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Doing some MC'ing..... madness or gladness?

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  • 20-02-2010 2:02pm
    #1
    frobisher
    Registered Users Posts: 2,413 ✭✭✭


    So what's it like being a comedy MC? Is writing and prep'ing material very different from doing a stand up routine? I've been asked to MC a few things and have said no so far but now something has come up and I'm thinking I want to give it a pop. It looks....... frightening :p But then so did performing comedy not so long ago and look at the stand-up star I've now become ;)

    I book a live music night that I've MC'ed for the last 2 years and I enjoy it a lot so I'm no stranger to it, but the bridge between my gags and that seems a big one.

    I'd love to hear from those that have made the step to MC'ing, what regular comedians think of the art and even the punters take on it.


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    #2
    IanPerth
    Closed Accounts Posts: 21 ✭IanPerth


    frobisher wrote: »
    So what's it like being a comedy MC? Is writing and prep'ing material very different from doing a stand up routine? I've been asked to MC a few things and have said no so far but now something has come up and I'm thinking I want to give it a pop. It looks....... frightening :p But then so did performing comedy not so long ago and look at the stand-up star I've now become ;)

    I book a live music night that I've MC'ed for the last 2 years and I enjoy it a lot so I'm no stranger to it, but the bridge between my gags and that seems a big one.

    I'd love to hear from those that have made the step to MC'ing, what regular comedians think of the art and even the punters take on it.

    gladness

    hey man, I've only Mc'd twice and i'm as new as u, , , , REALLY ENJOYED both ,,but it's REALLY TOUGH,,, knowing your stage presence / ability to interact wit the crowd etc I'd say you'd be a natural!

    There are some really important do's & don'ts that i got from experienced MC's ..... the best advice though was that .... ''the show is not about you ... your job is simply to get the crowd ready for the next act .... if they laugh at your stuff its a bonus.''.....Rory O'Hanlon / Peter O'Byrne and loads of others are really good at ''being the bad guy'' (stop people talking / disturbing acts etc ) while also hanging on to their likability factor.

    Go for it man !


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    #3
    thumbscrew
    Closed Accounts Posts: 28 ✭thumbscrew


    I've MC'd music nights for years and it's pretty easy...you say hi, talk to the audience for a bit, introduce the acts, talk them up, they get on the stage and play, you make sure they get a big cheer...it's all good once you do it with a smile on your face. Nobody comes to a music gig expecting much from the MC.

    Comedy MCing is very different. The MC is the ringmaster, expected to work their comedy magic on stage, rejuvenating the crowd after every break, even after somebody gets up there and dies a death (which sadly does happen), and behind the scenes too...that means knowing who's on next.

    Frobisher - I've seen your comedy act and I think it's fair to say that you are not a stand-up star yet. I'm not trying to be mean or anything...and I do think that you could be a great MC someday because you're a very confident public speaker. My advice would be to get some more practice doing regular stand-up gigs and get to know a few of your fellow comedians before you embark on MCing. They will be able to give you lots of helpful advice :)


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    #4
    frobisher
    Registered Users Posts: 2,413 ✭✭✭frobisher


    Thanks Ian, good tips there. It's very true that it's about the acts, not the MC. Any other nuggets?! And did fitting material from your stand-up set go well as part of the MC'ing?

    Thumbscrew' whaddya mean I'm not a stand-up star yet?!! Me mammy told me I was! :p


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    #5
    eth0_
    Registered Users Posts: 10,846 ✭✭✭✭eth0_


    Here's a tip: Don't use the "madness...or gladness" line. arf!


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    #6
    SlimJ
    Registered Users Posts: 196 ✭✭SlimJ


    Here's a tip- all things being equal, don't do any material in between acts. Warm up the audience at the top of the show and after any breaks, but the only time you should be telling jokes in between acts is if some act took a steaming dump on the stage and you've got to warm the room back up.


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    #7
    thumbscrew
    Closed Accounts Posts: 28 ✭thumbscrew


    hahaha! :D that's good advice SlimJ!


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    #8
    squidgey
    Closed Accounts Posts: 203 ✭✭squidgey


    Any more Mc advice? Having done close to 300 stand up gigs - I've probably only done about 5 MC gigs and I have 1 in 2 days time.

    How "original" does an Mc need to be? There seems to be a lot of generic MC stuff to get the crowd growing - a 1 small applause to a 10 large applause that kind of stuff. Women say 1 thing, man say another. Where do you draw the line between generic MC stuff and mimickrey?

    I do want to put a somewhat original spin on things - and I like the idea of playing some kind of game or games with the audience. Any ideas/advice??


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