{"id":6193,"date":"2021-12-25T21:00:33","date_gmt":"2021-12-25T21:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comedyville.ca\/?p=6193"},"modified":"2025-10-15T01:26:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-15T05:26:08","slug":"when-to-do-comedy-crowd-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comedyville.ca\/when-to-do-comedy-crowd-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Timing Your Comedy Crowd Work: Tips for Getting It Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you go to any of the English comedy<\/a> clubs in Montreal, you\u2019ll probably see some comedians talking to the crowd and spinning some of the conversations into a funny quip or maybe even roasting some of the audience members. It\u2019s mostly all in good fun but have you ever wondered why some comedians do this? No? Well, that\u2019s what this entire blog post is about so time to learn! So When to do comedy crowd work?<\/p>\n

Crowd work was invented when the performers in ancient Greece forgot their lines during the performance of a play and decided to have a short conversation with a member in the front row instead of waiting in silence. Interesting? Yes. Accurate? No. Crowd work is just conversation so whenever the hell bipedal apes started grunting at each other is when crowd work was invented. Duh.<\/p>\n

Reasons For Doing Crowd Work<\/h3>\n

There are a couple of reasons why comedians do crowd work. One, it\u2019s an easy replacement for when a stand-up set isn\u2019t going super great or if they want to get some stage time without a fully fleshed-out stand-up set. It can also keep them on their toes and help them develop quick reflexes when an audience member becomes unruly.<\/p>\n

Good comedians command the attention of the room and when an audience member tries to turn the attention to them, a comedian\u2019s job is to put that audience member in their place via verbal lashes. Second, people like hearing other people get roasted. Much of our lives are filled with polite small talk and professional exchanges at work that can be boring and draining. So, when a comedian at a comedy club in Montreal tells the audience member that they look like a person that complains about the temperature of their poutine, the audience eats it up.<\/p>\n

A Way Out<\/h3>\n

To a comedian, crowd work can be a reliable backup plan in the event that their planned set of jokes isn\u2019t working with the audience. Sometimes jokes that worked in the past just don\u2019t work on a particular audience. It can be because of the vibe in the room, the previous comedian that went up, or just the comedy gods humbling you. If all else fails, crowd work can help save the day. You can find something funny with a couple of questions. Sometimes, the comedian doesn\u2019t even need to think of a quick punchline. Funny can happen organically if the comedian chooses the right questions to ask. And it\u2019s a beautiful thing to watch\u2026even if you\u2019re the audience member being asked.<\/p>\n

The Final Word<\/h3>\n

Back to the original question\u2026when to do comedy crowd work? If you see an interesting audience member and want to dig deeper into their whole situation or if your planned jokes aren\u2019t quite landing and you want to get a couple of laughs before your set is over, these are two good instances when crowd work can help. The real beauty is that the answer to the question is \u2018whenever the hell you want.\u2019 You get to own the time you spend on stage and if you feel like doing some crowd work then, by all means, ask that man in the front why he looks like a banker from 1972.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Post by Jonathan Motney<\/strong>
\n<\/em>Jonathan has been writing and performing comedy in the DFW area for over 5 years. He looks to continue contributing to the comedy world until he becomes unfunny due to age and\/or fatherhood.<\/p>\n

Post exclusively contributed to Comedyville.ca<\/a>, All rights reserved.
\nComedyville is a Comedy Club located in Downtown Montreal.
\n<\/em><\/p>\n

The opinions expressed in this post are solely those of the author.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There are a couple of reasons why comedians do crowd work. 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