A B C D E F G H I J L M N O P R S T Z
Memory - specifically memorising material. Famously a problem for newbies as their life or work has not prepared them for remembering wads of words when shitting themselves on a stage.Laying the memory down in the first place is hard work, but not usually the problem. Accessing the laid down memory during the stress of performing is.
This recall, was and maybe again, still is, a terror for this contributor. A long term user of memory systems in exams the peg and roman systems were used to little effect. Google 'memory systems' or read the Tony Buzan book that will be in your local library for details. These systems are great for raising lists of words into the forefront of your mind. But for many, a list is not what is needed in front of an audience - if it is, you might as well write it on your wrist or just print key words large on a bit of paper on the floor.
The 'journey' or 'room' method can be more suitable for some. Here a sequencing of keywords is possible more in line with how a set works. In the room system one simply thinks of static objects in say our kitchen. The fridge, breadboard, cooker and so on. Itemise these in a clockwise sequence and then in turn associate one of them with a keyword in your act. So the 'Cocker Spaniel' part of your set needs to be associated with 'Fridge'.
The more absurd, active and vulgar you can make the image the better your powers of recall will be. So imagine the spaniel shagging the fridge. Draw it a few times - I promise it will stick in your head. You couldn't make this up. Well you could and you should. Do something similar for all your keywords. Then just go through your kitchen objects in a clockwise manner 4 or 5 times and soon the momentary image will decode into the keyword without all the silly imagery. Importantly everything is ordered, sequenced as in your set.
The 'journey' method is a variant where you might choose to use landmarks from a journey you routinely undertake - say from your house to the chip shop.
Annoyingly the above was of no use to this contributor. His problems was when coming to the end of a sub set on a topic say Gatwick Airport and then he couldn't remember what the next bit was. So he developed a 'bridge' system which adopts the above methodology to get the necessary link. So to get from bit on rabbits to Brighton Pier, he chooses a word very near the end of the last sentence in the bit - preferably part of the punch line maybe 'carrot', and then associates it with a word at the beginning of the next part of the set - say 'truck'. He visualises something active and disgusting happening between the carrot and the truck. Over to you.
This differs from the room approach as all you have to remember is the specific association and as your set carries you into the first keyword, part of your brain should take over and make the association and while you are finishing the punch sets you up for the next bit.
Meta-communication - An ugly phrase which refers to an important development in stand up where the comedian helicopters out of his material (no not literally though Lee Evans could afford one) to comment on the set, or the way the house is feeling about his/her act. Eddie Izzard historically maybe started it off with his invisible note book - "umm didn't like cycle clip gags, leave 'em out".
Done properly it is dizzying as again the comic trusts the audiences' intelligence and the audience gets to laugh at the absurdity of comedy, which in one view is the efficient herding of audience into laughter pens by the comic as sheepdog.
Monologue - One log, or a malfunctioning stereo log. Naah not really it's a speech/soliloquy for one person. A story, a tale, a rant - i.e. bigger than a gag
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