Monthly Archives: July 2012

Girls vs. The Boys

Posted in My Thoughts by

Comedy giant and utterly fantastic specimen of a man, Adam Carolla recently made a comment on The Talk about how women are “always the least funny on the writing staff…dudes are funnier than chicks.”  I hope my sarcasm came through.  Now, despite my immense distaste for his comments, I’m not going to bash him here because many people have already and that’s not the point of this article.

What is my point, you ask?  Are men actually funnier than women?  I say yes and no.

I say yes because men by nature are more uninhibited risk-takers willing to say and do shocking things.  Men are great writers because they can fearlessly say whatever is on their minds and not care what people think.

But more strongly, I say NO!  Women are freakin’ hilarious!  And clever and quirky.  Believe it or not, men and women think VERY differently and therefore have different things to say.  However, in my view, women write more clever, intricate, relatable comedy while men more often go for the immediate shock value.  I’m not bashing dudes.  Women are just thinkers by nature, so why wouldn’t our writing reflect that.

In the comedy world, you have to weed through a lot of junk in order to get to the good stuff.  Out of all the comedians you see maybe only 30% are destined for greatness.  Since it’s a male-dominated industry and there are fewer women, you may have to wait a little longer and look a little harder for those great women.  But having said that, I also believe that there are a lot more crappy male comedians than female.  Mediocre men can hang around for yeeeeears while the crap ladies are weeded out pretty quick allowing the great ones to shine through.

A big part of comedy, like with many arts, is that it’s a matter of opinion.  Mr. Carolla feels that men are funnier.  But he also co-created The Man Show.  He is probably a big fan of dick and masturbating jokes, using “fuck” as a noun, verb, and adjective, and Two and a Half Men.  Admittedly, there are a lot of women that joke about menstruating, idiot husbands, shopping, voting, liberation, having a voice, and other shit chicks are into.  And it’s fine!  Who cares!  Writers write about what they know and experience, and gender just happens to be another pond to draw from.  Lindy West wrote a very passionate article for Jezebel.com called “Hey, Men, I’m Funnier Than You” in which she argues against the societal assumption and “research” that men are just biologically funnier than women.  She makes some very good points and makes me feel proud to be a female writer/comedienne.  That’s French for funny lady.  *hoity, toity French guffaw*

But it seems to me that women are foraging their way into the comedy world with real force, this last decade especially.  In a recent Refinery29.com article, “A Field Guide To The Funniest Lady Writers In Entertainment”, a handful of up-and-coming lasses are featured and they all have big projects on the horizon.  Comedy Queen Bee Tina Fey, whose babies I would have if she asked, made a HUGE statement with ‘30 Rock’.  I love the writing on that show, it’s quirky, unexpected, and multi-dimensional.  Real genius comedy writing is going beyond the obvious, base level of an idea and making it into something that you could write a unique TV show or movie out of.

Innovative, brilliant women are as hard to come by as innovative, brilliant men.  But watch out boys because the ladies are a-comin’ and they’re F-ing BRILLIANT!  Here are some of my personal lady-favourites: Chelsea Peretti, Chelsea Handler, and Carol Burnett.  Oh, and check out my radio interview I did for Co-op Radio Vancouver on July 23 regarding women in comedy(ffwd to 35:22).  I’m pretty amazing.  Now get out there and burn your bras!  Girl Power!

Writer’s Block – Make it Stop!

Posted in Diary of an Amateur Comedian by

“What the HECK am I going to write about today!?” Vanessa asks herself as she sits down, uninspired, at her dilapidated computer.  Writer’s block happens to every writer at one point or another.  The tricky part is to get past it, but hoooowwww?

I find that it helps to do a “mind dump” – just start writing out anything and everything that comes to your mind.  Keep writing and writing for two or three minutes without letting your hand stop moving or your mind stop thinking.  Mind dumping clears the mind and makes room for your creative juices to start flowing.  Plus, when you read it back, you’ll see what’s REALLY on your mind (sicko).  Maybe there’s even something in that mind dump that you can use as a jumping-off point (with your psychiatrist).

Second, don’t think of writing as such a serious and daunting task.  It’s hard to think that way if writing is your job, but it will take some of the stress off and let your mind be free, man, to think whatever the heck it wants without pressure from The Man.  Do some doodling, or mind maps to help get the brain warmed up in a fun way. That’s why I make seriously unserious cartoons.  What’s that you say?  You don’t remember what a mind map is?  Here, I made one just for you:

It’s also important to write about things that you feel strongly about.  This is the first tip I ever received with respect to stand up comedy, but it translates into most any sort of writing.  If you want the audience to have a strong reaction to your writing, it has to make you feel something too.  This again can be difficult if writing is your job and people hire you to write stuff for them.  In this case you have to do some research and see what aspects of their business, etc. you are most interested in and can get excited about.  We all know how easy it is to see right through B.S. that someone has written that they don’t really believe in themselves.  It’s pathetic and boring.  And why should others get excited about something that YOU aren’t even excited about?!  What’s the point?  Whether it’s jokes or “real work”, your energy will translate into engaging material that an audience will have a reaction to.

