I’ve spent the last 10 years enjoying the Cornish comedy scene, doing monthly slots and going on a voyage of discovery.
Then earlier this year I stumbled on Masterclass then Billy Connolly’s course on BBC Maestro.
I watched this and found many things I’d thought about comedy from when I started in the late 1700s. Well, 2007. With hindsight, I realised where I’d gone off track, lost confidence, hit a block or been misdirected.
As an improviser, I had been told people either laughed at you or with you. Not according to Billy Connolly. People laugh or don’t. Today it seems people clap, which isn’t necessarily laughing.
In 2010, I was told to make a 5 minute set, to perform each time. I learned something but also lost my way abit.
One thing I did as a teenager was telling stories for laughs. Then during my degree I wrote satirical stories about the college I attended and its people. When my mum died, people stopped laughing at my quirks and took me seriously, so getting through the loss of someone could be benefited through comedy. Remembering the funny things they did. A cat accidentally video calling from Texas. That happened at my dad’s funeral.
Since I started doing stand-up, I’ve watched other comedians, asked around for tips and feedback, none of these gave me a step-by-step route to follow. The keys to a liberating stand-up set has some common factors for everyone, but what they do with it will be personal to them.
There is no period of time it will take different people to find their funny bone but potentially anyone could bring laughs to life.
Stand Up Comedy Collective 