I love how comedy writing is a collaborative process. You must test jokes on audiences, gauge reaction, tweak, and try again. I personally enjoy when someone gives me a tag, punchline, or fresh angle on a bit. I know that it makes me so happy to hear a tag I gave someone go well. Comics can get weird about this, but I believe if the intentions are good this can a amazing thing.

“In a live performance, it's a collaboration with the audience; you ride the ebb and flow of the crowd's energy.” Jon Batiste

When I first started comedy, I had written a few jokes, but I didn’t have anything great yet. I had not taken any classes. I had decided I wanted to do comedy and started taking ideas to open mics. I would get some laughs but nothing killer yet. I had this idea for a bit and I was sitting alone at a table at Acme Comedy Co. on a Monday waiting for the open mic list to come out. This comic Robert Baril invited me over to sit with him and asked me what I was working on. I was very intimidated as he was one of the club’s feature comedians and I looked up to him because he is really funny. I told him the bit I was working on and he gave me my first punchline. In retrospect it was right there I just hadn’t seen it but at that time I was so grateful. I started doing this joke and it became my closer. I rode that one joke for months. I finally had a joke that worked every time. About five years later I ran into Robert randomly in LA. I told him about this and he didn’t even remember giving it to me. He said it was a pretty hacky punchline. Which he’s not wrong but I will always be grateful for that. Standup comedy is really difficult to learn, you are learning to write and perform in a unique voice with all original material. Any little nugget can be a keystone to figure other aspects out. You can’t play others’ material till you figure it out. It is building the plane as you are flying. So thank you Robert!

The art of giving a tag is in getting consent. When I give tags to other comics it is in no way me establishing dominance. I truly just have a passion for joke writing. I think I developed this skill with my open mic game. I am so bad at paying attention so I developed my open mic game. I write down ideas of what I would say if I had to follow every comedian. Once I did have someone think I was copying their jokes but it was still worth it. This really came in handy later when I started hosting open mics. But it also made me really good at tagging other comics jokes.

If I am going to give a comic I don’t already know well a tag I always preface it with this statement:

“Take it or leave it I don’t care but I had a thought about your joke, do you want to hear it?”

If I know them well, I will still ask if they want to hear my idea. I have learned which friends like ideas and which do not.

I find that setting is important. If I am on a showcase with someone that I do not know well, I probably won’t give tags. Though if I see them at an open mic, I might. If I am opening for someone, mostly I would never do that. When I am opening for my close friends and writing partners, I have my notebook out the entire set and take notes. Once again it really helps my wild ADD stallion brain focus when I give it a job.

When I don’t give tags.

1. If I do not know the comic well.

2. If the tag/idea is weaker than the existing one.

3. I won’t say anything if the tag/idea takes a dirtier angle.

4. If they are a professional headliner I just don’t go there.

I am typically not trying to go dirtier in my jokes. In fact open invitation if there is a clean angle on my joke I want to hear that one! I truly have a passion for joke writing and that is where I am coming from. I really do get something out of good writing or sharing ideas. I feel really good when someone uses a tag I gave them. I also feel good when I get to use an idea or tag someone gave me in front of them. I must end this with a word of caution, I have had to put my foot in my mouth on this too. The idea is great in my head but as I’m saying it out loud I am like oh this is an awful idea stop talking Bjorn. At this point I just apologize and take a bow and walk away. At the end of the day it comes down to establishing my relationship with the comic, if they are down to collaborate with me then I will, if they don’t want to, I never bring it up again.

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Thank you for reading, you’re doing great.

Bjorn RG.

Giving Tags.