CALL: The Room

CALL: The Room

By Matthew L. Hart

Humor Writer/Comedian

Author of:

Uncle Matty's Halloween: Jokes, Bits & Anecdotes

If you could take a week out of your life to immerse yourself in learning something new, what would it be?

Two things!

I would get certified to SCUBA dive and learn underwater cinematography and photography.

I'm a documentary junky.

Documentaries are basically just travel guides for me. "What's that? Where's that? I want to to go to that place!"

But, knowing what's out there is only part of it. I like to document my trips when I can.

It can be so complicated to orchestrate the filming of fictional projects but, you don't have those headaches when filming documentaries.

So, I just sort of pick a subject I enjoy, learn enough about it to pick out the really interesting facts, and throw down a quick shot list and just go at it.

But, it doesn't even need to be that complicated.

You can take your video camera or cell phone camera somewhere and just film what's going on. Let the story direct your camera and put it all together later.

But, I've always been fascinated by SCUBA diving since I read 10,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, and when my wife and I discovered snorkeling on Maui, we've been addicted to the water ever since. 

Dive Atlas of the World: An Illustrated Reference to the Best Sites (IMM Lifestyle Books) A Global Tour of Wrecks, Walls, Caves, and Blue Holes from Lawson Reef to the Red Sea to the Great Barrier

"Comedians are sociologists. We're pointing out stuff that the general public doesn't even stop to think about, looking at life in slow-motion and questioning everything we see."

- Steven Wright

CALL: The Room

If a tray of glasses drops in a comedy club, does anyone hear it?

Absolutely! But, the Comedian gets to be the one who points it out.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS TECHNIQUE IN THIS BOOK:

• Do You Talk Funny?: 7 Comedy Habits to Become a Better (and Funnier) Public Speaker

Congratulations! You wrote some great material, you practiced your routine and you're finally on stage. Your into the middle of your act when, someone sneezes over your punchline...Nobody is laughing. What now?

When you're performing in front of a live audience, you quickly learn that anything can and usually will happen.

NO PROBLEM!

By using the technique of calling the room you will quickly get your show back on track and the laughs pouring back in.

Let's take a look at some of the most common distractions:

• People showing up late.
• People talking among themselves and not paying attention.
• Someone takes a phone call.
• Technical difficulties with the PA system or lighting.
• Spilled drinks at a table or dropped trays.
• A fight breaks out between two audience members.

How the Comedian reacts to these distractions will determine how the audience reacts to these distractions. 

Remember: We want to be in control of the room.

START SIMPLE:

Just acknowledge what happened then react naturally.

For example:

You're doing a bit when

SOMEONE SNEEZES... 

1) Pause, look at the person and say, "Gesundheit."

A simple pause and natural reaction will actually surprise the audience into laughter, because you turn whatever you were saying into the setup and use the distraction as your punchline.

Now, you have a couple of choices to pick from:

FIRST CHOICE: 

Continue your routine.

SECOND CHOICE: 

Get even more laughs by riffing or presenting a prepared response.

Either option will work and depends on your skill level, confidence, level of preparation and what kind of job you are doing.

I prefer to use the second choice at open mics, because you get an opportunity to discover new material by riffing. 

But, if it's a paying gig, I would use the first choice because I don't want to go too far off script of what my employer has agreed to.

Use the first choice to 

stay tried and true.

Use the second choice to 

find something new.

Let's pick the Second Choice:

You have regained control of the room by brining the attention back to the stage.

Also, you have setup a new topic: 

SNEEZING.

At this point, I would tag my response with an act out:

Pause, then wipe your hand across your face.

The audience will not expect this funny relationship but will laugh when they put the pieces together for themselves: "He's wiping the sneeze off his face!"

Pause for laughter.

Then, you get the to pick from the next two choices again.

You can pick FIRST CHOICE and say something like,

"As I was saying..." and continue your routine.

Or...

Pick SECOND CHOICE and do some improv riffing on the topic of sneezing.

You could say something like,

"I wasn't planning to shower until after the show."

Pause for laughter.

Depending on how you feel, you might do another couple of minutes by making a statement or asking a question of the disruptive topic, and make sure to incorporate  an attitude word.

