Understanding Street Jokes and Their Value in Stand-Up Comedy
First, for those who may not know what street jokes are…
The term street joke is used by comedians to describe jokes told on the “street.” You may also know them as “joke jokes” (a term used to distinguish these from stand-up comedy jokes).
These are the common, open-source jokes that are told every day between non-professionals at home, at work, and at social gatherings.
While not always the case, many times street jokes tend to be very “dirty,” racist, or sexist in nature, which can potentially decrease their value to the professional comedian depending upon the markets they work in.
Example of a Clean Street Joke
Here’s an example of a clean street joke:
One day, a teacher was greeting his new class. He stood up in front of the class and said, “Would anyone who thinks he or she isn’t smart enough for third grade please stand up?”
After a minute or so, one boy stood up.
“Well, hello there. So you don’t think you’re smart enough for this grade?” the teacher asked.
The kid replied, “No sir, I just felt bad that you were standing there all by yourself.”
Using Street Jokes in Stand-Up Comedy
Depending on the venue where a stand-up comedian is performing, certain street jokes might be potent weapons in their arsenal of comedic material.
Street jokes typically are not utilized in comedy clubs since they don’t count as unique stand-up comedy material (there are exceptions to this, of course). However, I have seen pro comedians use specific edited and personalized street jokes during their comedy club act without issue.
Notice I said edited and personalized because many street jokes usually have a setup that is simply too long for the stand-up comedy stage.
Benefits of Street Jokes
Now, outside the comedy club market, carefully selected, edited, and rehearsed street jokes can be quite useful as comedy material to break the ice for a stand-up comedy show in corporate-type markets.
A carefully selected, edited, and effectively rehearsed street joke can also be used as a powerful closing bit.
Additionally, street jokes can serve as “backup” material for new stand-up comedy routines that are not working as well as they should.
These are the reasons that an independent lesson called Street Joke Secrets is provided with my online course.
Note: That lesson also includes a special report called Transforming A Street Joke Into Powerful Opening Or Closing Stand-up Comedy Bit.
If you know how to identify one particular type of street joke, you can actually easily convert it into powerful stand-up comedy material that can be used anywhere, anytime.
And since street jokes are designed for “one-on-one” joke telling, as opposed to stand-up comedy material, which is designed for group presentations, they are great to have available when an individual asks you to tell them a joke upon discovering that you are a comedian.
Conclusion
Needless to say, street jokes can be powerful additions to your stand-up comedy material if you know how to select them, customize them, and determine when to use them effectively.