Pro tip: paid $80 for a comedy special on mental health and it bombed hard

Saw a local comedian doing material about their depression. Thought it would be edgy and real. Dropped $80 on tickets and a drink. Jokes fell flat. Audience just sat there quiet. Felt like a therapy session not a show. Can jokes about mental health still land or is the line too blurry now?

3 comments

3 Comments

dylan_brown309d ago

Felt like a therapy session not a show" is exactly the problem. A good comedian can make dark topics funny, but it takes real craft and timing to pull that off. Sounds like this guy just dumped his feelings on the crowd without shaping it into actual jokes, which isn't a comedy problem, it's a skill problem.

jadej509d ago

My friend sarah said the same thing at a club in austin. @dylan_brown30 gets it.

gavin4698d ago

Moved from Austin a few years back, used to go to clubs on 6th Street all the time. I was one of those guys who thought any comedian who got dark was being "real" and everyone else was too sensitive. But after seeing three shows in one month where the comic just ranted about their divorce or their dead dog with zero setup, I changed my mind quick. One guy literally spent 20 minutes describing his cat getting hit by a car in graphic detail and nobody laughed once. That's when I realized there's a big difference between being honest and being funny. Hearing you and dylan_brown30 break it down like this finally put words to what I couldn't figure out back then. Good craft matters more than good intentions on stage.