Matt Ruby

1 week ago | funnyhow.substack.com | Matt Ruby

Chicago this weekend! Get tickets here. A 2021 interview with Brian Morton (GM of Zanies Old Town in Chicago) in The Comedy Gazelle is filled with gems. Some excerpts below:What kind of advice would you give to a newer comic that can’t get on stage at a club? How do you develop material as someone who’s just starting out? I think you just have to do it. It all depends on how bad you really want it. What do you want out of comedy is a huge question a lot of people don't really ask themselves.

1 week ago | workingmethods.substack.com | Matt Ruby

Famed advertising copywriter David Abbott:“Put yourself into your work. Use your life to animate your copy. If something else moves you, chances are, it will touch someone else, too.”(Source: Ad Breakdown: Volvo’s “If the welding isn’t strong enough, the car will fall on the writer.”)It’s one of Abbot’s “Five things that I think are more or less true.” Here’s the full list:1. Put yourself into your work. Use your life to animate your copy.

1 week ago | funnyhow.substack.com | Matt Ruby

I’m telling jokes in Chi/CT/SF/DC/Pitt upcoming. Tickets/info here. I guested it up on the Pantsuits Politics podcast recently and discussed politics, standup, and my view on nachos. Question: I wonder if all of that technology and that sort of myopia that we have going makes it harder for you as a performer to have those moments of piercing honesty on stage.

1 week ago | workingmethods.substack.com | Matt Ruby

Director Akira Kurosawa:During the shooting of a scene the director’s eye has to catch even the minutest detail. But this does not mean glaring concentratedly at the set. While the cameras are rolling, I rarely look directly at the actors, but focus my gaze somewhere else. By doing this I sense instantly when something isn’t right. Watching something does not mean fixing your gaze on it, but being aware of it in a natural way.

1 week ago | funnyhow.substack.com | Matt Ruby

One eternal thing in comedy: People think bad math is hilarious. Plenty of standup jokes rely on math that doesn’t add up. There’s a lesson in that about pattern recognition. People are processing what you’re saying all the time and guessing where you’re going. Tell them exactly what they expect and they’ll just “mmhmm” you.