Andrew Stanley graduated from college with a finance degree. He always thought he was funny but didn’t know how to explore writing comedy. A mutual friend introduced Andrew to Scott Dunn, who writes for a lot of great comedians (Listen to Scott’s Episode of the podcast here). Scott recommended Andrew write five minutes of jokes, and then go do them at the local comedy club open mic.
Andrew hesitated at first because of a fear of speaking in public. His father and grandfather are well known and respected pastors. Yet, he didn’t see himself as someone who would stand in front of strangers and talk for a living. But he mustered up a few jokes and attended an open mic at the Laughing Skull in Atlanta.
With 20 comedians doing five minutes each, he remembers leaving there thinking he wasn’t the best, but wasn’t the worst. He decided to keep at it. Lucky for us he did.
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We cover a lot of ground on the podcast, including:
- How his father Andy Stanley influenced my podcast
- How the School of Laughs podcast influenced Andrew’s early days
- How Lace Larabee encouraged him to pursue comedy
- Inviting friends out to see you perform
- Transitioning out of work and into Stand-Up Comedy
- Who was the last one to decide he should go into comedy full time
- Balancing church and comedy club events
- Being dark in the light place and light in the dark place
- Early successes that have led to more work
- The Catalyst Conference
- The blessings of family
- The benefits of clean comedy
- Confusing family-friendly with clean comedy
- Venn diagram of what works in comedy environments
- Building material that works in all places
- Starting with a punchline and building the joke from there
- The necessity of stage time
- Exploring writing processes
- Learning when and how to say “no” to wrong opportunities
AND A WHOLE LOT MORE!
Follow Andrew Stanley:
https://twitter.com/andrewWstanley
https://www.facebook.com/andrew.stanley.986
https://www.instagram.com/andrewwstanley/
SPONSOR SPOTLIGHT:
This episode is brought to you by Patreon supporter DUSTIN CRIDER and CLUB 52.
Club 52 is a one-year program designed to challenge you to get bigger, better and more bookable. You will be prompted to examine your material, performance and business practices via email each week.
You will define your stage persona, style and point of view. You will learn how to create expectations through your marketing, branding and introductions. From nailing your elevator pitch, to refining your value proposition, you will learn how to make it easier for bookers to hire you.
Meet comics from around the country during a quarterly online “hangout”. As a group, we tackle our top struggles and how to approach overcoming them. Think of it as your personal monthly mastermind group. Over the course of the year you will learn how to get more gigs, and leverage every opportunity that comes your way.
Sound good?
Club 52 is available to anyone supporting the podcast through Patreon at $7 a month or more. To learn more about Patreon, just click here. Or go to SchoolOflaughs.com/Patreon
