Have you ever been out to dinner with a group of friends and after a bunch of chit chat the table falls to a dead silence…

And as that awkward feeling starts creeping up your shoulders someone starts babbling again and relief washes over you?

What is it about silence that gets to people?

I think that we are so used to being bombarded by sound, that when silence arrives, it’s so unfamiliar that we have an unconscious need to fill it back up.

Why?

Because nature abhors a vacuum.

We have an unconscious need to fill empty space.

What does this have to do with comedy?

Well, It’s been said that “music happens in the silence between the notes”.

This is also true for comedy.

Comedy happens in the pause.

And if we look at our job as being a conductor on stage, then we get to create magic between ourselves and the audience

And if you can master this one thing, it will make you a better comic in no time.

In fact, if you’re new and you build this in to your set straight from the gate, you’ll give off the essence of being a pro.

That’s how powerful this is.

Today, we’re joined by Bobbie Oliver, author of The Tao of Comedy – Embrace The Pause

And it was in her book, that I first read about the importance of pausing.

You'll hear first hand how pausing on and offstage will help you build confidence and a commanding stage presence.

Read Bobbie's book, The Tao of Comedy

Connect with Bobbie: 

Facebook

Instagram

Watch her special

-If you are going to do this, just decide to be a professional. Learn some skills; give it some time. It's not going to be easy; set proper expectations, go out there and give it your best and just keep doing it.-  'Go Pro' by Eric Worre.

For some people, being professional is synonymous with having years of experience on stage. For others, it could be the aura you emit, the way you carry yourself, what style you show up with, your outfit, and a host of others.

Robin Williams said, "Comedy is the only art form that you can use everything you know."

In this episode, Linda Schwartz takes us through a significant experience in network marketing that changed her mindset and set her on the path to going pro. She shares tips to help set you on your journey to becoming a  professional comic.

You can be perceived as a professional during your first performance! Tune in to this episode as Linda talks about how you can stack the deck in your favor even if you haven't stepped foot on stage.

You might want to grab a book and pen for this!

Topics discussed in this episode.

1:09 Lessons from Network Marketing Companies.

6:42 What it means to be a professional comedian.

7:44 Set a standard of excellence.

8:18 Respect people's time always.

10:25 Learn a skill. Talent doesn't guarantee success.

12:50 Treat people nicely.

14:35 Tips on how to exude professionalism as a newbie comedian.

I would love you to help us 'stay on air' by posting a review about this podcast and what you've learned from it on the apple podcast page. Thank you!

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Standup comedy is a personal development course in action, according to our host, Linda Schwartz. Her comedy is a work in progress, as is she, but she’s sharing her (cringeworthy) experiences to help you improve, too.

On the last episode of She Shed Comedy, we dissected Linda’s tight five from her 2022 Pretty Funny Women show. Today, we’re taking a look at her seven-minute set, so get ready for some laughs and a few lessons!

Perhaps one of the most important things to remember about crafting a set is that the time of a set isn’t how much time you actually have. This is comedy, after all, so you’ll need to pause to leave room for laughs.

From “trimming the fat” to adding new jokes, Linda was able to achieve more cohesion and expand her set from five minutes to seven minutes. She’ll explain how she did it by deconstructing the changes she made, and why she made them.

 Linda also discusses her favorite way to end a set, listening to the audience, and her fears sharing these sets. Hear all this and more on this episode!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Linda’s tight five from the Pretty Funny Women show

• Linda’s seven-minute set expanded from the tight five

• Linda explains what changes were made and why

• The new jokes added to the seven-minute set

• Paying attention to where people are laughing

• Following the line of logic

• Ending your set with a callback

• The importance of not rushing your set

• Sets are a work in progress

• Reflecting on a Jim Carrey quote

• Linda’s self-care prompt, personal prompt, and comedy prompt for the week

Want to watch Linda bomb and see how far she has come? Take a look at her Stand Up Comedy Showcase Set (and prepare to cringe)!

