SNL writer and 30 Rock punching bag John Lutz wrote a piece for the Second City Network called "10 Things to Know About Life After The Second City." It's full of good advice for improvisers like "be patient," "don't hold grudges," and "if you own a pair of Skechers, throw them out," all of which double as good advice for regular people too.
This piece was originally published on SaraSchaefer.com. It's republished here with permission.
This past fall, I had the amazing privilege of hiring a writing staff for my upcoming TV show, Nikki & Sara Live. I was flattered and honored when hundreds of people applied. It was a super fun experience, but it was also an incredibly illuminating one. Reading so many packets made a couple of things very very clear: there are some really easy, basic things you can do to improve your chances of getting a job writing for TV. Before I give you those tips, however, I want to give a little context.
I think that [...]
Those teenage years, they're rough. That's why I like Rookie's Ask a Grown Man feature, as it lets those poor, confused teenagers get advice from grown ups they respect a lot more than their stupid parents, who totally don't understand them. The latest entry in the series features Mike Birbiglia giving some pretty solid advice on subjects such as kissing, sexist jokes, and broken hearts, and somewhat less solid advice on high-waisted jeans. Just have him stick to the subject of human connections and avoid fashion and you'll be fine, teenage girls.
Where the most relatable creative ambition was once to write the Great American Novel, it is now to maintain the Great American Twitter Feed. And who better to give advice on how to tweet comedically than the Fitzgeralds and Hemingways of Twitter? Here's a sample tip from Mystery Science Theater 3000 writer Bill Corbett:
Try to understand the short form, and be playful within it. Not everything needs to read like a classic "premise, punchline" joke…But understand that tastes vary wildly. Not everyone will think you're hilarious, and some dicks will make sure to tell you so. Don't worry about it.
Quick, before he gets away, let's all [...]
Curb Your Enthusiasm producer Gavin Polone's advice for NBC: look to the example of cable networks by spending less on riskier shows that shoot for a niche audience – and probably a male one, since CBS, ABC and Fox have average audiences of 56, 54 and 43.5. Jeez, old people really love network television.
Stand-up Ari Shaffir delivered this nearly four-hour-long lecture, chock full of helpful advice for up and coming comics, onstage at The Comedy Store earlier this month and it's well-worth listening to despite its considerable length.
Danny Pudi is the latest dude celebrity to offer up advice to teen girls for Rookie Magazine’s “Ask a Grown Man” series. In the above video, he shows off his body, but not in a creepy way. It’s to teach these teenage girls to embrace their body types. Pudi proves to be full of tips for girls that are equally sweet and thoughtful, unlike his emotionless TV character Abed, who probably wouldn’t be sought-after to answer questions from Rookie’s teen audience.
He'd like to but he can't. What he can do is give a bunch of solid advice about how to be a happier teenager. It speaks to the sad teenager in all of us. If you don't have a sad teenager inside of you (Do you want one? Ewww, sorry.), watch the video for his singing and the glimpse into what a comedy luminary's office looks like.
Here's some good advice about crowd work from comic Steve Cronin. Print it out and discreetly pull it out of your pocket when you're onstage dealing with the savage hordes that call themselves comedy fans.
Congratulations to Nick Vatterott, who took home the coveted Andy Kaufman Award for his standup routine as a monster. It's funny! Here are some suggestions for those considering entering this contest next year:
- Repeat the sentence "You guys know what I think about recursion?" for half an hour. Then take a bow and, as if you're starting a new joke, repeat the sentence "You know what I think about repetition?" for forty-five minutes.
- Do your regular set, silently.
Here's comedian Kumail Nanjiani, of Portlandia and Franklin & Bash fame, participating in Rookie Magazine's "Ask a Grown Man" series and doling out advice to young girls. He's got some good tips to hand out, but someone needs to give Kumail Nanjiani some advice on theme park behavior because, as evidenced by the video, he seems to be in some sort of theme park crisis.
Chris Gethard, especially through his public access show, develops a special relationship with his fans. If you watch an episode of The Chris Gethard Show, its earnestness looms larger than everything else, including even the comedy. Chris loves his fans and cares about them deeply. It's why when someone wrote him an anonymous message, which talks about suicide, Chris wrote a very passionate response. The anonymous person asked:
I'm curious if you ever had suicidal thoughts. I admire you and your show and have just been in a really bad place lately. I used to see your show as the last thing I had to look forward to but [...]
Dear Michael Ian Black, I have been in a relationship with my current computer for about nine months, and the spark is starting to go out of our relationship. We browse the same websites, and refresh every few minutes, but there's something perfunctory about it. I can't help but wish my computer would take me to a new site where I could read your advice on romantic questions in time for Valentine's Day. Also, I would like to get a taste of your writing style before spending money on a copy of your book You're Not Doing It Right. But my computer never takes me to a site [...]
Hannibal Buress gave some advice to teenage girls on Rookie Magazine, and it is pretty great advice for everyone. "If you wanna say something, go say it. If it sounds stupid, so what? It doesn't matter. We all die one day." Yep. He is the best. Also, he just figured out how to use the effects on his computer, so for most of the video he looks like the thing from The Thing mid-transformation.
P.S. "Okay, first off, from your use of the word butthole I'm gonna guess that you're a tween."
