How to Develop a Comedy Routine

Video Transcript

"Interviewer: Where can some body go to develop their craft? Let's say they don't live in New York or L.A. Grace: Ok, well I used to live in New Orleans which is a small city like any other city. Well, not a small but like any other city in the country. They have community college classes. It was a stand up comedy class, it was taught at nights by my partner and he also taught in L.A. So, we just got lucky and after he started teaching alot stand up comedy just blossomed in New Orleans. Before there was nothing until he gave us classes. Interviewer: So, your community college. Grace: The community college is good, and then the Learning Atlas is good. They have stand up comedy classes. Another thing is you can get books that can teach you how to get started. There are a few out there that I recommend. Judy Carter has a bunch of books, the Comedy Bible has been that's a big book and it's good to get started because it teaches you how to write jokes and it also teaches you WHY you write jokes. Like if it's weird, or if it's stupid, there's four things and I can remember all of them. But I think it was weird, stupid, scary and something else. It'll come to me. So that's where you're coming from the basic, you're coming from the emotional base and then you write, she teaches you how to write the joke and do the act out to the joke. Interviewer: Do you have to have any acting experience? Grace: You don't HAVE to, but personally I believe that the more art forms that you study, the better of a comedian you'll be. Like if you study music, then your voice, you'll be able to manage your voice better. If you study acting, then your emotions, then you'll be able to just get them out. Which makes comedy more interesting if you have emotion, rather than just all flat, as you can see... Interviewer: So you have to be a bit crazy... Grace:Yeah, pretty much."