The Philosophy of Modern Standup Lesson 9
Focus on the crowd
Focus on the audience members who are laughing, not on those who are not.
“To the mind that is still, the whole universe surrenders.”
— Laozi
This is a famous quote often used in the context of learning the importance of meditation, of the benefits of remaining calm, and of maintaining an emotional balance. But it is also important to keep in mind in the context of learning to maintain focus on your job as a comedian, which is to make the audience laugh.
Here’s the setup:
You are performing in a club for two hundred people. Perhaps you are headlining. Perhaps you are the feature, or even the host. You hit a punchline that has always worked in front of every crowd you have ever performed in front of. The crowd is with you, and there is a large eruption of laughter and applause from every person in that audience, except for one woman sitting second row, on the right side, with her boyfriend who is laughing but also shooting her a look you find hard to interpret.
In that moment, you stop hearing the laughter and focus in on the one person who seems to think your joke is terrible. You wonder what her problem is. Then you wonder what your problem is. Perhaps you let this get into your head to the extent that you stumble on the next joke. Perhaps you decide to call her out.
This is when one must remember the importance of “stillness”.
“He who conquers others is strong; he who conquers himself is mighty.”
— Laozi
