The In-Between Step

I have several new premises right now that I know are good premises. Not a single one of said premises is a serviceable joke. The difference between me and a super tight headlining comic is that they make this conversion; so do, for that matter some of the best comics in the DC area (don't believe me? check out Ryan Conner's joke book sometime among others). The point is, good comics can take a good idea and turn it into a good joke. The further down the comedy ladder you go, the lower the % of good ideas turn into good jokes.

A good idea can be anything. If I handed my good idea to eddie gosling, it would be an awesome joke within a week. If I handed that same idea to that horrendous blonde haired lady who I've seen at Topaz a couple times she would just turn it into another Paris Hilton parody song and her 4 middle aged women friends would call her edgy at the next book club meeting.

This is something I have to improve. I have to have a higher shooting % on my good ideas. I've thrown so many things away just because I couldn't make a bit of funny out of them. What's my greatest strength? Impersonations. I have 3 jokes where I do a voice other than my own. I have hundreds of voices just sitting in the can. Why? I cannot figure out how to make jokes out of them. I'm not going to stand up there and go:

'What would it sound like if Bill Clinton was playing jai alai with Charlie Murphy while Sean Connery ate a snow cone?'

Note: Reason # 148 not to go to the Boston Comedy Festival. The guy that won my round had nothing but premises like these. He did an Archie Bunker....an Archie Bunker! "what would it sound like if Archi Bunker had sex?.......Aaaaaahhhhhh Jeeeez 'dere Edith!" When they announced that that guy had won and he came on stage, my buddy in the crowd stands up and goes: 'are you f*cking kidding me?'

I hate new year's resolutions as they are just another way to feel badly about your failures. I will say that this year, I'm not going to be so lazy with my writing. I'm not going onstage with the 'let me see if I come up with something when I'm up there' mindset for an unfinished premise. I'm going to have an idea. If it doesn't work, i'll try another one.