My junior year decision to join the Hysterics, Wesleyan’s standup comedy group for women, wasn’t an easy one. I knew I enjoyed public speaking and making people laugh, but the thought of performing standup comedy in front of others was terrifying. What if nobody thought I was funny? What if I came across as annoying or self-aggrandizing?
Responding to Feedback
My new group of peers was small, but welcoming. At every meeting, we went through our ‘funny lists,’ which could contain anything from random anecdotes to tidbits of overheard conversations. Funny lists were meant to be elaborated on and transformed into standup sets. Standup comedy is risky, since it’s impossible to know whether your jokes will resonate with your audience; oftentimes, my funny lists wouldn’t get quite the reaction I’d hoped for.
Receiving critique on jokes could feel uncomfortable, and even embarrassing. However, listening to everyone else’s funny lists helped me realize that we were all at least a little nervous to share our material. I reminded myself that we were all there for the same reasons: to improve our standup abilities, but more importantly, to have fun. With this in mind, I was able to relax.
Planning in Advance
Standup comedy also worked well for me on a personal level. Unlike improv, standup requires you to plan and edit your own ‘script’ before performing. I have always thrived off of certainty, so the level of control offered by standup made me feel more confident.
In October, I decided to sign up for our Halloween show. I spent the month writing a six-minute set in my Notes app, which was centered around the theme of ‘crazy bathroom experiences.’ Once I was satisfied with my set, I practiced it over and over again. By the day of the performance, I was able to recite it mostly from memory, and had pared down my outline to a short list of bullet points.
As I performed my set that night, I was shaking with nerves. But despite having my phone in my hand, I found that I barely needed to look at my outline: I was able to deliver my lines in a relaxed, tongue-in-cheek style and maintain a natural flow. Hearing the laughter that followed every punchline, and seeing my friends’ smiling faces in the audience, was incredible.
