Live Stand-Up Comedy Works On Zoom And I Have A Video To Prove It 🚀
I organize stand-up comedy shows on Zoom and I recorded a video for you to see how they feel.
Over the last several weeks, I’ve been organizing stand-up comedy shows on Zoom and really enjoyed how they all went down. I recorded one of the shows and made a video for you so you can see what Zoom shows feel like. The audience came from various cities across the globe viewing in a number of time zones. For those in Europe, it was 4 AM. Also, when I say “the audience came”, it was us who really came to them 🙂 It was amusing for all involved to take a sneak peak into each other’s homes, and it brought us a little bit closer to each other. About 20 people volunteered to have their cameras on, while many less socially comfortable people enjoyed the show “anonymously”.
Have you ever been to a Zoom comedy show?
Comics and the audience members got a kick out of playing with the virtual background feature, some of them did it to hide their messy interiors and some were just having fun with no care. One person used a picture of their dog.
When comedians were performing, a moderator (me) put them into a spotlight and their video would take up the whole screen. For the MC to view more of the audience and sometimes to initiate crowd work for the comics, I would switch the show into a grid view.
Do you use Zoom for work?
After the show, I shot an email to the participants asking for facebook reviews and feedback, and this is what I’ve received
âťť With shelter-in-place restrictions I had the opportunity to see this show online and it was a lot of fun! It was like hanging out with some great storytellers. As a bonus, you may get some interesting audio from audience members that forget they're not muted. A very welcome respite from the coronapocalypse, will definitely check it out again! âťž
Stephen
âťť Love the online format! With young kids at home, my wife and I haven't had a date night in as long as I can remember, so this was really special to see world-class comedians in our living room. It was the most we've laughed in years! âťž
Ben
âťť A fun show to log onto solo or with friends! Silly, interactive, and featuring a group of comics with diverse styles and content. It was great to be able to share a low-key evening of laughs with a fun and welcoming community. Looking forward to the next one! âťž
Sinye
You can see these and other reviews on Comedy vs. Nerds Facebook Page
Comedians, featured in the video:
In life, comedy is inevitable and it helps us get through rough times. Zoom is a great, albeit not ideal, tool for sharing jokes, staying social, and getting your stand-up comedy fix.
Do you need a stand-up comedy fix?
If you’re interested in my setup, I recently wrote a blog post called Comedy Online: How to put on a comedy show online using Zoom , which lists all the equipment I use and explains my setup.
Comedy vs. Nerds used to sell out live shows in San Francisco, and as of now, it runs completely online. Comedy-hungry people from all over the world have joined to watch comedians perform from their living rooms and riff on tech, internet culture, and life during the lockdown. I invite you to come join the next show here , and use code MAKAROVCOMEDY for a nice discount.
If you have any questions, suggestions, please reach out to me!
Also, like my page and share this post
About the author
Michael Makarov is an NYC-based comic and a software engineer. He started his standup journey in 2014 in San Francisco, he sold out his first show in 30 minutes when the link made the top of Hacker News. Russian immigrant, he also speaks fluent Japanese and enough chinese to order food at restaurants. He runs Comedy vs. Nerds and Comedy Conspiracy, a standup comedy show about the internet. Other articles: 7x7 article
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