyes just an inch to the left or right and notice the seemingly unrecognizable, common person sitting behind them. That’s me! Or one of another of the thousands of performers in L.A. who do “background” work.
It’s no joke: club helps Jordanians win comedy gold
When life gave them lemons, two Jordanians launched a club to train people in the art of comedy in a country where years of economic woes have left little to laugh about.
Since being founded in 2019, the Amman Comedy Club (ACC) has been training aspiring comics, offering free, three- to four-month workshops in stand-up, improv, comedy sketches and satire writing.
Click here to view original web page at It’s no joke: club helps Jordanians win comedy gold
‘AGT’ Comedian Preacher Lawson Performs Stand-Up on ‘The Tonight Show’
At the start of his performance, Lawson told the crowd that it was just his birthday last week. He told everyone not to ask him how old he is and then joked about how people think that’s rude.
“You ever ask someone their age, they’re like, ‘I’m not gonna tell you.’ It’s like, all right, but I can see you. Your face is snitching on you right now,” Lawson joked. “What if I was like, ‘Nobody ask my race!’ You’d be like, ‘All right, but probably Black.’”
