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Langston Kerman
There are two sections that took a lot of time.
The closer probably took a huge amount of time because … Then I derail it by bringing race back into the conversation.
I think thats where a lot of the rewriting happens.
Megan Gailey
My joke that I do about my grandmothers Alzheimers took me years.
Its also about her father not being a great husband to her mother.
I was very worried about hurting my moms feelings, or feeling like I was putting her on blast.
I guess in some ways it was very precious to me, which is probably what made it hard.
I really cared about it, and also dont think Alzheimers is a joke.
I do think that some people who have Alzheimers are very funny.
You want to get it right.
You might think its fascinating, but they might not love the minutiae of it.
I actually wrote the bit originally for a show at UCB called Homeschooled.
I just fell down a Google rabbit hole into the night.
It got to a point where it was able to stand on its own.
I didnt know if I was a little weird.
I just tried to be relatable and disarming.
I think it went fine.
I was told it sounded fine.
I thought it sounded terrible.
The audience was super understanding and supportive though.
I was doing the bit separate from other jokes for so long.
Im kind of just a kid in a mans body.
I think the toughest part is putting the opener together, maybe.
Its your first crack at making people laugh and having them get to know you.
So I was like, I should be relatable and self-deprecating.
So I thought, Well, whats a funny thing about me?
I didnt really know, and so I was trying to figure that out for a while.
Then, I was like, Oh, I was a fat kid.
That is something that is very true to me still to this day.
I thought it would be like, Okay, its very true to me.
I think people will be able to relate.
Its kind of endearing.
Lets start with that.
A lot of those jokes were a lot newer than some of the other jokes.
I was trying to fine-tune it for the special, but the intro is the toughest part.
I was like, Okay, Im going to start with fat kid.
Tim Dillon
I have a bit about ice cream, which is kind of funny.
Its just heightens the thing I do onstage.
You have to take risks and have fun up there.
I also think its a great representation of who I am as a comedian.
[The bit] originated with my grandmother.
I quickly realized Breyers was for the elderly.
They quickly cornered that market with, like, Breyers peach.
So, wed argue about it, and shed say to me, You have no money.
Just eat the ice cream I buy.
So it started there, and then it became really funny, this idea of ice cream as class.
It became funny, because you start to realize people have really strong opinions about ice cream.
Ive had people walk out of the show.
I insulted Breyers, and a woman looked at her boyfriend and said, Thats enough.
So my getting up there and talking about ice cream kind of gets a rise out of people.
Sarah Tiana
The club bit took a long time.
I worked that out mostly onstage.
I wrote down a list of things I wanted to discuss, like the bouncer.
I thought calling the bouncer the guy on the stool was funnier to me, the stool guy.
Im kind of bummed about not doing it as much.
I mean, I still will, but every time you do a joke, its different.
So, that joke took the longest to build because it is so long.
It takes hours and hours onstage and changing the order of the jokes and verbiage around until it clicks.
You know, thats why so many people think they can do comedy they think it looks easy.
My job is to make it look effortless and easy, but everything is thought out and placed.
I think it comes from the fact that I never wanted to do stand-up.
I didnt really know what it was.
Normally, I just say, I was dressed like this, and point to what Im wearing.
That usually is plenty.
I was worried it was going to feel different.
Mike Lawrence
I would say the toughest was the political stuff.
Also, you want to try and go after both sides while also having a strong opinion.
I have Hillary bits, but I definitely wanted to add Trump stuff too.
I think it was important for me to say that I voted for Hillary.
I think that was the hardest stuff.
Everyones doing it too, so how do you say something different from whats on Twitter?
I think Bill Burr is a great example of that.
I think what most comedians choose to dwell on within a set is what makes their take unique.
I always feel like you should trust the audience and assume the best of them.
