Memorizing Bits.

I used to believe that I was not good at memorizing things. It was always something I struggled with in school. I understand that by just stating that I am not good at it, that is a limiting belief about myself. That is part of the problem. But I have a lot of personal evidence to back it up. Then that does tend to become a self fulfilling prophecy. An interesting thing is that I remember the times I don’t remember and tend to forget about the times I do remember. Wow that’s a wild sentence. I found a work around for me in standup: I don’t memorize my bits.

“If you tell the truth, you don’t have to remember anything.” Mark Twain.

When I first started doing standup comedy I was so nervous that I had to know my bits word for word. I had to memorize them exactly. This was a huge challenge for me, and honestly still is. It also puts me in my head and takes me out of the present moment. The problem with this is that it locks in the joke, for brilliant writers that might work, but for me that did not. Once a joke is memorized it is really hard to adjust it. I think of this like throwing pottery, at first you just have a chunk of clay, you work it and mold it, and not until it is totally finished do you glaze and fire it. All my jokes are now just intentions. I might write a set list, but it's only key words to spark the topic. Then I just talk about it and trust that I will make it funny. If I have another idea for the bit I might make it a sub topic to help me remember to talk about that other part or add that little section. This was a game changer for me. It started with the tip that new material should never be memorized to maintain its flexibility to continue to mold it. For me I began doing this, but quickly realized that I never memorize it, because I love how it’s never really finished. This has allowed me to be more present on stage and create better jokes.

In doing this no memorization process, I was worried I would forget parts, and you know what, I did. But that has become my editing process. I trust that if I forgot a part it wasn’t important. It’s like I have this built in subconscious editing system. When we memorize a bit we lock it in exactly how it was written, all the extra words that don’t need to be there. It’s like firing a pot too early, it’s not smoothed out yet.  If there is a part that I can’t seem to remember it probably never gets a laugh. The amazing thing about standup comedy is the live audience that gives information about what is working and what is not. I think of the audience as my highlighter, telling me what parts to remember. They laugh and I get that hit of endorphins. So the next time I say it my brain goes ok when you said this part you got a reward, let’s get there faster! What I am left with is jokes that are full of punchlines.

In my personal experience truth is so important in comedy. There are many reasons. The first being that it’s so much easier for me to remember the truth. If it’s fabricated I have to spend time memorizing it. Another being that people know when they are being lied to, or if something feels like it’s a lie or unreal they tend to trust you less for everything being said. I think this leads to people tuning out. The biggest reason I keep my jokes based on truth is that I know it’s my own. When someone makes up a story or experience, it could be stolen from someone else. If it truly happened to you then you know it’s more likely to be an original idea. A fabricated thing could be something you heard and forgot about. In my experience the truth is always funnier. That thing I am hiding by changing the story can be the difference between funny and not. The starting point of any joke I write is to write everything as close to the truth as possible. It has to feel true first, then exaggerate.

I like to isolate my weaknesses and find ways of turning those into strengths. This is exactly what I did here. I was really struggling and not enjoying the memorization process. It was like my brain was getting cluttered with all these versions of the joke, each time I made a change I had to memorize it again. Now my jokes are much more fluid. I can adapt them on the fly. I’ve had more fun in comedy by not trying to memorize bits. I will write them out once I feel a joke is finished, just so I can come back to it. The other thing this does is that my ideas link together much easier. I can chain the ideas because I don’t have a specific way of saying them. This process does involve some anxiety for me in that I am stepping into the unknown almost every time I get on stage. But an added benefit is that I get more adrenaline. Sometimes it is hard for me not to try to memorize and work my bits, but I just remind myself that it's always better when I let go and just flow.

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Thank you for reading, You’re doing great.

Bjorn RG.