There's nothing that makes it easier. They have this comedy convention in Las Vegas. They have the agents and the managers and the talent scouts from the shows and they have these seminars and they have discussion groups. And I would like to be in charge of that thing. I would get rid of all those people and I would bring all the comedians into a big room and I'd have a huge banner come down that says, "Just work!" And I'd send everyone home.
Everyone wants to know if there's some way of getting around all the work and I'm here to tell you: "No." If you want to walk the tightrope, that's what it takes. That's why so few people make it. And that's why it is the profession that it is.
Just work!
Mike Birbiglia calls this Seinfeld Q&A "the perfect instructions for developing a comedy act" and likes to mention it in interviews.
There's a great interview in the On Comedy series on Laugh.com where they interview Jerry Seinfeld, which is a world of insight into stand up. Seinfeld talks about stand up as being a scene and the audience as your scene partner. They're responding, you're listening and then responding back. They're not responding verbally but with their laughter and applause.
It's a conversation, not a monologue. They'll tell you where to go if ya listen.
