Tools and Tips to Make Your Comedy Magic FIRE with John Archer

Episode 51…. we’re almost there! If you’re talking about comedy magic, there are just a few names that automatically come to mind. John Archer is one of them. Not only is his magic baffling, but he’s also absolutely hilarious. He’s known for whipping up his audience, and getting incredible moments out of the magic and the punchlines!  We decided to break it all down and get advice from the expert about all of the parts of the comedy magic that we need help with. There’s advice for beginners, intermediate, and even advice for the experts looking to make their shows better. Here’s a small summary of some of the points for whomever it might help. For beginners: It’s okay to use peoples published material! You’re starting out. You aren’t going to “make it” with that material, but you need to learn your own cadence and rhythm. You need to find the timing in which you deliver punchlines, and not take that from other comedians. It’s totally okay to take solace in the fact that you know the routines are going to work so all you have to do is be fun. Just make sure you’re using that time to also develop and try out other things For Intermediate performers: Listen to your audience. We’re not talking about the advice they give after the show, but how they respond during it. The best way to know if a line or idea works is to use it in an act. That’s the best way to understand exactly how to be best. Being intermediate is one of the safest places to be. You know the strong parts of your show already, and you can play with the other parts until they’re good enough to stick! For Advanced Performers: FIRE… The equation for editing your show. F- Funny, I-Interesting, R-Relevant, E-Entertaining. That is exactly how you edit your show. Make sure that every single moment checks at least one of these boxes. If it isn’t funny, interesting, relevant, or entertaining then you can cut it out of your show. Don’t take it from me, all of this is straight from John Archer! We tried to do our best to steer John away from using the classic response of “performing more”. It’s obvious that performing a ton makes you better, we tried to dive into the real things that you can use to make sure that if you want to be funny on stage you have some of the tools to make that possible, and not just betting on time. If you want to get a taste of John Archer’s magic check out his spot on Penn and Teller. While he was obviously well known before that, it was a perfect moment for him to share his magic with a massive audience, and might just be where we discovered him! Since he’s a real performer, its worth looking though some of his other videos and promo materials to get a feel for what the pro’s are doing. Contact Website Facebook Twitter