For more episodes, click here!

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Every comic starts out with a five-minute set or what the industry refers to as a ‘tight five’. This tight five will evolve over time and eventually expand into a seven-minute set, then a 15-minute set, then a 45-minute set, and so on.

Since Linda started performing, her set has evolved constantly, with minor tweaks from show to show. Today, we deconstruct her tight five and take a look at how she put her set together to get it as tight and structurally cohesive as possible.

This episode offers insight into the methodology behind crafting a set using Linda’s performance from the Pretty Funny Women show in May 2022 as an example. We take a look at the essential elements of this tight five, from setups to callbacks, and share some tips for cutting the fat (and keeping the laughs coming!)

If you’re in your head, you’re not connecting with your audience. That’s why we want to help you get so comfortable with preparation, precision, and timing that you don't even have to think about it in the moment. Tune in today for all this and more!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• A cringe-worthy bombing experience (and what you can learn from it)

• The methodology and intention that goes into crafting a set

• Linda’s tight five from the Pretty Funny Women show in May 2022

• Benefits of recording your live performances

• An understanding of word economy and sticky phrases

• Tips for getting a laugh within the first three seconds

• Creative context, setups, educational bits, and the rule of three

• Why you should keep a running tab of funny observations

• Deconstructing the set piece and the callback

• How to play on the assumptions of your audience

• A reminder that every set is a work in progress

• Giving your audience permission to laugh

• Your 2-in-1 self-care and personal development prompt

• This week’s recommended comedy prompt on Netflix

Want to watch Linda bomb and see how far she has come? Take a look at her Stand Up Comedy Showcase Set (and prepare to cringe!)

Recommended Resources: Brian Simpson on Season 3 of 'The Standups’

For more episodes, click here!

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A comic’s biggest fear is going on stage and hearing crickets, or worse, heckles. 

Bombing on stage is quite traumatic, it can stay with you for years to come and even be the reason you leave comedy all together. However, chances are, most comics WILL bomb, it’s just the name of the game. 

So how can we look at bombing differently and reframe our perspective to make it work for us? On today’s episode, you will be hearing 5 different women comic’s takes on their bombing experience, what they felt when it was happening, and what they learned from it. 

These incredible women share their vulnerable stories that not many would want to share, but is crucial to our personal development. If these incredibly talented comics can bomb, anyone can, so why not find the lesson in the experience and use it to grow?

Tune in to hear how you can change the way you think about bombing and steps you can take if it happens to you to help you become a better comic and a better you!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• What is it about bombing that makes us shake in our boots?

• Esme Gregson’s experience bombing at a nightclub in LA

• How Anastasia Washington reframes her experience bombing

• The way Lin Sun gauges her audience and navigates her set to bring the crowd back

• Kristel DeLa Rosa’s explanation of how she lost the crowd because she lost herself

• Meryl Klemow’s take on how to handle yourself when the stars don’t align in your favor

• Self-care, personal development, and comedy prompts!

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We’ve heard this from women time and time again, “I don’t want to become my mother”. This begs the question, why are mother-daughter relationships so complicated? 

This is a tricky question, especially if you’ve grown up with a mother who was abusive, narcissistic, and neglectful. As a comic, you would think, wow, these traumatic events could be comedic gold, because comedy equals tragedy plus time right? 

Well, there is a missing piece to this equation, and that is the part in between tragedy and time, which is, reconciliation. To not retraumatize yourself as a comic, and actually convert your tragedy into comedy in a cathartic way, the healing and breakthroughs need to happen before you hit the stage armed with anecdotes about your trauma.

This is what Linda discovered after a trip to Bali that changed her life forever. After living a life of resentment toward her mother, when Linda returned from Bali she decided it was time to reconcile once and for all, because she knew her future was living on the other side of healing her mother wound.After a ton of perseverance, Linda was able to make amends with her mother that allowed for a deep healing, not only in her relationship with her mother, but within herself too.