ATTITUDE WORDS convey your feelings towards the topic and will guide your response towards it.

Think: love, hate, scary, weird, stupid, crazy, ect.

Let's say:

"Don't you hate having to sneeze in public?"

Now, just state that as YOUR response to it:

I hate sneezing in public.

This allows your brain some time to think.

Tip: Start thinking in opposites.

The opposite of, "I hate sneezing in public." 

is, "I love sneezing in public."

Now, just think to yourself, usually your subconscious will connect these dots for you, but you can also prepare something ahead of time.

Just ask yourself, "Why do I love sneezing?"

My answer would be, 

"Because if you sneeze seven times in a row, you'll have an orgasm."

So, now we say the punchline:

"But, if I can't stop myself, I'll try for seven in a row and have an orgasm."

Pause for laughter.

Now, you have just set yourself up for an easy Act Out.

ACT OUT: Holding back a sneeze, then sneeze seven times in quick succession, maybe count them out on your fingers, then have an orgasm.

Now, you can tag that.

"Anybody got a cigarette?"

Pause for laughter.

"No? That's okay. I was faking it."

Pause for laughter.

Follow up with a Call Back.

Call Backs are unanticipated references to something you said earlier. In this case a similarly framed question.

Say something like:

"Don't you hate having orgasms in public?"

Pause for laughter and repeat.

Say,

"I don't. I love orgasms!"

Pause for laughter.

Then, bring it to a close by CALLING BACK TO THE ROOM.

Say,

"Actually, I think they hate orgasms. (point to the person that sneezed). You only sneezed once."

Pause for laughter.

Get back on script:

"Okay. What were we talking about?...Oh, yeah..."


Do You Talk Funny?

Now you see how calling the room allows you to take back control after an interruption, build a sense of spontaneity and in-joking with your audience, and even discover some new material.

Here is a quick take of the example above so you can get a sense of timing:

COMEDIAN:
"So, then I told the Doctor I had-"

WOMAN SNEEZES!!

Pause for control.

NATURAL RESPONSE:

"Gesundheit."

Pause for laughter.

ACT OUT:

Wipe hand across face.

Pause for laughter.

TAG:

"I wasn't planning to shower until after the show."

Pause for laughter.

SET UP PREMISE TO

RIFF:

"Don't you hate having to sneeze in public?"

SET UP JOKE, MAKE IT PERSONAL:

"I hate sneezing in public!"

PUNCHLINE (opposite):

"But, if I can't stop myself, I'll try for seven in a row...and have an orgasm."

Pause for laughter.

ACT OUT:

Holding back a sneeze, then sneeze seven times in quick succession, counting them out on your fingers, then have an orgasm.

Pause for laughter.

TAG:

"Anybody have a cigarette?"

Pause for laughter.

TAG:

 "No? That's okay. I was faking it."

Pause for laughter.

CALL BACK with SET UP PREMISE TO RIFF:

"Don't you hate having orgasms in public?"

Pause for laughter.

SET UP JOKE, MAKE IT PERSONAL:

"I don't...I love having orgasms!"

Pause for laughter.

CALL BACK TO THE ROOM WITH PUNCHLINE,
OPPOSITE PREMISE:

"I don't think she does, though."

ACT OUT:

Point and look at the woman who sneezed.

Pause for laughter.

CALL BACK:

"You only sneezed once."

Pause for laughter.

GET BACK ON SCRIPT:

"What were we talking about?...Oh, yeah!"


This was just a little Riff off the distraction from someone sneezing, but I could have easily gone on for another five minutes, abandoning the show I had prepared.

But, the key to riffing is, keeping an eye on your time, reading the room, and using your discretion.

Eventually, the topic will get played out, and it's more important to leave them laughing on a peak than a valley.

This means dropping the topic sooner than you might want to.

Remember, the most important thing is to take control and
LEAVE THEM LAUGHING!

Calling the room grabs attention back to you from distractions.

What was the worst distraction that happened while you were on the stage?

Tell us how you handled it in the comments below!

Continue your journey:

Funny Friday:

My original comedy audio tracks!

KNOW: The Author!

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My Audio-biography Playlist

Or, hop over to my YouTube Coin Channel:

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Mystery Videos Playlist!

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