Abstract
Stand-up comedians need performance opportunities in order to hone their skills and develop confidence as performers. Living in Cairns, a long distance from a major comedy centre, poses problems in gaining practice and exposure as an emerging stand-up comedian. This article considers the process and outcomes of staging a stand-up comedy show in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival of 2015. The value of this experiment in providing performance opportunities which contribute to developing the skills and confidence of a stand-up comedian is explored. An auto ethnographic process has been utilised together with heuristic research to develop a case study. Observations are limited to the experiences of the researcher and the expressions, during interviews, of comedians. Staging the show in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was challenging in many ways and expensive. The experience of being in Melbourne during the comedy festival, performing in varying situations and meeting with other comedians did provide valuable lessons, both positive and negative. This paper may serve to inform stand-up comedy performers from regional areas regarding staging a show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and of the benefits and hazards of doing so.
Highlights
Stand-up comedians need performance opportunities in order to hone their skills and develop confidence as performers
I discuss the importance of deliberate practice along with perceptual and experiential learning with relation to the pursuit of expertise in stand-up comedy
This “ten year rule” is supported by many subsequent studies in other disciplines (Gladwell cited in Russo, 2009, p. 43). In their 1993 study of violinists and pianists, Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Romer found that though this experience is essential, expertise was not attained as an automatic result of that experience. They argued that a considerable effort along with the guidance from instructors and coaches was necessary and that invariably, those that achieved the highest levels of expertise had accumulated over ten thousand hours of deliberate practice (p. 392)
Summary
Stand-up comedians need performance opportunities in order to hone their skills and develop confidence as performers. This “ten year rule” is supported by many subsequent studies in other disciplines In their 1993 study of violinists and pianists, Ericsson, Krampe and Tesch-Romer found that though this experience is essential, expertise was not attained as an automatic result of that experience They argued that a considerable effort along with the guidance from instructors and coaches was necessary and that invariably, those that achieved the highest levels of expertise had accumulated over ten thousand hours of deliberate practice Gladwell confirms what is known as the “ten thousand hour rule”: The idea that excellence at performing a complex task requires a critical minimum level of practice surfaces again and again in studies of expertise. As a stand-up comedian these opportunities to perform through deliberate practice involve perceptual or experiential learning
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