MA Student Ben Lowe enlisted the help of many of this country’s most successful working comedians in his search to discover whether he can make the grade as a standup comic.
Great clips, great advice; this is a gem of a piece, fascinating and invaluable for all those interested in the world and work of a standup comedian in the UK today.
1,010 total views, 5 today
Working your arse off and still no progress? Not getting seen for those projects you know you’re perfect for? Watching other “less-deserving” people leapfrog you to the glory?
Perhaps you’re concentrating on the wrong things.
Instead of trying to impress the powers that be – something in the end you have no control over anyway – maybe you should take a look at yourself and your behaviour, make sure you’re not actually hindering your own career. Self-sabotage – so easy to do it without realising.
Here are 5 of the most common ways we let ourselves down. See if any apply to you:
You keep material or “schtick” that you know and feel safe with but which is getting old and tired. The audience like it, and you can always fall back on it, but it doesn’t impress employers if they see you perform identical material every time. Try out new things and don’t be afraid to lose the older stuff. Feels scary but you know it’s the way to move things forward.
Obviously you know your strengths – if you’re a standup that’s where you’re the most comfortable, or a sketch writer or character comic. But why not expand your career frontiers? Try submitting material to other formats, or other performers. Perhaps try a different style of performance – from sketch to standup. This increases your creative output, exercises your creative muscles, helps you keep a fresh and different perspective, and also increases your sphere of influence and connection. You never know where it may take you.
In apparent contrast to the last point, if you are always chopping and changing then you will be good at nothing. Make sure you have something solid. Don’t give up on perfecting your main strength because you get bored and want to try something new. You need a solid foundation to build confidence and credibility.
This is a big one. The nature of the job makes it very difficult to do otherwise. You’re not selling a car you’re selling yourself and if someone doesn’t like the product it means they don’t like you. Well, that’s not strictly true but that’s how it feels. Remember if someone doesn’t choose you or doesn’t laugh, it’s not about you, it’s about them. People have different senses of humour. If you don’t get an audition it’s because someone else better suited their brief. Move on. It’s important to learn from mistakes and improve but don’t dwell, it gets you nowhere. And don’t waste time and energy getting angry or resentful – it’s boring, destructive and unpleasant to be around.
You’re not at your best, you’re too tired, you’ve put on weight, you feel unfit…. Ah, the rock and roll life! You need sleep and you need to be healthy. Your brain has to be at optimum speed to create and to react. The social side of the business and the hours make it difficult to keep control of health issues, but it’s still possible. You work at night? Meetings and auditions are in the daytime. And if you’re a performer your appearance is extremely important – people can be cast on looks alone. So forget the idea of the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. If you’re serious about getting ahead, getting wrecked regularly does you no favours on any fronts.
1,251 total views, 6 today
Finally.I may have already mentioned in previous posts that this site has been designed by a non-designer, and so there have been a few problems with functionality and… you know, stuff.
WELL. At last I have integrated a proper Advanced Search facility. NO, COME BACK! This is INTERESTING! (OK, maybe not interesting, but USEFUL.)
If you click on the Advanced Search page you can look for performers and writers using a ton of options:
There are a ton of different choices and we’ve just made it easier for you to narrow them down to find the precise fit for your brief.
You know that long, complicated form you had to fill out when you created your profile? The more fields you filled out and the more information you gave, the more chance you have of showing up in employer searches – whether by casting directors, promoters, events organisers, ad agencies or just the plain curious.
Log in to the site, click on My Dashboard (in the top right hand corner), then click on the pencil icon along from your Profile name to edit your page and check that you haven’t left anything out and most importantly, the right information is listed in the right fields.
Check out the Advanced Search page here and test how you show up in search results.
Any questions, feel free to get in contact by phone or by filling in our contact form.
1,024 total views, 3 today
Great, you’ve signed up to the site, you’ve created your own online comedy profile. Here are some tips to make sure you squeeze every last drop of usefulness out of it:
1. Check out the competition. This applies not just to ComedyCaster but to any area of marketing. In this case have a look through the site and see which profiles you like. Define why you’re impressed. Then make sure you do the same things they did, but better if possible.
2. Have a great photo. And if you haven’t got one already then make it head-and-shoulders to work best on this site, as the image space is quite small. Even if you’re a writer (never in-vision) and/or look like the back of a bus. If you’ve ever visited a property or dating site, or anything where someone is trying to get your attention, you know that to choose between viewing the details of two similar items, one with a photo and one without? Exactly – no contest. If you think a photo of you is irrelevant or will in some way work against you, then at least have an image of some sort – a logo or comedy picture – a blank space is just off-putting.
3. Get a video clip. Really important. If you’ve got a clip – on a DVD or your own website – but it isn’t on youtube or vimeo, then GET it on there so you can link to it on your ComedyCaster page. If you’ve only got audio then stick it up on youtube anyway with a nice picture. There are plenty of simple video creating tools, there’s even one that comes bundled with Windows – Movie Maker. You simply drag and drop the audio into it, and then add a picture (or several if you’re feeling adventurous) and voila you have something you can upload to youtube which can be linked to on your profile here. Writers, that includes you.
4. In your description/biog/CV, start by mentioning what you are doing now. List your credits starting with the most recent work first and work backwards, don’t list them in the order they occurred. Then when an extract or snippet of your profile shows up – as it can in various places, eg Google searches – it doesn’t read like you haven’t worked for 10 years.
5. Tell everyone about your comedycaster profile, link to it on Facebook and Twitter. Perhaps ask for feedback – it’s a great excuse to remind employers and agents you exist.
6. Fill out as many fields as you can* where applicable. If you are a performer give the details of your appearance and skills. Employers, especially casting directors, may search for specifics – only Asian for example, or only in a certain height category etc – and if that’s you but you haven’t filled out those fields then your name won’t show up when they search with those words.
