I guess I’m a fanatic about preparation. When I take a comedy gig, the first thing I do after I put it on my calendar is schedule clusters of hours for writing, planning my set list, and rehearsing. First, I take all my material that I want to use (or could use) and put it in a set list on the computer. It takes time to put things in an order that makes sense and that I’ll be able to remember. Proper standup has to be original AND memorized. I write out word for word every

So after 15 years of retirement, I’m back in the classroom teaching Oral Presentation Through Comedy to 5th graders. It isn’t my goal to make comics of them. My goal is to get them comfortable speaking in front of their peers and taking away their fears. The butterflies disappear when they are trying to write and perform a joke. Most 5th graders think they are already funny, but they’re prisoners of the knock-knock jokes, yo mama jokes, and jokes out of Boy’s Life. To wri

About 10 years ago, we hired a comic named Nick Arnette to perform at our church. I don’t think I’d ever been to a real comedy show, so I didn’t really know what to expect. I did grow up watching all the wonderful old comics like George Burns, Red Skelton, Lucille Ball, Jackie Gleason, Bob Hope, Phyllis Diller, Carol Burnett, Betty White. I think I always wanted to be like them. Nick suggested that when we set up the room, it was important to set up the chairs so that the f