Some dos and don’ts to help you before you hit the stage from Andrea Powell, Head of Comedy at COLLARTS.

DO:

• Remember the five Ps. The late Lynda Gibson (eponym of the Golden Gibbo Award) would say, ‘Poor Preparation leads to Piss Poor Performance’. So be well rehearsed, prepared and early to your heat.
• Be original. You might be talking about something familiar, but what’s your fresh take on it? Aim to make your set original, surprising and really, really funny.
• Embrace your nerves. Nervous energy gives you a razor-sharp focus which is a good thing for performers. Trust in the process and know that everyone performing is nervous. It’s ok, you will live.
• Look out. Your audience is right in front of you, so make sure you look at them, not at the floor. It’ll add to your likability.
• Keep going. If you drop a line, don’t worry. Just stick to the plan and move on with the next part of your set.
• Take a beat. If the audience likes a gag, give them time to enjoy it. Take a beat before your next line.
• Enjoy it! Well, try to. RAW audiences want you to do well, so enjoy the experience of performing in front of a large, enthusiastic crowd. If you’re having fun, the audience will too!

DON’T:

• Don’t drink alcohol before you perform. You want to stay as sharp as possible to read those audience cues, remember your set and enjoy the experience. So don’t dull it with booze or gear.
• Don’t forget to breathe. Breathing really helps with timing so take some deep breaths before stepping out onstage.
• Avoid corny old excuses like, ‘This worked better in my head’ or ‘I guess this needs work’. It’s amateur and you’ll lose the audience.
• Don’t tell the audience that something is funny. If they haven’t laughed it’s probably for a reason - something you can work out later. The audience (and judges) will be the judge of whether something’s funny.
• Don’t panic if a joke doesn’t land. It might need some more work and that’s something you can improve in future. Every time you perform you get better, so even if you don’t get through to the next heat you’ve had valuable stage time in front of a big house.
• Don’t be a pest backstage. Give your fellow RAW participants space to prepare, pace, run lines or even panic. Pre-show is not the time for big conversations or showing off when comics need to focus.
• Don’t go over 5-minutes. You know the drill.

About COLLARTS

Collarts offers a Bachelor and Diploma of Performing Arts (Comedy) at their Melbourne campus. This course is designed for those who want to get straight to work in the comedy industry, and it covers different homes of comedy, from theatre, film and television to radio, podcasting and web series. Their lecturers are all leading comedy industry professionals and, having successfully walked the path ahead of you, are ready to share their invaluable knowledge and skills.

Focusing on comedy performance, comedy writing, production, and entrepreneurship, this Comedy course will give you the knowledge, skills and contacts to develop and manage a career in the entertainment industry. 

Collarts also offers other Performing Arts and Film related courses in Acting, Writing & Directing, Stage Management and Screen & Media. Explore their full range of courses here.