Is there a specific moment where something clicked for you about reading what a general audience needs versus what makes comics laugh?
So I've been doing this about two years and I keep running into the same frustrating pattern. I'll workshop a bit at open mics for weeks, get solid laughs from other comics, feel genuinely confident about it, then bring it to an actual paying audience and it just flatlines. Total silence. Maybe a polite chuckle from someone in the front row who feels bad for me.
I know the obvious answer is that open mic crowds are mostly other comedians who appreciate the craft and construction of a joke differently than a civilian audience. But knowing that doesn't make it easier to figure out which bits are actually ready versus which ones only work in that room.
I've started recording every set and comparing the energy, but I'm still struggling to identify the specific thing that makes a bit translate or not. Sometimes it feels like a timing issue, sometimes the premise just needs a stronger or more universal anchor point.