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!

TRY: Split-Reforms

My Audio-biography Playlist

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Matthew The Great Coin Roll Hunter

Mystery Videos Playlist!

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FIND: Your Truth and Pain

FIND: Your Truth and Pain

By Matthew L. Hart

Humor Writer/Comedian

Author of:

Uncle Matty's Halloween: Jokes, Bits & Anecdotes

What were you really into when you were a kid?

I used to play POGs a lot.

POGs are these little cardboard disks with cool graphics on them. Just a huge dumping ground for pop culture imagery.

In my school, the most popular POGs featured an 8 Ball, from billiards.

I would learn later that was actually a drug reference.

I'm sure my parents might have been worried, cause I had a bunch of them.

The game is played when each player selects a POG and stacks them face down on top of each other, and the object was to flip both POGs over with a Slammer.

A Slammer is a heavy, plastic or metal disk that you threw on the POGs to get them to flip.

You could play for Slammers, too. Same rules applied.

If you flipped over both POGs or Slammers, that person got to keep both. So, your collection would grow that way.

When I was in elementary school, POGs became this huge fad.

And, there were these plastic tubes you would store all your POGs in and they became these status symbols in the halls.

I think the ultimate tube was called a 'Lava' tube, it was like, six feet long or something. And, these POGs are only a couple of millimeters thick.

Whoever had a lave tube, was stacked.

Anyway, it only lasted a year in my school because too many kids were crying about losing their POGs and parents pressured the school to shut it down because they considered it a form of gambling. "The children are gambling! Good heavens!"

Eventually, my group grew up into the marching band in high school and we played "High/Low," mixed vodka with our Poweraid and followed the football team around on a co-ed bus. "Good heavens! The geeks are fornicating!"

Maybe they had a point.

The Official Pog Milkcap Collector's Guide (Pog)

FIND: Your Truth and Pain

A joke seeks to tell the truth, just before it kinks the outcome. 

Have you ever heard someone say, "It's funny because it's true."? This is what I'm talking about.

We want to discover what is true, so that we can make fun of our pain.

I FOUND THE TECHNIQUE IN THIS BOOK:

• The Comic Toolbox: How to Be Funny Even If You're Not

Truth and pain is said to be the theme of a joke.

Similar to the topic, a theme has the ability to carry across an entire show, giving us a way to relate to an entire group of people. 

Once we establish a commonly held truth with the audience, it's just a matter of adding punchlines to our jokes that will diffuse our pain with laughter.

When we are trying to find a truth to explore, it's very important to understand our audience. 

To do this, we want to identify situations that our audience would be familiar with, either by first hand experience, or at least something they have been exposed to.

And, unless you want your microphone cut off mid show, try to discover truths that your audience will agree with. 

This is what it really means to know your audience:

The truth is, that people are much more comfortable laughing at situations they feel superior to and, the pain is, they aren't always right but, might be right now.

For working Comedians, 

I always say, "The Majority wins."

My goal is to entertain as many people as I can in the room. The audience will tell me what they like with their laughter.

Hecklers are typically the minority of the room. And, when I say minority, I mean, typically, there's more people in the room that understand the jokes.

 And, out of respect for your audience, you must address hecklers swiftly, so that the rest of the room can enjoy the show they came to see.

Remember, you have the microphone, you are in charge, and you are expected to do the job you where hired to do. 

Don't back down, but be professional. 

Not every heckler deserves to be traumatized and humiliated. 

If you can pull some improv humor out of a heckler's truth, you might even make them laugh and get them back on your side.

It's at least an opportunity for some crowd work.

Once you know the age group of the people you are trying to entertain, you will want to figure out, what general situations they find themselves in.

You can niche down even further by focusing on gender, race, or even income level, but, I would caution you from niching down too far.

If you niche down too deep, you will be excluding segments of your audience. 

Unless this is your goal, to alienate your audience, which has been done successfully in the past, I suggest going as broad as you can.

Set your intentions for this session now. You can always change your mind later, but let's get focused. 

My intention is to reach the most people possible. So, I will be using the broadest situations for my target audience that I can find.

GET FOCUSED

If you discover that your audience is made up of 9-13 year olds, what situations are they most likely to be in?

What about a demographic made up of hormonally charged High Schoolers?

How about that awkward 19-25 group in college, at home, or starting their careers? There's lots of niching down you can do with this audience.

I would even ask the question, "Which one of these segments has the money to buy a ticket to my show or purchase an album or, a DVD?" 

Unless you're doing charity work or maybe just enjoy the art of comedy, you should always ask this question when you're targeting an audience.

A good place to start before writing is to ask, "Which demographic has the most disposable income?"

Then, "How can I relate to this group of people in an authentic way?"

To answer the authenticity question, you will want to discover what they do with their time.

A great way to do this is to find people in your target demographic, and talk with them.

Ask them:

• What are your hobbies?
• What kind of jobs, if that applies, do you do for money?
• Where do you live?
• What do you read?
• What do you watch?
• How do you entertain yourself?
• What is important to you?

Once you get an idea of what your target demographic does at work, for fun, and their home life, you can start to figure out what universal situations they may find themselves in.

For example:

A 78 year old man just got dumped off in an old folks home.

General situations might be:

• Watching TV all alone
• Sadistic Nurses
• Feeding times
• Bed times
• Soul-crushing loneliness

As you can see, once we have identified our target demographic, we can start picking apart the truth of their situation.

You begin to see an entire show developing before your eyes.

You even have a place you can perform with an audience that will relate to your material. 

How about, AN OLD FOLKS HOME?

Talk about a captive audience!

I'll leave it to you to discover a way to get paid.

Now, let's discover the truth and pain of these universal situations of our post-retired demographic.

Let's pick apart the topics of their situation to identify their truth and pain.

The truth about watching TV all alone is, that it's boring.

The pain about watching TV all alone is, that it's all your body has the energy to do.

The truth about Sadistic Nurses is, that you rely on them for your survival.

The pain about Sadistic Nurses is, that they won't let you die!

The truth about Feeding Times is, that you need nourishment.

The pain about Feeding Times is, that you're not hungry when food is served.

The truth about Bed Times is, that the power is turned off.

The pain about Bed Times is, you aren't tired enough to fall asleep.

The truth about Soul-crushing Loneliness is, that you feel betrayed.

The pain about Soul-Crushing Loneliness is, you lovingly fathered twelve children every day of their life and now they won't even visit you on holidays.

Are you starting to see how discovering the truth and pain for your demographic practically writes the show for you?

Once you have your lists of truths and pains, you can pick apart the topic by making lists and churning over new ideas. 

Each one of these truths and pain will become a bit, but finding truth and pain will also help you identify the premise for a single joke as well.

For example:

Topic: Watching TV alone.

Truth: It's boring

Pain: You don't have the energy to do anything else.

You could ask some questions of the character in this situation.

"What are you watching?"

An answer might be, "Golf."

"Why would you watch golf?"

"Because, I used to play golf."

"What's your handicap?"

"I can't swing a club!"

Can you see how well this works?

Truth and Pain are a great place to start finding material, and relating your jokes to what your audience believes to be true will get most of them laughing to diffuse the pain of it all.

Discovering your truths make you more authentic.

Are there any painful truths about yourself?

SHARE YOUR TRUTH AND PAIN IN THE COMMENTS!

Dress on point for the show with
 ********* 90's Retro! *********

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