Crafting an Effective Opening in Stand-Up Comedy

Cameron Writt is an Arkansas-based data analyst with a professional background that extends to stand-up comedy. With experience in eliciting laughter from diverse audiences, Cameron Writt is conversant in a discipline that, while having no concrete rules, does have established conventions.

One critical element of any stand-up comedy performance is the opening, which sets the tone for the rest of the set and functions to put the audience in a receptive mood. The opening also serves as a self-introduction. As such, it is beneficial to create a line that starts strong and indicates what the audience can expect, whether it is cynicism or open-eyed credulity.

However, sets that include material on controversial topics can risk alienating audiences by starting with the heaviest topics. While such subjects are a part of many routines, veteran comedians recommend building up to this type of content gradually. Many comics reserve this material for a point in the routine where they feel the audience accepts them and will go along with whatever they put forth.

Crafting flexible openings allow for last-minute changes based on whether or not other performers have gone before you. A line such as “how are you feeling tonight?” may work for the first comic of the evening, but it will likely become stale by the third or fourth comedian.