Stop us if you’ve heard this one before – the 19th annual Milwaukee Comedy Festival returns Oct. 1-6, bringing 30 stand-up comics to stages across the city. But what’s it like delivering jokes under the spotlight? Local comedian Carly Malison has performed at the festival for five years, and she gives Milwaukee Magazine her tips on how to be funny without flopping.
What is your process for coming up with jokes?
If I’ve had a really funny situation happen to me, then I’ll write it down and work on it that way. Or if I hear something, like a funny turn of phrase, I’ll try to see if I can make a joke from that. Pretty much a lot of observations – I’m not a one-liner comic or anything like that. I’m more of a storyteller.
It’s time to pick your Milwaukee favorites for the year!
Do you ever do research to see if your jokes have been done before?
That’s why I mostly write stories and personal experiences. But there have been times where I’m like, “This sounds familiar.” And I do have to Google it or ask some friends, “Have you heard this joke before?” Sometimes, they’ll say yes, and other times they’re like, “No, that’s golden.”
How much material is usually written versus on the spot?
When I first started, I used to write word-for-word what I was going to say. Now that I feel like I’m a little bit more comfortable on stage, I have a base and just see where it goes. Sometimes when you come up with things on the spot, it’s usually because an audience member did something funny or reacted funny.
What do you do when a joke bombs?
Panic. No, I mean – it’s gonna happen. The best way I describe it is, you just have to bear down and push through. … And then adjust to what the audience wants and know that your next joke is going to be okay.
Have you ever just blanked on stage?
More times than I care to admit. Not for a whole set, but I’ll be in the middle of a joke and I’ll completely forget what I’m saying, and it just sounds like I’m rambling until I try to pick up. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t.
What types of crowds are the best and worst to perform for?
I love performing for college-age students. … I don’t know if it’s just because of my immature soul, but I feel like I really connect with them. On the opposite (side) of that, a lot of older men like my material, too, which is funny. I never thought that would happen – I think that’s kind of cool. … I think the only type of audience member I don’t like performing for is one that doesn’t want to laugh and doesn’t want to have fun, because it’s like, why are you even here?
Do you ever use audience participation?
I think crowd work is essential for comedy. I don’t rely too heavily on it but, if I do crowd work, it’s usually a reaction to what somebody said, or if an audience member shouts something out, I’ll usually go with that. But I’ll never really pick out an audience member and talk to them.
Is social media revolutionizing comedy, or will there always be room for stand-up comics?
I definitely think social media has revolutionized it. It helps younger comics and (with) research to see if a joke has already been done. But it helps even just getting your content out there and learning how to get your content out there. There’s always going to be road shows, road comics and things like that. But I do think social media, Tik Tok and little minute clips are the way the comedy world is going now.
Anything else to share?
The Milwaukee Comedy Festival – I can’t talk about them enough. They’re amazing. They give so many opportunities to so many comics, and the Milwaukee scene is so great. I like to think that we’re kind of rough and tumble, so to speak, because for the longest time we didn’t have a club, so we were working bar shows, basements of restaurants and things like that. So, we really dug in and built this Milwaukee comedy scene.
What’s unique about performing for Milwaukee audiences?
They love to make fun of themselves. … When they’re on board – which Milwaukee always seems to be on board with comedy – it just makes everything so much easier.