In this same way it helps to write about things that you are familiar with, and things that a good portion of people can relate to.  Like yoga! ….right?  If you aren’t very familiar with a topic that you want to write about, MAKE yourself familiar.  Do a little research and get some facts (there’s a new thing called The Internet that is great for this), and you’ll become a wealth of knowledge.  I wrote a joke recently about black people – I mean eHarmony!  I wrote a new joke about eHarmony, which I don’t know that much about, so I looked it up.  Turns out there isn’t that much to learn from their website unless you are willing to sign up and find YOUR match today.  But I did learn that if you DO want to sign up for eHarmony, you have to answer a 400 question survey!  Pssshhhhaw!

Writer’s block sucks nards, there’s no doubt about that.  But whatever the damn cause may be for your blocked brain, you’ll get past it….eventually.  These tips have worked for me on several occassions, and I hope they will help you.  Now get back to work!  Aimless internet surfing isn’t going to write your material for you.  I don’t even know how you found my little website, but I sure am glad you did.

Something To Tell You In Confidence

Posted in Diary of an Amateur Comedian by

As I mentioned in the previous post, “Thou Shallt Not Quit”, the key to getting through a tough perfomance is confidence.  I have chosen to write about this topic again in more detail because I’m hoping that the more I THINK about it, the more confidence I’ll gain myself.

The ol’ boyfriend and I recently had a discussion about how I could take my abilities to the next level, and the biggest thing for me is my confidence.  We established that I’m very comfortable on stage, but not necessarily confident.  Especially when I am working through relatively new material that I’m not 100% sure is even funny. 

It’s tough to deliver that material confidently when you’re not even confident in it yourself.  “WHAT DO I DO THEN?!”, you ask.  “Pretend?”  Yes!  Sure the material may be new, but no one else knows that and the idea is a JOKE so there will always be someone who will appreciate at least the premise.  If you deliver your ideas with conviction and sell them like you believe in them, you may be surprised at how many people will buy into what you’re selling.  The results are a huge growth potential to take things to the professional level.  So be fearless!  Like a menstruating woman doing yoga in white spandex!

And the MOST important thing to have confidence in: YOURSELF.  Be confident with who you are as a person, what you do, and in your talent.  I struggle with this because I’m not a “look-at-me-I’m-so-great” kind of person.  But it’s time to get over that and get used to the fact that yes, I AM funny and I have funny things to tell you!  Say it with me now!  I AM a comedian!  Can I get a witness!? ALLELUIA!

Not everyone wants to or is able to get up on stage.  And some just shouldn’t.  So when you meet new people, introduce yourself as you want to be known and say it like you mean it.  Function Writing has a great article about this exact topic.  “I’m (insert name here) and I work part-time as a data entry clerk and sometimes I do some stand up comedy but that doesn’t really pay at this point and what I really want to do is be a TV writer except I don’t think I’m good enough at writing yet”….. OR “Hey, I’m Vanessa Lever.  I do stand up and sketch comedy and I’m just starting out in my voiceover career.  All of which are pretty exciting, so be excited for me!”  What!?  You’re awesome, Vanessa Lever!  “I know.  But thank you.”  And just to clarify, I don’t mean become an egotistical prick.  OWN your extraordinary abilities and share them with the world.

As the great Julie Andrews says in The Sound of Music, “I have confidence the world can all be mine…I have confidence in me!”  Now make like Julie Andrews and dance off into the streets to take what’s yours: LAUGHS.  You work hard at it, so allow it to pay off for you.

Joke Sandwiches

Posted in Diary of an Amateur Comedian by

One of the most nerve-wracking parts of doing stand up comedy is trying out new jokes for the first time.  It’s like introducing your new significant other to your family at Thanksgiving and hoping they don’t judge them based on their face tattoo.  (Never again)

I have discovered that there are a few key ways to try out new jokes.  First of all, especially for me as an amateur, practise your jokes and say them out loud before you open your mouth on stage and have nonsensical verbal diarrhea (eww).  Some more experienced comics can improvise brand new material on stage and make it work relatively well right away.  But I know for me, this is the kiss of death.  So in the words of the boy scouts, BE PREPARED.

Secondly, don’t do an entire five or ten minute set of brand new jokes.  That’s silly!  The WRONG kind of silly.  I made this mistake a couple of times in my earlier days and it did not end well.  With every new punch-lineless joke that drowns in a sea of groans, a bit of your confidence also melts away and you find yourself floundering in a puddle of tears by the end.  Instead, sandwich the new stuff amongst some tried and tested material so that you can start strong and end strong.  You can also get a more accurate reaction from the crowd because they aren’t expecting to groan after everything that comes out of your mouth.  Build that trust with the audience and they’ll love you even more!

Lastly, go to a smaller open mic night that a lot of other comedians also frequent to test out new ideas.  This is a better idea than biting it while being featured at The Comedy Mix beside some international comedy sensation.  You can get useful feedback and suggestions from your fellow comedians on concepts, punch-lines, delivery, etc. and really workshop your jokes.  I have given and received (ha ha) suggestions at open mic nights, and it’s a way more relaxed and supportive atmosphere. The Sin Bin on Sunday nights in Vancouver is awesome!

I used to dread trying out new material.  Now, as I gain more experience and confidence, I actually get excited to try out new jokes and develop them into refined GOLD!  Whether or not the first time you expose a joke to the light of day is successful, you always have to keep working and refining.  And the more fun your jokes will become.  Woooo!!