In 2023 I debuted my first hour stand-up comedy show (called ‘I’m Busy’) in the New Zealand International Comedy Festival, selling out multiple shows and winning ‘Best Newcomer’ in the festival. I created the show in a small comedy scene where there is less stage time than in bigger cities, I was also working full time and enjoying other hobbies. If you’re a comic or creative with limited time to write or perform, this article is for you. Below I’m going to explain my approach for how to write a stand-up comedy show, to help you efficiently create and quality assure (make sure it’s funny) your own.

This article will be most valuable for stand-up comics who have the goal of writing and performing an hour-long show. But, I hope it’s insightful for anyone who is curious about, enjoys, or takes inspiration from comedy. In short I hope to:

• improve your approach to stand-up comedy
• help you achieve writing an hour show
• help you make money (because a show is a product you can tour). 

To further frame this article, I will not:

• explain how to write stand-up comedy 
• explain how to be funny.

I will cover the following:

• Stand-up comedy terminology
• The comedy scene I developed my hour show in.
• The challenge of limited stage time.
• 5 tips to efficiently write a stand-up comedy show.

Stand-up comedy terminology

Below, I’ll list some comedy terms and their definitions. Please note, some of these definitions are subjective — this is how I think of them.

Material: anything that a comic says on stage, this could be written or improvised.
Punchline: A line in material that hopes to make the audience laugh. 
Spot: An opportunity to perform on a show, 6 minutes of stage time. 
Set: Written material that will be performed on a spot. 
Open mic: a show for comics to try new material. Comics aren’t paid. Tickets are $10 or less. 
Open spot: a chance spot comics can get by turning up to an open mic. Comics put their name down for the spot and names are drawn at random for who gets to perform. 6 minutes stage time. 
Pro show: a show where comics are paid to perform consistently funny material, the audience have high expectations, stage time varies. Tickets are $20+.

The comedy scene I developed my hour show in

When learning how to write a stand-up comedy show, the amount you’re able to perform can influence the time it takes for you to improve as a comic, write material and make sure it’s funny. As said earlier, most of my stand-up career has been based in a small comedy scene. Although it’s small, it’s similar to most comedy scenes in that there are more comics then there are spots to perform on. Meaning it’s common for comics to wait weeks between performing. 

Like any comedy scene, the amount of comedy shows available to perform on fluctuates throughout the year. Below, I’ll give an example of what a week of available shows in my local comedy circuit could look like: 

Monday: 1 open mic show with 1 open spot
Tuesday: Nothing
Wednesday: 2 open mic shows with 1 open spot each
Thursday: Nothing
Friday: 1 pro show
Saturday: 1 pro show
Sunday: Nothing

In this example, the maximum I could perform on was 3 open mics and 2 pro shows per week. But, this was never the case (I also wouldn’t want to do this), instead I would average 1 open mic every two weeks and 1-2 pro shows per month. Or to summarise what’s important, I would average 6 minutes of open mic stage time every two weeks. You can already appreciate that I had limited stage time to test material to go towards my hour show.

The challenge of limited stage time

Having a small amount of shows to test new material on can make writing a stand-up comedy show slow. Limited open mic spots meant I couldn’t test new material or refine material as much as I would’ve liked to.

Further, consider that open mics often pull a small audience (less than 10) or sometimes no audience at all. Small audiences are often uncomfortable and reluctant to laugh, and can be an untrustworthy measurement to know if material is funny (I feel like I’m coming across a bit cold here, please know I’m always grateful to have any audience at all!).

So, even if you have a spot, it doesn’t mean you’re going to get value from performing. Obviously if there’s no audience (only other comics), it’s almost pointless to perform, but this is part of being a comic. On top of all this, even if one audience laughs, it doesn’t mean that your new material is consistently funny — it’s a sociopathic hobby I know….

“Why not just produce your own show?”

Producing your own open mic show, or work in progress show can give you more stage time and be a viable solution. I didn’t do this because there can be lots of administration and marketing work involved, and sometimes financial risk. I also found that comics who took this route could become preoccupied with producing, spending less time writing and performing new material. From what I’ve seen, producing your own show can either accelerate or hinder your progress towards an hour show, it’s up to you to judge what you’ve got time for.

5 tips to efficiently write a stand-up comedy show

Having limited stage time shaped my approach to comedy. An approach I’m sure I share with many other comics (at least partly), even if they think about things differently. Keep reading for five tips on how to write a stand-up comedy show.

1. Have a purpose for every spot

Every spot you perform on should be testing material for your hour show. This means you’re using spots to test new material and refine material as much as possible. The amount of new material in each spot may vary, plenty of times I would only be interested in 1 minute of my 6 minute set, because the other 5 minutes was tested material (I knew it was funny). My point is, I was always testing something. 

This does not mean only doing new material

Constant new material without refinement can result in having lots of inconsistent jokes. Personally, I’ve found lots of new material usually results in me forgetting about it, only to find it months later and begin testing it then. I’ve found I have a limit for how much new material I can focus on at once. 

Avoid performing the exact same set (at open mics) repeatedly. 

This is one of my general rules when building an hour show. Repeating the exact same set has diminishing value, as you’re retesting material opposed to testing new material. But, I should acknowledge if you’re a new comic, you may only have one set. There’s some value in repeating a set in terms of further confirming if material is or isn’t funny. Also, you may be repeating a set to feel more comfortable performing, which is great!

2. Improve your set structure

The structure of your set can influence the success of your material, and therefore the value you may get out of each spot. Being intentional with your set helps you understand stand-up comedy structure and how to write a stand-up comedy show. I’ll break this down below. 

