Comments on Sandpaper Suit | Matt Ruby's comedy blog: An education on getting college gigs, college agen...

Thanks, Myq!

2009-09-23T13:32:40.982-04:00

Thanks, Myq!

To answer your first question, about receiving fee...

2009-09-23T08:27:00.037-04:00

To answer your first question, about receiving feedback from "a booker or agent or decision-maker of some kind," sure.

Some people give feedback, others don't.

Some people give generic feedback that may or may not be helpful; others might give specific feedback that may or may not be helpful.

Sorry if this answer is not super-helpful; let me give you some specific feedback on your question: it's sort of vague and open-ended and I'm not sure exactly what you're looking for (unless I've already answered it, in which case, you're welcome).

As for a definition of filthy, different people have different standards.

There is no one line that is drawn.

Sometimes it's "don't swear at all, period."

Sometimes it's "no more than three fucks in a 45-minute set."

Sometimes it's "as many fucks as you want as long as they don't refer to sex, and you stay away from topics like rape, pedophilia, incest, etc."

Sometimes it's "talk about rape, pedophilia, incest, etc., as much as you want, just don't use the word fuck. But shit is okay. But no more than three times. And only if it's not referring to poop. Unless it's during the incestuous rape of a pedophile."

PS It's usually that last one.

PPS Actual answer here--for most situations, the best thing to do is to ask the booker or someone in charge what they desire/require/expect of you. Whenever I get to a school I ask them if there's any language or topics that they want to restrict; most of the time, they say to say whatever I want, sometimes they say not to be a homophobic asshole, and on rare occasions like at Catholic institution once I was told to avoid discussing gay marriage or abortion (mostly if priests were in the room) and one time specifically (also a religious school) I was told the only restriction was to not discuss any kind of birth control, period, no matter the attitude or perspective on it. Which I think is the weirdest.

In any event, the answer to this question is to ask your own, I'd say. Who wants you not to be filthy and what does it mean to them?

(In the context of getting work at colleges via NACA, the usual advice I've heard is to err on the side of being as clean as possible at the showcase, and then when you GET gigs, ask about what they care about.)

Thanks for the insights, Myq. Tricky those tofu ya...

2009-09-22T21:40:48.742-04:00

Thanks for the insights, Myq. Tricky those tofu yachts, you gotta get where you're going before they absorb too much fluid and start to crumble and/or get attacked by hungry turtles. Same with tofu chopsticks.

I'm figuring that feedback is rare when you submit or audition but have you (or anyone else here) ever received feedback from a booker or agent or decision-maker of some kind? Was it helpful? Was it generic or specifically tailored to you?

Also, and this is a question that might warrant its own post (probably already has), but what's the definition of filthy? One can talk about sex without being dirty or is the mere suggestion of sex considered filthy? Is it like that nebulous definition of porn: you know it when you see it? Does clean material have to be church-ready or just not about any subjects that the average audience member might be offended by? I feel like a noob (well-- I AM one. I'm so noob I still use the word "noob") even asking this question but examining a few of my jokes I'm not sure if they qualify as dirty. They're close, but not obvious. Lately I've been doing a lot of writing and performing of jokes that are unquestionably clean in order to eventually be able to get footholds at places in and around Chicago, one in particular that mandates new comics work clean just to get their faces on the list of new faces. (there's only ONE classic club here. Absurd!) I suppose you might say if I'm not sure then it probably is, but I haven't been around enough to know where the lines in the sand are drawn.

1) The first NACA showcase I had was for something...

2009-09-22T18:05:46.976-04:00

1) The first NACA showcase I had was for something called the Mid-Atlantic Festival. It was a smaller scale version of the larger conferences, which only had 30-something schools attending, I believe, as opposed to the Mid-Atlantic CONFERENCE that has over 100, if I remember correctly. That region is the only one that has both a conference (in the fall, like most of the others) AND this extra festival (in the spring, and smaller). For me, it was a nice way to get introduced to the whole NACA world, a smaller setting that didn't necessarily launch my career, but was a good learning experience and netted me a fair number of gigs, considering the small number of schools in attendance, comparatively. I believe the next showcase I got was for that same region's conference, the next school year, where I booked enough work to start making a go of it.

2) I'd say the technical answer to this question is that someone could have an hour of material that they're confident in performing, but that would be completely inappropriate for some percentage of college gigs. (Some schools don't place any restrictions on people, but there are those that do.) If your hour is filthy, it might prevent a lot of schools from booking you at NACA (unless your 15-minute showcase is clean, in which case, they might book you and either be fine with your filthy hour or feel tricked by your clean fifteen being non-representative).

An additional answer is this--I'd say that for any headlining position (for a college or otherwise), it's best to have MORE time than the amount you are generally contracted to do. If you get somewhere and find that some of your stuff isn't working, and maybe crowdwork isn't filling in the gaps, it's best to have as much time as possible available to you. (Because it can always happen--you have an hour you like, and you run into an audience that doesn't go for some of it, and that hour shrinks fast.)

So, I'd say in this and any comedic endeavor, always be aware and confident of your abilities as far what you can deliver and what will be expected of you.

Thanks, Matt & Myq. This was very informative....

2009-09-22T13:42:08.208-04:00

Thanks, Matt & Myq. This was very informative. I do have a couple of follow-up questions for Myq if he's inclined:

1) You said that you personally stopped needing a day job a short time after your first big NACA showcase. Did you have smaller NACA showcases before that, and if so how are/were they different?

2) How does an hour that you're confident performing at colleges differ from an hour that you're confident performing generally?

Thanks again for the info. Great post.