Becoming a comedian with consistent results is extremely difficult. You’ll have your fair share of highs and lows before you are able to really become consistent. Here are some tips to get the most out of your comedy routine and adapt your comedy skills to reach different audiences.
Expanding from your target audience as a comedian
You’ll develop a target audience early on as a performer. You won’t know it initially from the work you do, as any way to get laughs will be good early on. However, as you develop your own personality as a performer, you start to notice that a certain crowd follows you. Whether it be dark humor, sarcastic realism, family humor, etc. They all have their own particular niche, and expect a certain quality of comedy from their performers. You should center your work around them and use that to your advantage. Once you have identified your crowd, play into them! Let them virtually decide how you craft your work for a while and see where it goes.
Then, you can work to expand your reach. Reaching new audiences is difficult once you get into a set routine of work. This is fun to try in the digital space now.
Using that new target reach on different platforms
Digitally, you can perform in just about anything now. Whether it be a web series, podcast, traditional stand-up, etc. There are tons of opportunities to grow your comedy skills. These are all great spaces to additionally implement small shifts in your act. It can even be as simple as adding one joke as a bit on your YouTube channel. Once you add this little piece, start to add them with consistency. For each show, you should aim to try a couple of new jokes out of the realm of your talents. Then you can weigh how the audience interacted with them. Luckily, in the digital space, there are intense levels of measuring engagement.
Which comedy skill set works best for you?
Additionally from there, you can expand on your skill set as well. Since you started out pursuing comedy, something drew people in that you may have used as a crutch before. Whether it be impressions, darker jokes, etc. There’s a niche for every audience. Your new audience will require a new set of skills for you to be successful for a long time. This will also open doors for you to get more business opportunities.
The larger your skillset, the better chance you have at landing a bigger job.
What job should I be looking for?
Of course, it seems if the stage were big enough, you’d take just about anything, right? You should veer away from this mentality. Of course, if it’s something you feel you can be successful in, then go for it. Even if you’ve only dedicated a bit of time to learning the area of comedy or type of work they require, you should still go for it.
Just remember: whatever you put on tape stays with you forever. The good, the bad, and the ugly. Everything in between in your career will not necessarily define you, but it can contribute to the next work you get. Do the best you can to put your best foot forward.
Overall, as you expand your audience reach and comedy skills, you should expect new opportunities to come. Aim not to use your key bit or joke as a crutch. if you use it as a crutch for too long, you won’t grow and your work will become stale. Stay prepared and keep pushing for when those times come, and you should be well versed enough to succeed.
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