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Stand-up comedy can be a nerve-wracking endeavor. Some of the most seasoned comedy club veterans still report bouts of anxiety and stage fright when they hit the stage. Since there is nothing in the spotlight besides the performer and a microphone, comics need to find sharp focus before they walk out in front of a crowd. Finding the right mindset is essential to a comic’s success, and as such, many stand-ups adhere to a strict pre-show ritual.
These rituals vary wildly from comedian to comedian. For some, the solitude of an empty dressing room is key to prepping for a great set. Others study their prior work, breaking it down like game tape, hoping to improve their transitions and rhythm. There are comedians who go for sensory overload, depending on music or human contact to provide a soundtrack to their preparations. Let’s take a look at how some of the best in the business prepare for the hard work of being funny with these Pre-Show Rituals of Famous Comedians.
Louis C.K.
For a man known for his one-of-a-kind brilliance, Louis C.K. has a relatively simple pre-show ritual. Discussing his pre-game activities, he once said, “I open my stupid mouth and put water in it.” When pressed, C.K. provided a more nuanced answer. His preparation is all about silent focus:
“Chris Rock and I used to talk on the phone for hours about standup, and I learned a lot from watching him … I started to follow rules that he helped me have. Like: don’t listen to the radio in the car on the way to the show, just sit in silence in the car, just think about what you’re going to do.”
He echoed that sentiment in another interview:
“I try not to talk to people before I go on stage. Sometimes, I’ll sit in the back of the club while the other comedians are on. But, I’m not watching him; I’m watching the crowd and feeling the room … I learned that it’s important to seize on that instead of running away from it. So, I stay in the back and bottle up the energy so that when I go on stage I’m more connected.”
Aziz Ansari
Ansari’s cool demeanor has been perfected through meticulous preparation and study. A 2010 The New Yorker profile revealed that before shows, Ansari analyzes his past shows looking for ways to improve his pace and rhythm. Kelefa Sanneh wrote, “Ansari records each of his performances, and he usually listens to the last one right before the next one, taking note of which interjections are worth repeating.”
Also, in an interview with the Nashville Scene, Ansari copped to enjoying some Hot Chicken before shows in Nashville, which really should be everyone’s pre-show ritual in Music City. It’s good that an artist as meticulous as Ansari can find time to enjoy the little things in life.
Todd Barry
Veteran comic Todd Barry takes the advice to “stay hungry” quite literally. He told Food Republic, “I try and not eat like a full meal sometimes, just a little something. I mean I’ve heard that it's good if you go on stage hungry, but I don’t know, you forget a lot of things when you're on stage. I like to eat after a show. It's part of the after-show ritual.”
In somewhat related news, Barry told Laughspin, “I usually just go to the bathroom like five times. I pace around and try not to talk to a whole lot of people.”
Susie Essman
Curb Your Enthusiasm’s Susie Essman has one of the most interesting pre-show rituals of any comedian, though her husband probably doesn’t see it that way. She says, “I scream at my husband and tell him everything that's wrong with him and he’s come to accept that as my pre-show hysteria. He knows I’ll be back to my loving self once it’s over.” In an odd way, this helps her reduce her anxiety, however, these spats don’t completely get rid her of stage fright. In an interview with Newsday, she said that she feels nerves right up until she steps on stage: “I’m a pacer. I’m incredibly nervous. I go through tremendous stage fright and anxiety before I go on.” Thankfully, this dissipates when she hits the stage. She says, “The minute I step on stage I’m completely relaxed.”
Sarah Silverman
Most of us can relate to Sarah Silverman’s pre-show ritual of “complaining that I have nothing.” In another recounting of her routine, she took a longer view: “I got to the hotel, went on Google Maps and looked up the nearest vegetarian place. I ordered and picked it up in a cab. Then I took a bath; I like to take a nice little soak.” In addition to that, she has another way to get herself pumped up: She listens to Katy Perry’s “Roar,” or at least she used to.
Cameron Esposito
In the last year or two, Cameron Esposito has seemingly been everywhere. Her stand-up clips get shared all over the Internet. You can find her work at BuzzFeed, the A.V. Club, and elsewhere. And as with any great stand-up comics, you can see her as she tours this great nation. She walked the Wilmette Trib Local through how she prepares for shows like a band prepares a set list:
Pre-show, I am writing my set list. What’s cool about comedy is you can think about it like music. Once you’ve developed the specific joke, that joke will have a one or two-word name, just like a song. Before a band goes up, they write down the songs they’re planning on doing in a specific order. Comics do the same thing. We write down the jokes we have in mind to do that night and the order we want to do them. That’s when I specifically tailor the material to what I want to talk about at that moment. It helps me feel connected to the show I’m about to do. I’m always prepping last minute is my point. I’m always sitting over at the bar furiously scribbling my set list. The jokes have all been thought out beforehand, but the set is unique to how I’m feeling when I walk in the room. That’s how you keep it interesting for yourself as a comic, too.
Hannibal Buress
After you watch this Instagram video, you’ll wish that Hannibal’s pre-show ritual was actually singing along to Ja Rule’s part in “Put It On Me.” In reality, the stand-up and Broad City star varies his preparation depending on his environment. A couple of years ago, when asked about his pre-show ritual, he said, “Eh … no real ritual where I do this or do that—just depends on where I am. I kinda just chill out, listen to music. Today my pre-show ritual might be watching a basketball game.”
Jim Gaffigan
In the past, when asked about his pre-show ritual, Gaffigan hasn’t been the most forthcoming. Though he doesn’t seem to take pre-show rituals seriously, Gaffigan practiced a pretty interesting pre-show routine when he appeared on Broadway in The Championship Season. He reported that co-star Jason Patric convinced him to gargle before every show.
Jerrod Carmichael
Stand-up comedy is often compared to jazz due to the improvisation and riffing that take place in both art forms. Before his sets, Carmichael places himself in the embrace of some badass saxophone solos:
I’ll listen to jazz. I’ll listen to Dave Brubeck or Miles Davis or something before a show. A lot of times I like that space, you know, that music, that’s what to me what a lot of great art is. Anything that’s great in art is jazz, you know? I would dare argue most great things that are great in life are jazz. It’s just the structure, but freedom within structure. So, I’ll listen to jazz just to hone in, focus and know where you are, being conscious and being aware. But a lot of the principals I try to practice in life are more concentrated before going on stage.
