Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ August 11 2011, 10:06 AM BST

I really don't get this so difficult bit. Surely this should be second nature to well practised comedians? It surely has to be part of their game, adding new bits all the time, picking up on topical issues, expanding their act. I'd have thought it was a priority. To a comedian confident of their ability to create good material, creating a new 5 mins worth should be a doddle.

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Sorry Alfred but this is absolute cobblers, it is incredibly difficult to create a new 5 minutes of material which is guaranteed to work, this is why people like Milton Jones, Tim Vine, Tony Hawks, Lee Mack (I've picked these 4 comics because I have seen them all trying out new material over the last couple of years), etc, etc do little gigs before they go on tour, to make sure that their new stuff works in front of an audience.

I've seen Milton Jones, widely regarded as one of the best joke writers in the country, if not the world, struggle with new material, as even the best comedians can't write "gold" all the time. Do you think that Shakespeare or Dickens wrote brilliant plays and novels first time or did they have to re-write, edit and try again?

Most big acts, if they are touring and doing Edinburgh write an hour of stand up per year, that's 1 month per 5 minutes, the acts on SMTF have much less than that.

Also, being a great stand up doesn't necessarily mean being a great writer, some stand ups forge a whole career on no more than 30-40 minutes of material, honed over years.

To anyone who thinks writing 5 minutes of stand up is easy I'd just say, go ahead then, write it and get yourself to an open mic night and see how you get on.

Tony, I'm not suggesting the 5 mins worth new material should be pristine enough to be nominated for the annual comedy awards. I'm saying I think it's reasonable to expect an experienced stand up to be able to create a decent 5 min skit for a contest. It should be part of their job description, I'd have thought.

It should be a pleasurable opportunity to show off their creative talent, not a feared obstacle that sets them shaking in terror. And if you have a great back store of material, you should be able to adapt much of it to a given situation without it looking too obvious.

Thanks Tony, I thought I was just pissing into the wind for a while there.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ August 11 2011, 11:50 AM BST

Tony, I'm not suggesting the 5 mins worth new material should be pristine enough to be nominated for the annual comedy awards. I'm saying I think it's reasonable to expect an experienced stand up to be able to create a decent 5 min skit for a contest. It should be part of their job description, I'd have thought.

It should be a pleasurable opportunity to show off their creative talent, not a feared obstacle that sets them shaking in terror. And if you have a great back store of material, you should be able to adapt much of it to a given situation without it looking too obvious.

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I agree to a certain extent, but some comics are great performers and some are great writers, only a few are great at both.

I've seen very well respected comedians struggle over 5-10 minutes with new material because it is untried and even the best writer, IMHO, has no better than a 50/50 idea of what will work and what won't. Also, don't forget that they are saying this material for the first time in front of an audience, on telly, they've not had lots of rehearsals, it's a one-time thing, one chance.

Imagine an actor/writer had to write a 5 minute theatrical piece in a couple of days and then perform it for the first time in front of cameras and a, potentially, hostile audience, not exactly easy is it?

Quote: Tony Cowards @ August 11 2011, 11:56 AM BST

Imagine an actor/writer had to write a 5 minute theatrical piece in a couple of days and then perform it for the first time in front of cameras and a, potentially, hostile audience, not exactly easy is it?

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Well I can think of harder things in life, to be perfectly honest with you. If it's his/her profession to do this, I really don't see why it should be so tough, no.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ August 11 2011, 11:50 AM BST

Tony, I'm not suggesting the 5 mins worth new material should be pristine enough to be nominated for the annual comedy awards. I'm saying I think it's reasonable to expect an experienced stand up to be able to create a decent 5 min skit for a contest. It should be part of their job description, I'd have thought.

It should be a pleasurable opportunity to show off their creative talent, not a feared obstacle that sets them shaking in terror. And if you have a great back store of material, you should be able to adapt much of it to a given situation without it looking too obvious.

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Thanks Alfred, I thought I was playing a small part in a discussion made up of differing opinions.

I just wrote on a couple of mins:
"Evening all. Any looters in the house? No, why would there be when there's a high street round the corner.
Any police in the house? Yes? Don't worry, I'll try to take as long as I can in case you go out there and catch any looters in the act.
Mr Cameron has agreed to the use of water cannon. Before their roll out he's asked the rioters to give 24 hours notice.
It's terrible that our society has disintegrated before our eyes. The TV pictures have told a tragic story. My answer is to let the looters in to my house to nick my telly now I can't see what's happening so all's right with the country again. Easy."

