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Yeah, but I'm not getting the same results I used to. I'm switching tactics slightly as I figure if what I'm doing now isn't working, then doing it even harder probably isn't the answer. I had a nice talk with Docc Hilford about getting work in restaurants, bars, and bistros, and I'm going...

In some ways it's more difficult because you have to make people care.

I mostly do private parties though I've also done a release party for Harry Potter Book 7, Phantom Fright Nights at Kennywood Park, and International Networking Day among a few other things. And I have a volunteer appearance at a charity event coming up.

But that's the thing. You already have a coherent style that took hours of work. I'm assuming some people here have watched Whose Line Is It Anyway? No matter what the game, each comedian has their own distinctive style. That's what makes them good. The improvisation comes easily to them...

I never actually said I was an expert. No argument here. That's the thing. You're talking about good improv. I'm talking about the bad. The legions of would-be funnymen trying to imitate Christopher Guest's approach to mockumentaries without either his experience, wit, on intelligence and...

On the positive side, now everyone else can understand what it's like to be me, what it feels like to be better than other people. God, I'm such a wanker. In all seriousness, those of us who are out there performing for real audiences day in and day out are better...

Different from mine at least.

Pretty much. We're all just beating our heads against a wall, but damn if it isn't cathartic.

This brings up another important topic to comedy. Audience. I personally don't get what's funny about Demetri Martin. Maybe I just didn't like Juno and Napolean Dynamite enough to get his sense of humor. I don't know. But I get the feeling I'm not his target audience. I'm the target...

Oh Christ, not this video again. The only thing more amateurish than the effect was the editing. Sever your contact with that Stoveice moron, stop watching Criss Angel, and learn how to connect with an audience.

On the contrary. To do real improv, you must first have thoroughly scripted and rehearsed... and developed a character. Improv is useless if you have no idea who the hell you are and why you're doing whatever it is you're doing. Otherwise you look like a schmuck trying to be funny, which...

Again, it's a skill set. You just need to work on it a bit. I do indeed go over this in more detail in my book. Kind of a pet cause of mine. An old roommate of mine.

I was inspired by this thread, which I killed by being in it: http://forums.theory11.com/showthread.php?t=16695 Comedy is ridiculously difficult to do correctly. Along with horror, it is exceptionally difficult to invoke the correct emotions, mostly because people have no idea how to construct...

What exactly ties these together? What's the point? If you can't answer that, you're doing it wrong. Start over and try it again.

First you need to determine what your target markets are. What magic are you good at, what's your specialty, and what demographic do you enjoy performing for the most? This is essential. If you say everyone, you're doomed because you're nothing special and will never get hired enough to...

The business side of magic. How depressed do you want to get? In all seriousness, it's going to require a ton of work to succeed in this industry. Where do you want me to start?

The ability to admit that we learn at least partly out of ego doesn't mean we're irredeemable pricks who can't connect with an audience. On the contrary, I find that the dullards, narcissists, and wannabes who couldn't relate to an audience unless the crowd was nothing but clones of themselves...

Couple of things. First of all, we're not here all the time, and regrettably a few threads manage to slip through the cracks. Second, asking us to make a good thread for every lame one we see isn't humanly possible. I don't care how fertile anyone's brain is, it's pretty hard to write...

8 threads in 11 minutes, most of which actually date back to 2008. Only two of them were made this month and one of them last month. 6 of them were started by Morgician. This does not persuade me that discussions of which deck is better or threads devolving into Chuck Norris jokes make for a...

I'm holding you to that.