"The worst thing you write is better than the best thing you don't write."
"Comedy happens when you expect something to break and it bends.'
"Leave your ego at the door."
"Don't blame the audience for not laughing --- if you don't get laughs, YOU suck."
"Comedy is an addiction."
Jocko Alston:
"Successful Canadian comics must travel --- it's a fact."
"Always be authentic and real and your audience can relate better."
"You've got 45 seconds to a minute to establish your character on stage."
"No comedy goal is unattainable if you work at it."
"ALWAYS deliver 100%."
Duane Goad:
"Be professional --- it's too small of a world to screw up your rep."
"Make your act honest to yourself and universal to the audience."
Damonde Tschritter:
"90% is timing and personality and 10% is the jokes."
"Do an impression that no one has done."
"A good story can be funny with set-ups and punch lines but every story has to have an end."
"Whatever your strength is, stick with it.'"
Matt Bullen:
"Be around comedy every week."
"Enjoy your material. Ask yourself what makes YOU laugh."
Dan Quinn:
"Jokes, mannerisms, wardrobe all give you your presence."
"If a joke doesn't work --- fix it or dump it."
"Comedy at it's most brilliant is when a guy stands on stage emotionally naked and honest."
Kevin Stobo:
"Don't entertain with other people's jokes."
"Headlining is a combination of MCing & middling.
"If you're a great opener, you'll be a headliner pretty quickly because no one wants to follow you."
Stan Thompson:
"TAKE AN IMPROV CLASS!"
"Prop Acts: You're only funny until the airline loses your luggage."
"Everybody is a comic, but a quality MC is in demand."
"Write everything down exactly as you want to do it."
Steven Kravitz:
"Be yourself --- if you're a funny human being and you're just being yourself up there, you'll succeed."
"Comics are nothing more than glorified liquor salesmen."
"When you first start out, you need a gym, a place where you can work out (as a comic) and fail. A place that no matter what happens, you get to go up again."
"Comedy is life --- if you don't experience life, you won't do comedy."
Glen Ottaway:
"Turn a weakness into a strength."
"If you're going to work on the road, learn to live on the road --- use your coffee maker to cook everything from oatmeal to rice."
"You're there for the audience, they're not there for you."
