"Is Comedy Making a Comeback?" by Stand-Up Comedy Coach Jim Richardson.

Is Stand-Up Comedy Making a Comeback?

On the LinkedIn.com discussion group "Comedy Promotions/Leads Exchange," Wednesday, August 28, 2013, this question was asked:
"Is stand-up comedy making a comeback?"

I replied Sunday, September 22, 2013, 11:15 am:

In Sonoma County (two counties up from San Francisco) in the early 1980s,
my Sonoma State University, Comedy Workshop students asked me to create local comedy nights . . . weekly on the weekends.

This, so they could avoid traveling to San Francisco for the only weekly open mic at the time in all of northern California . . . on a Tuesday night,
then not get home before 3 am Wednesday morning,
and have to get up at 5 or 6 am to go to work.

Now, there is an open mic every night of the week at different clubs throughout the county.

Oddly, San Francisco is no longer Mecca for budding comics across the USA.

Yet, the local professional comedy clubs have expanded in number from the surviving 6 full-time clubs
between San Jose-San Francisco/East Bay-Sacramento.
Mini-chains of SF Bay Area clubs pop up in the various cities, also as full-time comedy clubs.
Some are still in business, and others not.

Nationally, there appears to be more folks performing in comedy clubs than ever before.

Yet, the quality of the acts is measurably lower than in the 1980's.

What gets on national TV today is frankly an on-going embarrassment.

So, for the budding comic, it is both the best of times and the worst of times:
•an open market for top talent to emerge
•but poor role models that distract and confuse those on the way up.

Great time to be a comedy coach!

8-)

Jim Richardson
Just a simple, country comedy coach

;-)

OK, truth be told:
I hold 2 Masters Degrees:
•in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University
•and in Drama from the top professional theater school in the USA, Carnegie-Mellon University.

At C-MU:
•I also took the full schedule of post graduate classes,
and passed the week-long Ph.D. exam in:
Dramatic Literature, Theory, Criticism and Theater History.

To gild the lily, I did further theater research at Harvard University.

So, I am a well-educated and certified academic
who provides my students and clients:
•Historical perspective.
•Plus, world-class training in well-researched
writing and performing techniques
for stand-up comics and business keynote speakers:
Photo of Jim Richardson holding up two hands, symbolically considering both writing and performing techniques.

Photo of Jim Richardson holding up two hands, symbolically considering both writing and performing techniques.

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But then, what do I know?

8-)

Questions?
•Get in touch:
415-877-4424
jim@Stand-UpComedyWorkshop.com

Snail mail:
Jim Richardson
Organized Comedy
PO Box 992
Mill Valley, California 94942-0992
USA

Page last updated: Sunday, December 1, 2013, 12:41 pm PST and Sunday, January 6, 2019, 5:44 pm PST.