Opening your set and supporting new material

One of the first tips you’ll get when you start comedy is the importance of your opening joke. It should be funny enough to make the audience feel comfortable. Although it doesn’t have to be, I found this tip to be useful for getting the most out of each set. You get the best measurement of your material when the audience is comfortable with you, you may also need their trust to talk about “heavy” subject matters.

The ideal opener should:

• help the audience feel comfortable (be funny)
• allow you enough time to try new material
• introduce the subject matter of your new material, if your subject matter is heavy or requires some prior context (this is situational).

You can support new material with tested material throughout your set, to give your new material a better measurement. I’ll give an example of a set below, explaining the purpose of the structure in brackets:

1st minute: consistently funny opening joke (establishing audience comfort)
2nd minute: new material 
3rd minute: new material
4th minute: consistently funny material (reestablishing audience comfort if your new material didn’t work as well as you’d hoped. This allows you to get a better measurement of any new material in the remainder of the set.)
5th minute: new material
6th minute: new material

And don’t worry about segues!

When I first started, I thought all of my material had to flow nicely together — it doesn’t have to! The audience is comfortable with you pausing and changing the subject. Now, if I’m concerned that the audience isn’t going to follow me or find my change in subject confusing, I may say “okay, I’ve got another joke to try” or “anyway, I’m going to change the subject.” I’ve found this is quicker and less awkward than a forced segue, allowing me to try more new material.

3. Prioritise open mic spots 

When learning how to write a stand-up comedy show, do more open mics than any other show. Why? Because open mic spots are the most valuable in terms of testing and refining material. When the pressure was on to get my show ready, there were times where I turned down offers for pro shows to do an open mic or stay home and write instead.

It might seem silly to turn down earning some money, but your hour show can quickly make you more money than months or even years of small spots on pro shows. I’m not saying you should turn down pro spots, do most of them! But, I feel I could make an argument that it is both financially efficient and comedy development efficient to do an open mic over a pro paid show. 

You can still try new material at pro shows

Trying new material at a pro show has more risk, you could bomb (hard) and disappoint the producer, who likely booked you after seeing your consistently funny material. You have to weigh up between the possibility of letting down a paying audience versus the want to get value (testing new material) out of the show. My personal approach is to keep new material to a minimum in pro shows, here’s an example of a pro comedy set structure:

1st – 3rd minute: consistent material
4th minute: new material
5th – 6th minute: consistent material

This way, you’re getting some value out of the spot, while keeping everyone happy (your consistent material). But, it’s up to you — I believe it’s important to be conscientious of a paying audience, but I also understand the want for comics to do new material, especially when faced with limited stage time.

4. Avoid writing topical material

It’s common for comics to write topical material. If something newsworthy happens in the area, there’s a good chance you’ll hear material about it at a comedy show. Topical material often receives extra appreciation from the audience, as they know the material is fresh. 

Unless it’s a nationwide or globally attention grabbing event, topical material is usually relevant for a short amount of time, meaning it may be irrelevant or illogical when you release your hour. This is why I avoided writing topical material, because I saw it as a waste of stage time which I could have invested in other material (that won’t expire). 

If you do write topical material, I’m not saying you shouldn’t use it

Even though I avoided writing topical material, I must admit I feel kind of lame sharing this tip. The last thing I’d want is for someone to not share a topical joke, regret it and then lose the chance forever. My point is, if your goal is to write a stand-up comedy show, consider what stage time you have available, and what material will give you most benefit towards that goal.

5. Reflect on your material

Reflection is a crucial part of developing how to write a stand-up comedy show. Most comics will audio or video record their sets so they can watch it back later. Having a recording is valuable and allows you to notice subtle reasons material may have worked or not, e.g the intonation of your voice or the length of your pause. 

After every show I would make notes on any new material I performed. Organising the material into four categories

1. Banger – am confident the material was funny and doesn’t need to be changed. This material could be used in my hour show. 

Material in this category is great news! Enjoy the dopamine hit of creating material for your show.

2. Needs work – the material got a good laugh, but needs changes to encourage consistency. This material could be used in my hour show. 

Material in this category was usually clear for what change is needed to improve the joke, this could be changing the delivery, structure or length. 

3. Needs lots of work – the material got a small laugh or reaction from the audience, but needs changes to become funnier. This material has the potential to be in the show.

Material in this category sucks. In my experience, this material could be frustrating to refine and could take several reworks before I saw improvement. Sometimes, the solution for material in this category would come to me months later, often while I was doing something else. So, if you ever find yourself stuck with category 3 material, feel free to leave it — it may be more valuable and time efficient to write new material that hopefully goes into categories 1 or 2! 

4. Cut – the material didn’t get a laugh and I don’t think it can. This material will not feature in the show and can be left behind. 

This category isn’t nice but is very important. When your approach to comedy is efficient, it’s valuable and even a relief to know when material isn’t funny. Keep your head up, move on and invest your time in other material.

Some final thoughts

I started stand-up comedy in 2019 and have performed irregularly since then, some months I performed lots, sometimes not at all. And over a year of performance opportunities were lost due to Covid. All up, I would say my show took about 3 years of stand-up comedy experience to create.

I want to emphasise that this was my approach for how to write a stand-up comedy show. My approach is not the only way, everyone’s creative process is different and there are no rights or wrongs. The rate at which each comic creates a stand-up comedy show is different for a variety of reasons and any comparison to others should be with the purpose of learning or inspiration. My goal here was to give new comics a way to fast-track progress, develop positive habits and reinforce conviction towards stand-up comedy goals. I hope this has helped, cheers!

If you’d like to do stand-up, read my guide on how to get into stand-up comedy in 5 steps.