Not particularly funny I admit but tweaked and put across by a professional performer would probably garner a response.

Because comedy is so subjective stand-up as a career is such a gamble and needs much confidence in ones ability.
I admire all the contestants for having the 'balls' to give it a go.
I just feel that the overall standard should be far higher.
I think Alfie set the minimum standard with this weeks performance.

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ August 11 2011, 12:07 PM BST

Well I can think of harder things in life, to be perfectly honest with you. If it's his/her profession to do this, I really don't see why it should be so tough, no.

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So you should only do a job if it's piss easy for you?
Sounds a bit boring.

Quote: zooo @ August 11 2011, 12:12 PM BST

So you should only do a job if it's piss easy for you?
Sounds a bit boring.

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Wow!

Zooo, I would think that we would chose (if liucky enough to have a choice!) a profession that we were capable of doing to a reasonable level and all jobs get boring after a while.

I feel as if I'm contributing to annoying the cognoscenti!

Quote: garyd @ August 11 2011, 12:12 PM BST

Thanks Alfred, I thought I was playing a small part in a discussion made up of differing opinions.

I just wrote on a couple of mins:
"Evening all. Any looters in the house? No, why would there be when there's a high street round the corner.
Any police in the house? Yes? Don't worry, I'll try to take as long as I can in case you go out there and catch any looters in the act.
Mr Cameron has agreed to the use of water cannon. Before their roll out he's asked the rioters to give 24 hours notice.
It's terrible that our society has disintegrated before our eyes. The TV pictures have told a tragic story. My answer is to let the looters in to my house to nick my telly now I can't see what's happening so all's right with the country again. Easy."

Not particularly funny I admit but tweaked and put across by a professional performer would probably garner a response.

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Actually that is far funnier than anything those 'stand ups' have come out with so far.

You see, not that difficult!

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ August 11 2011, 12:23 PM BST

Actually that is far funnier than anything those 'stand ups' have come out with so far.

You see, not that difficult!

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I doubt if they are allowed to talk about anything too contentious, so most topical material would probably be out.

Also, I would think that there's a lot of artificial restraints which are not present in a "normal" comedy environment.

Quote: Tony Cowards @ August 11 2011, 12:30 PM BST

I doubt if they are allowed to talk about anything too contentious, so most topical material would probably be out.

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Tony, would that not make it a bit easier to introduce pre-written material?

Quote: Alfred J Kipper @ August 11 2011, 12:07 PM BST

Well I can think of harder things in life, to be perfectly honest with you. If it's his/her profession to do this, I really don't see why it should be so tough, no.

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It's not his/her profession to do this though, their profession is to do 20-30 minutes of prepared comedy, honed over months or years, to audiences in comedy clubs with no restrictions (I've not watched the show but I'm assuming swearing is restricted, if not banned?), something which all of them are proficient at and do to various standards up-and-down the country.

Quote: garyd @ August 11 2011, 12:32 PM BST

Tony, would that not make it a bit easier to introduce pre-written material?

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Possibly, but that relies on the comedian having suitable material for the audience put in front of them e.g. how many comedians have prepared to play to schoolkids? Something which would almost never happen on the comedy circuit.

Also, from what I've heard, this is the approach that Alfie Moore, the policeman, has taken and some people have slated him for not playing by the rules and writing new material for each gig, so damned if you do, damned if you don't.

Quote: Tony Cowards @ August 11 2011, 12:38 PM BST

Also, from what I've heard, this is the approach that Alfie Moore, the policeman, has taken and some people have slated him for not playing by the rules and writing new material for each gig, so damned if you do, damned if you don't.

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Ah, if that is the rule then yes it certainly does make it more difficult. I'm surprised though, considering the prize, that he has been allowed to break such a fundamental rule. Can't help relations between those taking part.

Quote: garyd @ August 11 2011, 12:21 PM BST

Zooo, I would think that we would chose (if liucky enough to have a choice!) a profession that we were capable of doing to a reasonable level

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That's different from being easy.
I would say most people in creative professions do not think their job is easy as pie. If the outcome is any good it takes effort and hard work (yes of course a different type of hard work to working in a coal mine). I'd say it might not be worth doing otherwise.

Quote: garyd @ August 11 2011, 12:21 PM BST

Zooo, I would think that we would chose (if liucky enough to have a choice!) a profession that we were capable of doing to a reasonable level and all jobs get boring after a while.

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All the acts on the show, as far as I'm aware, make their living from being professional comedians so the are all capable of doing it to "a reasonable level", at least according to the people who pay them.