Stand Up Bootcamp – Day 2

Editor’s Note: Comedian David Lew has agreed to document “Stand-Up Boot Camp” for AmericasComedy.Com exclusively. You’ll be receiving daily reports. This latest “Stand-Up Boot Camp” is run by two very famous, funny men — Louie Anderson and Kyle Cease. “Boot Camp” takes place over five days, eight hours each day, at the “World Famous Comedy Store” in Hollywood, where some of the most famous comedians of our time were first given the opportunity to perform and fine-tune their acts . . .  a tradition which carries on today. “Boot Camp” includes guest speakers, ranging from national headliners to managers and agents.

Day 2

9:15 a.m. — Louie [Anderson] immediately begins by talking about anxieties on stage and what happens when your set has completely derailed. He tells the boot-campers that they should own their screw-ups on stage, that that can make all the difference. Louie also said “Stand-up is the expression of your heart at it’s finest. A real comic allows the crowd to feel that much closer to him after listening to him.”

9:45 a.m. — Kyle [Cease] takes over and gives Louie a break. He begins to talk about setting new patterns for yourself and your comedy. Creating successful writing and performing habits. Setting aside time to write and to go over material everyday. Prioritizing your life by making your career first. (Harland Williams just walked in backstage.)

10:15 a.m. — Harland Williams is our first guest speaker of the day. He describes starting out in Toronto back in the 80s. He also talks about developing his voice and stage persona and cautions us that, if we are to do a character, that we should do a character that’s in our hearts because we will have to live with that character for the rest of our career.

Harland was really describing the performance side of stand-up and not focusing on the writing. He described TV appearance after TV appearance where he was completely improvising, which is rare because most comics have everything scripted out on television.

Harland talked about a club owner early on telling him that he was hilarious but “too weird and out there.” But he refused to change his style and stuck to his guns. “No one ever told Picasso to change his brushstrokes,” he said. I’m not really conveying how hysterical Harland was while he was speaking. He had everyone in tears, but still gave out very honest and necessary advice. The best advice he gave was to keep your eye on the horizon. Set a goal and never veer. He was the first guest speaker to get a standing ovation. It was earned.

11:15 a.m. — Kyle starts to talk about a couple different type of writing processes. A boot-camper (we’ll call her “Julie”) asked a question about stage fright, so Kyle brought her on stage to do two minutes of stand up. When Julie walked up on stage, you could see the nervousness on her face. She began her joke with trepidation and doesn’t get a laugh from anyone. Kyle joins her on stage again and walks her through one of the many exercises to get rid of stage fright. Five minutes later, she was getting laughs and opened up about being a cancer survivor. Once she opened up about her cancer, she was more lively and smiling. There was a huge transformation within seven minutes.  She was a thousand times more comfortable on stage.

11:45 a.m. — I wasn’t familiar with our second guest speaker, Alan Havey, which often means he’ll make a big impact on me. (I’ve that noticed comics of whom  I’ve never heard tend to have the biggest effect on me.) In his fifties, he definitely has had a lot of experience in show business. He talked about the ebbs and flow of the business. He’s the first guest speaker I’ve seen with notes, which, to me, that he was very excited to talk about comedy.  Alan covered the gambit when it came to stand-up and acting: the audition process, bombing and professional etiquette as a comic. All of it was very “no frills” and honest.  My favorite piece of his advice was “Silence is golden,” which referred to never publically announcing every audition or every set you do on Facebook, because you’ll have to relive the auditions you don’t get or the sets where you bomb every time someone asks you, “How did that audition go?” Havey says the element of surprise is the best reward. Having friends and family call you when they see you performing is the best prize for anyone.

12:50 p.m. — BREAK FOR LUNCH

2:00 p.m. — We are introduced to our third speaker, a legend in the writing business, Carol Leifer. Does her name not ring a bell? Then I implore you to find out more. She has been a writer for “Saturday Night Live” and “Seinfeld.” This woman knows comedy. And she showed it. She was poised and had a great Q&A  period with the boot-campers. I always expect female comics to focus on the female aspects of comics, but she pointed that out as a crutch women use. Carol says female comics are afraid of not connecting with all audience members so they narrow their scope in hopes of not failing. She was really great and, at the end of her session, sold her book at cost for the boot-campers. She also signed the books and took photos for her fans.

3:15 p.m. — There was no break between guest speakers because during Carol’s session, Tom Wilson walked in. (There are murmurs that Carlos Mencia may be stopping by.) Tom Wilson may not be a household name, but he has a household face. Tom played “Biff” in the “Back to the Future” series. Tom Wilson has been to previous bootcamps and he is a comic favorite. He doesn’t sugar coat or pussy foot and is always honest when speaking. He started out by listing 10-20 comics who have died in the past, either by suicide or drug overdose. Tom believes that most of those comics had a false belief that the stage fixed all other aspects of their life, which he says is dead wrong. Tom goes on to say that stand-up “is my job. It’s the most fun job I can have and I’m lucky to be able to do it. But it’s not my life.” I think that’s the most healthy way to look at stand-up.

Tom also brings up a fourth guest speaker, Jim Hope, a friend of his who began his career as a comic and moved into a career as a producer and writer for “Titus” and “The George Lopez Show.” He spoke briefly about focusing on finding out what your vision and voice are as a comic. Jim said that once you figure that out, writing becomes so much easier. Jim also points out how incredibly important it is to build positive, long lasting relationships with fellow comics. Building strong friendships and maintaining a positive reputation will follow you throughout your career. On the flip side of that point, bad reputations will also follow you and possibly derail your career. Great advice!

4:50 p.m. — Our last speaker of the day is Tim Sanders, author of “The Like-Ability Factor” and “Love Is a Killer App: How to Win Business and Influence Friends.” He was a speaker on Day 1, but came back to talk to us about social media. He also gave us all his book, “Love is a Killer App . . .” Tim went over so many useful tips as far as Facebook and Twitter, advice that I will be going home to utilize tonight! What a gracious individual Tim is. It’s always a breath of fresh  air when I see successful people reach out to up-and-comers. Tim really believes that the more you genuinely give, the more satisfying your life will be. And, I’m believing that more and more as this boot camp goes on.

6 p.m. — Boot camp, day two,  is over. As far as guest speakers, this is the best boot camp they have ever had. To be honest, I don’t know what the skill level is as far people in attendance, but I can say that we’re getting every penny’s worth . . . and we are just two days in. Tomorrow’s line-up includes Kevin Nealon, Russell Peters, Eddie Griffin, Craig Shoemaker and more!



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