Claim OwnershipThe Funny Muscle Podcast
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Guided by the belief that anyone can learn to become funnier once they understand what to practice, the Funny Muscle Podcast aims to break down how pro comics get their best laughs. Comedian turned author Mike Lukas and cohost Chris Stiffler, an economics professor and open mic-er, use the game plan and concepts outlined in the Funny Muscle Book series to give listeners a better idea of how original (and funny) jokes are crafted.
31 Episodes
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To improve their character voices, Mike and Chris chat with actor, musician, filmmaker and voice coach Darren McStay whose Youtube channel “Improve Your Voice” has millions of downloads. Darren teaches warm up techniques, why it’s important to commit to a character and tips on sticking with that character. Maybe the best advice Darren teaches during the episode is how to use physicality and body-focus to perfect your voices. If all your characters sound the same, this episode is perfect for you.
"Cats" is a topic, but it's not until you say something like "Cats bother me as an economist." have you transformed your material into a premise. In this episode we make that distinction. We also learn how Mike's comedy teaching classes in Dallas are coming alone. And we talk about Mike's aha moment during improv training. Listen to this episode if you're unclear how to morph a topic into a premise, if you want improv advice, or you want to learn how Mike's brain works when punching up jokes for someone else's writing.
We asked each of our last 12 comedy pro guests what they'd tell new comedians to do if they had an hour a day to write jokes. Here's a compilation of their best advice.
Lenny Schmidt
Nathan Timmel
Steph Clark
Kevin Rogers
Dan Bakkedahl
Dan Carlson
Doby Maxwell
Tom Clark
Dr. Caleb Warren
Jake Vevera
Rich Talarico
Adam Bloom
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New York comedian and co-host of the podcast “Idiots on Parade” Jake Vevera (@jakevevera) stops by the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about his upcoming comedy special, which is about to be released on YouTube.
Jake is full of advice for new comedians like his three-sentence joke writing drill and his advice on stage time.
Find out why Jake also tells new comics to pretend that their audience doesn’t speak English.
(hint: It forces you to work on your cadence and timing.)
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
Lenny Schmidt stops by the Funny Muscle Podcast to teach us about the logistics of planning comedy material for 5 nights in a row on a cruise ship (hint: you got to keep track of your call-back jokes).
Lenny, who has been doing comedy since the 1980s, also studied improv in Chicago. You may recognize Lenny in movies like “Joe Dirt” and “The Ugly Truth”, and TV shows; “Castle”, “True Blood”, “Big Love”, “ER”, and “Desperate Housewives.”
The episode is full of great advice on how Lenny brainstorms, writes, organizes and perfects his comedy craft.
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Headlining comedian, author, and host of the podcast “Idiots on Parade” Nathan Timmel invades the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about the current state of comedy, to tell us tricks for doing corporate gigs, and to tell us stories about performing for troops overseas.
As always, we get his advice on writing and creating new material for new comics.
You can find his latest comedy special “Unapologetic” on YouTube.
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We learn about writing monologue jokes with Ben Alper who has written jokes for several decades and has seen them performed by the likes of Jay Leno and Dave Letterman.
We discuss his recently published book: Live from the Beginning of Time: Late Night Comedy Monologues Through the Ages.
The book imagines if there were late-night talk show hosts during things like the discovery of fire and the development of democracy.
The episode will give you tips on writing jokes for topical news stories.
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On the same week that Mike released the third book in the Funny Muscle series, he did something he hasn’t done in 10 years: he strolled on stage and performed a 5-minute set.
We talk all about it in this episode.
We also dust off the Humor Blueprint to diagram a few pro comics’ bits to give the listener practice identifying joke structure, humor heightening devices, and misdirection.
And we debut our Humor Blueprint jingle.
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Comedian, Director of the Chicago Comedy Festival, and former General Manager of Zanies Comedy Club in Rosemont, Dan Carlson, stops by the Funny Muscle Podcast.
Dan teaches us how to capture a booker’s attention in the first minute of a set, how the finances between the comic and club work, and when to know if you are ready to jump from opener to middle to headliner.
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Dr. Caleb Warren joins the podcast to give Mike and Chris an academic and research-based look at why things are funny using a framework known as the “Benign Violation Theory.”
Dr. Warren is a professor in the Marketing Department at the University of Arizona and one of the authors of a paper called “Benign violations: Making immoral behavior funny.”
His particular areas of research focus on what makes things funny, what makes things cool, and what helps people reach their goals.
We put his humor theory to the test chatting about tinkling, roasts, and comedy crowds.
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We chat with comedian Steph Clark who is also the owner of Funny Girl Events.
So, we get advice from a comic's perspective as well as a booker.