*Except for the phone contact fields: if you have only one contact number there’s no need to fill out all the other phone fields, it just looks messy. No one is going to think “they haven’t put a voiceovers number down, that must mean they won’t take voiceover work”. Keep it simple with just “For all enquiries”.
7. Reviews are great but don’t make them the only thing you put in your main description. After all, no one is going to include a review that says anything less than “he/she is very funny” so they don’t really add much – the fact you have them is great, but it’s not a lot of info for the employer. Add a few details – when you started, where you grew up, or what you do well – something that will give them a hook to remember you by.
8. Fill out the fields seriously. Putting “war-mongering” or “plays Albanian nose-flute” (if untrue) in Skills does nothing and is a wasted opportunity. We already know you’re a comedian. The fields are a chance for you to be found for the extra things that you are/can do.
9. Accents. Don’t put “all” or “whatever you need” or anything vague like that. If you really can do an accent well, especially if you’re native, list it specifically. If a casting director needs someone with a Birmingham accent they will probably use the words “Birmingham”, “Brummie” or “Midlands” to search for it, so if it’s not listed in your accents field you won’t show up in those search results.
10. Don’t lie. Employers’ time is valuable and if they allocate some to meeting you because you said you can do something you can’t then it’s guaranteed you will never be called in by them again.
Most of the above is simple common sense, but the more of these tips you follow, the greater your chances of getting work from this site. Your profile on ComedyCaster is a great resource for placing yourself firmly in the spotlight. Take advantage of it.
791 total views, 1 today
When You Want To Hire A Comedy Performer For Your Event
Choose The Right Act:
If you haven’t already got a comedian in mind, or even if you have, it’s useful to consider the following before you make a booking:
Once you’ve chosen your act(s), whether you contact them directly, through their agent, or through a third party booking or speakers’ agency, it’s helpful if you can supply as much information as possible – timings, audience size, reason for event etc. Make sure you can speak to the comedian at some point beforehand, not just to their management, and let them have a contact number for you for any further questions.
“It rarely works to book a comic you like and then ask them to do anything out of character, eg. “we love that routine, but could you tone the language down a bit?” They won’t, they’ll just feel nervous and swear anyway.” – Simon Evans
“Don’t ask them to turn up at 7.30 & then say,” we’ll start the show after the dinner, at about 10.30.”" – Jane Hill
“”Can you do an hour and a half after dinner” is usually a no-no. 30 minutes is more than adequate.” – Bennett Arron
“Don’t make the front row/table any more than 5 feet away from your comic. A gig is like a gynaecological examination – it’s all about intimacy. The physicality of a room is more important than people think. Also if your staff and clients have a modicum of respect for your “turn” then everyone will enjoy the show. Don’t be offended if your comedian declines to dine with you before the show, s/he’ll be nervous, trying to get their head together and in no mood for grub. Offer them a drink, tea, coffee, or booze and maybe a makeshift green room- this is what they’re used to. We’re animals of habit see” – Susan Murray
“Do not have a massive gap/dance floor between the comic and the audience. Get the audience to face the stage. Get a decent PA.” – Mike Gunn
“Don’t have a disco, then stop the music and tell everyone to sit down and listen to the comedian. Do some research and make sure you book the right comic for your event. Don’t wait until the comic is about to go on to tell them it has to be a clean set. I agree with Mike about the seating, but don’t make it so close that your front row can vomit on the comic’s shoes.” - Angie McEvoy
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899 total views, 3 today
Having a chat with a pal who works in casting last night, we ended up discussing the sorts of things that casting directors are most often searching for. Skills and abilities that are especially useful and valuable for film, TV and commercial work in particular. She was chatting away, and pretty soon I had my iphone out, taking notes.
So without further ado, here are the top things that, if you can do ‘em, casting directors definitely want to know:
She also said that if you can speak a foreign language, or do an accent convincingly you should mention it. And list any musical instuments you can play.
However DON’T claim to be able to do something that you can’t. Casting directors have a limited amount of slots to see people, and if you waste their time and exaggerate or lie about your ability it won’t be appreciated and you can forget ever being called in by that person again.
Finally, it’s very useful to mention specifically where your accent is from. If they’re casting a character who is described as coming from Dudley then mentioning you’re a native from there, accent-wise, rather than just the Midlands area, will push you to the top of that list.
So put it in your directory listing (ComedyCaster has specific fields for this when you create/edit your profile), your website, your agent’s page. If you don’t share it, you can’t be found in a search for it.
1,211 total views, 1 today
ComedyCaster is the contact directory of comedy professionals. There is no other. You may have your own website, your details on your agents’ site, perhaps even a listing on various acting directories as well. But this is the central hub for contacting people who write and perform comedy. And when employers are looking for a comedian to audition or book, why would they trawl all the various sites when they can just check the one place that has everyone they need to consider? (Answer: they won’t, they’ll just come here.)
You have your own page, the content of which YOU decide. It’s not subject to anyone else’s opinion or review. You can add one video clip, up to 3 photos, and as many words about who you are, what you’ve done and what other people say about you, as you like. And of course you can update it whenever you want.
Everyone applying to be on this site is vetted. Only proven professionals or newcomers with either professional representation or a reasonable CV are admitted. Click on View All to see who we’ve got so far.
Different agents for different types of work? List them all. Or just list one number. Either way, the person YOU choose will handle your enquiries, ComedyCaster doesn’t get involved or take a cut. And of course if you change agents, or get another one, simply amend those details on your page.
For a WHOLE YEAR if you sign up now. Eventually, once we reach a certain number of artists, this offer will be withdrawn and there will be a simple listing fee. But sign up now and for at least the next year it won’t cost you a penny. So you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.
1,178 total views, 2 today
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