This type of healing takes ripping through triggers and fear that have been solidified for years and making bold courageous moves in the direction that is in alignment with your highest self. 

Maybe that alignment is on the other side of a really tough conversation.Tune in to hear Linda’s story of how she broke through 31 years of resentment and trauma with one conversation which has made her the comic she is today.

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Linda’s past relationship with her mother

• How a spiritual trip to Bali changed Linda’s perspective

• Linda’s doubts around reconciling with her mother

• What made Linda persevere in fixing her relationship with her mother

• The conversation that turned things around

• What happened after the breakthrough

• The beauty of healing pain and turning it into comedy

• A writing exercise

• Weekly self care and personal development prompt

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“You can’t pour from an empty cup”, is a quote our host Linda Schwartz now lives by. 

Linda lived this reality when realizing she had abandoned herself and her creative pursuits after diving headfirst into motherhood. However, being a mother and a wife doesn’t mean you stop being you. 

This is a fact Linda wants to drive home to you listeners by hearing her journey how she came back to herself to become the comic she is today.  

In today’s episode, Linda gives her backstory of becoming a mother and living with guilt and regret only to realize at the age of 40 that she wasn’t fulfilled and wanted to do something about it. She took action toward what she knew was true to her and is now booking shows all over San Diego and LA. 

This episode is particularly for all the mothers out there. She wants you to know, you are doing a great job, regardless of what you keep telling yourself, and that you can fulfill your dreams. 

It’s actually so important that you do because it can only benefit your family in the long run, because well, you can’t pour from an empty cup, and your family deserves the best version of you. Better yet, you deserve the best version of you.

Tune in to hear an inspiring story packed with a 3 point framework you can use to change your mindset as well as tips to get you there. There is also an activity at the end of the episode that you don’t want to miss!

Topics discussed in this episode:

• Why Linda held off on her career as a comic
• How family obligations took center stage
• Intrusive thoughts of guilt and regret
• What inspired Linda to start comedy again
• 3 things all creative moms need
• The benefits of implementing this framework
• 3 tips on self care, personal development, and comedy
• Take home activity

Jim Carrey’s motivational speech ‘Life Happens For You’.

Connect with Linda Schwartz:  

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As Fall rolls through, it's time for us to slow down and get settled into a space of reflection. As Linda heads to NY next week for the NY Comedy Festival, we are winding down the year with a Holiday Hiatus and will not be producing new episodes until the new year.  If you're in NY and want to attend a show Linda's performing in, please buy tickets here. 

Until NEXT YEAR, Stay safe, Stay Happy, & Stay Healthy!

Have you ever been out to dinner with a group of friends and after a bunch of chit chat the table falls to a dead silence…

And as that awkward feeling starts creeping up your shoulders someone starts babbling again and relief washes over you?

What is it about silence that gets to people?

I think that we are so used to being bombarded by sound, that when silence arrives, it’s so unfamiliar that we have an unconscious need to fill it back up.

Why?

Because nature abhors a vacuum.

We have an unconscious need to fill empty space.

What does this have to do with comedy?

Well, It’s been said that “music happens in the silence between the notes”.

This is also true for comedy.

Comedy happens in the pause.

And if we look at our job as being a conductor on stage, then we get to create magic between ourselves and the audience

And if you can master this one thing, it will make you a better comic in no time.

In fact, if you’re new and you build this in to your set straight from the gate, you’ll give off the essence of being a pro.

That’s how powerful this is.

Today, we’re joined by Bobbie Oliver, author of The Tao of Comedy – Embrace The Pause

And it was in her book, that I first read about the importance of pausing.

You'll hear first hand how pausing on and offstage will help you build confidence and a commanding stage presence.

Read Bobbie's book, The Tao of Comedy

Connect with Bobbie: 

Facebook

Instagram

Watch her special