We learn some dos and don'ts of impressing a comedy booker, what it's like to be married to a comedian, and regional differences in comedy as Steph performs frequently in the LA area and the Midwest.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
New comics will appreciate the advice from touring comedian Kevin Rogers, who took 12 years off to build a family and business, who then had to turn his comedy creation machine back on to create 20 minutes of new material in a new generation with a whole new comedy lens.
Kevin Rogers is a comedian, business guru, and author who helps businesses write the words that hook customers and boost sales.
Kevin steps into Funny Muscle world to teach us how the skills of stand-up comedy augment the art of copywriting and vice versa.
We also break down his new material and how he crafted it---the clips are interspersed throughout the interview.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
Actor and improvisational comedian Dan Bakkedahl stops by the podcast to chat about acting, improv, auditioning for roles, starting out in Chicago, and heightening comedy scenes.
Dan is known for his role on the sitcom Life in Pieces, as Congressman Roger Furlong on the series VEEP, and as Steven Nugent in the series Legit.
He also worked as a correspondent on three seasons of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
Stopping by the Funny Muscle Podcast is “The Dented Can” Dobie Maxwell.
He is a comedian, actor, radio personality, comedy instructor, comedy writer and author.
His passion for comedy and mentoring is quickly apparent.
We chat about how he earned his set on the Late Late Show, his comedy lens, joke development, his recent Dry Bar Special, and doing the small things---outside the jokes----that can help your career as a comic.
Dobie also gives us some lessons on comedy from an unexpected source: pro wrestling.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
The "Bad" Boy of Comedy from Wisconsin Tom Clark joins the Funny Muscle Podcast to talk about:
* What’s it like to do a set on Conan
*Tips of doing clean comedy (especially in Utah)
*How he added vulnerability to his comedy persona
*Advice he learned from doing New Faces in the Montreal Comedy Festival
Tom has appeared on Conan, Netflix, Comedy Central, HBO, NBC, ABC, FOX, and CBS. He starred in two comedy specials in the same year, "Outraged" on Amazon Prime & "I'm a Rescue" on Dry Bar Comedy.
Tom (@TomClarkComedy) helps Mike (@mlukas1111) and Chris (@econ_comic) analyze play-by-play parts of his comedy specials.
The clips are interspersed into the podcast.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
A comedian starts a joke by making an interesting assertion.
The audience wonders, “How will they ever prove that to us with their unique take?"
Mike and Chris talk about the tactics to make that happen as they break down some pro comic bits and teach how to write jokes with "premise intrigue."
Like play-by-play sports analysts, they also freeze frame and diagram comic material (Louis C.K, Bill Burr, Tom Papa) by pointing out the humor blueprint elements and heightening devices those pros used to get their laughs.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
I spill my drink, and my friend says, “Ya done messed up Ay-Ay-Ron!”
My friend is quoting the viral Key and Peele sketch: The Substitute Teacher.
In this episode of the Funny Muscle Podcast, we got to chat with the writer who came up with that sketch: Rich Talarico. He’s a Peabody Award-winning writer/producer with four Emmy and four WGA Award nominations, as well as an improviser, comedy teacher and stand-up comedian.
We get to learn about sketch writing, the importance of writing for a specific comedy persona, what it’s like to be in the writing room on SNL and Key and Peele.
He’s written for Jay Leno and has a great Carson impression. He’s also in one of the most memorable root beer commercials.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
In an effort to show how a comedian's brain instantly "blows up" a situation to notice the funny, Chris and Mike practice some improv drills at the beginning of the episode.
This might send you Googling, "What are Tiddleywinks?"
Then Mike tells some stories from the beginning of his comedy career to teach the tips and tactics on how a new comedian can get their first booking.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
In part 2 of the conversation with Adam Bloom (@adambloomcomedy) we get deeper into the pedagogical side of comedy and go deeper into Adam’s book: Finding Your Comic Genius: An in-depth guide to the art of stand-up comedy.”
Mike (@mlukas1111) and Chris (@econ_comic) also learn about Adam’s thoughts on comedy in the US compared to the UK, how rap and rhythm impacts comedy, and writing exercises new comedians can use to generate more material.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
Mike (@mlukas1111) and Chris (@econ_comic) chat with British comedian, writer, and author of “Finding Your Comic Genius: An in-depth guide to the art of stand-up comedy” Adam Bloom.
In part 1 of the conversation with Adam (@adambloomcomedy), we chat about the self-publishing process, Adam’s first gig, and how his comedy persona has evolved since that first gig.
We also hear about Adam’s process on generating new material and adding “toppers.”
In the same way a veteran comic’s brain works out new material out loud, you can see Adam’s brain in action, as we chat, working out the perfect wording on advice for new comedians.
His book is filled with this great advice.
*** If you enjoy the podcast, be sure to give us a share, like, and follow! Thanks :)
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