Maybe you binged “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and feel it’s prepared you via osmosis to take a stab at stand-up comedy. Or maybe you’ve had the itch to try it for a while, but fear of the unknown has been holding you back. Either way, veteran stand-up comic Paul Schissler has the inside scoop on all things stand-up. Schissler has appeared on “Steve Harvey,” participated in the New York Comedy Festival and just published his first book. He took time from his busy schedule to share a window into the life of a stand-up comic.

Image via paulschissler.com
What does an average day look like for you?
“Well, part of my day is spent working on material. I record every set I do, so I’ll spend time listening to the audio recording and determining which jokes worked well. I’ll write down some edits, and based on that, I’ll write anywhere from one to three new joke ideas. Then when I go out that night to do my set, I’ll kind of sandwich the new jokes into the middle of the set to see how they work. And the whole cycle starts over again the next day. If I’m traveling for a gig, I’ll usually fly in the day of, do the show and then fly out the next morning. Travel gigs can be longer, though, too. Most recently, I was in Vermont and opened for Tim Meadows for a few nights, which was a cool experience.”
What advice would you give an actor interested in trying stand-up comedy?
“I would say to write a five-minute set and then find an open-mic to try it out. Don’t necessarily treat it like you’re going in for an audition. And when you’re writing for the set, write about what you know. You can talk about embarrassing things that have happened to you, things that make you angry or personal stories. Start from there. If it makes you laugh, that’s a good sign. Once you’ve written it up and performed it the first time, you’ll know if stand-up is something you want to keep doing. Whether you do well or you bomb really hard, you’ll know. And if you do want to continue performing, have fun with it. Don’t stick to what you think the industry wants you to joke about. Perform material that you think is funny and that’s from the heart. It will go a long way.”
What’s your favorite thing about the job?
“I think laughter is very intimate and very humanizing, so the fact that I get to connect with other people through it is pretty cool. I get to share it with a room full of strangers. Maybe we don’t agree on everything in life. Maybe we have different views on this or that, but for a second we’re connected in this intimate moment. I love that.”
With Schissler’s insights in mind, actors interested in stand-up can better appreciate what life behind the jokes and the laughs looks like, including the amount of writing, observation, and discipline it takes. And if you’ve been letting fear hold you back from trying stand-up, take Schissler’s advice. Write up a five-minute set, find an open-mic and go for it. Who knows? You might end up being a real-life Miriam Maisel.
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