9. How To Tell If A Topic Will Be Hack Before It Is
Description
This article is from the The Complete Guide To Hack Stand-Up Comedy, by Steven Rosenthal and Steve Silberberg (stevebo@onramp.net) with numerous contributions by others.
9. How To Tell If A Topic Will Be Hack Before It Is
Any news story which allows a hack comic to cover a controversial subject
by saying "hey, I just saw this on the news..." will be done to death
within two weeks.
Look out for any news story dealing with genitalia (Viagra, the Lewinsky
scandal,) gruesome murder (OJ, Dahmer,) bodily mutilation (Bobbitt,
Harding/Kerrigan,) or any other taboo subject.
Also, be on the lookout for innocuous news stories where the joke is
obvious: Dan Quayle jokes were already rampant when the "potatoe" story
broke.
A good gauge of how soon a topic will be hack is to watch Leno, Letterman,
and Conan's monologues the day after the story breaks. If one of them does
a bit about it, the shelf-life is about two weeks. If two of them cover it,
give it one week. If all three of them cover the story, it's already hack.
"Wait, does this mean I can't cover any controversial news stories?" Of
course not. Try the two-week rule: if it's a major news story, do the
topical bit for two weeks, then drop it or sell it to a hack. This keeps
your act fresh, keeps you writing, and makes it look like you just thought
your stuff up.
Continue to:
My Books
