Many great comedians got their start in comedy before turning 18 or 21 your of age. If you want to become a comedian but are under 18 or under 21, you’ll have a unique set of benefits and challenges What’s important is that you use benefits to your advantage. This article will show young comedian show to use the benefits to their full advantage and eliminate the disadvantages.
Benefits of Being a Comedian Under 18 or 21
The biggest benefit of learning how to do stand-up comedy when you’re under 18 or 21 is that you have plenty of time to learn how to write and perform. Like any art form, stand-up comedians get better as they grow more experienced. Comedian don’t “reach maturity.” They continually grow and evolve as artists. Many of the greatest comedians of all time started out with sub-standard careers. It was through the continual process of evolving as artists that eventually drew audiences to them.
Being a stand-up comedian requires learning the stand-up comedy inside and out. Being a young comedian gives you plenty of time to study comedy and learn what works on stage and what doesn’t. When comedians first start out, their material isn’t very tight. They tend to take shots in the dark when writing jokes because they don’t know what works. Being under 18 or 21 allows comedians to have ample time to discover who they are as a comedian (often referred to as “finding your comedic voice”).
Some new comedians worry that audiences won’t “get them” because they are too young. This is actually opposite of reality. Audiences crave originality. They enjoy hearing different points of view from comedians. As a comedian younger than 18 or 21, you have a very unique point of view. You can talk about subjects differently than other comedians, which makes you more unique to the audience. What’s important is that you use your age to your advantage… not as a challenge to be overcome. Learn more about the importance of being original in stand-up comedy here.
Challenges of Being a Comedian Under 18 or 21
The biggest challenge I hear again and again from underage comedians is that they are unsure if they are even allowed to perform. Most shows at the open mic level occur at bars or comedy clubs. Neither venue tends to be too keen on minors. However, many underage comedians have learned that performing isn’t nearly as difficult as they thought it might be. First, find a list of open mics to perform on (Google it for your home-town). You should be able to get a phone number for either the booker or the venue. Call and ask them if they allow underage performer. Usually, a booker will say that they don’t know but that the venue never cards anyone unless they buy a drink. That means you could get on the list to perform simply by showing up. Comedy clubs can be a little trickier. Comedy clubs almost always card at the door. You’ll have to check with your local venue own whether or not you could get in the door. Some venues will allow you in the door with a chaperon. Others won’t even consider it. You’ll just have to ask.
But bars and comedy clubs aren’t the only venues where you can perform comedy. There are many open mics at pizza joints, coffee shops, etc. that never card. Again, search open mics in your area to find them.
Worse case scenario, you won’t find a place to perform. Usually this is because the comedian lives in the middle of nowhere and there are few shows to choose from. In this case, the best option is to learn stand-up comedy fundamentals and begin writing comedy yourself. My favorite place to learn stand-up comedy is through watching and analyzing YouTube videos. Learn more about how you can learn comedy online for free by reading the How To Be A Comedian Series, which has many tips on learning to write and perform comedy.
Jared Volle
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