Comedy Review: Sunset Room, Oct 22, 2013

It was Ladies' Night: four female comics were booked to perform. It was supposed to start at 10pm, but ended up starting at around 10:30, possibly due to trouble tracking down a DJ. 10pm is already pretty late for a Monday, and the delay pretty much guaranteed that people would leave during the performances.

Whether people left for that reason, or their indifference toward the comedy on display, is uncertain. What is clearer is that the opening and closing of the door rattled some of the comedians. I don't know their history, or how long they've been doing it. And it's tough to shut out at a small venue (there were only about 20-25 people total).

I'm not a comedian, and I'm not a professional critic. I'm just a guy that likes stand up comedy. Even that is limited to a handful of visits to comedy clubs and Youtube browsing. I have a tremendous respect for people who go up in front of a crowd and try to make them laugh. It takes tremendous courage. I think it's also unfair to compare them with the leading comics of our time: Louis CK, Chris Rock, etc. However, there do seem to be certain laws of comedy that are common to effective routines at all levels, and it is fair to see whether or not their comedy works according to these distilled principles.

Here are some principles I think were broken (or in Bernal's case, followed):

Be prepared.

Standup comedy is not improv. Good standup can take advantage of things in the room, and improvise off that. (Things in the room can be funny because they are shared experiences, which reduces the chance of a joke not being understood.) But at some level there still need to be jokes. It can't all be personality, or completely dependent on things happening during the routine.

If a comic is prepared, she can resist the temptation to go off script if jokes fall flat.

If a comic issuper, duper prepared, she can calibrate delivery or material as needed.

If a comic is unprepared, he or she makes a comment like "Let's see... what else do I want to talk about?" At least two comics did this.

Another comic had decent energy and promise, but her routine went a bit off once she started actively using her note sheet.

If you have a note sheet, it indicates a lack of preparation. Worse, if I know you have stuff written in front of you, my expectations for your delivery and material skyrocket, perhaps to impossible standards.

Consider how the material works with the rest of the perforrmance

From what little I know, many comics have a set routine. It's unclear then that adjusting that routine is at all feasible, or makes sense. But I think it does pay to know your audience, and figure out whether a gig is right for you.

There was also a guest male comic, who, based on the intro, has acheived some note at the Laugh Factory. Unfortunately for him, his routine seemed even more misogynistic than it would ordinarily at a Ladies' Night. Some of his jokes were designed more for shock than humor in any case. But they seemed especially mean given the context.

Maybe I'm not a fan of his type of humor. But I think I would've enjoyed it more if it weren't delivered at a Ladies' Night. Some parts were just a bit too jarring given the context.

Things that happen in the room can be funny - but don't use them as a crutch.

The male comic made fun of a guy by calling him "Charlie Brown", playing off a drunken heckle and the fact that his shirt had a horizontal zigzag pattern. It was pretty good. But a couple of the comics came back to the "Charlie Brown" thing when their routines were flagging. For whatever reason, it seemed like they were using it as a life preserver, and it showed.

I know that comedians generally find someone (or a couple someones) they can pick on in a crowd, especially if the person is pretty good natured. ("Charlie Brown" was a good sport.) But there has to be more than pointing to "Charlie Brown!" It gets tired if the person has no connection with the jokes.

Stay with the energy of your bit.

One of the things that I think distinguishes a good comic is that he or she stays in the energy of a bit. They don't break character. They don't (necessarily) depend upon the energy of the room. They bring their own energy. Conversely, weaker or more inexperienced comics do respond, and even take personally, the apathy or non-responsiveness of a crowd.

As the routines went on, many of the comics seemed a bit unnerved at the lack of response. Their tone It's entirely understandable. But it's the kiss of death.

Bernal did this the best of the comics performing tonight. She was greeted with the same sort of apathy that the other comics experienced -- perhaps even more, given the general fatigue everyone was feeling by the last act. But she brought an energy to the stage and maintained it throughout her routine. She didn't depend upon great responses -- though it always helps. She stayed with her high-energy, larger-than-life personality, and it worked. It won us over, such that when she did tell a stinker, we were willing to forgive it as an aberration.

Of note: she faced a drunk female heckler who said, among other things, "You're not latina" and "You're not funny". Bernal seemed pretty unfazed; she initially engaged, and when that didn't work, continued with her routine without skipping a beat.

Performers have to "stay in the bit". This applies to classroom teaching, too. If you let your energy slip, the kids pick up on it, and the lesson suffers.

Try not to insult the entire audience for no good reason.

It's clear that some of the comics were struggling, and got a combination of nervous, pissed off, and frustrated. One in particular got a bit petulant and sarcastic, and basically insulted the crowd at the end of her routine by sarcastically praising us for being a great crowd.

Cleverness that extends for more than five seconds is a breath of fresh air.

Bernal has a great singing voice, and she used it to parody both "Part of Your World" (Little Mermaid) and "If I Only Had A Brain" (Wizard of Oz). They stood out in an environment of one-liners because they were clever all the way through. Instead of the chuckle-silence pattern of one-liners, she got us to laugh for a half-minute, and cheer afterwards.

***

I do think that each of the comics tonight has the potential to be better than some of the opening acts I've seen at The Ice House and Harrah's. (These may not represent the pinnacle of success, but it's a standard that I think means gainful, regular employment as a comic. And the Harrah's folks were godawful - nobody, especially a headliner, should comment during his routine that he can hear the ceiling fans.) I think Nicky Bernal could, with luck and a longer routine, go even farther.

But between here and there are a lot of small clubs with cold crowds.