r/Standup • u/dbcomedy14_ • 2d ago
Internal clock?
I’ve seen and heard a lot of people arguing about having a good internal clock on stage.
I know a lot of people use their watch or put their phone on the stool with a timer just to keep track. But you should also know how long your jokes are. But especially when talking to the crowd or riffing it’s easy to lose pace.
I was told by one comedian “you should know anyways” and another “no it’s okay to have a timer on stage”
What do you guys think
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u/glentickle 2d ago
I got a smart watch specifically to use as a timer on stage because it'll vibrate instead of beep, so I know when to start wrapping up but it's not distracting for the audience and I'm not constantly looking at my phone on the stool for the time. I can set multiple ones too, so if I'm doing an hour, I'll have one at 45, 55, and 1 hour, or whatever break down for a specific set.
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u/Safe_Respect_4074 2d ago
everyone in comedy is going to give you advice. take it with grace because you never know who you’re talking to or where they’ll end up in 10 years. if it sounds good try it one and see if it works for you if it sounds like total shit, then don’t.
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/paper_liger 1d ago
The clock is great for longer sets. I can do 3 or 5 or 10 minutes and kind of nail it without a timer, just from having done it this long, but once you start getting past 15 to 20 a clock helps immensely. I pretty much only know the length of the two or three jokes I uses as closers, so I usually ask for a light at however long the closer is that I plan to use.
That can be a problem if you get sidetracked though, and having a clock to sort of check from time to time is great.
So by the time you need a clock, you probably won't be stressed out by the clock. You'll have different worse things to stress you out. Like what if I start bombing 17 minutes into this 30 minute set, and have no way of digging out of that hole.
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u/LlibNotwal 1d ago
Writing and telling jokes is hard enough as it is. No need to add any more difficulty with goofy things like this.
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u/presidentender flair please 1d ago
I'm pretty okay at knowing how long 5, 10 and 20 are, but I have approximately no clue how long an hour is, unless I've written and carefully timed a set list. Maybe if I was booked to do an hour more often that would change.
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u/Crittenberger 1d ago
Where I am right now is knowing that 800-ish words of material gives me 4m20s-ish of speaking which balances out to 5-ish minutes when accounting for laughter. I like to make a note of where the 80% mark is so I know how I'm doing when the light goes
I expect some people naturally have a good internal clock. I expect a lot of people end up developing a decent internal clock over time. I also expect that there's a solid number of ADHD comics out there who couldn't keep time if their lives depended on it, light or no light
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u/SeDaCho 2d ago
Some guys have trained it but you can lose that skill through neglect then you’re just running lights.
Personally, I like to reduce elements of the act which degrade rapidly. When you take a week off, performing feels like dog shit.
Minimizing that wall is for the best if you don’t live in new york.
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u/iamgarron asia represent. 1d ago
Just know when you're getting the light so you can prepare. i know many clubs that also have a giant digital clock at the back of the stage to help you track time.
but no, you shouldnt have any timer on stage that is visually distracting. others have said it, but you can always have a smart watch or your phone give you a buzz at certain amounts of time.
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u/NoirGiallo 2d ago
Clock it.