Writing 101

I have only been doing stand up for 2.5 months, but I've been writing jokes for nearly a year.  I took to carrying paper and pens with me last summer and writing down jokes that came to my mind.  I also wrote down anything at all that struck me as funny with the idea that I would turn them into jokes later.  As I began discussing my desire to try stand up more frequently, my boyfriend started to write down things I said as well.  Anytime I said something that made people laugh, he would write it down (he's very sweet and supportive).

Once I started classes at the Second City, I finally collected all the scraps of paper and notebooks I had laying around, and began typing them up and trying to organize it all.  I had a surprising amount of material.

My method for organizing my notes has since become to put things into one of three categories: 1. Typed up notes to save; 2. Material (where I take the typed up notes and turn them into jokes) and, 3. Polished bits (where I arrange the jokes according to topic and how they could relate to each other).  Then, anytime I have a gig, I cut and paste from the polished section and make changes then save the gigs to refer back to later on.  If I change a joke, I go back and change it in my polished jokes section to keep track.  My goal is to take all of my polished bits and print them onto recipe cards and keep in a binder.

In preparing my sets for various gigs, I have really started thinking about my material for the first time.  I've been so focussed on just writing material so I can have something, that I haven't really reflected on where I'm going with it.

My predicament is this: I don't want to be perceived just as a deaf comic; I am a comic who happens to be deaf.  Obviously, my material will include jokes related to what it's like being deaf and how people tend to receive my disability - it's a pretty deep well of material!  I have coped with my disability the same way I do with everything else in my life - by seeing the humour in it.  Of course, I have other things in my life.  I've been deaf a very long time now.  Most days, it's not something I think much about.  When it upsets me, it's with the same depth of emotion I invest in "bad hair days" - Fuck! I hate being deaf! *throws brush.

My point is that I am trying to find a balance on stage with my jokes.  Being deaf sets me apart from other comics.  This is the good news.  The bad news is, I have other material too.  Ultimately, I'd like to bounce back and forth between material seamlessly.  This will be much easier when I make it past the amateur stage (where sets are limited to 5-7 minutes).  It's really difficult to do short 5-7 minute sets.  You need short set-up/punch line jokes and you have deliver them one after another.  I try to make my sets flow, so when I stick deaf jokes in, that's the theme I stick to.  My family and friends have had different opinions about the jokes I make about my hearing.  Some feel that I shouldn't focus on it too much, while others advise me to stick with what makes me different.  I guess it will work itself out the more I perform.  In the meantime, I don't discriminate when I write.  I write down anything at all that makes me laugh.  If it makes me laugh, it will make someone else laugh.  If it doesn't, I will then choose to play the deaf card.  Sound good?  Thanks for listening!