Plenty of times comedians on stage seem casual and almost raw and vulnerable. What many viewers don’t understand is that this organic look actually has a background of years of trial and error. “Bombing” is something comedians slowly grow used to.

Bombing

Hey, pull back, what’s Bombing you ask? No, your favorite comedian doesn’t support acts of violence! Bombing refers to a moment on stage when a comedian isn’t performing up to mark. This mark might be set by them, personally. Some of the greatest comedians are constant critiques of themselves and for them excellence is key, many others learn to be satisfied with minimal response. This depends entirely from person to person. Since Stand-Up is highly individualistic, you need to know what you need at the moment. Seasoned comedian Mike Birbiglia believes that you have to be delusional as a comedian and convince yourself that its going well. The link to this bit from his special Sleepwalk with Me  is given below. We highly recommend you check it out. 

But how do you know if you’re bombing? Since Stand-Up in itself is such a subjective art form, what  works and what doesn’t also becomes subjective. However, there might be a set of reasons as to why the joke (or set) bombed. According to comedian Emily Winter on her blog Everyone’s A Comedian

When a joke (or an entire stand-up set) doesn’t land, it means either:

1. 1. The joke wasn’t funny;
   2. The joke was funny, but you weren’t telling it quite right;
   3. Something else was going on in the room;
   4. The audience wasn’t ideal; or
   5. Some combination of these factors.

These guidelines probably lay it all out well but certain questions still remain. What makes a joke funny or not? How do you know if  the audience is ideal? What is the right delivery to a particular joke? And there’s only one answer to all these questions. You. Don’t. Know. Anything. Anyone claiming to know what makes a joke funny  is either hypothesizing based on general tendencies or invented humor. It’s often the former, but do tell me if you guys ever meet Steve Carell.

That’s the beauty though, we’re all mad scientists experimenting, speculating and hypothesizing what people happy. And the moment we figure that out is the moment we get comfortable and stop experimenting. And, as a result, Stand-Up stops evolving.

(Continued in Comedy 102: Open Mics)