Foster's comedy masterclass with Russell Kane

Foster's comedy masterclass with Russell Kane

18 October, 2010
by: Evolmike

Mike Stephenson gets some stand-up tips from the Edinburgh Comedy Award winner.

I'm here at the Comedy Store for part two of my “How not to not be a comedian” series. First let me say a big thank you to Fosters. Not the company, but the highly palatable fizzy stuff with which we are plied. They've done well to set up the necessary conditions for breaking one's stand-up cherry – a friendly, moderately quiet atmosphere where you can have reassuring conversations with other first timers about your fears, plus of course plenty of the demon drink. Our esteemed mentor Russell Kane steps out and begins. Upon comparing comedy not with a hereditary talent but with any sport at which you can improve by jacking steroids, I ask him which drugs are suitable for comedy. He reveals that beer isn't the best option (before remembering who's employing him.)

That's good advice for the persevering comic, certainly. Drink to get through the initial hump of terror, but not to get through every gig. Unless of course you're an alcoholic. See, the crux of Russell's reasoning is that of naturalism – everyone has the potential to be a comedian because everyone has conversations in which they say funny things. So if you're naturally funnier when you're wasted, you might find this approach a little expensive.

Story-telling is the most celebrated form of mirth, and that's the nutshell in which he outlines it to us – tap into the person you are when you tell a good story. That's when you're at your least performative, ironically. He doesn't really cover the other bases like situational observation, satire or imitation because these are intermediate tricks that are best tested by trial and error, and he has prepared himself to teach lesson one. He does a very good job. His students, though visibly shaking, perform as believably and affably as you're likely to see at any open mic night, each getting genuine laughter from a very small crowd of hawk-eyed PR busy bodies. In fact I swear they did better than me. But hey, I'm not myself.

Mike in action

I had a one-on-one with Russell for a brief window. He's a lovely guy, very positive. Every other sentence out of my mouth was met with “That could be a joke!” even my most hackneyed tangents. I could tell he was geared to build an act from scratch rather than chat with a semi-experienced novice like me, so my attempts to pick his brain seemed thwarted by his obligations to pick mine. But his overall message was clear, and somewhat enlightening. It's about the journey to find your normative comedy persona. Basically, don't act – just be. Unless you're a character act. That's when it hit me, I've been acting like the character I think I should be (or shouldn't be.)

So there's a double-edged obstacle to comedy. If you have too much self love or too much self hatred then you're in danger of steering yourself in the wrong direction. It's bizarre then that comedians comprise the world's most damaged loners AND egotistical lunatics. I suppose the vulnerability of stand-up comedy is an effective treatment for either condition. Self-obsessed attention seekers can get knocked down a peg, and gloomy bohemians can finally feel accepted. Of course, it doesn't always work out that way. Hence the nutjobs.

To summarise: only take the advice you give to yourself, because it's the only advice from which others can truly learn. Strokey beardy stroke.

For more on the Foster's comedy masterclass, read Spoonfed's interview with Russell Kane.

Russell Kane won Best Comedy Show at this year’s Foster’s Edinburgh Comedy Awards. For access to more comedy content visit: www.fostersfunny.co.uk

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Evolmike